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[Thursday Violist]

[Bellamy House]

Manja opens her mouth to cry out, to let everyone know she's down in the stairwell in the arms of someone who she can't tell if she feels familiar or is a stranger and reminds her of frogs for some reason, and that the hologram sitting on the chair isn't her but is instead her reflection, or something, that's trying to replace her.

Just breath comes out.


One of Sirena's robots notices that someone is looking straight at her. Obriane. It causes her watch to vibrate to alert her of this.
Sirena looks up to see who it was, incidentally making eye contact with Obriane. Drat, that was much quicker than she had hoped, though close enough to what she expected. She starts mentally counting down how much time left she has before being chased.

She takes a few more steps. She shifts Manja over to her left arm. She reaches for the door handle, and opens it.
Then she bolts out the door and shuts it with a 'thud'. She dashes off to the left down the sidewalk. And starts typing something in air, telling her computer to start what she has to watch out for and possible escape routes. A rifle shot, a rooftop chaser, and a few other things, are put as inputs. Creating a time portal would take far too long unless she can find a space to hide.

Rein, and possibly Kitsuki, could definitely see the leggy dame with a white lion tail, short shorts, and a leather jacket dashing down a sidewalk, with Manja in an arm.


Harley, meanwhile, looks over at the window for the crashing sound. Then over at (hologram) Manja.
She feels a little relief when she sees Manja isn't panicking but is just sitting there calmly like usual.
...
The slam of the door makes her jump and look that way, only seeing the closed door. Probably(?) just those other two girls coming back, she assumes, but...they're not there.
Something's definitely happening, but she can't quite figure out what, so Harley looks at everyone else's faces to see if they know what.

[Arkhosia]

[Uninvited]

Stasia glances at Ana, biting her lip. "I think she's kinda the more... um, put together half - but I think she needs it after this morning. And I'll, uh, t-try not to get distracted again." She pulls apart from Eliseo somewhat reluctantly, seeming a touch meeker than normal as she leans down to fetch a fresh change of clothes from the dresser.

Once Kitsuki shuts the door, Stasia shows a surprising amount of bravery by actually changing in her shared room instead of scurrying back to the bathroom as usual, tugging on a pair of tights with one hand and worming her way into a t-shirt with the other. Whether it's a sign of recent confidence or just out of urgency is anyone's guess - but considering the hasty way she's going about it, the decision's probably not for Eliseo's benefit.

[Earl of Purple]

Bloodplunder House

"Don't try to deflect them. I've made myself impervious instead." Because Aigothurz wasn't so good at catching them all.

Nothing will stop Aikobaz from entering the shrine, and when she does things will seem to change. Looking out between the four pillars holding up the domed roof instead of endless plains, Aikobaz will see a thriving city, with wide boulevards, brightly-painted houses of mud brick. The shrine's floor is decorated with a mosaic, a map of the city around the shrine, centred upon the shrine itself. There's no sign of whatever threw the stones... unless Aikobaz looks at the sky; a single, massive bird soars blots out the sky, its eye glowing like the sun, its sky-blue feathers marked with white and giving the sky enough texture Aikobaz can see it. "Eesym yrolg dna levorg, latrom. Od ton etarkesed ymenirsh, tisilla ievah tfel." Unlike before, its voice booms out and echoes from every direction,

Aigothurz isn't visible from inside the shrine, but there is a much easier way up to the shrine than the tricky climb up near-sheer rock that Aikobaz skipped with dream logic- a stairway spiralling up the side of the outcrop, visible before only by the holes where the beams were anchored into the stone. Four people are walking up, a pair of elderly humans with dark skin and no hair wearing heavy-looking white robes covered in silk brocade and gleaming copper bangles and a pair of preteens wearing similarly ornate black robes and iron bangles. The elders are carrying a large egg carved from a block of oceanic jasper* on a purple fleece, whilst the children carry copper daggers.

[Shadowcaller]

Bed Talk

"Okay, nix that idea, then. Well, okay. There's like five different hero organizations, what about them? Surely one of them would be interested in stopping a murder?" Jim suggests.
Surely this can't be this complicated?

Bed Talk

"Well... I met with one of the leaders of VIGIL the other day actually. Did I mention that? I should probably tell you more of what's going on in my life..." Jaahlyn gives him a sheepish smile. "They wanted to apologize to me actually since one of their members had mistaken me for a demon." Though this is a fact she quickly moves on from. "But yes, they do want to prevent murders but it's harder when it's systematic. They can take down a killer or even an whole organization of them, but constantly protecting them from hundreds if not thousands of potential ones? That's a lot harder. Especially since they would be associating themselves to demons too then." She let's out a small sigh.
"It's a real mess. It might just be the best idea though so thanks." The satyr nuzzles in closer to him.

