Riverside

Locales found within the main city centers; primarily Inside, Riverside, and Skyside.
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Reinholdt
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Re: Riverside

Post by Reinholdt »

[Northside Graveyard]

"Longer than I thought then. Good to know. And no, I have very different plans for you," Ilpholin says as she gathers the letters quicker than expected and places them in her old lady purse.

She returns to the circle. "Sounds like you won't mind being flung back to a random corner of the Abyss and bound there for a thousand years then. Glad we're all on the same page." Ilpholin pulls out some more holy water in preparation for the exorcism. "Personally, I think the angel was overselling it. A smart demon like you can probably find your way back out of that sea in a hundred years or so."
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Gullara
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Re: Riverside

Post by Gullara »

Shadowcaller wrote: Dec 06, 2022 12:54 am [Fight or Flight]

Irena looks skeptical of this claim. Though why look when you can speak?
“Oh yeah? Must be the same stairs I repeatedly fell down when I was in your age.” Not even true as Irena has technically never been in their age. “That or you got into a proper fight kid.” She moves forward, positioning herself next to Nadia with her arms crossed. “So how about you repeat that story again to me. See if you missed any details, huh?” Her gaze has shifted to the Kid as she was sure he was more involved in this than he seemed.

He was always scheming behind her back so she was sure he had gotten involved in all this.
Meowmai wrote: Dec 08, 2022 7:19 am [Fight or Flight]

"Yeah well look, I didn't fucking start it alright? You shoulda heard the shit they were saying anyways!" She stops and blinks for a moment. Okay, maybe a little hard on that response. But the cats out of the bag now. Maybe try to explain it? "Okay yeah so, I got into a fight. Eliseo pulled me out of it before it could really kick off. Shouldn't have. What does it matter?" She scowled.
[Fight or Flight]

Nadia's eyebrows shoot up in a dangerous way at Atsede's outburst. Then she looks at Eliseo intent. "You are not getting in fights." The words are more of a warning than anything. Eliseo throws up his hands defensively.

"No no, seriously. These jerks jumped her on her way home. I wasn't just gonna leave her. So we chased them off." The words poor out of his mouth before he can get grounded for another month.

Nadia hardly seem mollified. "These were your classmates? Then tell me their names and I'll call the school."

"Uh..." Eliseo seems pretty reluctant to nark, even if he doesn't like these people.
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Ironsmith
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Re: Riverside

Post by Ironsmith »

[Northside Graveyard]

"Heh. You're still not getting it, are you?" The demon chortles, shaking his head. "Bind me for a thousand years? You couldn't bind me for a second." He raises his hand and gives it a lazy flick. "Let me show you."

krackooooom!

A blast of bitterly-cold wind rolls through the cemetery, howling through the air and blasting at Ilpholin and the surrounding tombstones. It's not a singular wave, either; should Ilpholin be knocked over by the blast, she'll find herself continually buffeted against the dirt, and if she should remain standing, it'll continue to push against her until that changes. Overhead, the sky opens up and a torrential downpour begins, dropping thousands upon thousands of hailstones, which smash themselves into the ground. And despite it being the middle of the afternoon, the cemetery and everything around it goes dark in a matter of moments, as though the sun had simply been blotted away, showing up only as pale reflections off the hailstones.

"Do you see it yet?" The demon cackles, leaning against the circle. "I've done practically nothing and look at the chaos that ensued! Do you understand how pointless your little crusade is now?"
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Reinholdt
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Re: Riverside

Post by Reinholdt »

[Northside Graveyard]

Ilpholin's eyes dart around at first when the weather changes and is nearly pushed off her feet by the initial gust. The helpless old lady drives her cane deep into the ground and grips it tightly, using it as a stake and an anchor. The hail comes and batters her body, forcing her to crouch further, doing what she can to protect her head as the blows come again and again. She glares at the demon with a mixture of pity and disgust.

"You'll never understand the purpose of what I do demon," Ilpholin claims, voice barely audible in the din, but never yielding. Bent, not broken. "It's too far 'beneath' you. And you're probably right. I can't bind you."

