Reinholdt's Repository IV

[Shadowcaller]

[Warehouse]

Jaahlyn might have wanted to get the 'self-defense' part clarified a bit but as Ilpholin had added 'immediate' it seemed clear enough for a verbal contract. "Then we got ourselves a deal. Let's shake on it." The satyr offers her hand to shake. "I will report back once I know more about the devils. I assume I can reach you in the same ways as usual?"

[Reinholdt]

[Warehouse]

This was probably how Jaahlyn fey seals whatever pact she's involved with and enforces it. Ilpholin suppresses her grimace and revulsion in order to reach out and shake Jaahlyn's hand. "Yes, the usual ways." Unless something horrendous happens in that moment, the nymph will withdraw her hand and snap her fingers, the warehouse door opening and breaking the runic circle one last time.

[Shadowcaller]

[Warehouse]

There's nothing happening once they shake hand as far as Ilpholin can tell.
"We could have just skipped the handshake, you know?" Jaahlyn remarks as if sensing Ilpholin's distaste for it. "But good, then we'll be in touch."

The satyr then makes an well-practiced flourish and will depart through the warehouse door.

[Meowmai]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

Reinholdt isn't eager to drag Sylvia off to see other things. Sometimes you have to bask in what you've found! Besides, she likes it here. It may be the first time he's seen her quiver with excitement instead of fear.
... He thinks. It's a difficult quiver to parse.

"I thought you'd like it. Worth a galaxy trip at least." Reinholdt steps forward and flumphs down upon the field, causing an unusually thick, sweet scent to rise up. Impossible to place, being alien in origin, but nice. Too nice. Regardless, he seems happy to just lay there for a bit while she sketches, his eyes watching her more than the garden.

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

"Y-yes. Yes, it was." Sylvia finds herself agreeing with Rein, much to her own surprise. Up until now, the trip had been alarming and frightening to her. But for the first time since being swept up in this all she feels relaxed, at ease. Sort-of. Enough to just appreciate the beauty of it, at least.

Her nose twitches as that sweet scent rises up. "Th-they smell lovely too," she says, momentarily distracted from her drawing. She's still a bit too embarrassed by their combined state of dress to look at Reinholdt all that long though, and returns to her drawing, adding, "Could m-make a n-nice perfume, um, m-maybe just d-diluted. It's q-quite s-strong." Her eyes flick back to the fey for a moment, and absent-minded, she begins to sketch him in to her picture too- though dressed a bit more sensibly.

[Reinholdt]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

"I think it was worth it, just to see the way you smiled." Reinholdt gives a genuine smile of his own to Sylvia.

For a while afterwards, he just lingers and waits though. Letting her sketch to her heart's content. As she works, his thoughts wander.
Eventually, they alight upon an idea that Sylvia brought up. "Hmm... a perfume, huh? Do you think we should bring a few back with us, try and start a garden? We would have exclusive access to a unique, high end, secret perfume."

Reinholdt starts to move closer to Sylvia, his mouth twitching into a little grin when he gets close enough to see that she's been sketching him. "We would be rich. We would partners. Sharing the company. Sharing the secret." Reinholdt gently places his hand on hers to make sure he has her attention, as he looks into her eyes, getting closer and closer still. "Sharing... everything..." If Sylvia doesn't stop him with distress, he'll lean in for a kiss.

[Meowmai]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

A small blush warms Sylvia's face at Reinholdt's comment, and she fidgets ever just a little bit more nervously with her pencil."N-now you're j-just being silly." She mumbles, but the blush shows she appreciates it nonetheless.

The lapin continues to idly sketch, looking up again when Rein ponders the perfume idea aloud. "M-Maybe, it's n-not a bad idea. Th-though w-we d-don't kn-know how t-to look after alien p-plants."

Reinholdt's hand landed on her shoulder then, and she turned, face flushing deeper as he pushed closer. The bunnygirl seemed frozen as she looked into his eyes, but it wasn't distress in her expression. Her heart was hammering furiously in her chest, and it was only somewhat out of nervousness.

[Reinholdt]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

"We can learn." Reinholdt says before his lips press against hers. Gently for a while, letting her get used to the warm, soft sensation. When it breaks he looks at her for a moment, sensing her excitedness and leaning into it, his lips continuing along her chin and neck.

"That's why you wanted to get out right? To learn about the world? Let me teach you..." Reinholdt suggests, stopping at her shoulder and kissing his way back up her neck until he reaches her lips again. This kiss is more passionate, more insistent. One of his hands runs teasingly up the length of her bunny ear and he starts to gently lean towards her body, guiding her down.

[Meowmai]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

The moment Reinholdt's lips touch hers, Sylvia's heart stops. Fortunately, it slowly flutters back to life as Reinholdt holds the kiss, the lapin ever-so-slowly allowing herself to sink into it.