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"They never know, is the problem," Trick says with a deep and weary sigh as she squeeze Sophie's hand, "They're always forced into situations they can't control, where it's fight or die, by people who control them. It's... ugh. I want to move on. The exaltation - it definitely seems like it got captured somehow."

Definitely a sore spot. One Sophie shouldn't prod at right now.

"If Exaltations pass on from person to person, then maybe they managed to prevent it from happening. So that there would be no new Solars after they killed the existing ones. But this sounds... difficult and dangerous. Meddling with powerful forces."

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"I'm quite familiar with meddling with powerful forces," Trick points out, "Still... given what she said at the end there - 'Survival is Control' - it implies to me that they were acting against the Solar Exalted as a whole. Containment, because they were unable to control the solars."

[Arkhosia]

► SHOW SPOILER

[Spookysitting]

As strict as Astrana had been, she hadn't accounted for maid Leis. "Leis, help me tie it." Eshe asks while holding the rhino mask to her face. She turns around to give Leis access to the straps.

Upon hearing the spell from outside, Jaazha pushes the bedroom door closed. Too much for her nerves. She comes properly into the room now and stops to assess all this. She knows this is asking for trouble, but there's a more pressing concern. "What are you wearing, Leis?"


The other kids stay tucked away for the moment. Orlane has her ear pressed against the closet door to try and detect the movement of the ghosts outside.

[Spookysitting]

"I dunno how well this will help," Leis frets, "I think your mom was saying that this is for making it easier for spirits to possess you, and she'd be very upset if that happens." Her hands are already moving when she says this though, and soon enough the mask is tied securely.

The tiefling looks up through the doorway with concern as she finishes the knot. It's not good that they're all separated like this. She moves to grab one of the rods, turning it over in consideration - then jumps when Jaazha speaks up. "Oh! Um, one of the ghosts cast a spell on me, I think." She glances down at the short skirt again with mild annoyance. "We might want to go get the rest of your sisters before they cast any weird spells on them too."

[Ironsmith]

Bloodplunder House

"Don't try to deflect them. I've made myself impervious instead." Because Aigothurz wasn't so good at catching them all.

Nothing will stop Aikobaz from entering the shrine, and when she does things will seem to change. Looking out between the four pillars holding up the domed roof instead of endless plains, Aikobaz will see a thriving city, with wide boulevards, brightly-painted houses of mud brick. The shrine's floor is decorated with a mosaic, a map of the city around the shrine, centred upon the shrine itself. There's no sign of whatever threw the stones... unless Aikobaz looks at the sky; a single, massive bird soars blots out the sky, its eye glowing like the sun, its sky-blue feathers marked with white and giving the sky enough texture Aikobaz can see it. "Eesym yrolg dna levorg, latrom. Od ton etarkesed ymenirsh, tisilla ievah tfel." Unlike before, its voice booms out and echoes from every direction,

Aigothurz isn't visible from inside the shrine, but there is a much easier way up to the shrine than the tricky climb up near-sheer rock that Aikobaz skipped with dream logic- a stairway spiralling up the side of the outcrop, visible before only by the holes where the beams were anchored into the stone. Four people are walking up, a pair of elderly humans with dark skin and no hair wearing heavy-looking white robes covered in silk brocade and gleaming copper bangles and a pair of preteens wearing similarly ornate black robes and iron bangles. The elders are carrying a large egg carved from a block of oceanic jasper* on a purple fleece, whilst the children carry copper daggers.

[Bloodplunder House]

Aikobaz stares up at the bird, arms crossed and giving it quite an annoyed glare, trying to maintain a pretense of being thoroughly unimpressed. Granted, being in the presence of a large bird speaking in tongues that is showing all the signs of being a minor deity would be rather intimidating under normal circumstances, but knowing that she's still in her dream, all of that is eschewed in favor of "that's the jerk who threw rocks at me". It's incredibly tempting to cook the bird with a few dozen bolts of lightning now, or at least force it into a smaller, less intimidating form... but that would probably offend Aigothurz when he finally entered the shrine.

After all, when she came in, she was under the impression she was dealing with a squatter, not a... whatever this thing is. She was expecting she would round the corner and find a rude little pixie that Aigothurz would have no problem with her booting out of a place sacred to his people. This... is a much less expected turn of events.

Okay, maybe it's time to try a little diplomacy.

"...Forgive the intrusion." Aikobaz says stoically, doing her best to keep her voice level despite the annoyance she already has for this creature. "My friend and I were curious about the nature of this shrine. Neither of us have been here before. It is not our intent to disturb you."

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"We know the Solar Exalted can be very powerful. Controlling them would be near impossible. So they made sure no new Solars would be Exalted." Sophie frowns, not liking where her reasoning is leading her. "The Solars must have done something drastic to warrant such a response."

