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Thaelasan

The Dawn and the Dusk IC

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They hadn’t been paying attention, too focused on the people around them to notice. A hand rested firmly on their shoulder, thick fingers touching bare skin. Vertie jumped, the sensation tickling their nervous with anxiety. "Tell your goodbyes to your father unless he's coming too. You're going to be busy for a while. I hope you're ready. It's not going to be easy. There's going to be work to do, things to learn. But I feel you'll get a hang of it in no time. But first, we need to get you situated and get you a room. This is your new home, after all." Vertie watched Bartholomew stand back up to his towering height, easily twice theirs.

 

Oh, this was so exciting! Vertie almost didn’t know what to do with themself. First the man’s comment about their eyes and honoring him - him - by choosing him! And, now this? They hadn’t expected such a quick decision, they nearly didn’t believe any of it.

 

"Welcome, to Apollo, Vertie. I hope I live up to your expectations."

 

They were too giddy. Spinning on their heel, they rushed towards their father, smiling brightly. “Dad! I did it! I’m staying in Apollo to study under Mr. Bartholomew Starlight!” they practically shrieked. Their father started laughing with their excitement, a huff of air whooshing past his lips when Vertie tackled him for a hug.

 

“That’s wonderful, sweetheart! I told you you’d make it. Didn’t I?” he remarked, smirking. Kissing their forehead, he ruffled their hair and held them out by the shoulders at arm’s length. “Ah… I’m going to miss you. Promise to write? Don’t leave out any details. Even the bad ones. If you’re ever in trouble, I want to know so I can come get you. Alright?”

 

“Yes, Dad,” Vertie sighed, grinning. “You’re still staying for a few more days right. Business, wasn’t it?”

 

The man nodded, ruffling their hair again. “Yes, but I doubt we’ll get to see each other much between now and when I leave. So, behave yourself.”

 

"Come on, Vertie. We're going to see your new home.” Glancing over their shoulder, Vertie located Bartholomew nearby from where he called for them.

 

[“Coming!”] they called back, quickly refocusing on their father to hug him again, tightly, before running over. [“I’m ready to go whenever! My stuff is at the inn though,”] they informed. Looking at the lycan pair, they smiled excitedly and moved closer to the dog-girl. [“Come with! It’ll be nice to have a friend around!”] Vertie state. [“Oh! I’m Vertie, by the way!”] They only just now remembered that they hadn’t introduced themself to the dog-girl. Knowing names was kind of an important thing.

 

Oh, they were so thrilled! They didn’t know if Bartholomew would actually accept them; they knew not many would. Whether it was because their skill level wasn’t up to par or their ideas were too wild and unfocused. Bartholomew was the head of Robotics and, while Vertie was interested in the field (not to mention greatly fascinated with the man), their interests also included some of the other fields. Recreational inventions, health improvement, lifestyle, robotics, magic, weapons, and so on! Vertie was constantly brimming with ideas that they often didn’t know which one to start with or couldn’t finish one before starting another simultaneously.

 

Honestly, it sometimes made their parents frustrated or confused because they had to continuously ask for money or supplies. Sometimes, Vertie could find neat junk items that fulfilled their need but, that didn’t happen as often as they wished it did. Well, it wasn’t exactly something they could control, now was it? And, at any rate, they were going to stay in Apollo with the opportunity to pursue their inventions so they wouldn’t have to hassle their parents anymore.

 

As their thoughts raced and spun from the excitement (making them miss the distracting ‘boom’), Vertie’s blue eyes had drifted to the man that stood near Bartholomew (or, really, Bartholomew had moved to stand next to him). This was the man that had released the dog-girl’s companion from Spice’s grasp. He was taller than them (not a difficult achievement to get really because dang they were short!) and had a striking - yet subtle - appearance. He looked attractive a- and oh the Sun! He was staring at them and-

 

[“You’re Maximillian Sirus Asther!”] Vertie gasped, recognition making their eyes grow wide as they clamped a hand over their mouth. [“I didn’t realize who you were earlier! I’m so sorry! I was too anxious about the test and, and, and I-!”] They sucked in a deep breath, biting their lower lip to stop the fumble of words from spilling out. [“I think your work is wonderful!”] they said once they had managed to realign their train of thought. [“It’s a shame the city doesn’t give you more publicity than it has already. I would really love to learn more about you!”] Vertie admitted, blushing and darting their gaze downward.

 

Suddenly, they worried that Bartholomew might rescind their apprenticeship on that comment alone. Quickly, they looked over at the Starlight, his expressive clothing betraying the sort of personality he possibly had. [“I mean, I’m still really interested in robotics but I have so many interests! I picked a face I was most familiar with…”] Their words drifted off. Maybe they were saying to much. Oh no! What if they were saying the wrong thing? Their blush turned into a shade of embarrassment and they bit their tongue, pointedly looking down at their colorful dress to avoid the men’s gazes.

 

Mentally, they berated themself. They were stupid, stupid, stupid! O-o-oh, if they simply just didn’t run their mouth so much…! Swallowing, Vertie looked back up, giving a nervous smile to both men. [“I-I’m sorry! I’m really nervous. I don’t know what I’m saying anymore…”]

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Ophelia giggled as Lime threw his hands in the air as he insisted he was fine.

"Alright, alright," she chuckled as she pulled her hands away from her child's face. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. That's a mother's duty, is it not?" As calm as she might have been before, Lime's unexpected question certainly eradicated all of her composure. Her ears and tail drooped, followed by a sharp intake of breath as she licked her lips anxiously. That was the question she was hoping to avoid. The last thing she wanted to discuss was why she left her family and people to go frolic with humans. It wasn't a topic she could explain well nor was she sure her answer would be even remotely satisfying to Lime; however, knowing that she couldn't avoid the question forever, Ophelia mustered her courage and mentally prepared herself for the conversation to come.

 

Hoping Lime wouldn't feel just how shaky and clammy her hands her, Ophelia gently grabbed hold of Lime's hands lowered them down between his and his mother's chests.

"You know my father—by blood I mean—and I didn't get along," Ophelia began in a steady tone. She rubbed her thumbs across the top of Lime's hands, hoping that the repeated motion would calm both her and him. "Before he died, he gave me this earring and told me to keep it with me always," Ophelia continued as she motioned towards the beautiful metallic earring pierced into her right ear. "This earring has been passed down the Noir line ever since witch first cursed out family to be the creatures we are today. He made me promise that, when the time was right, I would do what was best for our people. I, of course, didn't understand what he meant at the time. I thought he'd recover from the hunting accident and everyone would be just as it always had been." Ophelia chuckled under her breath, smiling sadly as she glanced down at her feet.

 

She paused momentarily, grinning at the floor as her smile slowly began to disappear. "Obviously, we both know what he meant," Ophelia said as he looked back up, casting her gaze to the side as she didn't want Lime to see the doubt in her eyes. "He wanted me to lead, he handed me the reigns of power over hundreds, nah, possibly the entirely of our species. I told him, ha, I told him repeatedly that I was not qualified for the job, that there were others far more suited for the position than me, but oh no, that's not what everyone thought." Ophelia couldn't stop herself from squeezing Lime's hands tightly. She hadn't gotten the chance to vent her frustration and finally being able to talk about her worries was exhausting. "I-I couldn't stay. I would have lead the Draugluin to their doom. I'm horrendous with responsibility heck, I can't even remember to tell my own son I won't be coming back." Ophelia laughed again, the tone of her voice unmistakably fulled with grief. For a minute, the lycan was silent, laughing quietly as she tried to keep herself from shedding any tears in front of her own child. She felt weak and insecure. How much more pathetic

 

"Anyway," Ophelia said, sniffing diligently as she slapped another grin upon her face. "That doesn't explain why you're here mister!" Ophelia let go of Lime's hands and prodded him in the chest with a pointed finger. "How on earth did you get here? The tribe doesn't migrate to Apollo until late winter." Secretly, Ophelia hoped that by acting as her normal cheerful self, Lime wouldn't try to get all mushy with her and talk more about her leaving the tribe. It was a subject she very dearly wished to avoid and she hoped Lime would take a hint and drop the topic altogether. Before Lime could answer however, the pretty human danced on over towards the pair of lycans and quickly asserted their interest in traveling together before hastily striding away. "That sounds lovely!" Ophelia called after the newly proclaimed Vertie, ears perked in interest and tail wagging once more, before turning back to her son. "Lime! I have a proposal for you," Ophelia said, clasping her hands over one of Lime's hands. "Would you like to go on an adventure? I know I took you on a lot of explorations when you little, but this one is different! This time, I don't know anything that's going to happen. I haven't the slightest clue as to what we'll find, but isn't that the joy of exploring?" Ophelia's excited tone faltered for a moment as their tail went still. "Of course, you can... decline if you wish. I'd understand if you have other things to do, but I'd like it if you joined me. After all, we're family and you mean the world to me. The choice is up to you, my little pup."

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「lynn ;; 」

 

Lynn faltered slightly when another man came forth, dismissing her worries with a soothing voice. She stepped back, allowing the man to help the one who had toppled over earlier. He seemed to be trying to get away, as shakily as one possibly could when deluded under the effects of alcohol. She watched, taking a seat with her hands clasped tightly together and lips pressed closed, as the two struggled their way up the stairs, the man who had spoken earlier murmuring under his breath to the other. An attempt at comfort? This thought warmed Lynn's heart; though the girl knew that Luna was an unforgiving place where many considered blood to be just as thin as water, small acts of kindness such as the ones put forth by the seemingly friendly individuals of this cafe warmed her heart. In her mind's eye, she saw her brother . . . the way his eyes would shine with success during the exploits of their childhood, how he had refused to let anything get in their way, and the moment all hope faded from his eyes on the realisation that Lynn would have to go, for money.

She doesn't like to think about those times, but the suggestion of such meanderings has her biting down on her lip, tearing into the flesh ever-so-slightly as her fingers trembled delicately within her lap.

They did what they had to do in order to survive, but if Lynn had strength to rage against such a world she could find it unfair. The military . . . what could have possibly possessed him to join? And what exactly had happened . . . ?

Deceased . . . some part of her conscience, the same that clung onto dreams of a happy life with the one she loved and a better future, refused to believe such brutal truths, but Lynn had to admit the odds seemed against her favour. Luna was known for being a kill-or-be-killed world, but Will had seemed so smart, so knowledgeable . . .

If anyone was to go, it would have to be her. Lynn was the first to admit that she was unfit for such a life; that she cried easily at the sights of men freezing to their deaths outside in the streets, that noises echoing through the rooms when she would spend the night in a strange, strange room rented with what meager fees she could bring up kept her awake, hardly daring to breathe in the silence. The roars of an incinerator ran rampant through her dreams, mixing in with the yells of mortal men bringing along past scars and harsh browbeatings that she had become accumulated to in such a life.

If not a victim, one was a survivor; but what title was left to claim for a girl without name nor blood in the world?

The man who had disappeared earlier with the drunken one appeared again, slowly descending down the stairs. Lynn sat up straight as he approached her, her heart unwillingly beating in her throat.

She hoped he was not unkind, for he had helped the stranger with such ease and spoken to her with delicacy, but she was wary.

"Yes!" she replied, nearly shouting the word in her haste. She shrunk, staring up at the other as she cleared her throat. "I mean, yes, that's where I'll be going. I . . . I want to ask after my brother."

She listened to his words, eyes growing wide in surprise. He was offering their help? As well as a place to stay for the night?

The man finished his words and gulped down another drink, sighing through his movements.

"Thank you," she said quietly, unsure. "Ice cream?" she questioned, surprised--she'd heard of such a sweet, yet never actually had the chance to try it; it melted slowly, did it not? Warmed so by the hearts of citizens that the gooey goodness slowly dripped away, all frosted sugar and condensed milk until there was nothing left but a highlighter smudge at the corner of a child's lip. She smiled slightly at this, wondering--children were so precious, so pure, and it came as no surprise to the young girl that their adolescent innocence would enjoy a sugar sweet.

"That can't be good for their health," she mused, half to herself at the idea of swarms of children approaching her at light speeds. A small smile flickered across her face--what fun it would be to sell such a treat!

She gulped, however, at the man's suggestion that she stay, free of charge. A gift? She was wary of promises made in the form of luxuries and necessities, for more often than not others expected some sort of reformation at a later time. "Thank you, sir," she repeated, unsure. "I-I don't have much, but if there's anything I can do . . ." She lowered her eyes, playing with her fingers still crossed in her lap. "I promise I'll be gone at your earliest convenience . . . !"

 

 

「lime ;; 」

 

Lime smiled even as he rolled his eyes, pulling away from Ophelia in the manner of a typical teenager upset with his mother, but the young lycan did have to admit it felt more than amazing to converse with his mother once again. Though he knew he had missed her more than anything from her sudden disappearance, it wasn't until they were truly united did he realise all he had missed out on from her vanishing.

However, something had changed; his eyes narrow as, abruptly, Ophelia seemed to wilt before him at his question--what? What happened?

Ophelia took his hands in hers with ease--usually, Lime would complain at such a violation, but somehow the young wolf knew this was just not the time. He watched, with carefully pointed ears and narrowed eyes as Ophelia began to explain the intricacies of a case he had only briefly held interest in--the relationship between Ophelia and her father was one he knew of, as his adoption had been one thing they had disagreed on, but his childhood had been so full of idyllic adventuring and all the playfulness of a young wolf that he knew naught about what had truly conspired between the two before the tribe leader's untimely demise.

He felt Ophelia's thumb run across his skin, a soothing feeling to the lycan's previously trampled nerves, yet Lime's attention was focused on the earring she had pointed out, a magnificent metallic creation hanging from her right ear.

He neglected to reply as she stared down on the ground, her small smile slowly fading as the seconds ticked on. He felt a small spring of annoyance start in his chest--why wouldn't she look at him? She ran; was the truth so hard to admit?

As Ophelia spoke on, her hands tightened around his. Similarly, Lime did as well--did he pity her for having such responsibility thrust upon her shoulders, the same that had plagued him following her disappearance, or did he blame her for disrupting their once-peaceful existence? The young lycan could not come up with a firm answer for his thoughts were scattered, and he took a moment to recollect himself by sucking in a large breath through his mouth.

"You left," he said quietly, and the word felt accusatory even when Lime's full extent was not to harm. He pondered her insecurities--did Ophelia really believe that about himself? He wondered--if his mother had stayed, would she have eventually learnt to lead? Perhaps he could've been by his side, helping her through the golden age of their tribe . . .

Such fantasies only made the truth settle more bitterly within his conscience, and he clenched his hands at his sides when Ophelia released him and followed up by poking at his chest.

He opened his mouth, anger suddenly overtaking his actions--a low growl sounded from his throat just as he was about to recount how horrific it had been for him to be expected to lead now, the shock at discovering he had lost his family a second time when suddenly they were interrupted by a person he did not know. Surprised, Lime jerked back from Ophelia and nearly stumbled backwards, wondering who this intruder could possibly be to interrupt at such a crucial moment.

He watched as the newcomer spoke to his mother though quick words, unable to fully comprehend the speech. He saw as his mother's ears rose, her tail wagging once more, and something within him stirred.

Could it be that she was happy here, amongst these humans? Ophelia seemed like a pup again, her tail whisking about to show her happiness at being included in this human's plans.

Then who was he to demand she set aside such an experience for a throne she clearly did not want?