The phyrexian nymph opens her mouth as if to say more, but it does not close this time. Instead it remains open, eerily unmoving as a voice utters forth, much louder and much clearer and very much not her own, but someone else's entirely. It is filled with divine intent and purpose, an angelic rebuking of hell on earth. A guardian and a jailor whose words of judgement drive out unholy presences, forcing them out of their hosts and back into the Abyss.
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Re: Riverside

Post by Ironsmith »

[Northside Graveyard]

"You think your angels will save you?" The demon cackles. "Let me let you in on a little secret, Ilpholin Xar'cha. Your angels are-"

It's around now that the demon's expression changes, to a look of shock, when the realization suddenly hits him that they are not talking about the same angels.

thudunkipipipipipip-

Without the demon in the haggard man's body, it drops quickly to the ground, and from there is buffeted and battered in exactly the way one might expect a limp body in a storm to be.

And speaking of the storm, Ilpholin's divine invocation seems to have an effect on it, as well. While the storm doesn't stop outright immediately, it does stop escalating, and from there, winds down significantly. The howling winds are replaced by a drawn-out, hellish scream as the demon is forced out and cast away, back where it belongs. The hailstones clatter to the ground, slowly thinning out into a light blanket of snow flurries drifting around the nymph. And the black skies give way to overcast clouds, which themselves are moving with remarkable speed, leaving the nymph bathed in a shaft of sunlight as they begin to part.

-

...Well. That was... unexpected.

Just who are you, really, Ilpholin Xar'cha?

You don't have to answer that. I know you can't. You don't see things the way we do.

But suffice to say... you've got my attention, lady.
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Riverside

Post by Shadowcaller »

[Fight or Flight]

Irena's gaze moves to Eliseo and lingers on him for a moment until she turns to Atsede again and nods. "Alright. So what were they saying then?" She seems pretty unfazed by the language used here. "You know, in case they decide to nark on you." Her gaze meets Atsede's. "Since you returned all that with credit, didn't you?" She gestures at the changelings black eye. "Gotta' make sure to keep your story straight."

[Room with a Goat]

"Yes, I thought it would be a bigger deal too- uh, I guess to you it would be a big deal. I haven't really eaten- well, a person before. Souls back home are just fractions of them. Like pictures. You get what they felt like in that moment of their lives. They just generate a new one. It's just like reading someone's mind, doesn't harm them in any way other than their privacy being violated."

Melody will get some strange insight as she hears Jaahlyn saying this.

She can somehow feel that despite all the satyrs reassurances of how not-big-a-deal it was it still sounded pretty bad going around eating people's souls. Since while Jaahlyn couldn't remember casually doing it to people but she was fairly certain she had done it before in her past lives even if she couldn't recall specific instances.

"Crap. It's really hard to keep my thoughts from you." A beat. "N-not that I'm hiding anything but- I never had another person in my brain before. It's honestly giving me a headache having two set of thoughts like this." There's a longer pause.

Since a fear raises within the fey. That idea of having two sets of thoughts? She didn't quite finish it. As she was about to mention that she sometimes couldn't quite tell which ones were hers and which ones were Melody's.
That she believes might be the start of Melody starting to getting absorbed into her own being. As that was how eating a soul worked normally. You got their memories and they could start to feel like your own. She hadn't thought that would work the same way with a soul like Melody's yet what if it did? What if Melody would eventually just become another version of her like Ava had started to become-

"You can hear all that, can't you?" Jaahlyn's voice suddenly interrupts the train of thoughts that were coming at Melody. "This might be bad." She let's out an mental sigh.

"It probably won't go fast considering how strong your soul is but there might be a way to counteract the process a bit. Uhh... how would you like to be in control of this vessel for a while? So you can explain all this to the rest of the band?" She means her body.
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Re: Riverside

Post by Ironsmith »

[Room with a Goat]

...I don't know what else I was expecting. You eat something and eventually it gets digested, right? That's... that's just how it works.

...Still not a great position for me, though. I'm not too happy with the idea of being... absorbed. This is sounding more like Mulching the more you talk about it. And that's, um... well I would say it would kill me, but that's sort of underselling it, isn't it? It's way worse than killing me.

Not... that I'm mad that you ate me. I mean, I know that sounds awful, but... you were just trying to help. And if you didn't eat me now, someone else would have when I got to the Abyss. Between those two options, this is definitely the better one.

...Not to be gross or anything, but isn't there an option to, er... expel me, somehow? Because I don't really like the idea of taking you over, either. It just... it doesn't seem right. You've already done a lot for me and my friends. I don't think I can take your body from you, even just for a little bit. At some point, it just seems like I'm taking advantage of you and I really don't want to do that.