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

Trick grimaces, "I... well. They say power corrupts, right? And from my own experiences, disconnection breeds apathy. So consider what happens when you have someone who lives for millennia, is more powerful than anybody else, and has access to magic that can manipulate fundamental parts of reality?"

That she just knew this is right off may seem a little odd, but Trick's been in the presence of Hallister Blackcloak, and she was an adventurer long enough to meet a lot of perfectly horrendous wizards viewing themselves as invincible and making sure everyone else knew it. Sophie may recall that Trick's dealt with a faction called 'The Red Wizards', and has never had anything good to say about them.

[Earl of Purple]

Bloodplunder House

"Tath sia eil. Ievah nees eth cro doolb erofeb. Eth fel nehw ideksa mihot." The bird keeps soaring, as the four priest-dressed individuals enter the shrine followed shortly after by Aigothurz just appearing out of nowhere.
"Ah. This explains quite a bit." Aigothurz looks down at the mosaic floor, moving around it as he does. "It's a city god. Ecbatana has one too, I think, settled in the royal throne. Don't know what killed this city; I had no idea there was one here."

The two priests with the jasper egg set it down on the centre of the mosaic, where the shrine's represented, and kneel on either side of it. The children stand behind them and prepare their daggers, before the whole vision shatters and the city, priests, and sky-bird all disappear. In their place, the shrine stands basically deserted, a layer of dust covering the mosaic floor, a shattered chunk of jasper lying in the centre next to a verdigris-coated copper dagger.

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"When the world is at your feet and no one is there to stop you, the concerns of little people seem insignificant. Perfectly ordinary power can make people think this way. Godlike power... well." Sophie squeezes Trick's hand again. "If we explore my predecessors memories more, we should find out more. Are you ready to keep moving?"

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"I am," Trick says, taking a deep breath as she squeezes Sophie's hand back, "Let's keep going."

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

As the two proceed down the path, they will see another memory. This time, instead of a battlefield, it seems to show the inside of a bedroom. As Sophie touches it, the image solidifies into just that - a strangely incomplete bedroom, seemingly blurring in with their surroundings. Even in this vision it's visible that the room was positively lavish. Every part of it looks expensive, comfortable and ornate.

The central part of the vision is occupied by a double bed with fine silk sheets. On it is Sophie's predecessor... very enthusiastically and energetically making love to a slender, handsome man with pale skin and deep black hair. Sophie tilts her head, more amused than embarrassed by this sight.

"I will say I can't fault his taste," she comments.

[Ironsmith]

Bloodplunder House

"Tath sia eil. Ievah nees eth cro doolb erofeb. Eth fel nehw ideksa mihot." The bird keeps soaring, as the four priest-dressed individuals enter the shrine followed shortly after by Aigothurz just appearing out of nowhere.
"Ah. This explains quite a bit." Aigothurz looks down at the mosaic floor, moving around it as he does. "It's a city god. Ecbatana has one too, I think, settled in the royal throne. Don't know what killed this city; I had no idea there was one here."

The two priests with the jasper egg set it down on the centre of the mosaic, where the shrine's represented, and kneel on either side of it. The children stand behind them and prepare their daggers, before the whole vision shatters and the city, priests, and sky-bird all disappear. In their place, the shrine stands basically deserted, a layer of dust covering the mosaic floor, a shattered chunk of jasper lying in the centre next to a verdigris-coated copper dagger.

[Bloodplunder House]

Aikobaz blinks in surprise as the caravan, the bird, and pretty much everything in the shrine that isn't her or Aigothurz just disappear. "...So... was none of that real?" She wonders out loud. "I mean, obviously it wasn't real, we are still dreaming, but that seems... bizarre. Is that what would have happened if we were really here?"

It's certainly less-than-clear to her.

"...Well, I suppose that means our business here is concluded. That was very definitely worth being pelted by rocks." The empress frowns, making her way back to the entrance. "...I believe we should go down to that village we saw earlier. Or perhaps another like it. That is likely to be a more sensible place."

[Earl of Purple]

Bloodplunder House

"It was real, once. What the god remembers, when this city was in its prime and consequently so was it. This has taught me something interesting, though. Look, there's a lake there. That's dry, now, but our camp's located about there, halfway between the lake and the river, because that's where the water hole is. There's also a straight line between the two, marked in blue. I think that might be a buried aqueduct. If it's blocked, or the river's moved slightly, a fix to it could refill the lake, create a much larger and more permanent source of water here." Aigothurz points out various features on the map-mosaic, and grins. If the lake can be restored, perhaps the city can too. The camp is the village Aikobaz was talking about.

There is still a bird, which Aikobaz might notice. It's about the size of a sparrow, blue with white edges to its feathers. It's very bedraggled, with feathers missing from its tail, and its wing is broken by the way it holds it. It's sat on top of one of the pillars near the roof, in a nest of jasper shards, dried grass and straw, and a few tiles pried from the mosaic.