But again, he couldn't return to the tribe, not now. He knew he had failed them, and that they probably already chose a surrogate leader--he wasn't the one to lead, not when he wasn't even directly blood related to the line of Noir.

Ophelia grabbed his hands once more, this show of physical intimacy a clear declaration of her excitement. An adventure?

He remembers his childhood, remembers childish joy at exploring with his new mother and finding all the treasures that their wonderful world had to hold. He remembers never really having to grow up when his 'mother' was more like a playmate than anything, and Lime realises he wants such a life back. He wants to relieve the memories that dance only in his dreams, deluded nowadays by the stress of having suddenly found his mother missing--to adventure with her once again, what excitement that would bring!

The childhood nickname is what sets his mind at peace--though Lime still felt a certain kind of resentment for Ophelia's disappearance, she was his family--and he couldn't remain mad. There would be another time, perhaps once this excitement had all settled down, to discuss such heavy matters--for now, Lime would count the small blessings and hold onto what he considered dear before it disappeared once again.

"Sure," he replied casually, though a small bit of spite caused him to withdraw his hands and instead fold them together, tilting his head to the side as his eartips twitched. "You mean a lot to me too, mum," he murmured, biting his lip as his gaze was cast briefly down, before flickering up again. "I'll come with you--that is, if your . . . companion is okay with it. Who are they?" His gaze flickered to the human that had briefly bounced in and out, who now seemed to be talking to the man earlier who had freed him from the crazy professor. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly--the newcomer seemed to be in awe of the man, something that surprised the unknowing lycan. Who could he possibly be to warrant such interest? He wondered if he was the alpha--or would that be the other man standing near the first, both of which had such domineering presences?

Two alphas? Humans were strange creatures, indeed. He stole a glance at Ophelia, wondering how she could possibly find such a species interesting.

 

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Human life is so frail and fragile. Why do they cling to it so hard? Why do they sacrifice and suffer through so much for the simple chance of another day? Deep within the halls of the Arrow of Artemis, at the peak, stood a figure who brooded over these thoughts and questions. Hidden behind three doors, sealed to their utmost, she beheld herself as she was, and not as she showed to others.

"This... this form... beauteous, immortal, perfect..." she whispered, sliding a hand up her hip to over her chest, sighing. "And yet I must hide it behind such a disgusting facade. How..... annoying."

She giggled softly. "Men are so easy to trick. Act dominant, and you are presumed to be male. Act submissive, and you are immediately the other half. How... instinctive and primitive. How utterly ignorant."

They will suffer for their ignorance."

She sighed for a long while, leaning backward until she fell upon the bed behind her and spread out her arms. Silk and violet cascaded with silver and shining metal above her, as though immortalizing the stars and galaxies.

"The Sun... is such a small goal..." she whispered, holding out her hand. "When I could possess the entire system beyond... The entire land... Every habitable place... Father thought on such a small scale..."

A portrait above her looked upon her with seeming irritation, the face of a black haired, older male, sternly gazing at the world, immortalized in paint.

"Father dear... You really shouldn't be so disappointed in me.... I did it all for the best for both of us..." she said, laying a hand on the picture frame. "Your dreams were so small..... so frail... and you had the mentality of a man, leading us so brutishly and ignorantly... I couldn't let that go on for long..."

She slid away from the picture, looking out the window of the tower with a small hum.

"No... I can't let any of this go on for long... But I don't have to.." she mused, leaning against the windowsill. "Soon... all of my work will pay off.... all of this blood will have been shed for a purpose..."

She began to hum a small song as she pressed the button on her wrist, her form altering.

"But... there is still more to do... After all...

The night is still young."

 

------

 

Bartholomew

 

This was quite the strange situation and he really had no idea how to deal with any of it. In truth, Bear highly doubted any situation he'd been in before equaled this odd feeling of confusion and bewilderment.

On one side, the young child he'd just promised that he'd take to his Steamworks to start her apprenticeship. Then, the small Lycan who was apparently the other Lycan's... mother? was also now coming along. Then Miles (who Bear obviously hadn't expected would show up at all) ALSO wished to come along. To top it all off, the new Lycan, who was apparently the son of the previous Lycan, now was... coming too?

They were all looking at him expectantly. Vertie was fussing with Miles and then flustered when she realized what she was saying. Bear could only grin, remembering his days as an Apprentice to his own father before he began pursuing the path of Robotics with his old mentor, Roger Reeds.

"[No, the thing was Vertie...]" Bear leaned down, patting her head. "[i could tell you have inner talent, from what you wrote. You have aspirations, ambitions. Dreams. Which means that no matter which field you take, you'll succeed in. I only hope you take interest in Robotics the most. Heh.]

He chuckled a moment, then readjusted himself.

"[i.... suppose we're off then.]" he blinked, turning to the door. "[Don't stray too far behind. It's a busy time of day in Apollo. I don't want you all getting lost.]"

He then looked up at Miles.

"Uh... actually, could you walk at the back of the line, since you also know the way? Just make sure they don't stray off." Bear whispered, patting Miles' shoulder. "Especially the Lycan. They seem really interested by a lot of new things. Sun knows I wouldn't want them getting into any trouble."

He then turned to the door, where a few inventors were already leaving with their students.

 

-----

 

As they left the entrance of the West Minister, it was roughly 2 in the afternoon - which, really meant nothing in Sol - but was a bit cooler as a result. The Sun DID go down in Sol, but only for roughly 3 hours, and no one was out during that time anyway.

Bear looked to his left as he noticed the sheer amount of people walking around. This wasn't usual for the time of day...

"Uh, excuse me..." he said, grabbing a nearby passerby gently. The man almost jumped, then relaxed.

"BARTHOLOMEW! Or, I mean, Sir Bear..." the man said meekly. "What is it?"

"What's going on? Did I miss something?" Bear asked, gesturing to the crowd.

"Oh! The semifinals of the Robotic's Boxing Match is occurring in the Coliseum today." he answered, holding up a notice. "See?"

"...Oh. Great." Bear sighed, rubbing his face. And if he knew the Council, they'd expect him to show up to appraise the robots there. At least let him get back to the Steamworks before giving him that sort of stress....

"Sir Bear!"

Bear jumped, turning quickly.

"Oh! Lord Layman..." Bear said, discouraged. "Let me guess..."

"You're going to the Coliseum, right?" Arthur handed him the notice, smiling. "We sent your father to tell you. After all, two of the robots fighting today are based on your theories."

"What?" Bear's face dropped, concerned. "What do you mean, based on my theories?"

"Your theory of increased movement, of course! By using a different hydraulics system and another piston..." Arthur began, but Bear sighed, relieved.

"Huh? Is something the matter?" Arthur asked.

"I was worried for a moment. Don't worry about it. But did you really have to plan this match on the same day of the apprenticeship? I have to get this new student situated." Bear protested, gesturing to Vertie. "And... these two as well, apparently."

He pointed at the two Lycans.

"Oh.... What? Why not take them to the Coliseum with you? It would be a great introduction to the sights of Apollo, correct?" Arthur suggested, holding out his hands. "Besides, we're not forcing you to go to the match, right?"

No but you'll give me disapproving stares for the remainder of the week if I don't. Bear thought silently as he turned, pointing at the crowd. He looked down at Vertie and the two Lycans.

"[Ok,... so... Vertie, we may have to take a detour today. How would you... like to see a match in the Steam Coliseum?]" he asked weakly. This felt so unprofessional, taking a student to see something so silly...

Edited by Thaelasan

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After walking the streets for a moment, Damien finally decided to quit procrastinating and make sure all the water pouches and canteens were filled. If he remembered correctly, the fountain was towards the town center, somewhere around where all the shops and stalls were set up.

As he made the necessary turn, Damien felt a tug on the back of his coat, to which he looked back at Lilith with an inquisitive expression.

"There was a spirit in that house."

"I know."

"How?"

"Well, for starters, our contract has had a bit of a side effect, but mainly cause I saw her peeking through the door. I didn't want to make it obvious, so I acted like I was still looking at all the gadgets."

"Mm... well, it's not my fault for what's happening to you."

"Actually..."

He began, but trailed off when he noticed a spout sticking out of the ground near a well. Setting his bag down against the well, Damien began to dig through its contents in search of all the pouches and canteens he carried. With the next town only a day's walk away, he figured two pouches and two canteens would suffice, but grabbed another canteen just to be safe. With what happened several days prior to their arrival, Damien didn't want to take any risks.

As he began to fill up his selected containers, Lilith decided to have a look around, running off down the street. Sure, she was childish, but Damien trusted she would be able to get back. Yet, just as he began to fill the first canteen, there was a tug on his arm, pulling him down and causing him to spill water on the ground.

"What?!"

"I found this flier! Something about fighting bots or something. I want to fight a bot!"

"Did you even read it?"

"No... I glanced over it and saw fighting and bots... and I figured they were fighting against a big bot! That'd be exciting!"

"Then you misinterpreted it. People aren't fighting against them. Just two of them fighting each other."

"That sounds just as exciting! Let's go watch!"

"You realize..."

"We'll set up camp and leave first thing in the morning! I promise I won't complain!"

"No, you definitely will... fine... we'll go watch for a little bit."

"Yay!"

Before making way, or asking for directions, Damien made sure to finish filling up all of the canteens first, packing them back away and then slinging the bag over his shoulders. Lilith had an ecstatic expression written on her face as they started making their way to the opposite end of town, Damien having asked one of the shopkeeps for directions, heading towards the Coliseum in which the bot fights were taking place. Surely, this would be interesting to see and Damien wondered if these bots would be similar to that spider one that was back at that lab. Of course, that led to other thoughts, but Damien dismissed them as he called out to Lilith to slow down and to not get too far ahead of him.

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Miles

 

Maximillian stood silently with both hands atop his cane as he observed most of the students slowly begin to filter out of the reopened gates en masse. The Choosing - the only reason most people in Sol probably had to visit this church today - was over, so perhaps it would not be a half-bad idea for their small group to get moving, before someone closed the gates on the inside and made Miles yet again open them forcefully with the magic of his Harmonizer.

His interest shifted from the view in front of him as he noticed the one called Vertie make their way past him and Bartholomew to their father with a quick spin on their heel. He watched on with a hint of envy as the two spoke with eachother, then were forced by the younger side into a quick hug with a tackle.

A pang resonated in Miles' chest as the two collided and embraced eachother. Memories of the time he'd spent with his father - the one he now rather coldly called Vincent, as the mere try to associate himself with his father forced him into a mental breakdown - flowed back gradually from the back of his mind and returned with them the ever-present feeling of sorrow that he had forgotten long ago. Though the Asther was certainly not a soft invidiual, his nerves didn't always obey him, and he would be forced to endure what they brought upon him. Looking away from the family for a moment, Miles gathered his breath and then let out a soft, pained sigh, before he returned his gaze back forward with a strangely calm expression.

To his surprise, when he turned back forward, Maximillian now found the young Vertie running back in the direction of the two, after they had spoken to the Lycans in Bartholomew's lieu and said some other things of importance. In also a very interesting twist, as he stared at them silently, they suddenly began to look in his direction, and the two's eyes met for a moment. Miles' eyebrows rised in confusion, whilst Vertie's seem to widen with an emotion he really didn't recogn-

「Huh? 」 The Asther barely mouthed as he stared back at Vertie from the cover of his coat in regards to their exclamation. Their covered mouth and wide eyes, as well as the explanation they began to speak told him that they had recognized him from somewhere - although, to be frank, he had no idea where from, as he never really was interested in any form of media.

「Wha-? I-I mean... thank you for the kind words, but it's just... a part of my work as an inventor, that's all - not everyone thinks of my creations the same way as you do... 」 Maximillian replied with an uncertain voice as he seemed to wish to dig himself further behind his coat's collars, but somehow managed to remain as he currently was with only slightly wide eyes. His pale cheeks seemed to be faintly rosy as he stared back at Vertie in silence, whilst a slight smirk spread itself along his face and was then shooed away by his own will. He had not expected someone to recognize him for his work like that - and, strangely enough, for once, he felt capable of claiming that he was very grateful for having been proven wrong.

He was taken aback, to say the least.

 

Snapping out of the strange trance that had come over him because of the words of the young understudy, Miles watched curiously how Vertie worried over their previous words and then further sunk into embarassment, with their gaze pinned to the ground and their cheeks burning bright red. There was not much that could make the man's expressions change, but for now, the Asther could definitely feel - and allow - the smirk on his face to stay there.

「Calm down, it's okay - the Choosing was definitely mind-boggling enough, anyway, 」 he spoke in an attempt to soothe her nerves, albeit with a slightly uneasy tone of his own, as he clutched onto the cane in his hands for support. Speaking of support, he watched as Bartholomew stepped forward and also helped her with his own words and a quick pat on her head. Words about inner talent, ambitions, aspirations and dreams; it all made his head spin, frankly, but he knew they were effective - especially when they were spoken by the Starlight himself.

As the aforementioned Starlight spoke to the group that they were heading out, he turned to Miles, who simply returned the gaze, albeit this time not from behind his coat's collar. The man's request made his expression sour a little - not because it was hard, nor because it was something he wouldn't do, but because what he currently had to do that would stop him from helping out.

"Mm... sorry, I can't. I need to head over to the Steamworks - Uncle told me the Council wants me to sign some contracts pertaining to me arming Sol security forces, and it's on priority with the Devil incidents lately, so I have to head over there now," Miles replied with a low tone to Bartholomew, knowing full well it was probably not what he wanted to hear but hoping his cousin could understand - he was not in the city often, nor would he come here only to sign some documents, so the fact these two occurences matched up just as he decided to visit was a very lucky outcome he had to make use of now.

"I'll.. see you some other time, then," Maximillian said as he gave the Starlight a pat on the shoulder with his left hand, then switched the cane into it and began walking out of the West Minister church. Coming out after a minute, he then took a second to look around before beginning to walk yet again in the direction of the shop, leaving Bartholomew to handle the group alone.

'I might as well hurry my way over there - cut some time off so I can get back earlier,' The Asther speculated as his right hand lit up yet again in the neon blue color of the Harmonizer's crystal array. Arcane spilled in his mind as he summoned forth a spell, which he then let go from the tips of his fingers. A beam, much like the one that had come from his hand when he shut the church doors, emerged and flew through the air, then landed upon the surface of a clock tower due northeast of the West Minister's entrance and formed a rune. Grasping onto the magic tightly, Miles gathered his breath before leaping into the air and swinging along the Grapple line, then let go and flew forward through the air...

 

----------

 

A few minutes later - an amount of time Miles was sure would be at least quadrupled, if he had chosen to walk - the man found himself yet again on familiar streets and was standing just in front of the Starlight Steamworks entrance.

It had been a pretty long while since Maximillian was last here. He was aware that Bartholomew had some additional apprentices and perhaps a worker or two, but the last time he really had come to visit was probably over two years ago to deliver the Harmonizers that were needed for the displays within.

Stepping up to the door of the establishment, Miles stopped his breath for a second to listen for anything happening on the other side. Not noticing anything at first, he was slightly deterred; however, upon further inspection, he found that the door had been left slightly ajar - something he was sure would not be possible if there was nobody within, as Bartholomew and his father were very, very specific on locking the doors to secure the laboratories when they left.