"Th-this isn't q-quite what I-I had in m-m-mind..." Sylvia stammers, although she made no move to ask him to stop. Quite the opposite in fact, softly shivering in appreciation at his touch. This time, when he kissed his lips again, she shyly kissed him back. It would rapidly become obvious that the inexperienced lapin was putty in his hands.

[Reinholdt]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

Reinholdt pauses to smile warmly at her. "The world is full of pleasant surprises. Like meeting you." Rein leans back and slowly starts removing his sexy nurse outfit, giving Sylvia something of a show to help ease her into it. When he's brazenly bare before her, he presses back into her lips, kissing her again, his hands wandering and gently pulling at her clothes as the scene fades to black. Amidst the backdrop of black, stars light up- one, two, four- a constellation of beauty and wonder, an explosion of light and life.

[Meowmai]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

The scene fades back into view as Sylvia finishes pulling back on her clothes, which unfortunately don't really grant that much more modesty. Her face is beet red, but at the same time there's the shyest smile on her face as she looks at the sky.

"Th-that was... n-n-nice..." She manages to stutter, still quite breathless. Even though she's not really sure what came over her, and her heart is still racing from both the nervousness and the "excitement" of the whole endeavour. She barely knew Reinholdt. What had come over her? But it hadn't felt wrong in the moment at all, oh no, far from it. And she certainly didn't regret it.

[Reinholdt]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

Reinholdt touches Sylvia slightly from behind, kissing her neck one last time after having finished getting dressed himself. These clothes are surprisingly fast to put on compared to what he usually wears. He might have to wear them more often if they're gonna be so convenient. "You were nice." Reinholdt pulls away with a smile of his own and notes her checking out the 'sky'.

Taking a look at it, he pulls out a little golden pocket watch from somewhere in his outfit that really doesn't look like it has space for such things. He checks it and raises an eyebrow before tucking it away again. "Oh dear, we were doing that much longer than I thought. Perhaps we should head back for the day? I'm sure there's plenty more to discover, but we've been pretty lucky it's been as pleasant and calm as it has been and I wouldn't want to push my luck."

[Meowmai]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

Sylvia nearly jolts at the touch in surprise- as skittish as ever still- but she settles back and relaxes as she realizes it was just Reinholdt. Obviously. There was nobody else here.

"R-Right. Home w-would be lovely n-now. But th-thanks. F-For all this." The lapin is forced to admit that Reinholdt was right, and the adventure had been worth it. But she had barely left her apartment building until today, and still rather all too much had happened all to fast in her eyes. She would like to return to familiarity now before her heart gives out! "Will you l-lead the way? I d-don't think I r-remember the right path."

[Reinholdt]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

Reinholdt holds back laughter at the fact that Sylvia still jumps at a touch. Well. Baby steps.

"Of course," Rein says with a smile. He starts looking around. "Uhhhhhh... I thinnnnk, it was....". Turn. Turn. Turn. "This way!" He certainly... sounds confident. But they get turned around a fair bit just a moment ago.

He starts walking that way anyways. Confidence solves everything!

To be fair, he's basing it on the fact that the flowers in that direction look a little more trampled than the other directions. Which reminds him to grab one for the trip back.

Fortunately for them, they make it back to some relatively familiar corridors that led them here. To the left the way back to their ship, stepping around the tiny robot they sent in that direction. Sylvia may be incredibly distracted by what lies to the right though. Reinholdt certainly is, stopping and staring with raw confusion. Down there are two people, remarkably nude and turned away from there. The bunny ears on one of them is what stops Rein from calling out to them immediately. Doesn't seem to matter though. They appear to have heard the footsteps and turning around it becomes incredibly clear that they are the spitting, unclothed image of Reinholdt and Sylvia. If you ignore the unusual and unsettling way they move their legs. Their mouths opening and closing like demented fish.

Rein takes a step back away from them towards the ship. They take a shaky, shambling step forward, lurching as they do.

[Meowmai]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

Of course, Sylvia immediately starts to worry that they're heading in the wrong direction. Although she doesn't voice it, it shows, the bunny constantly and anxiously looking down every corridor looking for some landmarks.

Which means she definitely noticed the doppelgangers down the hallway.

To her credit, she doesn't scream. She's too uncertain as to what she's seeing to jump to that. At first, the poor bunny freezes, staring in confusion, and then terror. She seizes hold of Reinholdt's arm in a tight grip, heart racing and ears drooping. When the doppelgangers lurch forwards, she slinks back, hiding behind Reinholdt as if that would somehow work or help. Eyes wide with fear, she manages to squeak out quietly, "W-what... wh-wh-why... what d-d-do we do!?"

[Reinholdt]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

"Don't worry. I have a secret technique that always works in these situations," Reinholdt says, proudly standing before Sylvia, protecting her with his life. The doppelgangers lurch forward again, growing a little steadier with their movements this time, but Reinholdt takes ahold of Sylvia's hand and squeezes it reassuringly.

