Inside

[quillpleasant]

April Foolery

"Well, it's nice to meet you, young hunter," says Nathair. Giving up on finding a rock, they look up at the house again.

"I'll levitate you to each of the windows and the door, you can see if any of them are unlocked. Be careful!" And with that, he holds up his golden mechanical hand and points at Asami. Assuming she doesn't resist, she feels a light increase in air pressure around her as she's lifted off her feet and brought hovering over to the first window.

[bc56]

April Foolery
(If Nahair wants a rock, one can be found without too much trouble)
Asami is levitated up to the door to find it unlocked, but, naturally, upside down. Since that doesn't really hamper its function, it should be trivial to open. The room beyond is a small foyer leading to a kitchen, turned upside down of course, with every item sitting firmly upside down on the upside down furniture without the slightest care for gravity. If she needs to help Nahair up, she'll have to find something useful.

[[brackets lover]]

Entering the house, Asami looks on in bewilderment at how easy it was. She glanced over the layout of the entrance, the sight nauseating her and causing her to pinch the bridge of her nose. Caution guided her gait as she moved subtly and efficiently around, getting a feel for the house

"If anyone's home, please forgive my intrustion. I don't mean to cause any harm!" she would loudly announce, pausing for an answer. "...Alright, I should check the attic. That's where they'd most likely store their rope."

She'd wander about and look for a staircase ceiling leading downwards, from her perspective.

[quillpleasant]

April Foolery

Luckily the window is unlocked so there's no need for a rock. Nathair watches as Asami disappears into the house. Hopefully there's nothing too scary inside. They begin to pace back and forth as they wait for any word from inside.

[Wolfbane]

[Streetside Shrine]

Verity lets out a little laugh, "No, no, it's fine. I'd rather you do what you want; I'm fine with, largely, anything. I just don't want to impose."

Streetside Shrine

"It is no imposition." Miyuu assures, finally giving a (small) smile after all this time. It seems she genuinely does like the company. With that, she stands, resting her hand casually upon her sheathed blade while offering her other hand close to Verity's. She even makes sure to rustle her sleeve to aide the blind woman in finding it should she take it. "Take my hand and I will guide you to the baths first if you prefer. I have spare night clothes, robes, and even hair supplies if you need some. I can guide you and ready it without problems, and I can assure you of the privacy and that anything I see if I assist is entirely held in confidence."

[Murkus]

[Hospital Waiting Room]

"Well, she hasn't said a word yet. But I assume she came here for a reason." Dena remarks as her eyes too turn expectingly to Tina.

"I said that you missed some juicy drama. Did pushing those two out pop your eardrums, or what?" Tina says, leaning into the room, though her face is impassive despite the comment. "Of course I came, Dena. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

[bc56]

April Foolery
The stairs up down to the attic aren't too hard to find. Thankfully this is just a one-story house (plus the attic and basement). Asami will have to slide down the ceiling.
The attic is a dusty and unused chamber. Fortunately all the settled dust is also upside down, so it's not too bad, but there's another problem. All the storage is on the floor. Which is currently the ceiling. There's a box up there full of bedsheets, another with camping gear. Either might have something she could use, but how would she reach it?

Meanwhile, Nahair waits outside, doing nothing interesting. In this time and place, that's a huge mistake.
A streak of flame plummets down from the sky and with a small blast impacts the earth. Then another, and another. Soon there's a full-blown meteor shower ongoing. Each impact leaves a small crater with a glowing green stone, about the size of a jellybean, in its center.

[Gullara]

[Hospital Waiting Room]

Kirk leans back in his seat. Yes, playing very nice. He declines to comment for the sake of his own safety. At least they're talking.

[Thursday Violist]

Cult Clash

"Well, I can't say that my church doesn't have a bit of a feud but...Tiamat and Bahamut's battle is old, old blood. Not something from people bumping into each other on the street." G'nichi admits, looking around.
Oh shoot, did he introduce himself? He can't remember.
"Um. My name's G'nichi."

[Cult Clash]

Zophiel can't remember if he's introduced himself, either.
"I'm Zophiel," he says in response.

He looks around the now nearly-empty park. "Yeah, I'm not sure they even were aware of each other before today," he says.

Zophiel rubs his own cheek. As one who is, in fact, very into all (except one) of the gods, a question comes to his mind: "So, Tiamat and Bahamut. Which one's your god?" He pauses, and tacks on another question, "And what's your church like?"

