Inside

[Shadowcaller]

[Hospital Waiting Room]

Was Cantata crazy? Why wouldn't you bring pen and paper to the waiting room of the hospital your child was about to be born in?
Since Ambrosia had a tome fastened by her hip, since of course she does, and by just touching it she causes it to fly up in the air and open up to two empty pages in which a feathered pen was hidden in-between. It too takes to the air and starts to write down everything Cantata was saying in big glowing letters.

But despite the big elegant letters it was making the pen was writing them much faster than a human hand could. All for Thariza's benefit.
"Is that good? Since it's actually how I came to know sign language in the first place. Me and my helper here-" She gestures at either the tome or the pen, difficult to tell, "-aided in translating it back in the day."

Planar Introductions

"I'd like that very much." Ambrosia remarks as she had been intrigued by each one of Utayo's creations so far so she would like to see her actually making something.
Then her attention is drawn not to the kobold but back at NeOn as she was still waiting for an answer. It's not until the carrier is right by their table that she realizes that she knew that kobolt from somewhere.
She couldn't recall their name but they had been employed by NeOn. The dragon must have just got a message saying they were there with...

A box?

"Oh." Ambrosia remarks as she stares at NeOn and then at the box and then at NeOn again.
It takes her a moment but she eventually start to carefully open the box. As if afraid she might damage whatever is inside. There was this one incident when she had touched one of NeOn's devices and there had been an electric discharge which caused it to short circuit. Though back then Ambrosia wasn't as used to being around so many electronic gadgets.

[Thursday Violist]

[Riftline: An Angel and Me]

As expected, black stuff starts escaping from her eyes again as the hug occurs. Again, not as much as earlier, since it hasn't been long enough for it to recover. That said, she still appreciates it. "All I have to do is catch her in time, and she'll apologize." Very simple to solve this problem!

She grabs the business card.
Looks at it, and for a few moments tries to imagine what kinds of metals would be the most sexy. Possibly some kind of steels? Possibly some kind of shape-memory metal. "Nah, it's got to be some type of steel, there's that fatigue limit."

More importantly, though, she looks at the address. "Butterfly Bay? Can't say I've been there yet, but I like butterflies." Of note, the pixie they're looking for has butterfly wings. Green Dragontail, specifically. They look pretty neat.

[Felandria]

[Down the Drain]

Fel's call will be answered by a smalln furry creature (presumably the missing Skitty) darting between her legs and running the other way down the tunnel.

It won't take long to see what the small animal is running from, which would be another, larger animal. It's too dark to make out the features, but it appears to be either a large rat with bony, cancerous tumors growing out of it, or perhaps a mangled roach with inexplicable fur growing out of the gaps between its chitin plates. The creature advances on Fel slowly, chittering at her as its claws scrape against the tunnel's concrete flooring.

Felandria sees what was hopefully Skitty run the other way, then she sees this………..thing.

She readies herself and pulls out a wand from her pocket.

And now she waits to see if this monster attacks or thinks better of it.

[bc56]

Leaving the [Train]

With Eidolon focused on Jason, Kiun jumps up and flaps her wings to take to the air.
Hmm, this could be a perfect time to get away. But they still didn't prove how Eidolon is catching up to them. If the train had worked, that would be one thing, but...it didn't, so they know just as little as before.
Plus, she would feel bad for Jason.

She flicks a ball of fire down towards Eidolon, expecting the creature to be hurt just a little after Hoplite's stab. But it's more important that it be angry than hurt, right now...

Meanwhile, Haru judges the rest of the train useless to them and is making her way towards the torn holes in the side of the car.

"This ends now!" Eidolon presses the attack on Jason, driving him back and on the defensive.
But Kiun's fire distracts it for a moment and he counters by striking it through the head with his spear. "Agreed." Again, the attacks don't seem to significantly hurt it, but at least they're landing hits.

[Ironsmith]

[Riftline: An Angel and Me]

As expected, black stuff starts escaping from her eyes again as the hug occurs. Again, not as much as earlier, since it hasn't been long enough for it to recover. That said, she still appreciates it. "All I have to do is catch her in time, and she'll apologize." Very simple to solve this problem!

She grabs the business card.
Looks at it, and for a few moments tries to imagine what kinds of metals would be the most sexy. Possibly some kind of steels? Possibly some kind of shape-memory metal. "Nah, it's got to be some type of steel, there's that fatigue limit."

More importantly, though, she looks at the address. "Butterfly Bay? Can't say I've been there yet, but I like butterflies." Of note, the pixie they're looking for has butterfly wings. Green Dragontail, specifically. They look pretty neat.

