Multiple Settings Mass Clans: Beyond

[Filament]

Holly startles almost immediately at the sound of Mother's voice. She wipes the tears from her face and gives mother an uncertain look.
"How can I reach him when he feels and acts so far away?" the ginger molly would ask, sure that Mother would know exactly what she was talking about.
_________________________________________________________________________

Filament would watch Speed with curious but surprisingly non-leering eyes considering the what he was witnessing. He looks a bit embarrassed to have witnessed someone other than his romantic interest perform like that but he masks it with a perfect poker face.

"Oh yeah, you got it. That's exactly what brings in tips!"

He catches Lexi's discomfort from the corner of his eyes and thinks about what he could possibly say to relax her. "Don't worry about how the others look or who is looking at you. Just feel the movement in yourself, do what feels natural, or just look serious but keep your movements fluid." the tom would suggest.
_________________________________________________________________________

 

[Firestorm of TempestPack]

Thrush stretches out with a soft, satisfied sound. "Hey," She murmurs, nosing Trin's cheek, "Why don't we move this to the bedroom... Unless you want to fall asleep here and get bone-chill." Right now, the water has cooled to lukewarm at best. Staying in the bath any longer would not be very comfortable.


Thistle pads over to the buffet circle. He dips the pads of his left paw in the sticky rice and grabs one of the grilled fruits covered in cinnamon. He pops the fruit in his mouth and chews, humming happily as he grabs a second one.

Nyx gives Speed's extra sexy move an appreciative wolf whistle. "Work it!"

 

[Moonsound]

“The answer to that is within yourself. What would reach you? You too are distant and far away, what do you wish someone would do for you?” Mother meowed with a subtle smile.

—

“That would be a good idea.” Trin meowed with a chuff, standing up and hoping out of the tub. As he shook his fur out his left ear perked up and rotated around.

“It’s pretty quiet out there.” Trin commented, padding over to the door and peaking out.

“Most everyone left. Can’t say the silence isn’t welcomed though.” The tom added on.

—

“Thank you, thank you!” Speed meowed with an over-dramatic bow.


“Uh...okay.” Lexi replied to Filament with a lackluster nod. She looked down at her paws in frustration for a bit before her right ear flicked from a spark of inspiration. The sabertooth strained to reach back and unclasp the carabiner on her harness. Then she grabbed her sponge between her forepaws and squeezed it over her head, drenching it and her back in sudsy water. She scrubbed the sponge into her fur a bit to really suds herself up before dropping it. With that done she slid over to the edge of the ship’s roof and jumped onto the windshield. She landed on her back and slid down and across the glass like it was a slide. Right as she was about to fall off the nose of the ship, she opened a portal and fell into it. In tandem with this another portal opened right in front of the ship’s tail. And out slid Lexi.

The sheline slid across the roof of the ship and into a third portal just before she reached the windshield. This portal connected back to the tail of the ship, putting Lexi into a quasi time-loop. After the first slide Lexi came out of the portal on her paws; continuing to slide across the ship’s metal surface like it was ice. The sabertooth sheline disappeared into the portal again only to re-appear a blink later in a modeling pose, with one foreleg rose and a pout on her face while she slid. Then she came out with her rear facing the crowd while she shook her tail. Next she was moonwalking over the yellow surface with a laugh. Then blowing a kiss. Then she was balanced on her rear paws, clawing at the air in what she thought was a seductive manner but was more goofy and playful. It was almost like watching a picture reel; the way she would slid across in a new pose each time without losing much speed at all. After a few more poses Lexi came sliding out of the tail portal one last time before both black circles disappeared. The sheline was gleefully giggling while she spun across the surface in a sitting position. She came to a stop just before the ship’s windshield with a paw over her muzzle to stifle her laughter.

“That–that was fun.” Lexi blurted out, only half meaning to say that out loud. Her eyes looked around at the others for approval while she kept her muzzle hidden behind her paw.

Vasteye let out a long, loud whistle and a single laugh.

“Way to go huntress!” The silver tabby purr/yowled.

“Amazing!” Jezebel called out.

“Bravo.” Triss cheered, clapping her paws together.