"Uncle..?" Maximillian muttered a few seconds after knocking on the door's surface, then slowly made his way through the door, slipping past it and the doorway with relative ease. Folding up his cane and running a quick hand through his hair to smoothen it out, the Asther stepped through the corridor and then walked into the area that Theodore usually worked in.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edited by KuroKishi

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There was once an impatient, young teenager in Sol with dreams of crafting life from metal. During his later, teenage years, he had grown angry and irritated with how difficult this dream had become. For months and weeks of his life, he had toiled within his workshop to create life from machines.

Furious and frustrated, he placed a glove upon his hand and amplified his own magical skill to use a spell not seen in Sol since the days of Golems - Life Enchantment.

But he was trying to force a mind, a soul, within a metal shell... and the spell backfired.

He fell backward, weeping and despairing, before a hand was placed upon his head. A beautiful, long-haired spirit stood before him, and he realized what he had done.

In a way, he had brought life to existence... or rather, given flesh to something which had already been there.

 

----

 

As Miles walked to the door, Theodore pushed past him, leaving the door to the inner workshop ajar. He frowned as he noticed Miles, then relaxed.

"Oh, Bear isn't with you? Then they must have already given him the message." Theodore stated, placing a hand on his nephew's shoulder with pride. "Ah, but I just noticed the time after I finished working on a prior customer's watch. Make sure Bear knows that it's locked with the second drawer, with the rest of the completed works - at the front! Silver mark, symbol of a phoenix.... he'll understand the rest, I'm sure. You two were always smart boys."

He headed to the door, pointing back.

"The contracts are spread out on the table. You need to file them and give the ones about Weaponization and Guard duty to the Ministry of Security and then the ones about possible manufacturing rights to the Ministry of Production and Formation. Make SURE you don't get them mixed up. It'd be another agonizing paperwork headache for both of us, believe me." he sighed, opening the door. "Though, that doesn't mean I wouldn't be willing to help you in any way I can, nephew... especially not after your father passed. Sun rest his soul. My wife losing her brother was.... Ah, let's not bring back old wounds and scars... What's done is done."

With that, he waved at Miles before shutting the workshop door behind him. In the silence, the only noise was that of the apprentices in the back working on some form of machine and the constant whir of steam and pistons as they manufactured several key products.

However, soon, there was a crack as a door opened with a soft creak. A patter of footsteps accompanied a hug as a woman dressed in a green and white robe wrapped her arms around Miles excitedly.

"{Strange people came...}" she stated, nervous, in the language of Spirits - an Eldritch and strange tongue which invoked emotions rather than simple ideas. The emotions these words were conveying were fear and anxiety.

It was obvious she had been frightened.

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Though he agreed to come along, Ophelia could not help but feel a stab of disappointment at Lime’s apathetic tone. Where was that wide-eyed full of amaranthine wonder? Where was the wag of that bushy tail and the thrilled squeal of joy that came whenever Ophelia asked the simple question: “Would you like to have an adventure?” She supposed Lime’s detached demeanor was her fault. She had nearly shrank back when he growled at her earlier and she had felt blessed when Vertie interrupted the conversation before Lime could open his mouth and bark whatever nasty accusations he had boiling in that mind of his. He had every right to be cross with his mother, Ophelia knew, and yet, she did not wish to face the consequences of her actions. Ophelia desired nothing more than to enjoy the simple wonders of life and bathe herself in a never ending shower of joy. Such a poor grasp of reality was one of the reasons Ophelia did not want to be leader and it was often used it was her primary argument against her father whenever the quarreled about her future position as leader.

 

Alas, such concerns were irrelevant at the moment. Lime did not know of Ophelia’s relationship with her father, nor did she desire to think about her father. Whenever Ophelia’s mind drifted to her old man, a wave of intense tangled feelings overwhelmed her, causing a cloud of uncertainty pour over her mind and a confused cluster of feelings to gnaw at her very core. So, instead of recalling memories best forgotten or allowing her excited to wither at her son’s indifference, Ophelia smiled, hoping her grin was big enough to fool both her and everyone around her that she was at peace. She wiped her face with the back of her hand to clean off the wet stains underneath her eyes and let her grin grow as big as it could. The last thing she wanted her son to notice was that several tears had streamed down her face when she was staring at the ground, doing her best to hide them from view. Hopefully, if Lime didn’t see them before, which it didn’t appear that he had, he nor anyone else saw them now.

 

Lime, much to Ophelia’s delight, agreed to accompany her but not before asking who Vertie was, momentarily gazing at the small group of humans with a questioning expression upon his face before looking back at his mother. “Oh, them?” Ophelia asked as she casually glanced over at the humans. “That’s Vertie, they’re the pretty human I met in the bazaar earlier today. The big man next to her is Bartholomew and I have no idea who the man next to him is.” Ophelia’s eyes suddenly lit up as she recalled the market she had met Vertie in. “Oh, oh, Lime! Did you see the market?” the lycan asked excitedly as she grabbed Lime’s wrists, holding them loosely in her grasp. “There was so much stuff! There were hundreds of stalls full of food only! You know how the pack can only find those really tasty cherries up in the mountains and we can only get lemons if we snatch them from some farms on the other side of the continent? I saw a booth that sold both cherries and lemons together along with apples, apricots, grapes, blueberries, oranges, raspberries, and other fruits I haven’t even seen before! How could they get so many different types of fruits in a single place? Oh! There was a different stall with all different types of clothing and the had pink silk! I didn’t even know silk could be pink, did you? How on earth did they-” Ophelia’s rambling suddenly halted as she realized that Vertie, Bartholomew, and the man with the cane were all waiting at the entrance of the church. She stared at the humans, blinking dumbfounded before a sudden revelation hit her. “Oh dear me, we have to go,” Ophelia said as she turned back to Lime. She looked down and, noticing that she was still holding onto her son, released him from her grasp. “Come on,” Ophelia called as she bounced off towards the humans with her head turned backwards. “I’ll tell you everything on the way!”

 

While Ophelia and Lime followed Bartholomew off to wherever he was leading them, Ophelia continued her ramble and brought her son up to date on what happened once she arrived in Apollo. Her excitement was quite evident in the dramatic manner of which she recounted her tale. She made wild movements with her arms to demonstrate the visuals and changed her voice whenever she was speaking for one of the humans. With her enthusiasm completely overwhelming her thoughts, Ophelia nearly forgot to neglect mentioning how she reacted to seeing Sergeant Spice grabbing Lime by the collar. Not only did she think his pride was wounded by the event and therefore he didn’t want to hear about it again, but she figured telling her son that she was prepared to kill, or at least harm to some degree, a man for him probably wasn’t the most appropriate thing for her to tell him.

“Well uh, after the whole fiasco with the screaming human, I gave Sir Bartholomew my paper, ran up to you, and now here we are!” Ophelia said, wrapping up her story as she clasped her hands together and she smiled at Lime. “Oh goodness me, I haven’t given you a chance to speak. Please, do tell me how your day has been. I doubt your journey into Apollo was anything but dull.”

 

The group came to a halt as Bartholomew suddenly grabbed a man by the shoulders and began to converse with him. Ophelia noted that the surrounding area was rather crowded. There were countless humans scurrying around, talking amongst themselves as they transversed through the sea of people. Bartholomew let out a groan as the man said something to him, turning away from the stranger before being greeted by yet another human. Ophelia, much to her excitement, vaguely recognized the human who began speaking to Bartholomew. He was at the church taking the test, wasn’t he? Ophelia didn’t really know anything about the man or what he wrote on the paper, but she was happy to see a familiar face nevertheless. Briefly, Bartholomew pointed over towards Ophelia and Lime, prompting the lycan to cock her head to the side inquisitively. Why did Bartholomew speak in such a concerned tone? Had something gone amiss? Was it something amiss? Had it been something the lycans had done? Bartholomew, however, did not confront the pair about whatever misdeed they could have done but rather turned to face Vertie and asked them if they wanted to see some sort of… coliseum? Ophelia wasn’t sure if she was simply mishearing Bear because she could only grasp the fundamentals of the language he spoke or if she simply didn’t have a large enough vocabulary. Either way, Ophelia had no idea what a coliseum was or why it made Bartholomew sound so tired. Shrugging, Ophelia paid the humans no heed and listened attentively to what her son's recount of his journey to Apollo.

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Miles

 

Miles was slightly surprised as Theodore Starlight emerged from the door just as he walked up to it and made him stop before the entryway. The two gazed at eachother for a moment in silence, a frown appearing on the senior inventor's face, before it faded away - Maximillian, on the other hand, stared back with a calm and composed look from behind the cover of his attire's collars.

"Yeah - he's headed with a new apprentice and some other guests toward the Colliseum," the man muttered as he watched his uncle silently. A slight twitch pulsed through his body as the man raised a hand to his shoulder - something that was prone to happen, because the Asther did not appreciate foreign contact from others - but it quickly faded away and was replaced with calamity.

Theodore Starlight. The man in front of him, who was staring back with a look of indistinguishable pride in his eyes, was one of the pioneers of his time and still remained relevant in the scene of innovation because of his sheer genius. The man had worked on theories and studies regarding flight, avionics and levitation - he was one of the reasons for the creation of the huge zeppelins and had prototyped some of the first mass-scale concepts for the sky bridges that were now as commonplace as the clouds above Apollo's streets.

And yet, here the man was, talking to Miles about what needed to be done and said as if he was his own father. A smirk spread over the man's face, hidden behind his coat, as he continued staring at his uncle once he let go of his shoulder, but turned back to finish his words in his urgency.

Truly, the quick switch in themes did irk Maximillian, as it once again pertained to his deceased father - something that had again surfaced in his mind when Theodore spoke with him and held onto his shoulder, but only now made his heartbeat quicken and his expression to turn gloomy again.

"Thank you, Uncle - I'm sure my father is glad you're still willing to help me. May the Sun forever shine upon his legacy," the young Asther replied with a look down at the ground, then let out a sigh and turned to give his uncle a bow in response to him waving. The man's steps echoed briefly in the workshop as he stepped out of the Steamworks, and once they faded, the only thing left was the ever-present sound of the machinery inside the building, complete by the puffs of steam and sounds of hydraulic pistons moving back and forth.

Turning back forward to head into the section Theodore called his own, Maximillian extended a hand toward the handle and grasped it, only to come to a standstill when he heard footsteps approaching from behind. The figure behind him stepped quickly until it reached him, at which point it wrapped itself around him from the back - this caused the man to slightly jump in surprise and raise his arms up over the ones around his torso. The colors of green and white visible along the robe on the arms told him just exactly who it was - aside from her voice, of course, which he had already somehow gotten used to.

 

{Ah. Rose. It's... nice to meet you again,} Miles said with his best rendition of the alien language as he stood tensely, his mind swirling again with the thought of foreign contact for a few seconds until he calmed down again with a quick breath. He slowly turned around, still in Rose's grasp, and peered down at the Spirit in front of him from past his coat's collar.

{You look better from last time,} he spoke with a calm tone as his left hand rose from his side and moved over her head, then gently adjusted her hair, as he recalled the last time he'd seen her. She seemed strangely sick, back then, which Miles effectively attributed to a forest fire that occured on the same day - something that he had come to think after a lot of pondering about just how deep her connection with nature ran. It was wondrous for him to see an important part of Nature itself, personified in a creature like himself. Finishing his move with a quick pat on her head, he pulled back and out of her grasp, then turned around and walked into the workshop.

{Look, I'd really love to chat again, considering I have no idea what Bartholomew's been doing to take care of you,} Maximillian began as he approached the desk, then set down his hands on its edge and stared at everything on it, {but I'm in a hurry and really just have to get moving.}

In front of him was an assortment of contracts he really, really did not wish to work with. A part of him simply wished to see the documents burn in spirit fire, but every other instinct - along with the feeling of responsiblity - told him that such a decision and action would lead to his career's demise. A sigh came from his lips as he retrieved a pen from one of the holders on the desk, then began filling out the various forms on the desk as quickly and in as much detail as possible.

Miles' gaze moved to the locked drawer as he remembered the little amounts of detail that the man had given to him about the watch he had worked on. The feature that mostly caught his attention - the one that made his hand tingle with magic as he considered opening the lock using magic - was that this could very well be the heirloom of an Archmage he had studied a lot about - one named Frederick Vance, who was easy to recognize because of his family's phoenix insignia.

{Ugh...} He muttered seconds later as the magic faded away and returned to working quickly on the documents on the desk in front of him. The stack that at first seemed extremely big faded quickly in front of him as his hands moved in a flurry that seemed to rival the speed only a spell could grant him. A few seconds later, he finished, returning the pen to its place and gathering the documents up. He quickly sorted them into the two stacks needed for the Ministry of Security and the Ministry of Production and Formation respectively, then placed both stacks under his left arm and turned around to walk out of the workshop.

{Again, sorry for the quick visit - I really have to get going to reach the event Bartholomew went to in time,} he replied with another sigh as he stared silently at the young female-like figure in front of him. Shaking his head slightly, he once again raised his hand to move it over her hair and completed the smoothing process he had left half-done.

{I'll be in the city today for a while, I think. Maybe I'll come with Bear so we can have a cup of tea.} Maximillian spoke naturally, as if he expected this Spirit in front of him to know what tea meant, then pulled back his arm after patting her on the shoulder. Stepping around her, he made his way to the entrance, took a second to look back at her and wave and then stepped out of the door into the streets.

"Mm... maybe I should look around for this Vance, then," he told himself as he stood in front of the door, then let the cane in his right hand extend down to the floor. Holding tightly onto the documents in his left arm's embrace, the man began making his way to the Ministries - hopefully, thanks to its proximity, he'd be done there and going to see the event Bartholomew and his group had to attend before it actually began, as it was something he wished to see.

 

After all, he knew the bots that were supposed to show up in the fights on the arena were based on the Starlight's own concepts. Of course, this was not the main reason.

It was because of a chat he and his cousin had had a few weeks back, when he was again in the city because of work and had visited the laboratories to check on the Starlights.

As Miles had stepped into the building that day, he had come into eye contact with Bartholomew, who quickly gestured for him to follow. The Asther had complied, and the two had made their way together down the hallways. They had approached the room that Bartholomew worked in and were about to enter when he had told Maximillian the exact thing that now interested him in the event.

"Miles, check this out - I think one of my prototypes is showing signs of sentience..."

Edited by KuroKishi

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It was always dark, almost black if not for the trickling of mechanical light that tried to penetrate every seem of darkness. The moon shone brightest, ceaselessly offering its illumination on the world, but it wasn't enough by itself to brighten Luna. For centuries, this was the reality and, Ramona was certain, that no one would be able to recognize the sun if it ever came. No. Being plunged in darkness for as long as any of them have, born into it even, no single pair of eyes would be able to remain open long enough. Of this, Ramona was sure.

 

Around her, pristine construction rose. Homes varied in size but nothing was too small for a decent family of three or four. Light filled the pathways of the sky bridges and warmth permeated throughout the higher sections. The War President’s own abode rose above it all, watching from large windows and overseeing the events of every day. Starlight littered the dark sky over everyone’s heads, the moon a large blotch of bright coldness.

 

People filled the pathways in specific areas, most tending to some business or other. Some children ran about but never strayed far from their parents or caretakers. Everyone was well-fed and clean, healthy. Many showed signs of genetic modification and others showed none at all. Peaceful, you could physically be anything within the power of science. Progress was required, of course. It was how you succeeded and, in turn, how Luna survived.

 

Progress. A word that could be rather subjective. Everything was built on and surrounded the Arrow of Artemis, the original source of their survival. Technology supported everyone now but the history remained. The future held possibility.

