The Dawn and the Dusk IC

[Lady_Lunevis]

「lynn ;; 」

 

Lynn watched the scene as it unfolded, careful eyes flickering back and forth amongst the talking participants. Her shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, the girl breathing out a puff of air she wasn't aware she had been holding. Knowing the man's name--Valerian---further reassured her that he was not someone dangerous, and a movement from Ramona as she gestured to the seat beside relaxed her nerves, and the girl obediently hopped up onto the stool as the other spoke.

 

She allowed Ramona and Valerian to handle the conversation with the newcomer, simply taking her in with wondering eyes. A rather petite figure with a thin frame, one whom Lynn would have considered delicate if not for her boisterous talking, the bottle clasped within her pale fingers drawn at all times.

Her eyes were dark under the lighting of the cafe, their colour indistinguishable from Lynn's point of view. Otherwise, she saw a sharply cut, dark bob, and a rather simplistic style of dress. Was she not cold, this newcomer that wandered the streets of Luna, where cold seemed to eternally plague the hidden alleyways and lumbering cobblestone?

 

"Oh!" she exclaimed as Ramona suggested eating at a diner, her stomach giving a growl of agreement at the exact same time. Flushing slightly, the girl clasped her hands over her rebellious stomach and nodded eagerly. "Yes, please," she said, voice soft. "That would be lovely."

 

She doesn't remember the last time she ate 'outside', so to speak--the numerous people that wandered around the floors of public places made her nervous, and it was easier to cook her own fast meals than wait for minutes that could've been used tracking down her only family member. But perhaps it was time to lower her defences--though not completely, but enough to trust that Ramona had her--their--best interests at heart.

 

「lime ;; 」

 

Lime followed Bear slowly, the only thing keeping him from running away from the larger inventor's grasp being his mother, who seemed eager to explore all the new sights that the capital had to offer. The lycan boy's ears were perked up and at full attention, disliking the strange new technologies that made him feel slow and as if he was behind 'on the times', so to speak. In addition, the tongue that flowed around his conscience was one he was unused to, and the amount of struggling he had to endure simply to understand conversation was much disliked by the werewolf, feeling as if he was completely and utterly at the mercy of these strangers. There was a certain dominance floating about in the air, and Lime disliked the feeling that settled in the pit of his stomach that he was a guest here--or perhaps an illegal bystander, his method of entering the city considered.

 

The lycan's tail dropped as Bear spoke--though he could tell the man was making an effort, Lime remembers being too young during most of his travels to fully grasp the many languages he and Ophelia had come across. He cursed his younger self, as so many were bound to do, that he did not possess the natural ear that Ophelia held, nor the grace she composed herself with even when she did not understand.

Robots? He hoped he was hearing correctly--what were those?

"Robots," he repeated to himself, the word foreign on his tongue. The lycan looked up at Bear, almost as if demanding an explanation to this madness, yet he was interrupted when a swarm of people rushed up to the group. Lime jumped, instantly disliking the feeling of being overrun, but he had little time to recover when suddenly Bear gestured to a strange, strange wall that Lime almost missed amidst all this chaos, and they walked into . . . whoa!

 

Lime grimaced as his ears were instantly assaulted by noise, loud and booming into his sensitive eartips. His ears fell, pressed against his hair, as Lime growled and squeezed his eyes closed as if such actions could block out this madness.

 

A warmth settled over his ears just then, and the lycan peeked up to realise Bear had done something. Wait, what?

The last thing he wanted was some strange sort of magic taking over his body. The lycan placed himself on full alert--easier now that his ears weren't dying, and he supposed he owed his thanks to Bear for that one--and followed with careful ease.

 

They settled down into seats, as Bear read from some sort of pamphlet. Forgetting his snide for just a moment, Lime rushed to the edge of the seats, eyes wide. What just happened? He almost felt as if his body had been torn apart, though not unpleasantly, and now they were on . . . floating seats?

"Mom!" he called, ears perked up. "What is this?" His eyes were alight with childish curiosity, a spark of his adolescent joy returning upon this strange way of being lifted into the air. Was it dangerous? He had a sudden urge to be back on the ground, but at the same time was pleasantly surprised by such magic. He turned back, searching Ophelia for an answer--as if she held all the secrets that there were in their wide, wide world.