 

[Filament]

Holly isn't sure how to respond to Mother's question. "I guess I wish I could just have a blank slate and start over." She mews hoarsely, eyes full of tears. "I've really made a mess of this, and I don't think there's anyway to turn things around."
___________________________________________________________________
Filament is pleasantly surprised Lexi's method. "Yeah, full send!" The tom howls to her as she flies across the ship and into the portal. He had never seen anyone incorporate portals into their routine before and in that moment he knew it'd been a good choice to have her up there.
___________________________________________________________________

Hal would watch Lexi in awe, completely transfixed but unable to will himself to say anything for fear of being too clingy or irritating.

For a moment he is silent but he finally speaks up. "Incredible!" He calls up to her, waving up at her.

 

[Firestorm of TempestPack]

Thrush stands, hits the drain, then hops out of the tub. She sits on the soft bath mat and draws a still wet paw over her ears. "I wonder where they went." She muses, switching paws to scrub her face. "So. Want to make the most of this treasured silence and take a nap, or do you want to grab some food?"


"Vale'an sul!" Cheers the wolf demoness. "Phenomenal use of your skills, Huntress!"

Thistle manages a wordless exclamation through his mouthful of fruit.

"Outstanding performance!" Lethe calls up to Lexi.

 

[Moonsound]

“Daughter of Eve, an error doesn’t become a mistake until you choose not to correct it. You say you want a blank slate, so then offer that to your companions, to Bailey? Didn’t you just bring up the past with him a little while ago? If you want a blank slate Holly-“ Mother scooted closer to Holly on her belly, “-you must first give one to others.” Mother finished, looking up at her.

—

Trin looked to Thrush and pursed his lips in pondering.

“I have no idea. But I’d rather sleep. Busy day tomorrow and that god ring guy said he’ll be here early. It also seems PIM left me a note for something.” Trin meowed, revealing a small piece of paper between his pads. He unceremoniously flicked it away without reading it.

“So I think I’m going to go to bed. You?” Trin asked.

—
Outside...

Lexi could help but giggle at the praise, despite her best efforts to suppress the elated noise.

“Thanks guys.” Lexi said in a low voice before clearing her throat and adopting a more neutral expression.

“Can someone toss me some fruit?” Speed asked, waving her paw. Saraphina picked up a piece in her paws and shot it like a basketball towards the ship. Speed watched the fruit fly up in an arc before falling short and splatting on the ground in front of the ship. The sheline stared at the piece for a couple seconds, let out a single snicker and then looked up at Saraphina.

“That was terrible!” Speed laughed, shaking her head. Saraphin, Hunter, and a few others chuckled along.

“Okay-okay, someone else. Try tossing one of the fried balls.” Speed meowed, pointing at the circle of dinner plates.

Dreamdrop was figuring out how to trot on top of the wing while this was going on; resembling that of an alien show pony.

 

[Filament]

"I should just ask him to start over?" The question leaves her mouth before she has time to refine it and she recoils slightly at her own choice of words. She'd messed up so many things and burned so many bridges everything just felt hopeless. Nyx and Speed had been kind to her but she figured it was mostly out of pity. For God's sake she'd killed the father of Speed's child. "It really does feel like everything would be better if I was dead or not here. It's not like anyone here gives a shit about me and I don't blame them."
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Luther watched Dream trot on his weird legs with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, struggling not to laugh. "You look great up there newsie!" The tom teases. He laughs again and it causes the cigarette to fall from his lips.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hal saw his moment to shine when Speed suggested someone toss a fried ball up there. He had thrown grenades in Frenziland and he wondered how big of a difference there would be. He steps forward and collects the ball on his forepaw and tosses it a little above his head. On its way back down he flicks the limb in question straight up towards her. Secretly he just wanted to impress Lexi, but he guessed his interest in her wasn't exactly subtle.

 

[Moonsound]

Mother smirked and stood to her paws.

“Now that is not true Holly. There are many animals here that care deeply about you, and I do not mean just me.” Mother meowed warmly as she approached Holly. She gave her a quick but affectionate hug, nuzzling her slightly before letting go and passing behind Holly. The weight of her paws on the bed, the slight bend in the fabric her presence caused vanished. For a moment it seemed as though Mother had vanished into thin air as she usually did, but surprisingly she was still in the room. She had hoped off the bed without making a noise or anything resembling the sensation that would come from someone leaping off the bed next to you. But there she was, standing next to it with a proud smile on her face. Mother reached to her side and pulled the sword out of it’s sheathe, revealing all the intricate engravings throughout it’s blade. With a muffled hum she tilted her head so that the blade tip hit the carpet, then put her forepaws onto the pommel. She took the sword’s grip out of her mouth and leaned on top of the sword casually.