 

Click, click, click...

 

Red locks of hair danced on the slight breeze as green eyes stared ahead, focused on an unseen destination. Obsidian scales, what few crawled out from beneath dark fabric, glinted and reflected the minimal light that caught them. Claws clicked against metal flooring, a rhythmic and distinct sound that was familiarly sharp to her sensitive ears. Jutting out and swaying behind her, a reptilian tail conveyed her relaxed demeanor. At nearly six feet tall, Ramona was a well-respected (and sometimes feared), high class individual. As it should be.

 

On her shoulders sat a dark-colored trench coat that hugged her form, caressing the curves of her waist and hips. Beneath, a plain, gray sweater concealed a torso layered with scars and scales instead of skin. Ramona had no preference for shirts and only wore coats when she needed to leave the warmth of the higher districts. Otherwise, she was content to be topless. Her scales hid most of the scarring. From the waist down, her legs required specially designed pants, fitted for the digitigrade limbs and her tail.

 

Click, click, click...

 

"Mommy? Will I get to see the sun some day?"

 

The thrum of mechanical energy undermined the silence of the pathway. Warm air kissed her body and seeped into her clothes, gradually giving way to a chill that rose from below. Faintly, her lips - full and painted violet, twitched faintly, the scales sprinkling her cheek stretching. Cold made her uncomfortable, chilled her faster than it would a normal human being. Her body didn't trap heat like it used to; hadn't for decades.

 

But she had business today. Familial, but business all the same. And it was safer for her to travel down than for them to travel up. Even if it was just a visit, her actions had purpose. It was merely an inconvenience that her purpose was not understood immediately. The corporate meeting set her back a significant amount of time. Valerian was expecting her by now. She never disappointed and she wasn't about to start today.

 

"Mommy? Do you think the sun will be pretty? I think it will be!”

 

Click, click, click...

 

Metal turned into concrete and dirt, her claws no longer causing a sharp, distinct sound. Instead, the noise was replaced with a soft, dull thump. She blinked and, in the next moment, she saw the environment change. No longer was she in the warm and clean sections that were inhabited by higher class individuals. Now, she strode through the cold, dirty, and grief-stricken streets of the lower area. Lights were faultier here, flickering their meager illumination at best.

 

Buildings were in poor shape, most crumbling and stitched back together with scrap material like a pair of pants made out of patchwork. Some titled, most stood with broken pieces or scratched surfaces. Not many inhabitants of the lower divisions remained outside, choosing to hide away in their home if they had no pressing reason to leave it. Many didn’t have a form of shelter, residing in the trash-filled alleyways. Everyone huddled for warmth, whether with family, a friend, or simply in their own clothes.

 

The heat was sucked out of Ramona’s scaly body as soon as she entered the dreary world, hissing softly with discomfort as she held her coat tighter to her. Her green eyes, pupils dilated to take in as much light as possible, could see through the darkness much better than a human without modification. Though, she knew someone who could see even better still. However, no one could hear better than she.

 

From streets away, she could hear the ragged breath of a sleeping drunk if she chose to listen. If she desired it, she could locate the rodents burrowing away in the ground several yards down. But, she had no need to listen for such things. Her modified abilities were better suited for other tasks, of higher importance.

 

”Everything will be okay, Mommy…”

 

Ramona blinked. In a heartbeat, the atmosphere seemed to change, feeling just a fraction friendlier but it still held the weight of misery. And then she saw it, that familiar sign but now missing a couple letters. Leah’s Café. The woman hoped she was in time.

 

Pausing momentarily, she stared into the broken and filthy window of a shop closed years ago. From the grimy reflection, she checked her hair and lipstick, content to find her appearance still in order. Straightening out her coat, she continued walking and stopped at the doorway. With a groan, the entrance slid open, allowing Ramona access to the familiar gathering place. “Good evening, Fallea,” she called in a level tone, greeting the kind bartender.

 

With a quick glance about the room, she located Valerian and a young girl. The former was sitting at the bar, apparently conversing with the later. “I do apologize, darling. I hope I didn’t make you wait long.” Moving into the room, Ramona took a moment to examine the young girl as she sat beside the young man.

Edited by Narvix

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Rose cocked her head slightly as Miles spoke, pleased. She watched him work on the papers with slight interest. Even though Bear had tried to explain the point of the paper and contracts that he worked on from to time, she had never really understood it.

Why did people need proof of things when they should just trust each other? She never understood that. In her world, the world of spirits, if things were spoken, that is how they were. There was no need for diplomacy and war. This was because spirits spoke emotions and feelings. All they had to do was say what they felt.

But humans, apparently, had a hard time conveying that. They could speak the WORDS of spirits, but they could not convey the emotions as she could. It always troubled Rose. So, she just sat and watched, standing there. To anyone else it would have been awkward but to her it was interesting. She looked over Miles' shoulder ever so often, trying to read the Noble written on the page. But, unfortunately, she didn't understand much of it save quips and bits. Not that it truly mattered. What she COULD read sounded really unnecessary.

As Miles spoke, though he didn't realize it, the Spirit tongue was also conveying his troubled emotions as well as his actual meaning. For example, at the mention of "nice to see you again," Rose saw their first meeting and a friendly wave, as well as Miles' slight surprise at seeing a living Embodiment of Nature. And then, when he said "We can have tea," she saw a sunset by a window, reading a small book as some form of sweet drink formed from leaves was consumed.

"{Tea....}" Rose spoke, the word immediately sending Miles vibes of comfort, pleasure, and calm, but no memory behind it. She had never drank or experienced tea but the thought of it seemed to be good to Miles, so it was good to her. That's how it was with Spirits.

She patted his back as he seemed about to leave and bowed to him.

"{Please... come back.}" she whispered, the emotions being conveyed of sorrow and loss of a friend's presence. "{You and Bear tell great stories...}"

The final emotion conveyed was interest and desire to learn. She turned softly, her dress moving around her legs as she headed back to the back of the Steamworks. The air itself seemed to follow her. Then, there was silence again save the sound of pistons and steam.

 

-----

 

Slight movements. SLIGHT movements. Oh my darling, you're not doing it right. You simply MUST be more emotional in your poses.

If you don't show me FEELING, then how do I know how much you suffer?

 

From behind his mask, the tall, lanky figure spoke as he stepped precisely onto the dance room floor in a grand, lit ballroom in Apollo, dancing softly. In the background, a rendition of a waltz piece was being played from a Gramaphone, set to a timer.

"You can't be so RUGGED, dear...." the man sighed, tapping the girl's back with his finger, trying to align her spine. "If you wish to dance, you must DANCE, put EMOTION into it..."

A girl, barely in her older teens, shook furiously with fear as she held the hands of a cold, emotionless mannequin. A beautiful, red and pink dress covered her form as she moved, but this wasn't a willing dance.

Attached to the body of the mannequin were small, magically-infused explosives, each one tied to a leg and around the waist. Her hands were bound to the dummy, unable to break free.

"You really, really aren't trying at all.. are you..." the man said, disappointed. "You're about to be part of the GREATEST design, the most SUPERB experiment.... and you're treating it so poorly... How mundane can you be?"

The girl took another step. A small alert went off.

"No no no.... you can't just follow the dance movements.. You must feeeeel them." the man whispered, grabbing her leg and moving it to the right spot firmly. "You have to move with it. Really, you could survive this situation... you really could, and you're just being so reluctant."

He tsked, dancing behind her, spinning in a circle with a flourish.

"But I must bid you adieu now.... In case you fail, I'd rather not be caught in the explosion..." he grinned, adjusting his mask. "After all, an inventor should always take precautions... That's what my own Master taught me."

He stepped towards the door, each step a skip, a dance in itself. He placed his hand on the doorknob, opening it.

"Oh... and don't be silly and try to tear your hands from the dummy. I'm sure you know I set precautions for that as well, dear girl." the man stated, walking out of the door with a smile under his mask. "I hope you succeed!"

As he stepped out of the building into the lower level of the tower, he breathed deeply, exhilarated.

"Nothing compares to a successful experiment..." he said certainly, putting his top hat back on. "Nothing at all...."

 

-----

 

As the familiar woman entered, Fallea sighed.

"Being closed doesn't mean anything to anyone anymore, does it?" she whispered to herself, rolling her eyes. But it really didn't matter to her anyway. She'd let her friends in all the time regardless of if it was closed or not.

The more life in the building, the better these days.

Edited by Thaelasan

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(( Let's get things rolling again, guys~ ))

 

Valerian

 

The third glass of alcohol was already in his hand as the man listened intently to the young woman behind him, his gaze cast into the wall of bottles in front of him and watching her carefully through the reflections that were inscribed upon them. His lips twisted into a slight smirk as she tried to reason with the thought of ice cream - something she perhaps had never seen, which hadn't really appeared in his mind as a possibility - and then let a smile appear on her face, which she accompanied with the reasoning such sweets could not be good for their health. Truth be told, she was not far off, so he gave her a silent nod in response.

 

His hand rose from the shiny metal surface of the bar and moved to his mouth, his wrist shifting so he could yet again down all the contents of the glass in one go, then slowly returned in reverse to place down the glass. The spirits burned his insides and spread through his chest like a storm of flames - almost literally igniting him from within - and swiftly rose up like the smoke of wildfire to his head. The sound of static briefly filled his ears as the drink's kick echoed through his brain, his nerves pulsing with chaotic frequency, before it ultimately began to fade began to fade away with the young woman's voice. Her unsure tone resonated in his ears and he slightly grimaced in response, even though this was natural for anyone that lived here.

 

"Don't think I'm one of the people that want you to repay later - I'd rather beg on the streets or become a man hunter than use young ones like you to get my money back, whether it's through 'normal' or completely brutish means," Valerian spoke with a heavy tone to her as he gazed into the reflection on the bottles in front of him, then lifted himself up from his semi-slumped position on the counter. It was clear the themes struck close to his heart, and yet, the knowledge that some people found things like selling young children's bodies for use on the streets or completely butchering both the dying and dead for organs to sell a completely normal part of their everyday lives sickened him to the core.

"So, once again, don't think you're an inconvenience. Hell, if we do manage to go to these Docks and learn something about your brother, no matter what the outcome is, I'll help you out to stay safe. Think of me as a second brother, perhaps?" The Remington offered with a slight smirk, raised his hand up with a fourth glass and downed it, then let out a relieved sigh with the burn of the alcohol.

"Of course, if you don't mind the alcohol, that is," he joked as he placed the glass down, then turned around in the stool, spinning with it to face her and the entryway.

 

As his gaze turned to her to nod with reaffirmation, he noticed something outside - a sight that made a smile spread on his face, revealing pearl white teeth and the hints of almost child-like happiness in the man that quickly faded into a simply pleased expression on his face.

"Hah - and that might just be mommy coming down the street," Valerian spoke under his breath as he stood on the chair, his arms leaned on the counter behind him, and stared at the familiar figure of a woman he knew by heart as she checked her appearance. Turning and straightening her coat, she walked to the doorway and stepped onto the doormat, opening the door and allowing her to step in through the newly-created entryway.

Raven stared at the dragon lady with a heavy smirk on his face and slight hints of rosiness in his cheeks. It was not the alcohol, nor it was any mixed feelings for her - this was the remains and effects of the time she had cared for him years back, before he decided to ease her efforts by joining the gang of Mark Molls so she could turn to children that were more in need than him.

 

"Don't be rude to mother now, darling," Valerian spoke to Fallea as the woman that seemed to be almost draconic in nature sat next to him, copying her own way to refer to others as if he had literally inherited it from her. The man took a second to gather his breath as he turned around to face Ramona with a smirk.

"It's fine, Mom- Ramona. Sorry, I don't want to call you Mommy like I used to before," the Remington said with a slight chuckle as he gave the woman next to him a pat on the shoulder and looked at her for a few seconds, then let out a sigh and lowered his gaze down whilst he recalled the past he had long forgotten

It had been a while since he had last seen her... and it had been a challenge on its own to reach her in the first place, but he somehow managed to do it in the end, once he found where she lived and how he could reach her. This was their second arranged meeting ever since he snuck into the Arrow of Artemis to see her again after the years they had been apart - the first being a couple of months ago - and so far, he was enjoying every second of it.

"Oh, before I forget," Valerian spoke as he rose from his seat, then pulled his coat's left side out and looked in its inside. Unlatching a couple of hooks with audible pops, he grasped something from within and pulled it out for everyone to see. What he was holding was a curious package that Ramona definitely recognized. A tube of cybernetic parts surrounded an intricate array of colorful flowers and ribbons of a color much like her scales - obsidian.

Pressing the small switch on the side, the tube's top opened with a slight fizz, letting out the perfectly-balanced air within, whilst the pipe's blinking colors and machinery went quiet, no longer having to maintain a perfect balance inside the space it encapsulated.

 

"Fresh as I could get them," the Remington smiled as he handed the mostly simplistic bouquet of flowers to Ramona. The ones he had chosen - a very beautiful set of carnations colored red at the edges and fading from it through pink to white at the base of the petals - were one of the hardest to grow properly, as they were strangely more dependent from other flowers to grow lights and didn't grow at all under the natural light of the moon. Rumors about their importance were many, but the ones most agreed upon was that they were related very much to the love of mothers, so he had gone for them in one of his visits of the Arrow.

"Anyways - it's honestly a pleasure to see you, and we'll talk a bit more over some drinks, if you have time, but for now... I'd like to direct your attention to this lady," Valerian spoke as he slowly turned to half-face both her and the young woman inside the café, Lynn. His memories before joining the gang and the lady in front of him clicked together, and in a way, he saw her... as the next child Ramona could look out for.

 

"I don't have her name," Raven began as he sat back down, still facing both equally, "but I do know that she's seeking someone - her brother, if we're to be specific - in Robert's Docks due east of here. Both of us know what's needed in order to gain entry to the docks, and I'll save us the details of how great the slums around the docks themselves are, considering it's the haven of smuggling and illegal trade." His words were followed by a glass of alcohol he had snuck out from behind himself and taken down in an instant yet again, the spike of this one simply punching him in the head but still only now beginning to cause him to feel a slight buzz in combination with the other four in his body. The man put the glass back down, not bothering to turn, and then slowly leaned right closer to speak only to Ramona, his breath tainted by the spirits but kept stable because of the mint within his drinks.

 

"I'm going to clearly assume the worst here - we're in Winters, after all - and say she's a lone child. According to an estimate, she's somewhere before adulthood, so around 16. And well, she's soft as all hell... so, as much as I know how busy you are lately, I think I'll have to ask for a favor, mom." Valerian spoke a few words directly into the woman's ear, his eyes staring at Lynn from their edges, before he pulled back with another sigh.

 

"So yeah... that's the case. Ramona here - a woman that I owe a lot to - helps many children such as yourself in your age until you grow independent. I do understand she may not seem the type - I mean, you don't see a woman with scales like a dragon everyday - but perhaps you two can figure something out...?" Raven asked both as he leaned back again, awaiting the two's interactions with a slightly interested expression on his face. He then pushed himself forward and placed both of his hands together before laying them on his lap.

"Of course, I'm still going to help out," Valerian added, hoping to ease the introduction and the interaction between the two, as he glanced at both for a few moments in silence.