So... yeah. "Expulsion". Is that possible?
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Reinholdt
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Re: Riverside

Post by Reinholdt »

[Northside Graveyard]

Ilpholin lets out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She was... deeply concerned that wouldn't work. Sure the exorcism audio she downloaded from Magtube seemed legit, as did the pictures of the binding circle. But any exorcism video that concludes with 'Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe' in latin raises some red flags. The priest she got the holy water from said it sounded legit though, so she owes him big time.

Ilpholin can't celebrate too early though- her objective is not complete. She hurries to her feet, stopping when she tries to wince. That was a rough storm and she's going to be feeling it for awhile. She'll push past the pain for now though and hurry to Artur's side, kneeling beside him and checking his pulse. "Hey! Hey can you hear me?"
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Re: Riverside

Post by Ironsmith »

[Northside Graveyard]

Despite the beating he took, Ilpholin will be relieved to know that the man does, in fact, have a pulse. He's breathing regularly, too, which she'll be able to tell even from a distance, thanks to his chest steadily rising and falling, his breath catching in the air. He's even shivering from the cold, which is probably an encouraging sign, if indicative of something that should be addressed soon.

But any hope that he's alive will be dashed when she sees his eyes.

Artur is staring blankly ahead, wholly unconcerned with the nymph's attempts to get his attention. He blinks every few seconds, a little bit more when one of the flurries lands directly on his eyeball, but other than that, he simply looks up at the sky with the vacant stare of a soulless man.

His heart's still pumping, his lungs are still breathing, and his reflexes are still firing, but he's as dead as a doornail, and probably has been the entire time.
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Shadowcaller
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Re: Riverside

Post by Shadowcaller »

[Room with a Goat]

"Oh yeah. There totally is. It's just the matter of finding the right vessel. Usually I have something on hand but your soul is going to need some more... special."

Fey can apparently 'share' souls they've eaten with one another. And Jaahlyn can't help but to imagine it as a joint being passed around among fey. Since that's what satyrs sometimes did apparently when they were sharing a especially erotic or in other ways pleasurable memories.

"Uh... I can't really turn this off..."

This is followed by one of Jaahlyn's own pleasurable memories involving her boyfriend.

"-anyway." The satyr is able to brush this unintentional sharing of her innermost private moments since she wasn't really ashamed of that one. "That or I can just make you move on once the heat has died down. Either way, we should probably talk to the band first. Marianne said something about a devil before I cut off our call and I feel like I should get the details about that one."
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Reinholdt
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Re: Riverside

Post by Reinholdt »

[Northside Graveyard]

"Hey! Hey..." Ilpholin snaps her fingers in front of Artur's face a few times before her hand falls in defeat, becoming a fist momentarily. Dammit... Lolth dammit!
...
It would probably be a mercy just killing him here.
...
Ilpholin can't bring herself to do that after all the effort she put into saving the dead weight. And she can't leave him here. So she'll just have to scoop Artur up and carry him out of the Graveyard. She hails a taxi as soon as possible to ship him off to the hospital, paying the driver exorbitantly ahead of time and only explaining it was drugs and demons. Going with is just going to get her embroiled in endless questions, so she peels off to go home and get changed out of this body and into a shower.
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Re: Riverside

Post by Ironsmith »

[Room with a Goat]

Oh... oh, my.

Jaahlyn's memory being echoed to Melody is going to result in some feedback issues; Melody's own memories being reflected back to her. First that time with Stacy (she only knew her as Stacy then, and had no idea she was a succubus), then one with her own then-boyfriend (they broke up the next day when she heard him bragging about it, the jerk) and then finally so, so many times with the rest of the band, both in the Abyss and out of it.

So basically a whole lot of experiences she's regretted to varying degrees. That, and whatever blushing deep down in the soul feels like.

...Yeah. Yeah, we should... we should talk with the others about what happened. Figure out what... what we're going to do.

And, um... s-sorry. In advance. You're... probably going to be caught up in some pretty uncomfortable conversations.


[Northside Graveyard]

That's probably the last she's going to hear of Artur. For better or for worse. Not hearing about his failure to recover has got to be better than the alternative, right? At least then she can be hopeful.

For all the good it will do. I'm surprised at you, leaving me a convenient vessel like that. All I need to do is wait and it's mine again, to do with as I pleased. Seems like a major tactical error for a ruthless demon slayer to make.