“Come tap this sword with your claw for me. A firm quick tap.” Mother instructed, gesturing down at the sword his her muzzle and eyes and then looking back up at Holly.

—

“Uh-huh. Yeah sure.” Dream said back, with a good humored eye roll.

—

When Hal showed that he was going to toss a ball, Speed locked onto him and gave him a nod. Her eyes tracked the fried ball then entire time until it came flying at her, everyone else looking on with baited breath. With ease Speed closed her eyes and caught the ball in her mouth, barely having to even stretch her neck.

“Aye!” Speed cheered through the fried ball in her mouth, while Lexi, Hunter, Vasteye, Saraphina, Jezebel, Stalker Triss, Callista, Aceline, and even the demon captive were in uproar at the successful, cheering loud enough for their voices to echo off the buildings around them.

Speed bit through the sphere and chewed with a contained cackle.

 

[Filament]

Holly shivered and flinched violently at the hug but gave no audible reaction to show her extreme discomfort at her quick and invasive movement. It definitely startled her enough to break from the thought loop she'd been stuck in. When she zoned back in Mother was standing on the floor with Trin's sword like he owned it. "Isn't that Trinity's sword?" the she-cat would ask, a hint of of worry in her voice. The alabaster asshole needed that to prevent dying, and regardless of how she felt about him, they needed Trin.

Her question apparently falls on deaf ears and she looks at the sword, gaze unreadable. "Okay." the she-cat would mew, reaching out her non-prosthetic leg and flicking the sword.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If Hal had no fur he'd be bright pink. "Good catch, Speed!" The tom calls up to her, a bit happy albeit uncomfortable in the spotlight. He was glad he'd impressed Lexi though and it was nice to make everyone happy for a moment he supposed.

 

[Firestorm of TempestPack]

"I'll join you." Thrush mews, standing and finally shaking the water out of her pelt. She glances down at the discarded piece of paper as she equips her claw extenders and slings her pistol holster over her back. "What did PIM say?"


Nyx walks over to the buffet circle. "Hello. Anything tasty I should try?" She questions, looking down at the array of food Speed cooked.

Thistle waves at the demoness with his rice-coated paw. "Um-" he swallows his bite and points to the plate of spiced fruit, "I've only had this. It tastes like cactus fruit from home."

"Really?" Nyx dips her paw pads in rice and grabs a fruit to sample. She hums in delight at the flavor. "Nice balance of sweet with a little bit of spice from the cinnamon. Did you eat cactus fruit a lot back home? In The Crater ?"

The ruddy tom shakes his head. "No. Living cacti were claimed by animals so they could build stores around them and sell the products. Fruit, flowers, juice, needles... Wild ones- ones outside of settlements - were uncommon. Usually already harvested from."

"Hmmm..." The canine bites the inside of her cheek and grabs another fruit.

 

[Moonsound]

When Holly flicked the sword it resonated in a unique tone that reverberated, as if the blade was the most well constructed tuning fork ever made. The one of a kind note continued for longer than you’d assume it ever could.

—

“No clue. I didn’t read it.” Trin answered Thrush with a shrug as he stepped out of the bathroom. As soon as he did he froze his right ear stood at attention, detecting a certain sound coming from one of the rooms. You could see on features on the tom’s face contort in doubt as he second guessed what he was hearing. At first he passed it off as him hallucinating or mistaking one sound for another in his tired state. But after a couple moments of doubt, Trin’s head swiveled to look at the room in question. With a mind of their own, Trin’s legs started him towards the door until eventually his mind caught up with what his body had already decided on doing. The tom reached the door at a brisk but not too rapid pace, small tinglings of doubt still in his mind as he pushed down on the door clicker.

The door to Holly’s room clicked and began to open without a creak. With it Trin poked his head in and scanned around the room.

“I would say I’m surprised...but I’m not sure that I actually expected it to be here.” Trin meowed half to himself as he padded into the room, his tone that of disappointment and self-questioning. Mother had disappeared the instant the door clicked. Slipping away in the minute moment that Holly instinctually gave even the slightest bit of attention to the noise. As always there was no puff of smoke, no sound or effect to her vanishing. Mother didn’t even move. She was just no longer there. And neither was Trin’s sword. The weapon’s unique note faded into oblivion just a mere second before Trin opened the door.

“Sorry to disturb yo...what’s wrong?” Trin started to apologize to Holly only for it to die in his throat when he actually looked at the she-cat. He spotted her tear trails and puffy glossy eyes immediately.