Edited by KuroKishi

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「lynn ;; 」

 

Lynn watched with careful eyes as the man took yet another glass of alcohol within his grasp; yet, despite the increasing amount of toxins he easily drowned down, his eyes were alert as ever and he was still able to uphold a stable conversation. Lynn marveled at this, allowing herself to speculate on what kind of person the one before her seemed to be--a drunkard, yet not? Dangerously armed, yet gentle with his fingertips? The heavens above spun such poetry, for contradictions were favourites of the gods themselves, and yet he sat in such mortal holdings with drink by hand.

 

Emerald followed the quick flash of an arm, as the man rose the glass to his lips and drowned the entirety of the liquid within in one large gasp, just as delicate words left her lips. Lynn waited, unsure, as her heart fluttered within her chest as if a butterfly desperately trying to free itself.

 

The man spoke with kind words, and Lynn could manage only a small nod in response. "Thank you," she repeated, daring to risk a glance at the other. He seemed lost within the glasses as heavy words slipped from his tongue, eyes scanning the crystalized glass as if within reflections held such silvertongues of truth. They both knew of what he spoke of, and yet neither was quite willing to voice such horrifics; truly, they lived in a world that was not kind to those that suffered without the holdings of a peaceful family, nor the easy expressions that came with wealth and prosperity.

She flushed as the other spoke on of accompanying her to find her brother. She wished not to think about what she felt was the truth, that he was truly dead and gone, but it seemed she would not be alone.

That was a good feeling, was it not? The knowledge that there would be those that would lead her towards the sunlight. And, as the blind man loved the rays that eluded one constantly within shadows, she loved the warmth that came from knowing others were nearby as dearly as a mother loved her newborn babe.

 

"You would help?" she asked, holding her breath--if she breathed, was she afraid that the strands of wind would blow away such a glorious opportunity? "Ohh, thank you--Not at all," she added on, daring her voice to grow a little bolder--he seemed friendly, and Lynn had gone too long without the pleasure of pleasant company. She peered at the glass he had just put down, wondering. "Though I do wonder at the sheer amount. . ." She smiled to herself, and in her distraction the girl failed to notice a certain newcomer.

 

Lynn jumped upon realising that a lady had entered the cafe without her knowing, one that seemed to recognise everyone nearby save for her. Lynn watched as the lady called a greeting to the bartender, Fallea, in a kind manner, a cascade of red hair sliding down her shoulder as she slid into the seat next to the man, her green eyes holding a semblance of power that Lynn was unused to witnessing. She spoke gently to him, with all the careful daring of a familiar figure, and the man reacted accordingly.

However, Lynn's thoughts were broken when the strange woman--whose skin was mattered in the strangest way imaginable, with what seemed to be . . . scales? As she came under the scrutiny of such an intense stare, Lynn dropped her gaze as to not be intimidating, and waited. Her heart pounded in her throat, and the girl wondered . . . who could this newcomer possible be? With impossible scales that replaced where skin should have grown, illuminated green eyes that reflected the warm light of the cafe and seemed to turn such beams into internal fire, flickering within her irises as a dangerous instinct purred behind sharp green eyes.

 

However, Lynn's gaze was drawn to something that the man pulled from seemingly nowhere--oh? Almost as if magic--as if such things existed in this world--the man pulled a switch, and a beautifully arranged set of flowers sprung from within. He handed them to the lady, who seemed quite pleased to receive such a gift.

Lynn was amazed to witness such technology--if one had not been paying such attention, they would've thought it magic! The girl was delighted--as a child, she had such faith in the existence of magic. Though she now knew that such things did not exist in their plane of reality, a childish part of her wished eagerly to believe.

 

She jumped as the man's attentions suddenly turned towards her--what? She stayed silent, eyes wide and unsure--what could they be discussing? His words were mysteries to her--truth be told, much of her education had been neglected during her childhood, books and toys replaced by brooms and cloths, and she knew not much of the outside world. It felt to the girl that they were discussing something that went beyond her realm of knowledge, yet certainly played an important role in the outcome of the journey she was certain to undertake.

 

He spoke with confidence, introducing to her a woman presented herself with brilliant eyes and a certain expression her features. Lynn faced this woman, this Ramona, and bit her lip, staring up.

"I-It's nice to meet you," she introduced, intimidated by the look of flowing scales that covered the woman's body. Like--like a dragon? Lynn could only wonder who this lady really was. "My name is Lynn," she said, and then glanced sideways at the man who seemed to be doing his best to make sure this meeting went accordingly.

"Oh!" she said, raising a hand up to her mouth. "I"m so sorry," she immediately replied, "I don't know your name, and yet you've offered to help me in so many ways!"

 

「lime ;; 」

 

Lime's eyes followed Ophelia's quick words, introducing each of her newly-made friends with equal gusto. Ophelia's excitement made a certain something stir within the lycan's heart, yet the male sighed and internally plagued himself to contain his emotions. If she was happy . . . who was he to stand between that? Still, Lime vowed to get answers from Ophelia, who seemed wholly elusive to the truth behind why she had abandoned their tribe. He knew something was wrong, that tensions had been high between her and her father, yet Lime remembers his younger self being too wounded and angry over the loss of his parents, the loss of a peaceful life he had dreams to reunite with once more, to pay too close attention to the inner workings of the tribe.

 

He watched as the one called "Vertie", who was all multicoloured hair and eagerness to please. They were wearing a beautiful dress that Lime wasn't too sure what to make of--why? Didn't that make walking all the harder? The lycan couldn't understand why humans made a habit of having their clothes restrict them. They seemed quite eager to talk to the two men before them--the one who had saved them earlier, and another with quite a complicated name he couldn't quite pronounce. Barth--Barthoew? Barmeow?

He tsk-ed and rolled his eyes. Humans. Who named their child Barmeow? He was thankful his lycan parents had chosen such an honourable name befitting a young wolf--Lime, a word they had heard while travelling and knew not what it meant.

 

He was quickly pulled away from his musings by Ophelia grabbing his wrists, her eyes lit up with excitement. He listened to her ramble, and was unable to stop the smile from spreading on his features--Ophelia's eagerness was contagious, it seemed, and Lime had to admit this was his favourite thing about his mother--that no matter where she went, no matter the circumstances, she kept such high hopes and was willing to make the best of everything. He has memories of camping out in lands unknown, listening to Ophelia's cheerful recounting of all they had encountered on the way lulling him to peaceful rest. How he missed those days, when her silvertongue spun strands of fables untold and his mind was enchanted by means no man could ever compare to.

 

Her rambles were interrupted by a sudden realisation, and Lime sulked to himself as Ophelia bounced off, once again to join the humans. Why was she so eager? Vertie smelled of oil and gas, both scents unpleasant to a sensitive lycan nose, the large man was named after a cat, and the other looked as if he was ready to murder everyone in the room. Lime was not pleased.

 

Lime listened as his mother began to recount all her adventures leading up to their meeting here, in this unusual town where the sun shone forever and the illuminating rays seemed only to pale in comparison with Ophelia's excitement. Unable to stop himself, Lime's tail quivered slightly as Ophelia's voice dropped to mimic speaking humans, and he laughed as she waved her arms around to exaggerate certain events. They were getting stares, sure, but Lime was certain that stares were something mostly everyone in their unusual little group paid no mind towards.

 

His adventures? Ophelia ended her tirade by clasping her hands together, a gentle smile spread across her features as she looked expectantly at her son, wanting the same eager recollection as what she had given him. Lime paused, uncertain--how was he to recount his travels without telling his mother that he had left the tribe without a second thought, and so soon after they had lost two previous leaders? He feel as if he's failed the Noir lineage--which was ridiculous, considering he had never been born into the nobles.

 

However, before he could speak too much on the matter, Barmeow distracted them by stopping to talk to another man. Lime's ears perked up, unused to having such a large collection of humans in one place. His eyes watched the conversation closely, wondering--the largest man seemed displeased at a sudden turn of events, groaning his displeasure before conversing with another. A low growl sounded in his throat as the man pointed toward them--the lycans? What of them? He knew that lycan reputation was perhaps not the greatest around, but the wolf boy would fight to his last breath to defend his tribe--or former tribe?

He touched his mom's elbow, eyes still fixated on the speaking gentlemen. "I don't know," he muttered, uncertain. "There's not much to tell. I . . . told the tribe I was coming to look for you, and left." A pause. "Oh, but I did run into something!" His words were followed by another twitch of his tail, and then before he knew it the younger male had spun into a recollection of stumbling upon a bird that had violently attacked him, and of how he had battled against this creature before sneaking onto a ship in a less than legal manner and arriving here. His tail fluttered with his story, the dangerous elements lighting a flame that wished desperately for adventure within the lycan's heart.

Edited by Lady_Lunevis

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Vertie

 

Reassured by Maximilian and Bartholomew's words, Vertie smiled with a little more confidence. ["Okay!"] they replied cheerfully. They followed Bartholomew outside where Maximilian said something before departing - in a rather attention-grabbing way that made Vertie gawk. Shortly afterwards, Bartholomew was stopped by a pair of men. As first one man then the second occupied his attention, Vertie turned their attention on the dog-people (the dog-girl never introduced herself). Blinking, they paused. Were the pair tense about something? At least, the dog-boy looked to be. Gazes were focused on Bartholomew and the strangers and Vertie wondered if they didn't like being talked about. ["Oh! Don't worry! Mr. Starlight isn't saying anything bad about you!"] they quickly commented, hoping to sooth the pair.

 

A bright smile crossed their face in the next moment and they reached forward, snatching at a hand belonging to both dog-people. ["Don't be shy! What are your names? Is this the first time you've been to Apollo because, it's my first time here! So, don't worry about not being familiar with the place. I can answer all of your questions about humans if you have any. I've got lots of questions about you two. T-that is, if you don't mind me asking things, of course!"] Their words spilled from their lips like a speeding train.

 

["Ok,... so... Vertie, we may have to take a detour today. How would you... like to see a match in the Steam Coliseum?"]

 

Huh? Vertie whirled around, releasing the dog-people in their distraction by Bartholomew's question. ["Steam... Coliseum? The fighting robots?"] they asked, voice trailing off as they grew uncomfortable. Smiling wanly, they twisted their fingers together, fidgeting from anxious uncertainty. ["If it's important to everyone, I guess so,"] they replied slowly.

 

Maybe they shouldn't seem so unenthusiastic? Vertie couldn't really tell what Bartholomew was feeling but he looked... unhappy? Was it their doing? They hoped not! Trying to smile brighter, Vertie nodded emphatically. ["I mean, yes! I don't mind going to the coliseum!"] They started to see this as a possible opportunity to show off their knowledge and impress the great Bartholomew. They would have wanted to impress Maximilian as well but he had other obligations to attend to. Oh well. There would be another chance to show off to him.

 

Ramona

 

Brushing Valerian's hand as he made his remark to Fallea, Ramona gave a reassuring chuckle. "It's quite alright, darling. I do apologize, Fallea, for intruding at the late hour. I would have been here sooner if not for some... difficult, clients," she replied briefly. The young man beside her touched her shoulder then, apologizing for not calling her 'mommy' anymore. Before she could tell him she didn't mind, Valerian was standing out of his seat and opening part of his coat. A dark capsule was removed, its lights throbbing rhythmically and slowly until the machine was deactivated and opened. "Oh, they're lovely, darling," Ramona cooed, taking the flowers as she stood in turn. Leaning forward, she kissed his forehead before bringing the carnations to her nose, inhaling their aromatic scent.

 

Smiling brightly now, she placed the flowers down on her vacated seat, attention returning to the unknown girl at Valerian's words. As he spoke, she examined the girl more thoroughly, watching as the girl lowered her gaze. Robert's Docks, to find her brother. A rather interesting aim. Valerian threw back another glass of his usual concoction, alcohol underlying the smell of mint filling Ramona's nose as he leaned towards her ear. Honestly, he didn't need to do such a thing as she could hear his whisper clear as day but, Ramona gave no remark about that. Blinking slowly, she nodded once. "Anything for my children, darling," the woman reassured, now shifting her green gaze upon the man.

 

It didn't matter how busy she was, Ramona would always make time for her adopted children. Brushing his cheek carefully to avoid scratching him, she smiled warmly and nodded again. "Yes. You needn't worry," she commented before returning to the girl. "Lynn? Such a pretty name." Once more, she stared at the girl while she worried over not knowing Valerian's name. Memories nagged at the back of her mind as she took in every detail about the girl's physical appearance. Something... that wanted to connect a puzzle piece or two. "What's your last name, darling? The name of your brother?"

 

The woman stepped closer to Lynn, tail curling and swaying slowly as her thoughts worked out an unseen riddle. Soon, she was within arm's reach of the girl, practically towering over her due to such a significant height difference. The child was so small, so frail looking. A surge of maternal instinct danced in her chest and she did her best to not rub at the scars beneath her coats or grab at the silver and green pendent around her neck. In the next moment, however, she did lift her arms up and gently drew Lynn into a comforting hug. "I promise, darling, we will find your brother and nothing bad will happen to either of you."

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Bartholomew

 

He checked his watch uncomfortably as he looked down at Vertie, their words suddenly making him realizing something was off.

"[Oh! No, trust me... to be frank, Vertie... This isn't something I enjoy either.]" he whispered, leaning down quite a bit to speak into her ear. "[but don't tell the other council members, ok?]"

He smiled, standing back up to his full height as he put his pocketwatch back into his outfit.

"[Anyway.....]" he sighed, rubbing his hand through his thick hair with exasperation. "[Let's be off then.]"

With that, he lifted Vertie in one of his massive arms, making sure they were comfortable in the crook of his elbow and shoulder. Satisfied, he gently grabbed Ophelia as well and arranged her in the same way on his shoulder. Finally, he looked at Lime.

"....Hmmmmm..."

Finally he shrugged.

"[Guess you're just gonna have to hold my hand, buddy.]" he said holding out his palm. He didn't know if Lycans would accept the gesture but he hoped somewhere in their culture it was a known thing. As for lifting up Vertie and Ophelia... He had picked them up as gently as possible to avoid scaring the Lycan. She seemed pretty fun and outgoing. But as for Vertie...

"[Don't worry. I won't drop you, apprentice.]" Bear promised, adjusting her. "[Enjoy the sights. This city is... very beautiful.]"

With that, he began walking towards the Steam Coliseum, striding across the Sky Bridges towards their destination. In the background, the soft hum of zeppelins taking people cross city from the outskirts and other sections to the coliseum gave a gentle sound not unlike birds in the morning....

 

-----

 

Fallea leaned across the counter, pleased with Valerian's gift to Ramona.

"How come you never bring ME anything sweet like that, dear?" she asked, joking. Of course Valerian had normally brought her some form of a gift over the years whenever he could. But she knew he valued his mother above many other things. Ramona didn't have to be a blood mother to be close to him. She had heard a bit about his past and how Ramona had found him.

Thank goodness for kind people like the dragon woman in front of her. But still... it seemed Ramona was hiding something all the time.

Ah well. Everyone did these days. It wasn't something new. And they valued her privacy a lot, enough that even Hallea didn't hack or try to find out information about her. She was a trustworthy person. If there was something worth telling, Fallea was sure she'd tell it.

And until that day came, she could have a drink when she wanted. Fallea grabbed a bottle from nearby - something soft, subtle, not very strong - and began to pour it into a glass.

"Warm yourself up a bit at least, Rae." Fallea suggested, placing the glass on the table in front of Ramona and sliding it to her. "You're out there longer than most of us can stand. Make sure you don't freeze to death. Val wouldn't be able to handle it."