[Riftline: An Angel and Me]

"Well, I haven't seen a lot of butterflies up there, funny enough, but if you like overweight wolf-men, you'll love it there." Marianne smirks, giving June one last pat on the back. "...Right, though. Let's focus on catching up to Jolene for now. I think I've got a couple of things I want to say to her, too."

Fortunately, the train chooses that precise moment to arrive, hissing into place in front of them as the doors along the sides open. Apparently, nobody from the previous station was interested in coming here; they'll have the cars all to themselves until the next stop at GLoG.

Felandria sees what was hopefully Skitty run the other way, then she sees this………..thing.

She readies herself and pulls out a wand from her pocket.

And now she waits to see if this monster attacks or thinks better of it.

[Down the Drain]

Fortunately for Felandria, the rat-roach thing in front of her doesn't spring into action right away.

Unfortunately for Felandria, that's because the rat-roach thing behind her struck first. The creature in question drops from the ceiling and lands on her back, tearing at her with barbed, appendages that don't seem to so much claw at her so much as hook in and tear away, like she might expect from a particularly aggressive bur. The monster on her back attempts to bite her, lunging for her neck and aiming to sever either her jugular veins or possibly snap her spine; either would be devastating injuries.

The first, meanwhile, charges forward as soon as the second makes itself known, leaping toward one of the giantess's legs, snapping at her ankle and trying to drag it back, in an attempt to throw her off balance and hamper her ability to fight effectively that way. Or at the very least, her ability to run away.

[Morty]

[Hospital Waiting Room]

Thariza peers at the tome, well familiar with it by now.

"Sure, it works. Much quicker than the alternative."

[Arkhosia]

[Hospital Waiting Room]

Ambrosia's a little off the mark in assuming Cantata had much time to prepare beforehand, having gotten the news and rushed out as quick as she could. Still, it was foolish not to have some kind of backup tucked away in her purse at all times - something she makes a note of to remedy before she looks back at Fettina affectionately and raises her hands to reply, only for Ambrosia to provide a handy solution. Her eyes light up and she nods.

"Thank you Ambrosia, this is perfect," Cantata responds with a smile. "Now, I believe you had some questions? It only seems fair you get to start asking, after all." It was her idea in the first place, though Cantata wouldn't deny that she wasn't a little curious about the woman herself.

[Ironsmith]

[North Gate] (32 hours remaining)

"...I feel like we should be somewhat concerned about this." One of the guards standing by the gate notes as a certain seven-and-a-half foot behemoth of blackened metal yet again approaches the gate, stopping several meters short of actually going out.

"Of course it's concerning. Dude that big dropping by every six hours to... what, stop and stare? What's that guy's deal?"

"No idea. But it looks fishy as hell to me. We should probably do something about it."

"Like what? Call Intersection? Standing around isn't exactly illegal, Tina."

"It actually is. It's called loitering."

"...Wait, really? That's a thing?"

"Seriously, yeah. We probably could have him arrested."

"...Ah, I don't know. We have been having fewer incidents here over the past few hours. I think the guys coming in assume he's with us."

"And do you want them to keep assuming that? What if he does something freaky, like, I don't know, cut the horns off the first tiefling that comes through?"

"...You've got a point. Maybe we should call Intersection after all."

bop-bep-boop-boop-bep-bop-bip~

-

(Fifteen minutes later)

"...My god, are you still on hold?"

"Yeah. At least the music's good."

"Okay, you know what? Screw Intersection. I've got a MERC number here, too, we can call them up and have them chase him off."

"...Is that wise? I mean, Intersection's public, but MERC will probably charge-"

"Take it out of my check. Dude's giving me the creeps, I'll pay to have him gone."

"...Suit yourself."

[Keeper]

Philip Memorial Library

Sphinx is waiting for her...brother/sister/it's complicated in front of her workplace.
Tristan said that he'd come meet her after her shift. Which of course is any time Tristan wants to come since Sphinx's shifts are entirely voluntary and she can come and go whenever she wants.
She sighs, laying on the steps of the library in her nerdy shirt. Being a giant mythical beast means that the cold doesn't bother her. It hasn't since she chose to don her Mantle in this very building all that time ago. She hasn't really made any progress on that front. Just found places that make big shirts with enough text for her powers to get them on. At least she has that. If not for her ability to manipulate text she'd have to have hired an assistant to help her get clothes on.
Maybe this meeting they're going to will have advice for her.

[Rebonack]

[Philip Memorial Library]

We'll go with sibling that's probably fine.