—

“Thank you. Nice throw.” Speed said to Hal after swallowing the rest of her fried ball.

“Alright! The ship’s almost clean-“

“It was practically clean before!” Jezebel called out humorously, cutting Triss off.

“-fine it’s more clean now. As I was sayinnnng. Speed and Lexi are both good looking shelines and all, but I set all this up to see a tom do something that would make my pre-teen self swoon! So come on Filament. Show us something before we’ve all gotta go bed.” Triss said loudly, giving Filament’s harness two light tugs to accentuate her request.

“Yeah!” PIM cheered

—

“Ooh! Hunter stole some of those from a trader once!” Stalker meowed eagerly to Thistle, happy to have something to relate to what he was talking about.

“Stalker!” Hunter hissed loudly, more shocked than anything. His conflicted expression portraying just how unsure of in what way he should even react. Stalker’s positive look at Thistle soured to disgusted offense when she looked from him to her brother. Her and Hunter locked gazes for a second before Stalker looked her brother down and up with a judgmental glint.

“It’s truuue.” Stalker dragged the word out, her tone morphing from being critical to benignant as she did so. Hunter was taken aback and recoiled from his sister ever so slightly.

“I just—uh, didn’t want that out there.” Hunter meowed. His voice faltered when he squinted at Stalker in a mess of emotions like disbelief and questioning.

“Oh. Sorry.” Stalker meowed, lowering her head a bit and looking up at Hunter with puppy dog eyes and a smile.

 

[Filament]

"All to see a tom do stuff? Alright." The tom mews, wetting a sponge and letting it douse his mane and chest. It ran down his belly and around the waistband of his trunks. Once he was all slickened up he began to work the sponge rhythmically back and forth as far as he could stretch forwards. His hind legs moved subtly up and down in a movement that wasn't exactly lewd but wasn't PG by any means. Okay, that was bullshit, his movements were overtly sultry but not in a tasteless way. His movements were smooth and never seemed like uncoordinated hormonal rocking.

He strode forward and began to do the same thing with one of the rear fins of the ship, balancing nimbly on his hindlegs.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Holly watched in awe as the sword let out it's noise. She had no idea what to make of it but her curiosity drowned her sadness for the few moments it lasted. Before anything could be explained the sword and mother vanished.
She let out a defeated sigh and bowed her head. Her ears perked up at the sound of Trin's voice. "I don't know how to help Bailey. I've made so many mistakes and horrible decisions. I just wish I wasn't around to cause so much trouble." The she-cat mews miserably.

 

[Firestorm of TempestPack]

With silent footsteps, Thrush trails after Trin, lingering behind the white tom like a shadow as he follows that odd ringing sound. They stop outside of one of the guest rooms. She peers over Trin’s shoulder to see inside. Holly sits by herself, the aftermath of tears clearly visible on her face.


“No judgement here." Thistle mews to Hunter, "You gotta do what you gotta do. It’s not like the caravan guards are alive to find out, right?” He shrugs, “Prices were always too high and Thrush and I never wanted to risk getting ambushed while foraging. So… 'Five-Claw Discount’. " The tom wiggles the digits of his rice-coated paw for emphasis.

Nyx cocks her head to one side in interest. “Ambush?”

“Mm-hm.” Thistle nods, “The wild cacti are hotspots for gang and bandit activity. Since the naïve non-natives and starving animals that frequent them are easy to rob or kill."

 

[Moonsound]

“Thanks Thistle.” Hunter said with a quick nod, immediately going back to looking at his sister from the corner of his eye.

—

Trin looked at Holly for a couple seconds before looking away and sitting down.

“Well you were. You were around to cause this trouble you speak of. Only thing to do now is not cause anymore. I’ll help you with Bailey if you want, but you need to—“ Trin stopped, and rubbed his chin for a half-second. A tiny portal opened above his head and out of it fell a single square coin that was immaculately shined with not a scratch or inscription on it. Trin caught the coin on a paw and glanced at it.

“You know what this is, it’s a credit. The most valuable thing in most animals lives. It’s allllways getting stuck in animal’s ears.” Trin meowed, putting the coin into his right ear only to mime the sensation that something was stuck in his left ear. Trin patted his right ear and out fell the coin from his left. The red eyed tom caught it in his left paw and tossed it back to his right paw.

“And it’s worth is 1 credit.” Trin said, rolling the coin back and forth across his toes.