[Shadowcaller]

"I said that you missed some juicy drama. Did pushing those two out pop your eardrums, or what?" Tina says, leaning into the room, though her face is impassive despite the comment. "Of course I came, Dena. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

[Hospital Waiting Room]

Kirk leans back in his seat. Yes, playing very nice. He declines to comment for the sake of his own safety. At least they're talking.

[Hospital Room]

Dena glances at Kirk, frowns, and then looks back to Tina. "I'm alright, Tina. As alright I can be after-" A beat. "-that. What about you? Perhaps you can tell me a bit more than Kirk here."

[[brackets lover]]

April Foolery

Looking down through the hatch, Asami realized that if she were to enter the attic fully, it'd be difficult for her to get out without the use of her powers. She much preferred to solve her problems through wit and ingenuinity.

Rather than jumping down, she would slowly lower herself into the hatch, holding herself up by her lower legs so that she may hang upside-down. From this position, she'd reach towards the box of bedsheets. She would stretch as far as she could and try a couple of different positions, attempting to at least reach the edge so she could pull the box towards her.

[Murkus]

[Hospital Room]

Dena glances at Kirk, frowns, and then looks back to Tina. "I'm alright, Tina. As alright I can be after-" A beat. "-that. What about you? Perhaps you can tell me a bit more than Kirk here."

[Hospital Room]

"What about me?" Tina scoffs. "Whaddya mean? I mean, I'm maybe losing my mind, you know, and I'm maybe a lot terrified, but you know... it's just head stuff. Me stuff. Not like you." Fettina shrugs, sidling closer, her shoes making small, distinct taps as she moves up to Dena. She adds quietly, "What do you wanna hear about?"

[Gullara]

[Hospital Room]

"Apparently I'm unsatisfactory." Kirk remarks with a careless shrug. But only as a quiet aside. He's not really intending to interrupt them.

[quillpleasant]

April Foolery
Meanwhile, Nahair waits outside, doing nothing interesting. In this time and place, that's a huge mistake.
A streak of flame plummets down from the sky and with a small blast impacts the earth. Then another, and another. Soon there's a full-blown meteor shower ongoing. Each impact leaves a small crater with a glowing green stone, about the size of a jellybean, in its center.

Nathair jumps back from the initial blast, yelping. Their eyes narrow as they survey the falling stones. Something here is drawing on their inner fears and doubts, and unfortunately it's working. They dart around the side of the house, taking cover from any flying rock shards.

Oh, they're shaking. Meteors seems to really bother them. Nonetheless, they reach out their hand and attempt to levitate one of the green stones out of a crater and bring it over to them to inspect. Maybe there's some hint as to what's going on, but more likely it'll just do something even stranger.

[Keeper]

[Cult Clash]

Zophiel can't remember if he's introduced himself, either.
"I'm Zophiel," he says in response.

He looks around the now nearly-empty park. "Yeah, I'm not sure they even were aware of each other before today," he says.

Zophiel rubs his own cheek. As one who is, in fact, very into all (except one) of the gods, a question comes to his mind: "So, Tiamat and Bahamut. Which one's your god?" He pauses, and tacks on another question, "And what's your church like?"

Cult Clash

"Bahamut." G'nichi answers.
"Though a different goddess also named Tiamat has given me advice once or twice.
Our church teaches us of redemption, self-improvement, and fighting the forces of evil. But it's important to not just go running around trying to smite people."
Like that inquisitor who's trying to kill him for talking to someone named Tiamat.

[bc56]

April Foolery
Asami tries hanging upside down to reach the box of bedsheets, but it's just a few inches out of reach.
Once she's been trying to find a way to grab it for a little while, however, something strange happens. As if she was suffused with the sheer oldness of the dusty junk in the attic, she abruptly ages somewhere between 5 and 10 years in the blink of an eye. This would give her the reach she needs, provided she doesn't lose her balance and fall down into the attic. It seems the strange effects around the house have begun to mess with her.

Meanwhile, outside, Nahair telekinetically acquires one of the strange green meteorites.
As stated before, it's about the size of a jellybean. It's an unusual shape, oblong and slightly crooked. And on closer inspection, it's far less dense than stone and seems to consist of a thin but hard outer layer surrounding a gooey inside. Someone could easily crush it between their finger and thumb without much effort.
It's not a meteorite at all...

[Shadowcaller]

[Hospital Room]

"What about me?" Tina scoffs. "Whaddya mean? I mean, I'm maybe losing my mind, you know, and I'm maybe a lot terrified, but you know... it's just head stuff. Me stuff. Not like you." Fettina shrugs, sidling closer, her shoes making small, distinct taps as she moves up to Dena. She adds quietly, "What do you wanna hear about?"