...Or am I to believe now that you aren't that ruthless?
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Riverside

Post by Meowmai »

Gullara wrote: Dec 12, 2022 2:47 am [Fight or Flight]

Nadia's eyebrows shoot up in a dangerous way at Atsede's outburst. Then she looks at Eliseo intent. "You are not getting in fights." The words are more of a warning than anything. Eliseo throws up his hands defensively.

"No no, seriously. These jerks jumped her on her way home. I wasn't just gonna leave her. So we chased them off." The words poor out of his mouth before he can get grounded for another month.

Nadia hardly seem mollified. "These were your classmates? Then tell me their names and I'll call the school."

"Uh..." Eliseo seems pretty reluctant to nark, even if he doesn't like these people.
Shadowcaller wrote: Dec 12, 2022 8:11 am [Fight or Flight]

Irena's gaze moves to Eliseo and lingers on him for a moment until she turns to Atsede again and nods. "Alright. So what were they saying then?" She seems pretty unfazed by the language used here. "You know, in case they decide to nark on you." Her gaze meets Atsede's. "Since you returned all that with credit, didn't you?" She gestures at the changelings black eye. "Gotta' make sure to keep your story straight."
[Fight or Flight]

Atsede was hardly in a hurry to nark either. Besides, she had unfinished business with that lot- and she can't get her payback punch in if they're suspended and away from school. Her scowl deepens at Irena's comments. "I fuckin wish. As we said, Eliseo pulled me out before things really started." The changeling sounded rather miffed about that. "And they were saying all kinds of shit. Mostly just mad I got to kiss their crushes before they did." She scoffs and folds her arms. "But they flung some shit Eli's and Stra- Ana's way too. And that was bullshit." Atsede didn't seem particularly worried about the idea of getting narked on herself. None of those three would be enough of an idiot to do that when they were the ones who ambushed her in an alleyway.
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Shadowcaller
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Re: Riverside

Post by Shadowcaller »

[Room with a Goat]

"It's fine." Jaahlyn tries to reassure even in the face of the erotic visions. "I'm, uh, used to these sort of things. Had-" Better? Worse? Both of those were terrible things to say in this situation! "-look, we're both going to unintentionally share these things with one another for a little while so we might as well get used to it. We've both had some good and terrible moments and that's nothing to be ashamed of. Nor is what you're going to be discussing with the band, okay? We've both been through some pretty horrible things already so this should be a breeze in comparison."
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Re: Riverside

Post by Ironsmith »

[Room with a Goat]

But it is something to be ashamed of! I mean, just... look at me!

Ilpholin. Even knowing now that's who Mrs. Mordecai actually was, her thorough breakdown of Melody as a person is still heavy on her mind. And along with it, Melody's own thoughts swirling around inside her head when she was giving her little speech, along with the sick, skeezy feeling that stuck with her throughout.

I'm... I'm spineless. She was right about that. Spineless and pathetic and... and I deserve the Abyss, don't I? It's what I get for being so useless. I let other people push me around, go along to get along, and... and it doesn't really matter what I'm thinking the whole time, does it? What's the point in having a conscience if I never use it?

...I'm a terrible person to be sharing your head with. I'm... I'm sorry, I'm going to be a burden. I don't mean to be, but I will be. It's just what I am.
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Riverside

Post by Shadowcaller »

[Room with a Goat]

There's no immediate reply.

Then the darkness suddenly pulls away and Melody will find herself with an actual body standing in what seems to be a marble temple on a hill overlooking a mediterranean sea. There's a warm summer breeze coming in from the sea and she can feel it causing her undefined clothes to flutter. Some kind of dress? There's a dreamlike feeling in the air so it's not only her clothes that are difficult to perceive.

Then she sees Jaahlyn.
It can't be avoided as Melody's gaze seems drawn to her. And she does stand out as she somehow seems more real than her surroundings. Even Melody's own body seems hazy in comparison. But this is not the Jaahlyn she has come to know.
Her legs while partly covered by a red linen dress are human and she has no horns or white hair. The only feature that still marks her as anything but human are her black scalera and yellow eyes which contrast even more sharply against the rest of her body now.
The chiton she wears is simple yet striking. Especially as it does leave one of her breasts exposed.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" She inquires, her voice still being the same, as she gestures out at their view of the sea.
It might now come to Melody just how young Jaahlyn looks. She can't be older than twenty if even that. But it's not like satyr-Jaahlyn looks any older than what she does now. It's just that her animal features tended to take all the attention.
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Re: Riverside

Post by Ironsmith »

[Room with a Goat]

Melody takes a moment to look herself over, somewhat surprised to find herself in a body again. Jaahlyn can't possibly have found a vessel for her already, could she have? And she certainly didn't find one that physically resembled her to such a degree.