“Now if I say-“ Trin stopped rolling the coin and raised his paw up to his maw to bite it, “-bite this coin. How much is it worth?” Trin asked, showing the still immaculate coin to Holly. He also couldn’t help but steal a glance at Thrush.

“What if I were to-“ Trin slammed the coin onto the ground, “-throw it against the floor? How much is it worth?” Trin asked again.

“Or, beeeeend it?” Trin meowed, pinning the coin under a paw and bending it with his other one. He then bent it back.

“Or scratch it up.” Trin said as he scribbled his claws against the metal chip.

“Or how about if I go put it in water? Or toss it out of spaceship? Or leave it in a dusty drawer somewhere for years? I can do all of that to this coin and it is still worth, 1 credit. The *only* thing that can remove this credit’s worth is the complete removal of the credit itself. I would have to melt it.......Holly you’re no different. Everything that’s happened to you hasn’t removed your value.” Trin meowed, finishing by sliding the coin to Holly.

“Nor do we want to lose your value.” Trin meowed, pointing to himself and then to Thrush.

—

“There we go!” Triss yowled at Filament’s display.

“Work it tom.” PIM cheered with a bubbly smirk on her face, only to succumb to a fit of laughter. This entire situation was so wonderfully bizarre.

Speed whistled and pretended to swoon, which turned into her actually sliding off of the ship.

“I’m starting to see the appeal of clothing.” Penny said with a chuckle.
As the collection of animals chatted amongst themselves, ate, or cheered on their “performers.” The Starworld city was growing busier and busier as the seconds ticked by and morning grew closer and closer. The racing ships that were usually up above were gone and so were the floating lights that marked the aerial racetrack. Replaced by even more fireworks going off. Above the canopy of multi-colored burning lights and raining fire there were starships galore. So many that they actually looked like stars. They were high up, some even out of the atmosphere. Some were moving down while others slowly orbited the planet. And as above, it was below. The streets of Starworld were already usually occupied by groups of animals milling about but there were even more tourists now. Some would soy the group’s impromptu car wash as they walked by. It didn’t help that Milky’s apartment wasn’t too far from the space port. His apartment building blocked direct view to the port itself but one could imagine there were ships coming in and out like crazy.

Speed slipped out of her harness and padded over to the circle of food.

“Can’t say this was the most embarrassing thing I’ve done. It was a fun embarrassing though. Sometimes my paws and ear tips need to warm up a bit.” Speed finished before pouring a glass full of juice and then chugging the entire glasé.

 

[Filament]

Holly watched Trin with curiosity in her gaze while he scraped, threw and generally abused the penny. She even managed a small teary snicker when he pretended to pop it out of his ears.
By the time he's done, she's feeling relief. Relief that he's going to show her mercy.
"I'm so sorry for all the terrible things I've said about, you, especially back on that desert shithole planet." She manages to mew, voice quivering. She knew that she didn't deserve this kind of kindness or understanding, especially not from him.

"Thank you Trin."
_______________________________________________________________________________

"It's not embarrassing, it's fun!" Filament called down to her as he finished up and slid down gracefully. He was feeling rather hungry after that workout and he knelt down and stuck some rice to his paw. "This smells great, Speed."

 

[Firestorm of TempestPack]

Thrush quietly steps inside the room and sits down by the door, not wanting to interrupt. She watches Trin's presentation with the single credit in his paws, mildly confused but interested. Her eyes focus on Trin's face then on the piece of metal he holds as he makes a show of his sleight of paw skills. She can't help but huff quiet laugh. The "object in the ear" trick was one of the first she learned to hone the delicate touch needed to be a thief. As Trin continues to speak, his paws fall still and no more glances are stolen, now focusing solely on Holly. The lesson behind the analogy is something everyone should hear at some point. A warm smile curls at Thrush's lips and her eyes shine with admiration.


"Duly noted." Nyx comments, "I have heard only bits and pieces about your homeworld in passing but I would like to know more. If you are willing to share, that is."

"Sure. What would you like to know?" In a split second, melancholy flashes over Thistle's features and is quickly replaced by a barely contained excitement to share knowledge.

"Hmm. Can you give me a basic rundown of The Crater?"