She gestured with her free hand to Raven, smirking.

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Blood, blood all over the place...

 

A dark alley with hardly any traffic passing through, a small shadowy figure seemed to loom over a taller man that sat, terrified, on the ground.

 

Its in the carpet, it's on your face...

 

He was beckoning, crying, clothes shredded to the point his entire front side was visible. Each step the figure made forward, the man inched backwards.

 

Is it yours or is it mine?

 

A trail of blood led from the entrance, his exposed skin mutilated with tears and gouges, some areas still had objects sticking out of them.

 

Does it taste of copper or does it taste of wine?

 

Eyes widening, the man found himself now trapped, his back pressing against a wall while the figure in front of him still moved ever closer.

 

Blood, blood, it's everywhere!

 

Cries of agony and fear rang out from the alley, but there was no one to hear it, a hopeless last attempt at attaining some sense of hope. A flash of red gleamed in the alley moments later and a young female walked out, blood covering her hands and a wicked, twisted grin on her face that soon relaxed into a normal smile.

 

"Whose it is, I don't care!"

 

She sang out, shaking her hands like she was trying to dry them off after washing them.

 

Of course, this event occurred several days ago, the NSSF only finding out about it after a report had been issued over a foul smell in the upper district. When they looked into it, they found a butchered body with a note attached with only one word inside: Rape. With a heavy sigh, the Chief Investigator present placed a hand to his face and turned to face the alley's entrance, for he knew who this was the work of. A former member of his unit, nearing six years prior, a female who had been selected for a top secret detachment none of them even knew of, Mina Rayne Petrovsky.

 

------

 

Bursting through a certain door, into a particular bar/inn, a cherry faced young woman with dark brunette hair and equally dark brown eyes entered, giggling almost hysterically. In one hand, she held a now empty bottle that was probably the cause of her rambunctious state and the other was swinging about, as if in an attempt to maintain balance. Pausing, she hiccuped and then proceeded forward, taking a seat at the end of the bar.

 

"Oy! Leah! I need more to drink! The guy at the convenience store wouldn't sell to me, saying I was too intoxicated as it was! Give me that Black Diamond thing, it usually hits the spot real well."

 

As she finished, the girl finally took a moment to look about her surroundings, noticing the other guests present and taking a short pause as she noticed one figure in particular sitting next to a male. Still, to keep with the flow, she turned in her seat and, with an exaggerated motion, pointed at the male occupant sternly.

 

"Who the hell is that guy?! Huh?! I thought you were closed already and you're still letting people in?! Where's Hallea?! Ah, nevermind, just give me my drink... and YOU! Who the hell are you?!"

 

Stern eyes looked at the man, a hue of red seeming to pass through her eyes for a moment, but could have easily been the lighting in the room. This was under the pretense everyone in the room was a simple customer. Standing, and wobbling slightly, the girl made her way closer, picking a spot just a couple of chairs down now, smacking the bottom of her empty container on the counter as if trying to force a faster answer out of the man. That did, however, prompt her to look over at her glass and notice the lack of content within.

 

Sighing, turning her head and looking at the trash bin behind her from the corner of her eye, she tossed the bottle back and into the circular hole atop it with only the plop of glass hitting the other objects within. Turning back and looking at her empty hand, the girl leaned across the counter and the various drinks in the rack on the backside. Spotting a worthy bottle, she plucked it from its holster and popped the lid, taking a swig before Fallea could object while placing several Lunar's down to cover the fee.

 

"I still want my Black Diamond drink thing..."

Edited by zakku_uchiha

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Ophelia couldn't stop herself from grinning ear to ear as Lime began retelling his tale of he stumbled into Apollo. Her enthusiasm had obviously rubbed off on him as she could see his tail twitching as he excitedly told his tale. The older lycan giggled uncontrollable as she listened to her son's story. Wandering onto a ship illegally after battling off an angry bird was just like him and brought back good memories of him and her sneaking around human villages, plucking food window stills and chuckling madly as they made off with their stolen delicious treats. The lycans' companions probably wouldn't appreciate hearing about Lime's less than legal exploits, but it didn't seem like they could understand him. Ophelia grasped the fundamentals of many languages, but she was still having a hard time understanding what Bartholomew, Vertie, and the man with the can were saying.

 

Ophelia wouldn't find the language barrier a problem if it wasn't seemingly the only one humans communicated with one another. If they had a way to communicate through hand movements or if they could utilize their ears and tails to talk, that would be different, but Ophelia had only seen a few humans use sign language and while humans had ears, the ears were normally hidden in hair and they lacked tails completely. So unless their human companions were only pretending that they couldn't understand what they were saying, Ophelia was quite sure Lime's tale would not be understood by the humans.

 

"What a lovely story!" Ophelia chimed as she smiled brightly at Lime. "I haven't been on a boat since I was little! How was the trip? Did sailing across the ocean fit your fancy?" Before Lime could answer Ophelia's inquiry, Vertie suddenly bounced over to the two and grabbed their hands and began spouting out a series of questions. "Oh, I'm Ophelia!" the lycan said as she let herself be dragged by Vertie. "We're both new here! Well, that's a bit of a lie. Our tribe has been outside of Apollo before, but we've never been inside of here before! Hey, why do humans-" Yet again, the lycan was interrupted by yet another human. Bartholomew effortlessly scooped Vertie onto onto his shoulders before doing the same with Ophelia. The lycan let go of Vertie's hand and let herself be plopped onto the large man's shoulders.

 

"Oh? Are we going on an adventure?" Ophelia asked as lowered her head so she was staring at Bartholomew upside down, her tail wagging madly. "Where are we going? Is it going to be exciting?" Realizing that she was obscuring Bartholomew's view, she lifted her head back up and craned her neck upward so she could get a better look of her surroundings. She was vaguely aware that her tail was madly brushing across Bartholomew's back, but she was too caught up in her excitement to pay attention to it. "Isn't this thrilling?" Ophelia asked as she glanced down at Lime, ears perked and eyes twinkling with wonder.

Edited by Doctortear

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「lynn ;; 」

 

Ramona questioned her with a certain grace to her actions, green eyes carefully washing over her being. Lynn gulped as the dragon-lady's gaze swept across her, taking everything in at once with her all-seeing glance.

"Thank you," she replied, flushing a light, dusty pink. Her name was common, truth be told, but Lynn had always taken a certain pleasure in how easily it flowed across the tongue. There was happiness found in the smallest of actions, after all.

 

"My brother?" she repeated, her mind taking the precious seconds that had been granted to her from her recalling the lady's words to come up with a suitable answer. "His name is--was--Will. William Sieghart, ma'am." She glanced up at Ramona shyly, unsure how to address her. In her previous line of work, Lynn was used to fancy titles and certain ways of speech, her experiences granting her otherwise uneducated self a chance at eloquence.

 

The smaller gasped as Ramona approached her, quickly drawing her into a hug that enfolded all around. Though the girl was tense at first, Lynn quickly relaxed into the encompassing gesture. Ramona''s scales were thick and strong, if not poking at her gently, but it was not enough to cause the girl discomfort. Being held like this, being covered from the world and all the cruel necessities that Luna provided . . . it felt nice, somehow, to relax after such years spent in desolate loneliness.

She raised her arms and returned the hug, struggling a bit as she attempted not to accidentally jab herself on a stray scale.

"Thank you," she whispered into the embrace, closing her eyes for a brief moment.

 

However, their peace was broken by the door suddenly slamming open, a newcomer that Lynn once again did not recognise stumbling in. A girl, flamboyantly questioning her surroundings as she slammed herself into one o the nearby chairs and giggled, a stray bottle in her hand the only excuse for her actions. Shocked, Lynn folded herself back and unintentionally--or perhaps intentionally?--hid behind Ramona, awaiting the outcomes of this new event.

 

「lime ;; 」

 

Lime opened his mouth, about to answer his mother's inquiry on the whereabouts of his journey, when suddenly they were interrupted by a human--ah, he remembers Ophelia introducing them as Vertie, the one wearing a beautiful dress with only the faintest remains of the smell of oil on their being. The overexcited teenager grabbed his mother hand, which elicited a low growl from the back of Lime's throat, and then grabbed his. The lycan jumped--it wasn't that he wasn't used to physical contact, moreso that he followed lycan culture to an extent and followed his own morals as well; which meant he was only really physically intimate with people he knew.

 

His shock was so much that he didn't have a chance to answer Vertie's question--he only managed to get out a "Li--" before the large man from before--ah yes, this Barmeow-walked up, seemingly exhausted as he ran a hand through his hair and sighed to himself.

Lime screeched, a lasting noise that sounded like a wounded animal, as the man suddenly scooped up Vertie and his mother and set them on his shoulders, while keeping a placid face as if this was all commonplace. His ears shot straight up as the man extended a hand to him, calling him his "buddy"--huh?

The lycan gazed warily at the offered hand--humans were insane--and extended his own, barely brushing the larger's fingers.

"Don't hurt her," he hissed, looking at his overexcited mom who seemed to think this was all normal. Lime placed his head in his free hand, sighing as he rubbed his temples. He just wanted to go home, not hold hands with a strange man who his mom was suddenly riding on.

Edited by Lady_Lunevis

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Valerian

 

Valerian sat with hands in his lap and eyed the two women silently, then slowly turned to look at Lynn as she spoke to the two. Her tone, though soft in nature, held hints of hesitation that he could assume were born because of how Ramona looked. Of course, seeing a woman wrapped in scales of obsidian and then having her speak to you was certainly unnerving, but he hoped she would get used to the older woman fairly quickly, as she would probably be with the two for a good while.

"Ah, don't worry about names - we'll clear them out afterward," the Remington waved his arm dismissively in response to the hand that rose to cover her mouth and the remark she directed at herself - granted, he could understand why she felt it would be a given by now for her to know what to call him by, but for him, such a small detail was not a thing that could hinder their current relations.

 

Still in thought about how the two would handle this proposition of his, Valerian listened in only halfway to Ramona's reply to the flowers, but was almost taken aback by the actions that came after them. A strange, tingly feeling spread through his spine and was further accentuated by the buzz of alcohol in his blood as the motherly figure leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead, leaving faint hints of purple lipstick on his skin that he honestly did not mind.

"A-ah... you're welcome..." He could simply mumble in reply from his dumbstruck state as a soft smile spread along his face yet again, warping his previously neutral and thoughtful expression into one of almost childlike joy. A hand rose to his mouth as he then washed away the feeling and the hazy rose colors on his cheeks with a stifled cough and returned to his standard demeanor.

 

As Valerian's gaze rose up to take a glance at Ramona for a second, their gazes met, and he could simply look back with a look on his face that seemed to signify a mix of feelings and vibes that included gratitude, warmth and contentness. Though the thought had never passed through his head, he wondered what others would ever think of a woman like this - as in, romantically.

Of course, he knew that people would be deterred by the obsidian scales along her skin and the scarring along her body, but there definitely was someone that could grow to like her and then also develop some sort of feelings for her... right?

For him, of course, this woman would always hold some sort of charm and beauty of her own, even if she were beaten, sullied and left to live in the alleys of these dark streets long enough for her brilliant, high-class look to fade away.

For him, the crimson hair that framed her vibrant green eyes would always lead him back to the memories of their first meeting, where he stared back at her uncertainly with his own deep blue ones.

Since the moment their gazes had met, Valerian could see the sparkle of hope that shined exactly for him in her eyes - a small light that made him feel... safe again.

For this, the man was absolutely sure he was glad to have met Ramona.

 

The man slowly glanced back at the young woman as she made her own name known - Lynn. Though he admitted that it was a name that suited her with how soft it sounded, it sounded absolutely unknown to him, as he had not found or heard of someone else that shared the name with the young woman.

His eyes yet again shifted to Ramona as she stepped forward, her tail moving slowly behind her as she came to a stop just an arm out from where Lynn stood. The questions she had asked before seemed to remain in the air as the two quietly looked at each other, before the scaled woman stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Lynn into a comforting hug. The words she spoke were almost whispered solely to her, but the Remington clearly knew that they held a promise only a true mother could give to her children.

 

Hearing how the Leah behind him leaned across the counter, Valerian turned his head to face her with one half of his body and smirked slightly in response, then shrugged with a sarcastic demeanor and looked back forward. He had given her various gifts, but both of them knew just what truly Ramona meant to him and exactly why he had chosen something this specific only for her to receive.

Crossing his arms as he looked at the two and barely neglecting the supply of alcohol still waiting for him on the counter at his back, the man watched silently with a smirk on his face and enjoyed the feeling just as much as Ramona and Lynn probably did right then and there. A drink slid down the bar toward his leaned right arm, and he stopped it with his elbow, managing to halt its advance just so its movement came to an end on the counter in front of where Ramona had sat before.

"Oh, yes - my heart would definitely not handle the stress of finding you half-frozen outside somewhere. I'd go to the ends of Luna to look for how to warm you then," Valerian replied calmly with a teasing smirk as he pushed himself up to a proper sitting position atop the stool instead of simply leaning on the counter behind him, then turned around to retrieve another glass of his own liquor and downed it in one go to return the enjoyable burn in his throat. Returning the glass, the man decided to stand and-

 

Valerian was caught off-guard when the door of the café suddenly swung forward with force - obviously because the one using it did not know or like the mechanism under the doormat - and let a young woman stumble in before it slammed back shut with a slight clatter. The man turned his gaze to the newcomer and narrowed his eyes, analyzing her brunette hair, flushed face and brown eyes... and attaching the name of a person from not too long ago onto it.

As he watched her giggle slightly with an empty bottle of liquor in hand, the Remington wondered if he should do something about her or simply let her stand. The shout of the name Leah seemed to calm him down - even if the name was displayed outside - and he let the woman approach and demand for more drink freely, even if she had obviously gotten a bit too much in her bloodstream, before watching her split off and take a seat at the far left of the counter.

 

"Black Diamond thing...?" Valerian asked as he threw a quick look at the familiar bottle that was usually placed at the lower left corner of the section, where the alcohol that Fallea would use to make his drinks usually resided. Blinking at it, he turned back toward the young woman just in time to come into eye contact with her - a move that seemed to irritate her in a way as she also flipped around in her own seat to face him and pointed at him with an outstretched hand.

"Huh? Who am I...?" The man asked with an amused tone as he looked at the woman - ah, what the hell was her name again?! - and watched her speak to Fallea, complaining about the closing hours and the drink she had yet to get before yet again turning to him with the same question. His dark eyes peered into her brown, and for a second, a flash that landed on both pairs revealed the man's hidden azure color and the woman's vibrant crimson that hid under what could be seen usually.

 

He was surprised when the woman stood, wobbling slightly, and began moving down closer to them, leaving now only around a couple of stools between herself and Raven. How did she not recall anything about him, anyway? It was only at their first introduction a good while back that she, whilst fumbling with his name in her drunken state, had come up with the nickname of Raven he had decided to accept afterward as his own.

Watching in silence as she turned to stare at the trash bin to her left in the corner of the room, he noted how she threw the bottle into the circular hole on the top and narrowed his eyes as the only noise that came from that was the glass of the bottle as it collided with whatever was inside the bin. Demanding the same drink once more from Fallea, the woman went quiet, dropping a few Lunars down onto the counter for one of the drinks she simply took without asking for consumption and demanded the Black Diamond before growing awfully silent.