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

As the two proceed down the path, they will see another memory. This time, instead of a battlefield, it seems to show the inside of a bedroom. As Sophie touches it, the image solidifies into just that - a strangely incomplete bedroom, seemingly blurring in with their surroundings. Even in this vision it's visible that the room was positively lavish. Every part of it looks expensive, comfortable and ornate.

The central part of the vision is occupied by a double bed with fine silk sheets. On it is Sophie's predecessor... very enthusiastically and energetically making love to a slender, handsome man with pale skin and deep black hair. Sophie tilts her head, more amused than embarrassed by this sight.

"I will say I can't fault his taste," she comments.

[Mouchabière Residence]

"Seems a little skinny to me," Trick says. Her face is coloring; she's not as used to this as Sophie is, "I prefer people with a bit more... substance," and she bumps her hip against Sophie's much wider one.

[Gullara]

[Uninvited]

Kitsuki nods and then leaves them.

Eliseo peeks through his fingers after Kitsuki leaves, and then drops his hand to his side. Oh, she's actually changing in front of him? That'd rare. He can't help but peek a little bit, but he's not leering!

"Well I guess I'll just hang out here till you're done. Uh, sounds kinda serious. Hope everything's okay." He offers.

[Arkhosia]

[Uninvited]

"Yeah, it's -" Stasia pauses as she finishes dressing, pulling on a skirt over her tights and glancing back to Eliseo. "It is, and- um, I dunno that everything else will be fine, but... it can't be too bad if I've got you here, can it?" She smiles shyly.

[Gullara]

[Uninvited]

"I'll do my best to help out." Eliseo definitely seems concerned, but he'll leave it at that for now. He'll have to probe a bit more alter when she's not being waited on.

[Arkhosia]

[Uninvited]

"It's all I can ask for." Stasia smiles. She lingers by the doorway for a moment and swallows her anxieties before exiting, leaving Eliseo alone with Ana fast asleep against his side.

---

Soon enough, Stasia slips into the bedroom, eyes downcast and nervous. She looks between both of her moms and pales at the visible concern on their faces. Her eyes fall briefly on Siana. Had she said something? "Um, s-sorry it took me so long. I... I'm guessing you two want to know what happened last night?"

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

Sophie giggles.

"Oh, I do know that." She winks. "But instead of focusing on this carnal scene, we can take a look at what surrounds it." She waves her hand at the room. "It's luxurious. One could say opulent. Or decadent, even."

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"It is that," Trick says, moving over towards a window to look out and studiously ignore the... activities going on in the bed, likely to Sophie's continuing amusement, "I'm thinking this is a palace."

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

Instead the strange liminal landscape of the edge Sophie's soul-town, Trick will see an idyllic countryside. A ring of trees surrounds the building, which seems to he a high-tiered manor. Beyond the trees is a rolling plan full of fruit groves, gravel paths and bubbling streams.

"A palace or a country estate. Either way something of royal quality. I wonder if every Solar had one of those back then."

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"I doubt all of them did. Some people just don't want this kind of thing," Trick says with a shrug, "Most though? Absolutely. You accumulate enough power, you start wanting beautiful things in your life, and have the means to get them."

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"It certainly looks idyllic out there. A paradise, even. But given what we saw happen later, there was trouble in this paradise." She looks around, both at the room and the landscape outside. "When those in power live in the lap of luxury, something is probably rotten underneath."

[Gullara]

[Uninvited]

Kitsuki is waiting nexxt to Obriane when Ana arrives, standing across from Siana. Her mom is the first to reply, starting with a nod. "I assume so, Siana says she has something to tell us and wanted you to be here for it."

She's already mentioned to the other two that just Stasia would be joining them, so they shouldn't be surprised.

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

"I think I've got an inkling of what's going on," Trick says, sitting on the edge of the window. She's becoming more relaxed, though the sounds from the other part of the room are distracting, "The wizards in my homeworld could hit a level of power people couldn't compete with, and they used that to gain political and economic power. Great, if you've got a legendary mind in front of your kingdom to support it and control things, terrible if they're not so benevolent and/or you want to move up in the world."

[Morty]

[Mouchabière Residence]

The sounds get louder and more intense, but perhaps thankfully it accompanies the two men finishing their exertions. They're now holding each other close and drinking wine from crystal goblets that look more expensive than half of Sophie and Trick's belongings combined.

"And there's no recourse if they do you wrong. It seems that the Sidereals and Dragon-Blooded decided that it cannot continue. Of course... that just replaced one set of demigods with another. I wonder if my predecessor did something to contribute to their decision. And I still don't know his name."

[Halae]

[Mouchabière Residence]

Trick looks quite relieved as the two men finish with their... business, "We can try and dredge it up, but I'm not sure it'd work. There's no way everything would get picked up by the exaltation."