"Okay. Well, for starters," begins Thistle, "the Crater was named so because it's the ruin of an asteroid strike on a place once called South America. Incredibly steep walls, hundreds of feet tall, surround the lowlands. If you stand on top the wall, you can't even see the other side, the Crater is that big! The inside is all a vast desert with bustling settlements, lonely homesteads, lakes of fire and monster dens scattered about. There's cracks i-"

"Ahp-bup-bup-bup!" Nyx exclaims, holding up her rice-covered paw to signal for Thistle to stop speaking, "Pardon the interruption but did you say "lakes of fire"?" Red eyes widen in disbelief, honing in on the desert-born tomcat, waiting for an answer.

Thistle shies away from the intense stare he receives but answers without hesitation. "Yes. As kits, our parents told us that Muspelheim - the realm of fire - grew so strong that it spilled into Midgard - the realm where we all live - and because of it, never-ending fires plagued the land. The truth behind it is, a flammable substance constantly seeped from the ground and fueled the hungry flames. Don't know how they started, just know they've been burning since A-Day."

 

[Moonsound]

“You’re welcome Holly.” Trin said, giving her a simple but genuine smile.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” Trin added on as he stood to his paws.

—

“It tastes even better.” Speed replied to Filament, wiping her muzzle.

“So who got you into sexy car washes? Old friend or something?” Speed asked him as she tied the bottom of her mint shirt into a knot so that it wouldn’t drop down ag


“So, how did you-” Lexi started to ask Thistle, bounding over to his as soon as Triss took her harness off.

“Oh wow! That reminds me of home. We call them burning schisms.” Keesipip cut Lexi off. The gray sheline laid on her belly with a plate splattered with crumbs and sauces beside her. Lexi soon slid in and sat beside Thistle.

“Keep talking about the crater. Did you all live there?” Lexi ordered and asked eagerly.

Dreamdrop was the last to be unharnessed. While Triss went about disassembling everything and turning the water off Dream slipped back into his robe and got ready to go home.

Saraphina stood up and took a couple soft steps towards Hunter but stopped. Stalker had been leaning against the tom sleepily for a while until now. Hunter suggested she lay on his back and his sister drowsily did just that.

“Night everybody.” Hunter meowed out of formality before beginning to carry Stalker back to the apartment.

“Night Aceline.” Stalker said to the orange sheline as they passed her. Aceline waved with a snicker.

 

[Firestorm of TempestPack]

"I can see the similarities." Thistle muses, thinking back to the times they visited Keesipip's home planet of lava and ash. The tom shakes his head at Lexi's question. "No. Thrush and I were the only ones from The Crater. Everyone else here from Earth are from the other Zones." The tom purses his lips and looks up, drawing from his memory the best he can.

"Flame and his family: Plaguelands. Home of mindless, sick animals that eat any living thing that crosses their path. Ashul - Adrianna's home - was somewhere between my home and theirs." He gestures to Pest, "Quite the trek north from the Crater and in the ruins of a Golden Age city. Still desert, but with a healthy mix of the infected and wild beasts. Hunter and Stalker are from the Frigid North, though I forget which region..."

"I'm from that same in-between area as my sister. Just a different city." Lethe chimes in, joining the conversing group. "And Hal, too. Since he was apparently living on the roof of 'Drianna's shop."

"That's it! I may be forgetting some, though..."

"You were going to say something? Before my..." Nyx's ears fall back slightly, "rude interruption..."

"I was gonna say that there were cracks in the walls, some of which hid cave systems beneath the surface. All sorts of monsters and animals sought refuge in them from the heat. The largest, sprawling, most populated cave system was a hotspot for criminals and shady activity."

"Oh?" Nyx cocks her head to one side.

"Yeah..." Thistle trails off, looking away from the wolf demoness. "It's getting late. We should probably turn in if we want to be ready for the Symphony tomorrow."


Thrush stands as Trin walks by. She gives Holly a smile and a dip of her head in farewell before leaving. "You're really good with kits." She murmurs, stepping up and nuzzling his cheek.

 

[Filament]

Filament took a bite of the food and finished it, nodding along with Thistle. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea." The tom would mew, looking over to Pim to see if she was ready to head to bed as well. "What'dyou think?"
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Sounds good, Trin." The she-cat mewed meakly, watching as he stood to his paws. She wasn't aware of what the plans were for the next day and so she closed her eyes. It would be important for her to get plenty of sleep if she was to get out of bed the next morning.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

[Moonsound]

With a wave goodbye to Holly the tom left the room. Trin relished the physical contact and nuzzled Thrush back, closing his eyes in the process.