[Hospital Room]

"What about the... child?" Dena inquires as she inclines her head towards Tina. "You don't have him with you."

[bc56]

Making Trouble
"Help! Help!"
"Stop that girl!"
The first voice belongs to a girl, maybe 14 or 15, clearly demonic in nature with red skin, horns, a barbed tail, and batlike wings.
Her pursuers, the source of the second voice, are similarly demonic, clad in wicked black armor and wielding mancatchers, one male and one female.
The girl turns briefly to hurl a blast of hellfire at her pursuers, and then ducks into an alley with them close behind.

[Ironsmith]

[Making Trouble]

The demon girl will find herself running right past a boy close to her age, himself a pale-skinned guy with a mess of black hair, prominent buck teeth, and long-lobed ears.

He starts as she runs past him, and again when he hears her cry out... wait, doesn't he know that girl? She looks like one of Khannie's friends, and he could swear they were in Intro to Romance together last semester-

You know what? Doesn't matter. She needs help.

The boy reaches into his coat and discreetly produces a playing card with an elaborate picture of a flaming bird on it. "Get that girl off the street and someplace safe." He whispers, before tossing it out and walking into an adjacent alleyway.

A few seconds later, the girl's pursuers will find themselves with a blue, bird-shaped gout of fire shooting past them, heading straight for their quarry.

[bc56]

Making Trouble
One demon ducks as the bird flies past, slowing the pursuit a little. However, the girl also panics upon its fiery approach, dashing to the next street and taking cover behind a signboard. After all, she has no idea whose side the firebird is on, as far as she knows, her pursuers sent it to harass her and slow her down.

[Ironsmith]

[Making Trouble]

As the girl takes cover behind the sign, the bird flies after her, not quite managing to bank in such a way as to track her correctly, which leaves its talons snatching at empty air as it careens past her.

Meanwhile, just behind the black-armored pursuers, another participant has joined the chase; it's the boy again, this time on the back of an oversized wolf covered in silver plates of armor. He's drawn up his hoodie over the back of his head and wrapped a cloth mask around the lower half of his face; not the most comprehensive disguise, but for people who just barely got a glimpse of him as they were passing by, likely to make him unrecognizable.

He's got another element of surprise working with him, too; most people who have heard of Blank don't expect him to be operating during daylight hours.

[bc56]

Making Trouble
These people have never heard of Blank anyway, so it doesn't do him much good - they're as surprised by his interference as they would be anyone else's. The demons turn their weapons towards him as he charges, but seeing a giant silver-plated wolf, they instead throw themselves out of the way.
Meanwhile, the girl breathes a sigh of relief as the bird fails to grab her. She quickly turns and darts into the first open store she sees along the street: a bakery.

[Ironsmith]

[Making Trouble]

"First and last warning." Blank growls as the wolf comes back around and starts padding back toward the demons. "I don't tolerate kidnappers in my town. If I catch you in here again, it's going to cost you a couple of linbs each."


Meanwhile, the demon girl will be followed into the bakery by the firebird; given the limited space, it can't flap around in here, so it settles for pursuing her in the form of awkward hobbling on its comparatively spindly legs. Curiously, it makes almost no sound as it moves; nothing but the dull rumble of its constituent flames sucking in and releasing air.

[bc56]

Making Trouble
"We're not..."
"She's a thief. Our orders are to recover what she stole before she hurts herself with it." "This is important. Let us through. Please." Even though she's asking nicely, there's an implicit threat in the black-armored demon's voice. She doesn't want to have to fight Blank, but she will.

Meanwhile, in the bakery, the girl crouches underneath a table, hidden by the tablecloth. She watches the firebird's feet through the narrow gap between cloth and floor. She hopes it doesn't find her.

[[brackets lover]]

April Foolery
Asami tries hanging upside down to reach the box of bedsheets, but it's just a few inches out of reach.
Once she's been trying to find a way to grab it for a little while, however, something strange happens. As if she was suffused with the sheer oldness of the dusty junk in the attic, she abruptly ages somewhere between 5 and 10 years in the blink of an eye. This would give her the reach she needs, provided she doesn't lose her balance and fall down into the attic. It seems the strange effects around the house have begun to mess with her.