Apparently not. She probably at least would have had the courtesy to ask whether it was okay to put Melody in a starchy, lacy dress and if she was fine with having her hair braided before she woke up. Melody would have said no. She looks too much like a doll. Feels too much like one, even.

Then again, while she's overdressed, Jaahlyn certainly doesn't have that problem.

Melody pointedly averts her gaze from the... not-exactly-a-satyr-anymore and holds up a hand to block her view of the exposed mammary. "...Sorry. You're... um... would you mind?" She asks sheepishly, slowly lowering her hand regardless of the answer she receives. It wouldn't be the first time one of her friends has been that exposed in front of her (and certainly not to the most severe degree, Mania), but without exception, they all had decidedly-not-platonic relationships with her, and thinking about Jaahlyn that way is...

Disturbing.

For reasons she can't quite pin down.

Seeing nothing else to do just now, Melody will slowly approach Jaahlyn and take a seat next to her, looking out at the sea. It's probably what Jaahlyn wanted her to do, right? If nothing else, it makes it slightly easier to keep her eyes off the satyr, as a small change in the angle of her vision means that much more.

"...It is sort of pretty out here, yeah." She'll admit, hugging her knees through the stiff white folds of her skirt. "...um... where exactly is here, anyway?"
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Shadowcaller
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Re: Riverside

Post by Shadowcaller »

[Room with a Goat]

Jaahlyn tilts her head in confusion until she realizes where Melody's gaze had been drawn. Right, Melody was the youngest of them so it probably should be no surprise that her fashion sense was strongly colored by the nexus, or whatever culture or world she was originally from.
"Ah, yes." And suddenly the chiton covers both of her boobs.
"I apologize. Where I'm from the dress code was a lot more free. This was something I considered casual wear back then." She curtly explains as she positions herself next to Melody to watch the horizon.
Though with a wry grin she then adds. "My formal garb left both breasts exposed."

But she wasn't here to point out how drastically different her cultures fashion was. "But to answer your question, this was my home when I was still human. An island called Manos. It was the center of our empire at one point." She gestures at the horizon again and then across the island below where a stone laid road leads down to what seems to be a large port city in the distance. "Which is ironic, isn't it? When you have all this already, why would you want other people's homes?"

She pauses and her eyebrow raises. "So is it working? Are me and my boobs sufficient enough distraction from your self-loathing? Since you can have another look if you like." Jaahlyn is clearly teasing at this point as she could tell Melody wanted none of that.
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Re: Riverside

Post by Morty »

[MERC Office]

Once the Vigil trio leave, Dipsnig's pale red eyes turn on Jaahlyn.

"You do know a lot about the Cuthun demons. More than I expected, given that they're not your are of expertise. Only it seems they actually are, given what you said about their relationship with fey. Doesn't sound like information that was easy to obtain, either. Sadly, not the best audience for it. The Vigil mostly care about how to destroy them."
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Re: Riverside

Post by Ironsmith »

[Room with a Goat]

"Please don't." Melody mumbles, scrunching herself up to make herself look even smaller, clearly unamused by Jaahlyn's teasing. She doesn't like thinking about Jaahlyn that way. She doesn't like Jaahlyn thinking about her that way. She and she certainly doesn't like Jaahlyn thinking about her thinking about Jaahlyn that way.

Which is distracting enough that she doesn't really give that bit of trivia about formal Minoan wear more than a passing thought. Which is just as well; she's not eager to find out if it's possible to die of embarrassment in here.

"...It really is beautiful out here." Melody adds quietly, in an attempt to change the subject. "...I... I think I've actually been here once. Or somewhere like it. It's part of a place called Greece now. My parents took us here on vacation one time." Melody frowns. "...Well, 'vacation'. It was so rushed, we basically just hiked out here to grab a photo and left. I hated it. I got up here and my feet were sore, I was all hot and sweaty, my hair was wet and cold, there was salt and sun in my eyes, and I just... I didn't get to enjoy it. This place was just a checkbox for me." She rubs her arms together as she watches the waves below. "...Skipping the hike, it looks much better like this."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Riverside

Post by Shadowcaller »

[MERC Office]

Jaahlyn pales slightly as Dipsnig mentions catching this and for a moment she looks unsure what to say.
"I..."