“I try my best to.” He muttered. The tom let out a yawn just before pushing the door open to the bedroom he’d been using.

—

As Hunter carried his sister through the living room he saw that everybody was asleep aside from Crimson. Bailey, Yuripi, Lula, and Purple were all passed out on the couch while Hunter’s daughters were bundled up together on the floor. Deciet had still not returned. Hunter picked up the remote and it down on it to turn off the tv before deciding where to stow the lump of fur on his back. He promptly decided grew a smirk and carried her out onto the balacony. The brown tom carefully laid his sister down onto one of the pool floaties while Crimson watched with light amusement. Once Stalker was on and a light snore signaled she was still asleep, Hunter gently pushed the make-shift pool bed off the edge and into the center.

“Think she’ll notice and wake up?” Crimson asked, walking over to Hunter so they could both watch as the cream she-cat snored sleepily on the raft.

“Stalker used to sleep like a rock. But as of late she wakes with a startle. So we’ll see if she’s wet in the morning.” Hunter practically bummed out of his mouth. He watched Stalker for several more silent seconds before lowering himself down onto the deck.

“It’s a good night to sleep outside. For you.” Crimson meowed, making clear she would not be joining him.

“It’s been a while since I’ve slept outside.” Hunter murmured. With that Crimson left Hunter to his own devices.

—

“Yeah. It’s closer to dawn than it is to dusk.” PIM affirmed with a nod to Filament.

“I wanted to hear more about their home planet.” Lexi stated rather matter of factly.

“Do you even sleep? Like actually sleep.” Saraphina teased, stretching as everyone started to head back inside.

“I take power naps. And I was unconscious for a while. “Gestritchen norvavin.” Sleep comes when it does. No need in worrying and preparing for it’s arrival. It shall arrive all the same.” Lexi meowed out a phrase of her culture. With much more ease the huntress opened a portal beneath the plates, sending them all back up to the apartment.

<><><>​

Everybody made their way back to the apartment, filtering back to the areas or rooms they were to sleep in. L’Anne busily cleaned up the dishes and kitchen. Speed grabbed a piece of paper from the kitchen, scribbled a note onto it before jollily strolling over to Holly’s room and sliding the note under the door for her to read in the morning. Or at least hopefully she would be the first to see it, depending on who all else stayed in her room that night.

 

[Firestorm of TempestPack]

"I'm always happy to share." Thistle informs Lexi with a smile. "You just need to ask."


Upon returning to Milky's apartment, Thistle asks around for Holly and quickly joins her in her room. Without disturbing her, he slips under the blankets and snuggles close.


Thrush follows Trin into the room he claimed and shuts the door with a back paw. She lets her pistol, secure in its holster, slide off her back and onto the floor as she strides to the bed. She arches her back in a stretch before removing her claw extenders and setting them on the nightstand. It is when Thrush flops onto the bed that she truly realize just how exhausted she is.


When she returns to the apartment, Nyx gathers unused pillows from the couch and uses them for a makeshift bed on the floor.

Lethe crashes on the couch, squeezing himself into an unoccupied area big enough that he doesn't hang off the cushion or fall onto the floor. He finds it easier to fall asleep to the steady breathing of another than silence.

 

[Filament]

Will post tomorrow, hanging out with neighbors today.

You can skip to the next day tho.

I have nothing to contribute for the in rp night.

 

[Filament]

If you're reading this just skip me.

 

[Moonsound]

The following morning Milky snuck out of his room, opening and closing the door gently as not to wake anyone up. As usual he hadn’t actually gone to sleep yet. A small chime from a device in his room notified him that someone was coming up to his apartment. The black tom tip-toed down the steps and over to the front door. With a low click the metal barrier began to swing open and on the other side was a familiar face and a few familiar visages belonging to masked god-ring soldiers. Nastiel dipped his head to Milky and was about to speak until the tom put a paw over his own maw to signal that they should be quiet. The yellow eyed tom lifted one of his distinct black eyebrows but minded the non-verbal instruction. The god-ring feline strolled into the apartment and his guards carried a large rectangular crate in after him.

The note Speed had slid under Holly’s door read as follows: “Put on your race suit.” Along with a hastily doodled smiley face.

By the time the god-ring animals had set down the crate and gotten themselves somewhat comfortable, Trin was slinking his way down the steps; having gotten out of bed as stealthily as possible. L’Anne strolled over to the white tom-cat and bowed to him.