 

"Huh... you really can't recall, Rayne?" Valerian asked as he rose from the seat he was in to stay upright, then placed his hands in his coat's pockets and stared at the woman in silence. A few more seconds passed before he shook his head, then took a moment to turn to Ramona and Lynn.

"Quick notice here - this is Rayne, another usual of this bar - because one was obviously not good enough," Raven joked with a smirk before he turned to the woman, then let out a sigh and watched her. It was strangely amusing to look at Rayne as she struggled with some parts of her speech and also demanded drinks, but perhaps it was time for him to reintroduce.

 

"Anyways... if we really have to do it again, then my name is Valerian Remington," he said, turning to Lynn with a gesture to himself to signify, "but most more important people around here, thanks to your previous suggestion, have chosen to also refer to me as Raven."

Watching as Rayne drank from a bottle that he could not identify, but knew was filled with good spirits, the man decided to join her in the affair by plonking himself down in his seat to face the counter, then taking one of the many shots still awaiting him and chugging down the glass' contents in one go.

"Pah..." Valerian spoke as he put the glass down, a wave of relief rushing through him, then leaned forward to the newcomer.

"So, what's your name? Just Rayne? And what do you wish to drink to, lady?" He asked completely casually, making sure to ease the conversation for the other two or simply to split them off completely, as he was almost all but sure Ramona did not find such surprises... pleasing.

 

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"You're just not doing it right." A black haired man huffed, obviously impatiently restrained. Nothing was physically holding him back of course, he just was controlling the urge to reach out and reposition the young woman in front of him. It almost seemed as if they were in a gun range, but the target was painted on the wall... and several large smoldering holes where the others must have stood.

 

"I'M NOT BLOWING MY ARM OFF. It's only 50 solars." the woman replied back, a defiant pout resting on her bronzed face. She was in a long but light day dress, which incredibly contrasted the heavy machinery on her arm and shoulders. Her leg was braced behind her and her arm outstretched to a whirring device in her palm. Gears spun at an incredible pace and a gage on the shoulder of the device was being watched with the eye of an expert. "Tybalt, I'll fire when I'm ready. The pistons have to be in a safe pressure zone before I'm going to attempt to shoot this thing inside again. And I'm going to win the bet when it breaks through the third layer!"

 

"Well it's not going to if you keep firing it like that. You're not getting the right rotations per minute when you slow it down in the-" he took his hand off the bottle of whiskey to make air quotes, "SAFE ZONE. I've fired it even in the red and it hasn't broken through to the steel layer before." He picked the bottle back up and raised it to his mouth again.

 

The girl blew hair out of her face, a golden curl flopping right back where it was upon falling. She couldn't put it back due to the artillery she was currently wielding. It was dumb and prideful to bet on the new launcher, but Tybalt had insulted her craftmanship and that simply wouldn't do. The device at hand was the "Duckling", affectionately named because of the wiring and shells that sat on the shoulder in the slight shape of the newborn animal. Also all of Antoinette's machines that caused serious damage were named after seemingly innocent creatures. "It's literally impossible not to. This launcher is capable of 3100 psi in the pistons in the yellow range. To fire it THAT hard you would have to be into the 3500 range! I installed a pressure gage for a reason, and unless color meanings have change, green means go." She huffed. For a tiny thing like herself, this kind of pressure in just one piston WOULD hurt. And definitely if the two of them injured themselves if it broke. And two faulty test runs weren't proving her right as she hoped. This was her last shot of winning the bet.

 

"Well then fire it, Antoinette! If the increments are right then you should have no problems getting it in the right PSI for breaking through, much less hurt you." He smirked, and got an all too familiar look in his eye. "Unless you're scared you're wrong... and you know, everyone makes mistakes sometimes. You've fired it twice times already, its ok if you don't want to." he teased, gathering his drink and coming to her. "C'mon I'll get it off of you. Don't want to risk that."

 

The girl lowered her arm and rotated the wrist of the machine and it made a noise like pressure being released and lowered in pitch. Tybalt chuckled, victorious at the gain of even a small amount of Solars, and more importantly a little chip in Antoinette's pride. He approached her side and unhooked the strap, but as he did a quick sharp whirring sound and a raising of the arm with a step back made a powerful booming sound, and the target on the wall was completely pulverized into a pile of ash after a huge flash of light.

 

"SERIOUSLY, BY APOLLO YOU ALMOST BLEW MY EARS OUT... and I DROPPED MY DRINK!" Tybalt fussed, looking up to a smug Antoinette. She adeptly took off the Duckling, and handed it to him. "That'll be 50 solars." She stated, and as Tybalt turned, sure enough only a wall of steel greeted him.

Edited by lycrawaterz14

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Bartholomew

 

Picture if you will a grand coliseum, on a scale never before seen in the history of Apollo or its outskirts and provinces. Down in the lower city, its base expands upward into even the middle layer of Apollo, and then outwards, taking up an entire sector on its own. Once merely an idea following the Second Breaking after one sector was abandoned by a flood of Nomads, it became a glorious reality after funding by several key families - including the Vance, the Starlights, the Asther, and the Layman - and the Ministry of Mercantile.

Well-built layers of stone, crafted one on top of another. Magical lights, beaming from all sides on the center ring. Sectors of the coliseum are separated by Zeppelin flight technology, some seats flying over the coliseum slowly for those who want the best view.

Truly, it is a marvel, my master. I firmly believe it would be worth your trouble to visit it during your planned journeys to Apollo....

 

--The Wonders of Apollo, by Nevelle Luther

 

-------

 

There was loud cheering as Bear and the group got closer to the lower city descent podium. It could have been called an elevator but it was little more than a platform which descended and ascended to the lower city through a process known as "Magical vacuums." By using magic as a suction device through two Sparks placed at the top and bottom, the elevator could function. However, it had caused SOME issues early on when it was discovered the suction would also work on anything on the person of people in the elevator - including magical threads.

There were a lot of naked people in the elevator that day. It had been mended after some tinkering by Miles and some recalibrating in the magical pressure.

The group descended down the elevator, and through the glass of the suction chamber, one could already see the humongous throng of people gathering around and entering the bottom of the coliseum so they could be elevated into the coliseum proper. For safety reasons, a large magical barrier had been constructed around the coliseum for both noise and the occasional robot part that flew out of the arena from the sheer force of the conflict. Bear felt the anxiety rise within him as the familiar sense of being surrounded by numerous people grabbed hold of his heart. He swallowed.

"I never... liked coming here." he admitted in Noble. But he remembered who his guests were and tried again.

"[i... never liked coming here.]" he said again, in Nomad. "[Too many people, and the very idea of robots destroying each other for sport... such beautiful machinery...]"

He trailed off, deciding to go silent as the elevator neared the bottom of its descent. As it reached the bottom, the usual myriad of newswriters seemed to somehow SENSE Bear's presence and overcame him with questions and other such nonsense. He waved them away, irritated. He didn't want any of this, but they followed him and the group as they headed to the Coliseum.

Sure, the Ministry of Mass Media made it FROWNED UPON (and in some cases, outright illegal) for the news and reporting teams to follow or hound councilmembers, but in the lower city, it was admittedly easier for them to get away with it - so they did. A lot.

He sighed as he followed the horde of people into the Coliseum. A large, water-like wall stood in front of them as some sort of door.

"[Cover your ears, everyone...]" Bear said over the muffled noises of cheering. "[because.. umm.... this is about to get quite loud.]"

He held out his hand, and placed it on the watery wall. Then, he walked through.

The sound of cheering and music was IMMEDIATE. A boom of screams and shouts as well as the sounds of robots clashing filled the air - and they couldn't even see it yet.

"[You see, the true arena is... above us. This is the underdome!]" Bear struggled to shout over the noise as they followed everyone into the next elevator - a much larger one than before that housed quite a few people. "[Don't worry! They offer earplugs for those who want them! And... considering you two....]"

He looked at Ophelia and Lime with hesitation and then held out his hand, casting a small spell over their ears.

"[i HOPE THAT HELPS!]" he said, trying to get them to understand him. He wished he'd learned Primal. Spirit wasn't the same....

He stepped into the large elevator, pushing past a few people. As one of the reporters tried to get on with him, he held out his hand and a wave of force pushed him back just as the elevator began to ascend.

"MUST HAVE BEEN THE WIND!" Bear called down, smirking, as the large platform ascended into the coliseum proper. The sounds of cheering only got louder as they reached their destination and the people began to filter off to their seats. Here, there was a lobby, where people could purchase food, use the facilities, or other acts they required before or during the show.

"Oh! Mister Starlight!"

Bear turned, looking at the ticket booth.

"You brought some friends with you, hmm?" the woman asked, leaning forward. Her voice was bubbly and so was her appearance. Her hair was curly and seemed to have a life of its own. Her body seemed to move with some unseen music as she swished back and forth behind the counter.

"Oh? Oh! Yes. My new apprentice and two others." Bear said, striding forward. "That's... let's see... 20 solars? For four people?"

"Oh my Bear. You know you don't have to pay to get in." the woman waved away the golden coins, grinning. "I mean, you're pretty much forced to come here, right? How mean would it be if you had to pay?"

"Oh.... right." Bear trailed off. "My payment was sort of a tip..."

"Huh? Oh that's fine! But as for those three... let's see... Apprentices get the benefits of their mentors so... which one of them is your apprentice?" she asked, pointing, as she looked down a small rule sheet.

"Oh, this child here!" Bear said, gesturing. "They're my apprentice."

"They? But there's only one of them..." she narrowed her eyes. "Or am I losing my sight?"

"No, that's just how they like to be referred to."

"She looks like a girl in that dress-"

"That's besides the point. They like to be referred to as they, which means they are a they."

"I.... seeeee..." the woman - Avril - replied. "If you say so. What about the other two?"

"This Lycan gave me her sheet but I can't understand her so I have no idea if she wants to be an apprentice or not..." Bear admitted. "And the boy is just a guest."

He pointed at Lime.

"I see... well they DO have to pay to get in. The boy at least. If the girl gave you a sheet she's your apprentice unless otherwise stated, right? I can't remember the rules since the last time I went through it." she pushed some hair behind her ear. "So many regulations."

"IN DEED." Bear nodded. "That's five solars then, but here's an extra three for you."

"Thank you, hon!" Avral replied, accepting the coins. She retrieved four tickets from under the stall, handing them to him. "You're in luck. We would have had an issue getting you the standard seats but the flying seats in section D have quite a few open spots. These should let you-"

"The... flying seats?" Bear shook a moment.

"Huh? Yes. Why?"

"For their first times here?.... This... is going to be an experience..." Bear commented. He took the tickets and walked towards the assigned teleporter, waving back at Avril who was now accepting another customer.

"Oh I should have paid for Miles.... Damn." Bear swore to himself, stepping into the teleporter. The magical energies began to pulse within as he stood there, setting down Vertie and Ophelia.

"[so... uh... don't move too much when we get up there...]" Bear instructed, gesturing to Ophelia and Lime to try to make them understand, using his hands. "[That's a bad idea.]"

Soon, the magical energies grasped their physical forms, causing them to disintegrate...

... and rebuild themselves on a similar platform, where suddenly gravity seemed to be pulling a little harder and the ceiling of the coliseum seemed a LOT closer. They were standing on a floating group of seats, magical energy and Zeppelin technology meshing to keep the seats afloat and orbiting the main ring.

People waved from their seats to Bear as he sighed, exiting the teleporter and motioning for Lime and Ophelia to get back from the edge. There was, of course, a barrier built around the seats to prevent falling, as well as a magical barrier used as a window for people to see the action below, but Bear didn't like the idea of being near the edge anyway. Perhaps it was some primal instinct of self preservation but being high up in the air and near a way to-NOT-be that-high-very-quickly did not sit well with him. He led the group up to their seats, near the base of the flying section, and took it. At least sitting down made the vertigo less apparent.

"Who's fighting today..." he asked himself, grabbing a clipboard from the side of the chair. He scrolled down the list a bit, leaning his hand on one of his hands. A few newcomers, someone named Antoinette, another named Jefferson, two children who were twins testing out their first robot - sounded fairly interesting actually, for their age - and some others.

Below, a pair of robots, clad in bronze and steel, were striding out into the arena. A great voice echoed out, announcing who they belonged to and their specs, such as weight and size and their abilities. One of them carried a massive, metal blade. The other boasted a sword and shield.

"The introductory match. We haven't missed much." Bear sighed. Sun, he hoped this ended quickly so he could get Vertie situated.

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Damien and Lilith had just descended into the underdome, Lilith staring at the watery layer that was holding the noise in while Damien pressed a finger to his forehead as he waited for her on the opposite side. Looking back and up, it was clear there was a match already going on and frankly, he didn't want to stay any longer than he needed to. Probably just a few matches, to appease Lilith's interest, and then they would find a decent place to set camp.

 

"Come on, Lilith, else we're going to miss the entire thing."

 

Even with the hood covering her head, Damien could see her ears perking up slightly upon realizing what he meant. Pressing a hand against the veil, Lilith pushed herself through only to cringe slightly upon hearing the true intensity of the crowd.

 

"It's not terribly complex, but I could probably produce a similar bubble around the both of us. I'll have to run a few trial and error tests, but it would also work as a suitable barrier against attacks."

 

"When we get on the road, I'll let you do whatever you please. Just refrain from... displaying your capabilities while we're in such a large crowd. It'll only draw unnecessary attention and we might get kicked out."

 

"Boo..."

 

While Lilith pouted, Damien proceeded up a staircase where several ticket booths were set up. It was evident he was displeased with this situation, as his income was low enough as it was and paying what little he had... it made restocking on the more valuable supplies difficult.

 

"Can you hide your tail?"

 

"It's under my cloak right now, but you should know I don't have full control over what it does. Thing kind of has a mind of its own."

 

"Just... let's just hope they let us by with that bit of knowledge we learned at the front gate."

 

"Mhm."

 

Now approaching the clerk, just before the young lad was able to question Damien, he held up his family's crest to receive a similar response he had at the gate. Practically gawking, Damien proceeded to notion that he had a partner as well and things seemed to be going smoothly as he waited for the younger male to start tearing the tickets off for them... until a more mature woman approached the booth.

 

"What is she?"

 

"My apprentice and partner."

 

"I didn't mean her position, Mr. Vance. I was asking, what is her species?"

 

"Lizardkin, of the Desert Striders, is that a problem?"

 

"Not if that were true, Mr. Vance. Devil's are strictly forbidden from entering the Coliseum."

 

Tongue clicking, Damien held an arm out to halt Lilith as he stared at this woman preventing their entry. For a moment, he refrained from retorting and looked back at Lilith.

 

"So, I'm allowed to enter, but she has to wait outside? Is that what you're saying?"

 

"We're sorry for the inconvenience, but if you wish to watch the match, then that's how it must be."

 

"And there's no problem with that at all?"

 

"That is correct."

 

Turning back, Damien's eyes were practically glowing a fierce, deep blue color, his teeth clenched as his cloak itself seemed to flutter over his body. Lilith, knowing exactly where he was going for this, grabbed onto the sleeve of his cloak and stared at the female clerk who was bent on preventing her entry.

 

"Then you must surely know what... side effects occur from having a contract with a Devil, especially a long term one."

 

"I... beg your pardon?"

 

Pulling his hood down, Damien made it clear to the female clerk that he himself was no longer entirely human. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for master's to take on aspects of their partners, but it varied from beast to beast in terms of time and effects. In Damien's case, what had once been round ears were now pointed, his hair itself had shifted to an ashen grey and the several of his teeth that were grinding on each other had elongated and come to a point.