Chimera is... well. Two out of three heads are female. So 'siblings' is probably more accurate. They don't make too huge of a deal out of it, really. They understand both. And they understand how the mantel of Echidna's spawn tends to tweak things a little. Just call us whatever, Leona had insisted. Except late for dinner, Drakaina had hastily added.

Cheeky snake that she is.

Regardless, Sphinx doesn't have to wait very long.

Chimera comes trotting down the street, getting some looks from the local fish people. "Heeeeey you ready for the big meetup?" Drakaina calls out, that crocodile smile that graces her face as big as ever.
"Yo. Cool shirt," Leona adds, as laconic as usual.
"Good evening Sphinx. I h-hope your shift at the library was nice tonight?" Aries inquires.

Chimera is, of course, all magical animaled up for the meeting. It wouldn't really be Magical Animals Anonymous otherwise, right?

[Keeper]

Philip Memorial Library

The Mantles are weird. They made Chimera refer to Nim as Sister before he was Sphinx. And it's still why Sphinx often calls Chimera the same no matter how many heads are out at the time. And also of course, why Sphinx is Sphinx with the included pronouns and all while she's like this. It's all very much a thing.

"Hello, you three. Yes, it was quite nice. Uneventful and cool. I've considered having a seat installed for me here but it would be quite a pain for Howard to fit it through the door when I leave." the stones are a bit cold against her chest as she's laying there all dramatically.

[Rebonack]

[Philip Memorial Library]

Laying around dramatically is a pretty important skill for Sphinx to have.

"Well the folks around here seem to be huge fans of geometry warping shinanagins so I'll bet he could figure it out," Drakaina replies with a wink.

Either way! Chimera sets off right away, trotting down the street toward a completely different part of the City. Aries busies himself with polite 'excuse mes' as the pair of rather large mythological critters make their way along the sidewalk and through the gross slushy snow that has been shoved off the paths. They don't want to take up the whole sidewalk and standing right in the middle of the road won't really do, either.

Drakaina, of course, talks to Sphinx the whole way there.

"So the meetings are at this really slick club that rents out the second floor for events. Cersei's Cauldron? It's a pretty great venue that has some solid bands most of the time. The owner may or may not be an actual witch."

If the owner IS a witch they might be benefiting from the odd bit of mythological animal fur that gets shed during the meetings. Who knows what kind of magic nonsense you could do with that?

"We took Jade to there once. Umm... the c-club, I mean. Not the MAA meeting. It was nice. But... a l-little loud," Aries adds.
"Clubs are ALWAYS a little loud! That's what makes them FUN!" Drakaina insists.

[Keeper]

Philip Memorial Library

Sphinx begrudgingly follows Chimera, despite not really liking getting her paws wet with snow.
"If she was an actual witch I'm sure she knows lots of interesting things."
That's also part of being Sphinx. Nim was a xenobiologist, but Sphinx wants to know about ALL things. Everything she can fit in her head. Which is quite a lot.
"I never really went to clubs much. Even when I fit in the door easily."

[Rebonack]

[Toward Cersei's Cauldron]

Sphinx COULD make use of those wings.

But Chimera has no wings. Just two paws and two hooves.

Chimeras with wings were a pretty specifically D&D thing. That and having three heads all on the same end of their body.

"Probably! We haven't talked to her so I've got know idea. She's never swung by one of the meetings and we didn't see her when we dropped by the club," Drakaina recounts.

"Not wanting to go to clubs is okay. N-not everyone likes that kind of thing," Aries adds.
"Hah, yeah! It always takes some prodding to get Aries to go anywhere. Thankfully he's got a great sister like ME to badger him constantly," Drakaina laughs.

Their dynamic when they all share the same head space is definitely a thing. Tristan has always had three very distinct internal monologs. But until he got dumped into the Nexus he thought that was just normal. Turns out there was a pretty good reason for it.

"Sooooo... you're still studying, right? We just finished up our PhD work a few weeks ago! So we're still basically doing the same sorta stuff. Except instead of just bothering crabs now we're Doctor bothering crabs," Drakaina preens.

"Yeah she won't stop jabbering about it," Leona sighs. "We're NOT making people call us doctor. It's dumb."

[Keeper]

Toward Cersei's Cauldron

"Yeah, my degrees went through, too. Though I haven't been at it long enough to get a PhD."
Sphinx originally was going for her master's degree in magic biology. But since she can just exist in the library and memorize entire course's worth of work in a matter of days she also went and now has a bachelor's in five more fields of science, plus literature. And still she's not sure if it's enough.
"Maybe I could go into magic next."

[Morty]

[North Gate]

It's not long before a... truck appears one street away. At least it seems to be a truck but someone has tinkered with it so much that it looks almost like an APC. From inside, Olvisin uses a pair of binoculars to check if the knight is still there.