She finally nods after a moment of consideration. "Yes, I know more about them than most people as I have a close connection to them. Or technically my predecessor had. Yet as I am technically them now I share their feelings and they're... powerfully linked to those demons. The kind of irrationality that only comes with love." The satyr let's out a small sigh.

"As you might be able to tell I'm trying to work around saying something I shouldn't say. But let me put it this way, while I'm not personally responsible for anything I think a lot of people would feel conflicted about me if the truth got out. If only due to their actions."

[Room with a Goat]

"Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood a bit. I never claimed to be good at it though." She looks off into the distance for a moment but her attention is drawn back as Melody starts to share a little bit about herself.
"Ah, so you're like me. Or at least who I was back then. I hated most physical activities really." She seems to follow Melody's gaze down into the ocean. "Which is why I got called fat and useless."

Jaahlyn looks away. "And I certainly felt that way when I was at the graveyard. Only able to wait until Ilpholin killed you and I can't even tell you why."
She turns back to Melody. "But you heard my inner voices earlier, didn't you? Since I mentioned a name there you would recognize and I'm not talking about Ilpholin here. Since that person is the reason I was there uselessly waiting around for you to get murdered. Just like what had happened when that person died. You remember how I 'saved' them? Well, it must have made a really strong impression on them. Getting invited into heaven and all. The only thing that I think could have made that better was if you had been there with her. But alas, when you died you would be taken straight to the abyss. No heaven for you. She pauses for a moment as if suddenly realizing something. "Unless..." The fey doesn't say the next part out loud though. But she suspected Melody had taken the strong hint by now.
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Re: Riverside

Post by Ironsmith »

[Room with a Goat]

"...Bitch."

It might take Jaahlyn a moment to realize the moniker is not, in fact, directed at her. But the sudden venom in Melody's voice is probably cause for concern all the same. It probably would have taken only half as many context clues as were given to figure out who Jaahlyn's mysterious employer was and the added clarity only makes the betrayal sting even more.

"...She should have known better." Melody sniffs. "I told her. I told her how I lost the trial last time. She knew I wouldn't be able to handle this." She buries her head in her arms. "Now I'm just waiting around to be mulched. She might as well have run me through herself."

The succubus's shoulders heave as she lets out a choked sob. "Why? Why is it that every time someone says they're my friend, they end up stabbing me in the back?" She wails, lifting up her face just enough for Jaahlyn to see the tear tracks running down her cheeks. "Is that just too much to ask? Someone with the decency to not do that?"
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Re: Riverside

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Shadowcaller wrote: Dec 12, 2022 8:11 am [Fight or Flight]

Irena's gaze moves to Eliseo and lingers on him for a moment until she turns to Atsede again and nods. "Alright. So what were they saying then?" She seems pretty unfazed by the language used here. "You know, in case they decide to nark on you." Her gaze meets Atsede's. "Since you returned all that with credit, didn't you?" She gestures at the changelings black eye. "Gotta' make sure to keep your story straight."
Meowmai wrote: Dec 12, 2022 9:18 am [Fight or Flight]

Atsede was hardly in a hurry to nark either. Besides, she had unfinished business with that lot- and she can't get her payback punch in if they're suspended and away from school. Her scowl deepens at Irena's comments. "I fuckin wish. As we said, Eliseo pulled me out before things really started." The changeling sounded rather miffed about that. "And they were saying all kinds of shit. Mostly just mad I got to kiss their crushes before they did." She scoffs and folds her arms. "But they flung some shit Eli's and Stra- Ana's way too. And that was bullshit." Atsede didn't seem particularly worried about the idea of getting narked on herself. None of those three would be enough of an idiot to do that when they were the ones who ambushed her in an alleyway.
[Fight or Flight]

"Irena, don't encourage that." Nadia flashes her an unimpressed look before turning back to the teens. "Are you not going to tell me who did this?"

Eliseo heaves a sigh. "Come on, mom, that's just going to make more trouble. It's over; don't worry about it."

"That's ridiculous. They can't just get away with hitting her." Nadia protests.

"How do you think it's gonna go when it gets out that my mom called the school about it? It's not worth it." Nadia opens her mouth to respond, but Eliseo cuts her off. "It's no use arguing. I'm not telling."