 

[Thaelasan]

Bear leaned back in his chair as Vertie sat down next to him and asked him if he was fine. He shrugged.

"[i'm feeling average, right about now.]" Bear replied, sighing. "[i just... these fights are always so menial and yet so many people seem to enjoy them. The robotics on display are only a bare fraction of what we've achieved. It's like knowing we can build with steel and iron but showing the public we can only use rocks and flint.]"

Right as he finished, there was a loud roar as the applause began to cheer far below. Soon, there was a grating noise as the large door on the far end of the arena began to slide open. Several intricate locks clicked as the machines began to slide apart to reveal a hulking monstrosity. Steam piped from its body as the mechanical behemoth stomped out into the arena.

Its upper half seemed humanoid, right where it reached the head - where it had two heads. One was frozen in a face of agony, the other was smiling like a jester. Its hands had been built holding two daggers, throwing them in the air and catching them as it had been programmed to do based upon the assumption of where the dagger would land.

Its bottom half, however, was seated upon a large, rotating, colored sphere. The robot had been painted to look like a clown dancing on a circus ball.

"[According to the pamphlet, this one is.... well, I suppose that's obvious.]" Bear said. "[The Two-Faced Jester. Crafted by the Wilson Twins.]"

As if it had heard him name it, the machine far below began to giggle from within the depths of its machinery. It was at least two times the size of a normal man. It rolled around the arena for the crowd to cheer and gaze on it.

Then, the door at the other end of the arena slid open, awaiting the opponents, Antoinette and Tybalt's, entrance.

[ValidEmotions]

Ramona let the two converse back and forth as she gradually finished her glass, carefully passing the empty cup back to Fallae afterwards. "It's settled, then," she stated. Smiling at Lynn as she heard the familiar sounds of a hungry body, the woman stood and began to straighten out her appearance while Rayne headed for the bathroom. "I do apologize, Fallae darling, for the late-night bother. I'll stop by at better hours as best I can in the future," Ramona commented, giving the bartender an apologetic grin.

 

Rayne returned and asked about their destination, to which Valerian answered with the name of a Grill Ramona was familiar with. Nodding, she waited for everyone to head out, giving Fallae a departing wave before existing herself. As Valerian mentioned, it was about ten minutes before the group of four reached Red Eagle. In that time, Ramona stayed by Lynn's side, silent for much of their travel. Alert but calm, Ramona would offer the girl a smile here and there.

 

When they entered the restaurant, they were told to sit wherever by a waiter. A table was decided upon and the woman slid into the booth. "Order yourselves whatever you like, darlings," Ramona explained. Paying for the food would be of no concern to her. As long as the others were well-fed, she was happy. Glancing once more at Lynn, she gave a thoughtful hum. "You said your brother is Will Sieghart?" she eventually asked. "In that case, I knew your brother once. Such a lovely boy. Dedicated to his work but I never could find out what happened to him after we split ways," the woman sighed faintly.

 

The waiter from earlier came to their table, pen and paper in hand. "What'll it be, folks? Let's start with drinks."

 

"Well, water for everyone is a good start, I think," Ramona said, passing her green gaze over everyone. She wouldn't mind if they ordered other beverages but, water at the least was beneficial.

[HomeForFlowers]

With her mouth curled into a huge grin, Ophelia stared excitedly at the bustling city around her. From Bear's shoulders, she could see the crowd of people bustling around her. The sheer number of humans running around was staggering. Ears pricked, Ophelia looked around herself, gazing out in wonder before glancing down at Bear.

"Where are we going?" she inquired as he marched through the crowd. Much to her displeasure, her voice was stolen away through the bustle of the crowd. She puffed out her cheeks in aggravation. She wanted to talk to Bear but she couldn't with all the ruckus going on. Did all humans have to be so loud? The noise problem only began to escalate and, after Bear said something that Ophelia could not hear, a loud blast of sound rang her in ears. Ophelia let out a high-pitched yelp and dug her fingers into Bear's hair as she reared backwards instinctively. She let out a low growl and flattened her ears against her skull. If the humans were going to be so incredibly loud the entire time, then she was going to end up leaving. Exploration was fun and all, but not at the cost of her hearing.