[Ironsmith]

[North Gate]

Yup. Still there. And staring right back at her, even.

However, the knight in question doesn't seem to have much interest in antagonizing her just this moment. Which shouldn't be that surprising; he did give her three days to get her affairs in order. It would go against that promise to attack her just because she happened to be going through the gate at the same time he was there. He intends to watch to see if she leaves and when she comes back, but that's all the reaction she'll get out of him. Right away, at least.

[Rebonack]

[Toward Cersei's Cauldron]

"Well the beedegrees are cool and all BUT the fun thing about reaching higher is getting to learn something new that no one has ever known before!" Drakaina says gleefully. "Learning something new and then sharing it with the world and having a bunch of other scientists yell at you and tell you that your idea is dumb and wrong and then they run the experiment too and find the same result and begrudgingly admit that sure maybe your contributed to the knowledge of society after all."

Isn't science fun?

"But... um... if you just like learning a whole lot then that's okay t-too. Sometimes h-having a wide knowledge base is helpful! You can make connections that people with a m-more focused specialization might miss," Aries points out.

"Like hermit crabs," Leona adds.

"Hey, hermit crabs are great!"
"Sure, whatever."

[Keeper]

Toward Cersei’s Cauldron

”Yup. I love learning everything. And I can specialize in all the biology stuff I was already specializing in before I got all this extra room in my head. That’s one plus of mythical long lives.”
They’re probably kind of immortal. Mostly.

[Rebonack]

[Oh hey there's Cersei's Cauldron]

"Umm... I should p-probably mention that B-Brenda is waiting for us outside. She's... umm..."
"Huggy," Leona offers.
"Haha, that's putting it lightly! She's one of the real unlucky ones. Hasn't ever found a way to get her hands back but she's managed."

That might raise the question of how she accomplishes the hugs.

And lo it isn't long before our heroes arrive at the club!

But what IS long is the basilisk currently parked out front.

She's...

Big.

Extremely big.

A huge vaguely dragony looking snake with scales made of some sort of grey stone and a crest that looks rather like a crown. How something so enormous would even fit inside is anyone's guess.

Also?

She's holding a smart phone up to one of her eyes with one half of her forked tongue whilst poking at it with the other half. Quite quickly. It's a pretty amazing feat.

No doubt this is StoneColdSnek.

The basilisk immediately looks at Chimera and Sphinx. Thankfully she's wearing some very large and very stylish shades, otherwise her gaze would be lethally venomous. "Oh! Hi Tristan! You made it!"

Oh no.

Now she's coiling around the trio for a hug. Unless Sphinx watches herself she'll get pulled in on the action, too.

[Gullara]

[Planar Introductions]

Utayo arches a brow at the entrance of the delivery kobald, and at this whole situation in general, really. Hadn't these two already been separated for some time? This is rather unexpected, she would think.

She doesn't say any of this, of course. That would be quite rude.

[Shadowcaller]

[Hospital Waiting Room]

Ambrosia's a little off the mark in assuming Cantata had much time to prepare beforehand, having gotten the news and rushed out as quick as she could. Still, it was foolish not to have some kind of backup tucked away in her purse at all times - something she makes a note of to remedy before she looks back at Fettina affectionately and raises her hands to reply, only for Ambrosia to provide a handy solution. Her eyes light up and she nods.

"Thank you Ambrosia, this is perfect," Cantata responds with a smile. "Now, I believe you had some questions? It only seems fair you get to start asking, after all." It was her idea in the first place, though Cantata wouldn't deny that she wasn't a little curious about the woman herself.

[Hospital Waiting Room]

"Well, if I'm going to be honest I was just trying to make small talk so we weren't just standing around in here in awkward silence and questions is what comes naturally to me I suppose." The scholar gives them a weak shrug. "But if you don't mind I'm genuinely curious about your relationship to Dena and one another. Since it seems to be a lot more to it than meets the eye."

[Morty]

[North Gate]

"Kuvesh, Plan A," Olvisin declares as she peers into the binoculars.

"I don't know if it counts as a plan..."

"I don't see you proposing a better one. Just be ready, this probably won't kill him."

Kuvesh sighs, starts the truck's engine and rams the gas pedal, directing the truck straight at Arne, at high speed.

[Hospital]

19 weeks into Trick's pregnancy, she'll find herself on a hospital bed, undergoing an ultrasound test. A routine part of a pregnancy for someone with access to modern medicine. The doctor is a male gnome whose face is dominated by a voluminous mustache and equally voluminous swept-back hair.