Nadia purses her lips, but then changes tactics. She looks to Atsede instead. "He's not the one that they attacked. Don't you want them to have some proper consequences?"
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Re: Riverside

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[Fight or Flight]

Irena actually let's out a chuckle as Atsede claims that she kissed their girlfriends before they did. "Ha! Nice, kiddo. Show them what's up." She looks like she was actively considering giving Atsede a give-me-five when Nadia's death-glare-of-disapproval is turned her way.

"Hey, I'm not encouraging anything." Irena objects. At least that's now how she saw it.
Then she turns back to Asede and Eliseo.
"But come on Kid, you're actually letting them get away with this scot-free? You didn't even get to punch back."
Since for once she was completely on her wives side here. Well, she usually was but only publicly. Eliseo can tell the difference between when she's pretending or not. Pretending means she barely says a word and is just nodding in agreement as she knows she can't keep her big mouth in check.

"If they see that you're not even resisting you're just making yourself even more of a target." Well, Nadia's sentiments was probably a bit different than Irena's here... "Since you know, we could already tell the principle what happened without giving away any names. If these kids are as a big a menace as you claim and you already have a history with them it probably won't be too hard for them to figure out who it was with this context. Then you technically didn't even narc on them." That or she could pay those kids a 'visit', but she wouldn't even mention that possibility out loud.

[Room with a Goat]

The fey looks to be on the verge on tears herself but she holds them back if only since there were still words to be had. Still context to give. If she started weeping right now she knew that was a floodgate she wouldn't be able to close once it opened.

So instead she struggles out a few words of support. "I... she don't want you to get mulched. Quite the opposite actually." Though she can't state Marianne's intentions directly of course. "I got the impression that she loved you and the other band members more than anything." Then a sigh. "In her own way of course."
Jaahlyn then opens her hand to present something she must have been holding for at least a couple of minutes.
It's a black token of some sort. "This is a service token. I foolishly handed out these during a job and got upset enough that I forgot all about them. Anyone offering me these can ask me to do nearly any job and I won't be able to object."

There's a longer pause as she forces herself to meet Melody's gaze again.

"I'm sorry for all this. It might not have been my intention, but it is ultimately my fault. I enabled this by just existing."
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Re: Riverside

Post by Ironsmith »

[Room with a Goat]

Melody looks down at the token in Jaahlyn's hand, then back up at her, wiping her eyes on her arm (god, the dress is awful for this). She might not understand everything about what Jaahlyn just said, but the primary takeaway that she was forced into her role here seems to sink in just the same. As does the associated guilt.

"...I guess I could say the same thing." She sniffs, after a moment of silence. After all, if she hadn't been there for Marianne to target then Jaahlyn never would have received this job and wouldn't have been put through the ordeal of being forced to watch her get stabbed, either. And on the larger scale, if she'd never existed, Jaahlyn wouldn't be attached to her in the first place.

"...What I'm trying to say is, I... I'm not mad at you." Melody continues after a moment, shuffling up against the satyr and putting her hand on Jaahlyn's opposite shoulder. "I... I don't think you did anything wrong." She gives her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. If she says anything else, it's lost in the somewhat inelegant blubbering that follows. If Jaahlyn has the same response, Melody is perfectly willing to hold her throughout, and will do so at the first indication that's what she needs.

...

Fortunately, they're (probably) not going to just sit there and cry forever. After however long it takes to get it through their respective systems, Melody will wipe her eyes and nose and look to Jaahlyn again. "...So what happens now?"
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

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Here's to us!
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And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Riverside

Post by Morty »

[MERC Office]

Dipsnig can tell when someone is carefully navigating around what they're allowed to say. And Jaahlyn is trying to push the envelope. And the truth he sees hiding behind her words like a tunnel-spider in a deep crevice is something he's probably better off not knowing.

"Your predecessor. I assume it's some kind of mantle of office that comes with far more than just duties. Memories and even personality," he says. It's not a question, as such, which means Jaahlyn might be able to work around it. Or just confirm it by not contradicting it.
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Re: Riverside

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[Room with a Goat]

Jaahlyn is glad it was a squeeze rather than a hug as she wasn't sure how long she could have kept her tears in check if that had been the case.
She will return the gesture though and in that moment close her eyes shut and take a series of deep calming breaths.