 

Before Ophelia could start to climb off Bear's back however, the noise suddenly diminished to a bearable level. The lycan blinked and glanced down at Bear who shouted up at her.

"Thank you!" she called down to him as she let go of his hair and looked at her surroundings. She ducked her head as Bear was shoved into an elevator and grasped Bear's shoulders as she felt the elevator ascend upward.

"W-What are we?" Ophelia began to ask as the elevator doors opened and Bear stepped outside. Ophelia was so preoccupied with the wonder of the elevator that she paid no heed to the woman Bear began talking to. Perhaps she should have paid more attention to what was going on since, before she knew it, she was suddenly up in the air along with her companions. Another startled yelp escaped Ophelia and it took her several seconds to realize that no, she was not falling from the air and yes, everyone else was okay. Ophelia gripped the edge of her seat, ears flattened and eyes wide, as she stared out towards the coliseum. It was so much closer now and so... far below. Just what had happened? How did they get so high up so quickly and without Ophelia noticing what had happened? Was this the technology that Father had warned her about? Was this what he was so afraid of?

 

"Mom! What is this?"

At the sound of her son's voice, Ophelia's head swerved to the side. Unlike her, he seemed alight with curiosity with a childish look on his face. Seeing her son's excitement calmed Ophelia down and brought a smile upon her face. "I'm not entirely sure," Ophelia confessed as she peered down at the ground below her. As though on cue, the crowd let out a loud roar as two hulking machines rolled down into stadium. Ophelia let out an awed "ooh" as her tail began to wag madly. "Look at that!" she chimed as she pointed excitedly at the monstrous machine that began to cackle madly. "I want to play with it!" Ophelia placed a foot on the edge of her seat but stopped once she realized just how high up she was. She frowned and clicked her tongue thoughtfully as she glanced over her seat. Beneath her were other seats, all of which were in a somewhat close distance from one another. It wouldn't be hard at all for her to jump from each seat to the next before landing in the coliseum. Of course, that would bring a lot of attention towards her before the two robots began... what was it that Bear said they were going to do? Fight? Oh how she adored fights! Despite how much she wanted to climb down and join the fight, she knew better than to act so soon. If the robots were going to fight, she should wait until they began fighting before jumping. That way, she wouldn't distract the humans so they couldn't enjoy their fight! There was one little problem. Letting out a soft bark, Ophelia nodded her head towards Lime and flickered her ears downward at the seats below. She inclined her head towards the robots before mouthing the words, "Do you want to have an adventure?"

[KuroKishi]

(( Alright, resurrecting again. ))

 

Valerian

 

It took a couple more minutes for the others in the café to step out before the whole group huddled together and began making their way down the cold streets. Whilst Ramona remained close to Lynn, allowing her to feel safer and checking on her every so often with a quick glance, Valerian stood to their right and walked with hands dug into his coat's pockets and his warm breath dissipating from behind his collar's cover in small bursts of fog. Occasionally, he would look at the duo and then turn back forward and walk in complete silence.

 

Soon enough, they managed to reach the Red Eagle - a restaurant located along the outskirts of Winters' district, rather close to some of the attachments that kept the district chained to the city of Athena, and allowed a relatively good look at both what the other side looked like and the only reason why they were even this close to it in the first place.

Warm air licked at his face as the door was swung open, then enveloped him and returned the feeling of flowing blood to his body as it 'thawed' his frozen extremities and face and returned the faint red hue that had been drained away by the freezing temperatures of the outsides.

His eyes scanned the surrounding tables and the bar as he walked further into the Grill with the group, looking for someone that he could recognize or could be recognized by, before a relieved sigh escaped his lips once he established there was nothing to worry about.

 

A waiter walked up to them as they stood in the open area, then told them to seat themselves somewhere before walking off. Making its way to a table within a booth, the group dropped itself in with Raven taking a seat on one side to allow Ramona and Lynn to remain together on the other.

"I suppose I can get some more booze," Valerian slightly joked with a smirk at Ramona as he leaned backward, his arms leaning onto the couch they were sitting on freely. His blue eyes peered down on the two on the other side with a protective feel, the lights above slightly revealing their true azure color, before he dropped his hands to his sides and leaned back into the seat.