 

"Is it because I'm a Vance, that you'll waiver my condition, but still deny entry to my partner or does this change your entire outlook? If it does, I'll just have to report this issue to the council and I'm fairly certain denying my entry into a public event... you might be looking for a new job soon."

 

"Which brings me to my next point, if you allow me entry, knowing that I'm a halfling... then you're going against the very regulations you slapped in my face, saying that Devil's are strictly forbidden from entering. So, I must ask... which choice will it be?"

 

For a moment, the lady had a dumbfounded expression, like she had just been forced into a corner where a trap had been set. Damien, after calming his nerves a bit, pulled his hood back over his head, but kept his gaze on the woman.

 

"You both may enter..."

 

She finally stammered, allowing the young male to pull the tickets finally and pass them to Damien and Lilith. Sighing heavily, Damien looked back at the crowd behind them, noting the expression on their faces. Some of them didn't seem to know what to think, others were discussing whether to stay or not, while those in the back didn't even know what was going on. Regardless, Damien had revealed the one secret he was certain would prevent a second visit to the city. Not that it mattered to him, for he didn't plan on returning any time soon.

 

Lilith seemed ecstatic, after grabbing her ticket from Damien's hand and holding it out in front of herself, like a child who had just received a new toy. Of course, with the childish display came a more affectionate one as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

 

"For a grown child, you sure do make a bigger fuss out of my situation than I do myself."

 

"You wanted to see the robots and I was gonna let you, one way or another... even if it meant hijacking one of those zeppelins."

 

"You'd do that? Just for me?"

 

"As long as no one got hurt and you wouldn't mind being thrown in prison shortly afterwards."

 

"Like those iron bars could keep me in."

 

"I hear they throw Devil's into a church."

 

"So the flying lizard could annoy me? I'd say I'd burn it down, but I hear that's how they pay their respect to the fire breathing gecko when the church is old."

 

"Not certain, but let's discuss this... when we're not surrounded by other people. It's time to find our seats, anyway."

 

Both Damien and Lilith looked at their tickets and were a little curious as to what exactly it meant by flying seats. First looking at each other and then at their surroundings, Damien watched as a few patrons stepped on a magic tome and then vanished into thin air. A teleportation rune, it seemed like and a very well made one at that. Of course, per the norm, Lilith had taken an interest in the device and had made her way to it in order to examine it. As Damien started making his way over, he noticed the sign indicating this was how they got to their seats anyway.

 

"Instead of looking at it, how about we use it?"

 

"Can we?!"

 

Placing a palm against his face, Damien watched as her excitement caused her tail to begin waving around under the cloak like an animal trapped in a bag. By this point, there was almost no point in hiding it, but there were still a lot more people and some of them might feel the same way as that woman. Damien blamed the demon attacks, but knew not everyone had acquired their distaste of the species from these recent events. No, some of them held long-term resentment, passed down the bloodline as the generations passed.

 

Grabbing Lilith's arm, Damien pulled the small girl onto the rune and soon felt the distortions as his body was being transported to the linked receiver. This brought on an immediate sense of regret, and even a feeling of dread, but Damien masked the feeling and even fed off Lilith's excitement and wonder as she looked down at the arena below. Yet, when she suddenly straightened and began looking around, Damien soon grew slightly worried until he felt her tugging on his coat again.

 

"Someone nearby shares the same scent with that Mr. Theodore we met earlier. Actually, the scent is almost identical."

 

Looking at Lilith for a moment, Damien merely waved his hand in the air dismissively and smiled at her.

 

"We came here to see the fights, remember? Don't worry too much about who's around us and enjoy yourself. If he's still around after the matches, maybe we'll go look for him and introduce ourselves. It's not a huge concern, since his father said he'd get him to take a look at the watch for us later. Anyway, go watch, we're still in the first round and there's going to be a few more that you might not want to miss."

 

"And you? Aren't you going to watch the fights?"

 

"I'm dealing with my own battle at the moment."

 

"Right, you weren't a big fan of heights, but when that wolf hawk picked you up and started carrying you back to its nest, I'm surprised you didn't... relieve yourself."

 

Lilith giggled, even after promptly receiving the expected smack on the back of her head and then returned to watching the match below. Of course, by this point, her tail had slipped out from under the cloak and was waving through the air like a mad cat's tail, no specific direction and primarily the tip where her spade was located. At least she was enjoying herself.

Edited by zakku_uchiha

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Vertie

 

Oh! With Bartholomew not being a fan of the fights, Vertie wasn't forced to feign interest! That made things much easier to deal with. Dog-girl mentioned her name a moment ago, right? Oph-something? ["Oph's a cute name!"] Vertie complimented, grinning brightly. They gasped as a strong arm picked them up off the ground, depositing them on a broad surface. They hadn't expected Bartholomew to just snatch them up and drape them over his shoulder. Thoroughly surprised, Vertie could make no outward response, merely freezing out of a loss of what to do.

 

Recollecting themself, they pushing their hands against his back, propping their torso up a bit more so that their face wasn't brushing against the fabric of his coat. They found Oph in a similar situation but she was facing the same way Bartholomew was and chatting excitedly. Enjoy the sights? Vertie almost huffed. Yes, the "sights". Quite lovely. As all they could really see was a face-full of his back, the ground, and some building edges. Well, that was okay because they could at least enjoy the sight of something else. Nice butt.

 

At least Bartholomew walked somewhat smoothly, meaning Vertie wasn't jostled around very much. However, their gut was starting to ache from having his shoulder dig into the soft flesh every now-and-again. They didn't complain though, allowing themself to be carried along in silence. Though, they did worry about the skirt of their dress being able to cover everything it should. After all, the length was long enough but it was still a source of paranoia for them.

 

Soon enough, they approached the coliseum, the noise of an audience growing steadily louder. At some point, Bartholomew was harassed by reports and Vertie's vision swam with afterimages. They rubbed at their eyes furiously with an arm, trying to clear it away. ["It's okay, Master Starlight. Not everyone's comfortable with so many people,"] they assured. It was a curious thing to know that too many people made the Bartholomew Starlight nervous. They'd have to remember that for the future, they guessed.

 

After a little while, Bartholomew stopped walking and started talking in Noble, someone else responding to him. Eventually, the strange group started moving again and, shortly thereafter, Vertie was moved to the ground. For a second, they wobbled, regaining their feet just in time to be broken down into several particles and reassembled higher up. Suddenly, Vertie felt ill and they sucked in their breath, hoping that they wouldn't end up sick in front of Bartholomew (and several other people they didn't know).

 

The man was moving to a seat and they hurried to catch up once they were composed once more. Taking a seat beside him, Vertie glanced at Bartholomew, noticing his displeasure. ["Is everything okay, Master Starlight?"] they asked, worried.

 

Ramona

 

Lynn returned Ramona's hug after a few heartbeats, murmuring gratitude in a soft whisper. The woman gave a warm smile, nodding once, slightly. Fallea began speaking, sliding a glass her way as she did so. Valerian, in kind, confirmed the bartender's statement and Ramona had to chuckle. "That's very sweet of both of you," she replied. Carefully, she released Lynn as another individual made a rather noisy entrance, causing the young girl to jump back and hide behind her. For a moment, Ramona's gaze hardened, eyelids falling a fraction to create a green glare.

 

Within moments, she recognized the latest arrival, wiping the glare from her expression as her tail twitched. For all outward appearances, she might have just relaxed at realizing the new woman was highly intoxicated. Being loud, Rayne began her demands and sloppy show of behavior. The moment of eye contact did not go unreturned, however. Glancing beneath her arm at Lynn, Ramona gently brushed the girl's head to reassure her before moving a bit closer to the counter. Patting the chair, she indicated for Lynn to have a seat.

 

"Rayne, was it?" Ramona repeated, responding to Valerian's introduction as she plucked the glass given to her off the counter. Sipping at it, the woman took a moment to savor the pleasantly warm taste as it tickled her throat. She took another sip before returning the glass to the counter and shifting a level gaze upon the drunk woman. "I don't believe encouraging the woman to more drink is so wise, darling," she remarked to Valerian. "Her blood must be terribly drowned out with alcohol by now. I fear she might succumb to poisoning rather soon." She tsk'd but not out of any sort of contempt. More out of worry.

 

"How about I buy us all a meal at the closest diner?" Ramona suggested, taking another sip of her drink. This time, she looked back over at Lynn with a questioning gaze. "Are you hungry, darling? You don't look like you've eaten much."

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Rayne paused in her drinking, looking at the man who she had questioned, who had retorted with questions of his own. Had they met before? They must have, for he knew the name she was going by in these parts. Valerian Remington? What a long, boorish name. Raven sounded better anyway and it suited him better. Ever watching, observing and seemingly waiting for an opportune moment. With her grasp tightening around the neck of her bottle, Rayne lifted the container to her mouth and began to chug the contents for almost a full minute before practically slamming it back down onto the counter.

 

"Another usual? I've never seen you here before, but... someone wouldn't know my name unless I gave it to them. Raven, was it? That suits you better anyway, don't you think? Less binding than that government affiliated title you just mentioned."

 

Lifting the glass to her lips once more, Rayne took another long swig of her drink, effectively draining most of the contents before leveling it back out and swishing the remaining liquid around and seeing just how much was left. Looking over at Ramona, the air seemed to grow still for a moment as she locked their gazes together for another moment before turning back to the man.

 

"Yes, Rayne is all you'll get from me. There's a select group of people who know me fully and I highly doubt you want to be a part of it."

 

Once more, Rayne lifted the glass off the counter and proceeded to finish the remaining contents inside of it, shaking the bottle from side-to-side afterwards and heaving a sigh. Without looking back this time, Rayne tossed the bottle behind her once again, the glass clinking against her former container and jostling the other pieces of trash within the bin.

 

Standing, Rayne stood still for a second, after allowing the wobbles to go their course before making her way towards the back where the restrooms were. Pausing at the corner, she looked over at Ramona and the girl who was hiding behind her, a faint red hue flashing through her gaze as she let out a soft sigh.

 

"Let me use the restroom first, I doubt any restaurant would appreciate a young lady, such as myself, smelling of urine cause I failed to relieve myself before departing. Wouldn't you agree, 'Mother'?"

 

Before a response could be made, however, Rayne continued on to the bathroom and proceeded to relieve herself. While in the room, she stopped at the mirror and stared at herself for a moment, allowing her eyes to shift a deep, blood red and observing herself in the reflection. A heavy sigh lapsed through an open mouth as depression seemed to settle in.

 

"So, another short lived experience, was it? Pity, I was hoping to enjoy myself a bit more, but 'she' had to be here tonight, didn't she? Oh well, I can't turn down a free meal."

 

Slapping either side of her face with both hands, Rayne made sure her hands were dry before leaving the bathroom and walking back out into the bar. With a hand on her hip, she looked at the small party of people sitting at the counter and coughed.

 

"Well, where we going to eat? I'm kindly hungry after a long day of work."

Edited by zakku_uchiha

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Valerian

 

Valerian's gaze seemed to eye both Rayne and the duo of Ramona and Lynn as they observed the former and her semi-drunken behavior. The man himself was curious as to how and why she had drank this much - after all, she seemed very eager to drink the Black Diamond he had become a supplier of after finding out its quality, which definitely meant she was also very resilient to alcohol - but he did not ask any more questions after the ones he had directed at her since she had entered and taken her seat, as she did not seem keen on... answering.

His gaze turned to Ramona as she seemed to comfort Lynn for a moment and then stepped up to the counter, offering a seat for the young woman whilst taking the glass Fallea had prepared for her on the counter and taking a couple of sips from the liquor within.

"Succumb to poisoning? I'd agree with you, considering her behavior and the sheer amount she probably drank to become like this, but if she says she can drink Black Diamond... then I simply believe she can handle it. Also, I only asked the reason why she’s drinking, not encouraging," Valerian clarified with a quick look at Ramona before he switched his gaze back down at Rayne, the right arm he had been using to lean rising slowly with a glass in hand and allowing him to down another well-prepared shot of liquor with a relieved sigh before he calmly set it down.

"A meal? The closest diner is about a ten minute walk..." he began, taking a second to consider all local diners in his head, then continued with an indifferent wave of his hand, "but sure, I'm up for a quick meal. Haven't really eaten anything today myself."

His stomach seemed to rumble very lowly as a clear indicator of this, making Valerian's eyes grow wide for a second as he clutched at his abdomen and simply hoped people hadn't picked up on the embarrassing for him sound before he recomposed himself.

 

The Remington's gaze moved to Rayne as she continued her drinking, taking a heavy swig of the bottle she held onto for a long while, and slammed down the container with a bang onto the counter. His eyebrows rose as he stared back at her, his right hand now pinned below his jaw to support his head, and then came back down afterward.

"Yes, I'm another usual. Feel free to ask Fallea - she'll vouch for me, guaranteed," he said with a slight smirk as he stared back at Rayne, taking a second to look at the Leah in the room and give her a quick teasing wink, then let out a quick sigh and moved the hand below his head to his forehead.

"And the name might not suit me, but... that 'government-affiliated title' is one of the few things I have left from my mother, so the name Valerian will never sound worse for me. That being said, however, the nickname is still good, so I'll stick to it," Valerian added to his previous words with a tone that switched from low and pained to a more pleasant one as he turned his gaze away to the outside world for a moment.

"Hmm... well, if you say so," was the only thing Valerian replied with to her remark about what more hid behind her Rayne moniker, then turned to the counter at his right and took another glass. Lifting it at the same moment as Rayne did, he drank up, savoring the burning sensation as it spread through his chest and reached an infernal boiling point within that blasted steam directly up into his head and began to stir the hints of a heavy headache come tomorrow.

Taking the moment Rayne had used to excuse herself to the restroom to catch up to his drinking streak, the Remington seemed to go into a trance as he chained over six more glasses of his own liquor mix into his body, then took the seventh one and stared at it for a moment before also downing it and putting the glass down.

The world seemed to become just a little bit more crisper and warmer as the alcohol in Valerian's body began to dilute his blood and sent spikes of pain pulsing through his head - however, even with all symptoms that still bothered him, the Remington was in full control of his body and actually could enjoy life for a few moments through the change that the buzz of liquor had on his thinking.

Pushing himself to his feet and taking a second to settle himself down, the Remington turned around just in time to catch Rayne as she stepped out of the corridor and back into the lobby. He seemed to stretch out slightly as she asked where they would go to eat. Of course, there were a lot of locales, but he knew of one small diner nearby that he used to frequent and still existed.

"I'm gonna offer Red Eagle Grill," Valerian simply spoke as he pulled the zipper of his coat up to shut it, then cracked his neck. Turning to the counter, he walked up to it and retrieved his wallet, then left the standard fee on it - along with an addition for Fallea - and put the wallet away.

"Let the kid upstairs sleep. I'll be back soon, dear," He spoke as he extended a hand to bop the Leah behind the counter on the nose, then drew back with a smirk before he turned around and began to head for the door. Stepping through it, he walked out into the cold outside and stepped a few meters away from the door onto the street before turning toward the entrance and waiting for the others. The diner he had offered was pretty good and had very nice food, but they could still pick something different on the fly, so it did not matter to him what they came up with in the end – all that mattered was for it to have edible tasty food that he could use to stuff his stomach with and not get sick from on the next day.

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