"Hmm. Yes, yes. They look like perfectly healthy baby boys. You have nothing to worry about, Mrs. Mouchabière."

Sophie's nervous smile freezes on her face. This is an expression Trick knows well. It happens when Sophie tries to maintain her cool and collected problem-solving persona while panicking on the inside.

"Boys, plural?"

"Oh, yes, indeed. You're having twins."

The computer screen does indeed clearly show two babies in Trick's womb.

[Halae]

[Hospital]

Trick stares at Sophie for a long moment, her expression fading into that wonderfully unimpressed look she has whenever she's unhappy with an event. Trick only signed up for one child, not two!

"I guess we'll need another name, then," her voice isn't really upset, just resigned.

[Ironsmith]

[North Gate]

It's doubtful that anyone in that vehicle is unfamiliar with the concept of a juggernaut. And given the way the knight stares down the vehicle without flinching, there's plenty of cause to believe that ramming the knight will be comparable to driving straight into a tree, and losing a perfectly good car in the process.

So it probably comes as a relief when the vehicle makes its impact and the knight disappears under the undercarriage, followed by a jolt and loud thudunk the tires rolls over it. There's not no damage to the car; Kuvesh will be able to see a set of ugly dents where the knight made impact, most notably a crescent-shaped crumple where it wrapped around its waist. And the damage does seem to be slightly more than aesthetic; Kuvesh will have problems getting it back up to speed. The impact most likely knocked the brakes out of alignment or possibly did some damage to the fuel injector or one of the cylinders. And it'll ride a little weirdly, too, listing off to one side and giving an awful scraping sound down below the rear passenger seat; more impact damage, no doubt.

They'll have to take it in for repairs, but it looks as though the car did indeed make for an effective weapon.

[Morty]

[North Gate]

"What'd I tell you? We got him."

"We got the truck pretty good too."

"It's in a better shape than I would be if he got his hands on me. Now let's pile out and make sure he's dead. Be ready in case he's not, he's some crazy bastard."

The goblins leave the truck, weapons (or a staff in Luuvat's case) at the ready.

[Hospital]

"Yes... yes we will." Sophie swallows. "I think Bertin was second on our list for boys..."

"I realize that having twins in your first pregnancy can come as a shock. But rest assured, I've worked with many parents who were in your position and they've managed admirably." The doctor is doing his best to be reassuring.

[Ironsmith]

[North Gate]

That, it turns out, is also a good call. As the moment Olvisin is out of her seat, a glowing blue energy blade shoots out from it, right where her spine would have been had she stayed for a second longer. This is quickly followed by the blade traveling up and forward, cutting a long furrow into the truck, up into the main engine block, and leaving a wide enough gap for something to crawl up through. Which is, in turn, immediately followed up by a black gauntlet as the knight paws its way through the truck, slowly drawing itself out before noticing that the goblins have left the vehicle... at which point it raises the energy blade again and hacks away a good portion of the door and floor, stepping out and drawing itself up to its full height.

Which at least gives them time to do something before it has a chance to attack them.

[Halae]

[Hospital]

"Yes... yes we will." Sophie swallows. "I think Bertin was second on our list for boys..."

"I realize that having twins in your first pregnancy can come as a shock. But rest assured, I've worked with many parents who were in your position and they've managed admirably." The doctor is doing his best to be reassuring.

[Hospital]

Trick regards Sophie for a long moment, getting across a wealth of emotions in her gaze. She definitely blames Sophie for this, "Yes. Janos and Bertin, then. Well, I've gotten more than I bargained for in the past as well and always muddled through; I doubt this'll be any different."

"Are we about done here, doctor?"

[Morty]

[North Gate]

"FUCK!"

"Our truck!"

"That could have been me!"

"Focus, dumbasses. Zaalmin!"

Zaalmin fires her shotgun, which actually shoots an iron spike. She aims it at the figure's chest, where it should prove very effective at piercing its armor. If it becomes embedded, Luuvat aims a stream of lightning at it. Olvisin, meanwhile, aims a few bursts of gunfire at the knight's knees, with armor-piercing rounds. Kuvesh stays in the front, shield raised, a diamond-tipped pick in his right hand.

[Hospital]

"Yes, that is it for now. Your pregnancy is proceeding without complications, ma'am."

Sophie just nods, looking awkward and shifty.

[Halae]

[Hospital]

Trick lets out a sigh, and pulls herself off the chair. Her pregnancy is starting to show , and because of that she's taken to wearing bulkier shirts - her stomach is going to be protruding much more in the coming days.

Trick lets out a sigh, kisses Sophie on the cheek, and takes her hand to lead her out, "Come on, honey. Let's go."