As Ramona went on to ask Lynn about her brother, the Remington turned his gaze to his left side and stared out at the colossal chains in the distance. Perhaps it was not right of him to call them colossal, but when each chain link was about as large as he was high, it was very difficult for his mind to call the whole chain anything less than massive.

Glancing back as steps approached their table's side, Valerian eyed the waiter from earlier as he pulled a pen and a notepad, then prepared to write down their orders. Once Ramona added table water to the list for everyone, she turned to the rest and looked for what they would want.

"Alright... I'll have some apple and carrot juice," he said with a strangely serious tone, deciding to have something that would help deal with the alcohol, then took a look at the others and waited for them.

 

 

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

 

 

Miles

 

"So, is there anything else you'd like from me?" Miles asked the man in front of him as he sat in the armchair, his arms slung on the armrests and holding the cane loosely in his left hand. A few more seconds passed whilst the man behind the desk read through the reports and considered the man's previous words, then gave a short nod and shut the folder.

"No - this should be fine. All reports are accounted for, and the information you've given is enough. All I have to say is..."

"That I have to get an apprentice by the Choosing next year, which is a couple of months after my birthday, yes," Maximillian answered for the man, shaking his right hand in ironic approval whilst rising from his seat and nodding back at the minister. Turning and walking past the chair, he approached the door and turned around.

"I'll see you in a month or so," The Asther replied with a tap of his cane on the floor, then raised it in a goodbye before stepping through the door. The sigh that came from the man as he muttered words under his breath was picked up by his ears as he pulled the door shut, but he did not have the time nor the interest to return and talk to him about just what his opinion of Miles was; right now, the Asther had a show to get to.

 

The man was on the streets in what seemed to be a blink of an eye as he walked toward the Coliseum a bit down the street from the Ministry Headquarters. He could already hear the first chants of the crowds within as one of the sides for the upcoming match emerged and presented itself. Sky Bridges seemed to become a haze as he walked through the mass of people in silence, glancing ever so slightly at the zeppelins in the skies around them.

"I'll be late again... how usual of me," Miles smirked to himself as he finally stepped up to the entrance and walked in, stepping through the lobby to the descent podium and watching the sights that were visible through the glass casing of the magical vacuum assembly whilst descending. Stepping off once the platform set itself down, he walked through the mostly empty Underdome and reached the larger elevator to ascend into the Coliseum Proper. A sigh escaped his lips as the platform rose for a few moments, then settled in place at the top and allowed him to get off and step to one of the many ticket booths lining the lobby.

"Good day," He began as he stared at the employee behind the desk, but narrowed his eyes once his first words were ignored. The one at the booth seemed to be busy staring intently at the action from the window usually located behind her chair and had almost stuck herself into the glass, both hands propped against the transparent surface and body hunched forward.

"Ahem," Maximillian added with a tap of his cane on the floor, now managing to get the woman's attention and causing her to turn around with a slightly irritated gaze. Letting out a sigh, she quickly made her way to the seat and looked at the man... then slightly widened her eyes at his appearance.

"Are you... that Asther?" she asked, vagueness noticeable in her voice, as she leaned onto the desk with one hand and processed the ticket with the other. Miles simply nodded in reply once she looked back at him, to which she slightly smirked with a smile that seemed relatively forced.

"Your cousin is already here, in sector D. Have fun," the woman spoke as she placed the ticket down on the desk, then let Miles lay out the five solars and picked them up before slotting them away and quickly returning to her spot. Grabbing the ticket, the inventor shook his head slightly at the employee's back but decided to save his comment and instead looked at the ticket whilst turning to approach the teleporters.

"Sector D as well, I see..." Maximillian muttered as he did not bother to look up and instead stepped into the teleporter – something he could do because he knew the layout of the entire coliseum by memory. Magic swirled around his body as the runes inscribed on the surface shone and with a pulse of energy, his body melted into nothingness.

Reappearing on the corresponding platform on the Zeppelin that housed the D Sector, Maximillian stepped off and clicked forward with his cane in tow. His gaze looked at the others in an attempt to distinguish his cousin, but when he was unable to locate the group he expected to see - mainly thanks to a few overexcited fans that were standing and cheering on instead of sitting properly, much to the dismay of the ones behind and around them - he let out a sigh, shook his head and then walked to a random seat.