"I didn't just bring you here to distract you, Melody. I just wanted you to understand where I was coming from when I said that I didn't listen to anything Ilpholin told you. I knew it would just enrage me until I got stupid. I mean, just look at what happened to you." The fey's eyebrows raise. "So I need to know, are you feeling better now? Since I've been in your situation many times and I'm sure Euphoria has as well considering how long she's been alive. If she was here right now I'm sure she could share it with you in fact. So maybe we should go and ask her about it, hmm? Otherwise I had intended to show you more of..." She glances to the sides. "-this. But it's sad and miserable and I don't think we need more of that right now."
Last edited by Shadowcaller on Dec 14, 2022 7:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Riverside

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Morty wrote: Dec 13, 2022 8:22 pm [MERC Office]

Dipsnig can tell when someone is carefully navigating around what they're allowed to say. And Jaahlyn is trying to push the envelope. And the truth he sees hiding behind her words like a tunnel-spider in a deep crevice is something he's probably better off not knowing.

"Your predecessor. I assume it's some kind of mantle of office that comes with far more than just duties. Memories and even personality," he says. It's not a question, as such, which means Jaahlyn might be able to work around it. Or just confirm it by not contradicting it.
[MERC Office]

"I wouldn't say 'office' exactly. But... it's similar. Though I don't even think I fully understand it. There's something beyond me that remembers everything I've ever done perfectly. The 'fey' me. What I really am supposedly." She gestures at herself. "This body, my mind, it's just me choosing to be like a mortal as whatever we think with can't really contain all that stuff at once." The satyr shrugs. "Or that's my limited understanding of it anyway. But there's a part of me that's still not-me. I used that to save one of the band-members from being stabbed by the demon that was chasing them. Since they were demons and the not-me love them like a mother regardless what form or shape they take."

A beat as Jaahlyn suddenly looks rather sheepish.

"Uh... guess I didn't mention that on my application, huh?"
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Re: Riverside

Post by Ironsmith »

Shadowcaller wrote: Dec 13, 2022 11:11 pm [Room with a Goat]

Jaahlyn is glad it was a squeeze rather than a hug as she wasn't sure how long she could have kept her tears in check if that had been the case.
She will return the gesture though and in that moment close her eyes shut and take a series of deep calming breaths.

"I didn't just bring you here to distract you, Melody. I just wanted you to understand where I was coming from when I said that I didn't listen to anything Ilpholin told you. I knew it would just enrage me until I got stupid. I mean, just look at what happened to you." The fey's eyebrows raise. "So I need to know, are you feeling better now? Since I've been in your situation many times and I'm sure Euphoria has as well considering how long she's been alive. If she was here right now I'm sure she could share it with you in fact. So maybe we should go and ask her about it, hmm? Otherwise I had intended to show you more of..." She glances to the sides. "-this. But it's sad and miserable and I don't think we need more of that right now."
[Room with a Goat]

"...You didn't?" Melody sniffs, wiping a finger along the corners of her eyes. "...I... I think I get it, yeah. I can't say she was wrong, but..." The succubus shakes her head. "...I do feel a bit better, yeah. It doesn't seem quite so... random, given that. Like she just woke up today and decided 'hey, you know that Melody Hopskins girl? Fuck her.' And... I still think Manny's plan was awful, and she shouldn't have done what she did. But at least it all makes sense, messed up as it is." Without thinking about it too much, she's placed her hand on Jaahlyn's back, giving her a gentle, reassuring rub, almost the way she might if she were talking to a cat. Or a goat.

"...I don't think I should talk to Euphoria." She adds a little belatedly. "She... doesn't really like to talk about her life that much. And considering most of it was in the Abyss, I can't say I'd blame her. And if I push her too much, she gets mean. I want to say it's not on purpose and it's just the way she is, but... I don't know. After a certain point, it just gets hard to tell. She's the most demon-y among us, you know?"

After another moment of silence, she lays back on the grass and looks out at the sky over them, still drinking in the sound of the waves below. "...Do we have to leave right away?" She asks. "I... I'm not saying we need to stay here, but... it's still a nice place."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Riverside

Post by Morty »

[MERC Office]

Yes, this is definitely pretty deep into territory that complicates business rather than help it. Still, no such thing as useless information.

"You didn't. But then, we don't normally ask such questions. It simply became relevant now. I do assure you that what you said won't leave this room. It would only cause... complications."
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