Meanwhile, outside, Nahair telekinetically acquires one of the strange green meteorites.
As stated before, it's about the size of a jellybean. It's an unusual shape, oblong and slightly crooked. And on closer inspection, it's far less dense than stone and seems to consist of a thin but hard outer layer surrounding a gooey inside. Someone could easily crush it between their finger and thumb without much effort.
It's not a meteorite at all...

Given the miraculous boost in height, Asami was able to pull the box closer to her and try to take one of the sheets out. Should she be successful, she would hold onto it carefully, lacking the intuitive to notice the strange gravitational properties and assuming it would just fall normally if she let go of it. With the sheet in hand, she would pull herself out of the hatch and muse, "This effect was exactly what I needed at the moment... Is this the result of some mind-based anamoly or something?"

At any rate, she would return to the front door and hold the sheet out towards the ground, if she could. While doing so, her eyes would glow an opaque bright white and a powerful spiritual aura would encompass her. A gift of hers was being utilized, empowering both her and Nathair with an intense mental fortitude heavily resistant to external manipulation, magical or otherwise.

"Oy, Nathair," she'd call out afterwards, "Got the sheet you asked for."

[quillpleasant]

April Foolery

Nathair squints at the "meteor." Well, if it looks like a jellybean and barks like a jellybean...

They're about to risk popping it in their mouth when Asami's boost kicks in. Well, that's a big help. There probably wasn't any real compulsion to try the jelly meteorite, but either way Nathair thinks better of it. It might be poisonous or something.

Looking up, Nathair blinks rapidly at the changed Asami. "Can't do magic, huh? And weren't you...younger?" Well, it's hardly the strangest thing that's happened here. They reach out and take the sheet in one hand. "Do you want to tie it on something, or are you a lot stronger than you look?" It's intended as a joke, but Nathair has no idea how right that assumption is.

[bc56]

April Foolery
Asami will probably be surprised to actually get an answer, albeit very faint. "I like to help the clever." It's a faint voice that sounds a lot like wood rasping against wood.
The sheet continues to act with reversed gravity even as Asami holds it, so she may find herself holding it down rather than carrying it normally.
Nathair is right, there is no compulsion to eat the jellybean, but I'm sure there's nothing wrong with it. It's probably just lime-flavored. Or maybe watermelon.

Passing the sheet, which continues to obstinately fall upwards, down to Nathair will be a problem. But there must be some way to force it to stay down...

[Thursday Violist]

Cult Clash

"Bahamut." G'nichi answers.
"Though a different goddess also named Tiamat has given me advice once or twice.
Our church teaches us of redemption, self-improvement, and fighting the forces of evil. But it's important to not just go running around trying to smite people."
Like that inquisitor who's trying to kill him for talking to someone named Tiamat.

[Cult Clash]

"I have found it strange how many different gods all have the same names here," Zophiel says. It's a weird thought, that two people could be supposedly praying to the same god but it's a completely different one.

He stretches.
"Your church sounds pretty nice," he says.
Zophiel then asks, "Where's one of your church locations? I might have to stop by there to offer a prayer to your Bahamut some time."

[[brackets lover]]

April Foolery

Asami shakes her head in response to Nathair, "Yeah, I tried learning once, but I just couldn't get any spell to work so I gave up and played video games instead." She doesn't acknowledge any sort of contradiction in her statements as she moves on, "Seems like whatever's going on has affected me as well. Doesn't seem random, at any rate." She makes a pensive expression, continuing, "Hmm, i'm pretty strong but... Its floating. What could we tie it around, anyways? Would it fit around one of the door hinges?" She would pull one corner of the sheet over to her and attempt to thread it around the door hinge closest to the ground, looping the corner around the sheet once and tucking it into the hole, pulling tightly. She would add one more loop to secure the knot. "Ok, i'm gonna jump down now," she announces to Nathair before pulling the opposite end of the sheet to her, clinging to it tightly as she sits on the edge of the door frame. She'd then gently let herself fall off, hoping to pull the sheet down with her. Of course, she was doing this on a wing and prayer for the sake of expediency. Her landing was practically guarenteed to be less than graceful, but she'd hold onto the sheet as best she could.

[quillpleasant]

April Foolery

Nathair nods slowly. "Right... well, I guess you have some pretty great nonmagical talents then." Who knows, maybe it's psychic power or something.

"You're right that it's not random. I'm thinking there's something pulling the strings here," he says. It's a shot in the dark, but it seems as likely as anything else.

Nathair watches Asami secure the rope, and as she falls from the window he makes a quick sigil in the air, attempting to telekinetically cushion and slow her fall just enough that she doesn't get hurt.