Sitting down, Maximillian took a moment to stare at the action below. Apparently, he had managed to come in time before the second participant of the match arrived, as the only thing on the arena floor was a monstrous machinery. His memory vaguely recalled the details of the pamphlet he had randomly gazed at whilst waiting for the employee and came to the conclusion that the thing under them was the Two-Faced Jester, made by the Wilson Twins.

"How utterly... simplistic." Maximillian sighed as he raised his head back up, not really interested in the fight, and clutched the cane with both his hands. He took a second to turn around and gaze into the crowds in one more attempt to spot Bartholomew - something he thought would be quite easy, considering the man's size and outfit he had memorized earlier - but after having no success once again, he looked back forward with a heavy sigh.

It was as he was turning forward that he noticed a peculiar sight he found interesting and glanced back at after a moment of consideration. What he could see from his location was a pair that, whilst normal-looking at first sight, seemed to have a lot going about it once properly examined.

The man sitting one empty seat away to his left was concealed by the hood he had over his head. Although it was not easy to tell at first sight, it was clear he did not exactly enjoy the heights, as his hand slightly twitched and his body breathed very shallowly to try and relieve his gut's twisted feeling - more unusual than that, however, was the magical aura flowing around his body that seemed slightly... mixed with the one of the woman sitting next to him.

Speaking of the woman, now that he gazed at her more properly, Miles could not help but slightly smirk. Though it was clear the onlookers around them had not noticed it, he could clearly tell from the tail swinging wildly behind her and her own aura that this was a devil of some sort. Although he was not sure of it, he could vaguely guess that the two were connected in some way because her aura was exactly the same as the one that entwined itself with the man's own.

"Mm... not a fan of the heights like myself, I assume?" Maximillian asked after a few moments as he placed his hand down with his left hand, then raised his right one up at the man and focused. Swirls of blue danced along his skin as he laced a spell before it parted from his glove and flowed into the unknown individual. Though it was nothing complicated, what he had cast on the stranger was a simple relief spell that would help ease the worry that seemed to stir the man. Though the spell was by now obsolete for him – enough visits to the coliseum had made him resilient to the gut-wrenching feeling – it was one he could recall off the top of his head and found easy to apply in this very similar situation.

"There, that should help," He added as he let out a sigh, then rose from his seat and took the one next to the man instead. Although he was not exactly one for socializing, he felt vaguely intrigued by the man and what he assumed was his companion. Was he a local or did his travels bring him here?

Edited May 4, 2016 by KuroKishi

[Thaelasan]

SOL

 

There was a sudden lull in the sounds of cheering in the coliseum as the people began to notice something was amiss. There came a noise from the magical speakers of the arena as a man, trying his best to make the situation sound less terrible, spoke to the audience.

"Uh... sorry for the delay, everyone! It appears Antoinette and Tybalt have not... shown up this afternoon! So, if you will all be patient for a bit longer, we'll try to find a suitable opponent, a replacement, so that you all get your money's worth. Again, sorry for the delay! I'll be back shortly with more."

The speakers cut short and the crowd gave a collective sigh. But it seemed no one was angry about the whole affair and instead began talking to one another one again. Below, the Jester had stopped rolling and the twins were working on its parts.

But... for some strange reason... the barrier over the chairs Bear and the others were in began to weaken...

 

----

 

LUNA

 

In the depths of the Trash Pits, far from where the group were speaking and eating, a large, shuddering mass began to move slightly as multiple, human arms grasped the side of the docks and lifted itself further back into its stench-ridden home. It crawled across the corpse and garbage infested wastes, bits of debris clinging to its body....

 

-----

 

As Garas slumbered in Leah's Cafe, a floor below him, Hallea was typing on her laptop - still unable to sleep.

 

----

 

A whisper began to echo throughout the streets of Luna, to anyone who would listen, quiet and melodious.

 

Visit us within the dark wastes, children of the Moon. We wish to speak to you. We wish to learn of you...

Edited April 25, 2016 by Thaelasan