"Run away!!" Suddenly Reinholdt has shifted behind Sylvia and starts pulling her rapidly in the other direction, hotfooting it out of there. Teaching her the basic mechanics of moving fast away from danger. He leads her back to the spaceship in a hurry, stopping for nothing save making sure Sylvia stays with him. If she dares to trip, he'll just have to catch and carry her himself, a burst of adrenaline giving him momentary strength at the expense of longevity.

Fortunately at least the ship is nearby and getting back aboard is not an arduously slow process. They'll make it back before the doppelgangers catch up. "SEBI seal the ship!" Rein says, continuing away from the docking door and heading straight towards the bridge. There's a negative beeping sound that already suggests what SEBI's reply is. "Error. Cannot comply." Reinholdt's not much of a fan of that answer, but doesn't feel like there's time to do a deep dive into why.

"Then... then..." Rein searches about for an answer. "Activate the engines! Get us out of here!" Another negative beep. "Rank not sufficient to activate this feature."

[Meowmai]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

For a moment, Sylvia allows herself to have hope that her companion does in fact have something up his sleeve, a secret plan that will resolve this all in naught but a few seconds and keep them safe.

And then she finds herself being dragged along at high speed with a yelp, doing her best to keep pace with Reinholdt. For a sheltered writer who's never done a workout in her life, she does surprisingly well, terror-fuelled adrenaline letting the poor bunny run faster than she ever has before. Eventually though, she does stumble, and finds herself swept up in Reinholdt's arms, holding onto him for dear life.

Unfortunately, they don't find safety in the ship, SEBI seemingly refusing to listen to any of Reinholdt's commands. "A-Are they s-still following us!?" She gasps, peering anxiously over her shoulder, expecting to see the doppelgangers lurching right behind them.

"SEBI, p-p-please, c-close the doors and t-take off before th-they g-get here!"

[Reinholdt]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

"I don't know!" Reinholdt says, also glancing back, but they seem to have fallen out of sight. The doppelgangers seem to move slower than Rein, but they have turned several corners in quick succession.

Rein reaches the bridge with the ergonomically disasterous chairs before putting Sylvia back down and panting for breath. A small hand pistol is pulled from somewhere and he takes position near the door, glancing down the hallways, but sees no threat catching up to them.

"Yes Acting Captain Sylvia Brownlaw," SEBI says, the ship powering up and disconnecting from the dock. The launch procedure seems just as streamlined as before, quickly and swiftly moving away from the Dyson Sphere, returning to the beauty of space. Reinholdt seems to breathe a slight sigh of relief, though he holds the gun at ready just in case.

[Meowmai]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

Sylvia collapses into the chair, staring at the door with wide eyes, visibly shaking. Her breathing is rapid and panicked, and despite Reinholdt having done most of the running she looked exhausted.

"W-what were th-those!?" She manages to stammer, shrinking behind the chair as if it could hide her.

[Reinholdt]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

"No idea," Reinholdt replies calmly. He's on edge and his breathing's a little heavy cause he carried a bunny earlier, but he doesn't act like he's out of control of the situation.

"You're ok Sylvia. It'll be... Wait." Reinholdt pauses as a thought comes to him. He frowns a bit. Thinks. Frowns some more. "Isn't your last name Brownlow?"

[Meowmai]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

Sylvia blinks, confused. Why was Reinholdt asking this now? "... Y-yes, it is. W-why?" The lapin asks between shaky breaths, far too distracted by what could be lurking behind the doors to notice what her companion was getting at it.

[Reinholdt]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

"SEBI said Brownlaw..." Reinholdt says after a moment. SEBI is exceptionally quiet in response. "Computers don't make that kind of mistake. They can't output something they've had no input for." Reinholdt checks the corridors again but still no signs of anyone who may be following them. Deciding it's safe enough, he heads over to one of the consoles and starts pushing buttons.

Not that he's wholly sure what the buttons do, at least he manages to pull up a starchart. He looks at the map for a second before cursing under his breath. "SEBI? Why are we moving away from the Nexus?"

There's a moment that almost seems like hesitation before the robotic sounding reply comes. "No destination was requested." SEBI claims.

[Meowmai]

[Around the World in Eighty Posts]

Sylvia goes silent for a moment. Her first thought is that SEBI must have made a simple error, it was only a slight difference in sound after all! Only Reinholdt immediately shoots that down.

Her heart sinks at what she hears next, and she grips onto her chair tight, knuckles going white. "We're m-moving away f-from the Nexus!? No! N-no no n-no! SEBI, p-please, t-take us home, b-bring us b-back to the l-lake we found this sh-ship in! Rein, how d-do we f-fix this!?" Sylvia gasped out in the panic. The poor lapin was about the last person you wanted to have with you in a crisis.