“Bonjour. I was thinking dessert waffles for breakfast, oui?” L’Anne whispered, giving Trin a smile. The tom looked at her drowsily for a second before sobering up and shaking his head.

“Oh-oh! Yes! That sounds wonderful.” Trin whispered enthusiastically, his memory of what today was and L’Anne’s contagious smile shaking the sleep from him in an expedited fashion.

“Strawberry batter with fresh lilncolles for you, yes. With evaporated milk honey in place of syrup?” L’Anne suggested with a polite knowing tone. In response Trin raised his foreleg for a high-paw, which L’Anne reciprocated with a grin; her paw dwarfing Trin’s when they clapped together. With that she turned and went into the kitchen to start cooking.

The sun was almost entirely over the horizon and lavishing the top halves of the city skyline in beautiful orange sunlight. Nastiel opened the crate while his companions spoke to each other using sign language. Unlike when they met earlier Nastiel had a rubber cap over his nose almost like a eye patch. Trin acknowledged the tom’s presence with a moment of eye contact but other than that, paid him no mind. He was far more focused on a certain purple youngling on the couch. Silently, Trin made his way over to his daughter.

“Purple. Wake up.” Trin whispered into her ear. The she-cat stirred in her sleep before opening a single eye. She winked a couple times before opening her remaining eye and rolling onto her belly.

“Hey.” Purple murmured, rubbing her eyes.

“Good morning. Wake Bailey up and come with me, there’s something you’re going to want to see.” Trin whispered to his daughter with a smile. Purple noticeably perked up at this. Her eyes grew large and opened fully. Eagerly, Purple leaned over and prodded Bailey, waking the young tom with a start. His first reaction was one of annoyance but the expression softened a tad bit when he saw it was Purple who’d done the prodding. The hazel tom looked at her curiously before turning his attention to Trin who was waving for both of them to follow. Purple hopped off the couch after her father with Bailey trailing after them.

Trin led the two of them out of the living room and out onto the balcony. As the glass door slid open it became very apparent how well sound-proofed Milky’s apartment was. For the brief time it was open, you could hear all the bustling of the city distinctly. The city was always loud but the background noise of today had a different cadence to it. Before the city had a chaotic sound to it, with every animal going about their own business. But this morning there was an order to things, almost peacefully so. There were no race ships up above, or fireworks going off like there had been the prior mornings; or at all times of day for that matter. It was as if the city itself was in the midst of taking a deep, calming breath. The sky was clear of everything save for the Barnabas taking vigil in the sky. Truly everything was gone, with not a cloud in the heavens from horizon to horizon. You could still see masses of star sailers high up in the atmosphere but anything that could make noise was long gone. Accompanying the cleared skies was the complete erasure of any kind of rumble and bumble from vehicles down below. Not a single honk could be heard. Most vehicles in the city produced no engine noise to begin with but you never realized how ever-present the cacophony of horns blaring, vehicle accidents, blaring sound systems, and the like were until they were gone. It didn’t stop at land vehicles either. A look out into Starworld Bay would confirm that the legion of cruise ships anchored just off shore made no noise aside from the soothing sound of the waves rolling against their hulls. Most of the no doubt hundreds of ships having arrived late last night. Most of them were painted in bright vibrant colors while others were purposefully dark and drab. Some were covered in murals, others had your standard corporate logos, some were painted in clashing abstract colors, a few were even “tattooed” all over with graffiti, and one of the large vessels even “wore” a gigantic flag as a skirt that wrapped around the hull and waved in the wind. All of the cruise ships, yachts, sail boats, and anything else that floated in the water were silent. No one was buzzing around on jetskis, no fog horns went off, and even the sails on the larger ships were stowed away to prevent them from flapping in the wind. The unimaginable number of water craft floated on the glittering surface without a peep.

And to top it all off, all the jumbo screens on the buildings that showed off the various celebrities of Starworld were off. They didn’t lower the brightness or set them to a still image, they were off. Completely black. It wasn’t just the huge buildings either. Billboards of any kind all across the city were black. The only “advert” you could see was the colossal banner that hung beneath the Barnabas. Said banner switched from language to language, displaying the same message: “Happy Symphony Day.”

Purple walked with her father along the balcony, looking around with confusion and curiosity.

“I didn’t know it could get so quiet.” She commented, going over to the balcony railing to look over. The streets below were bustling with animals, all going in the same general direction. It was early in the morning so most weren’t exactly loud and rowdy but with so many animals you could still hear the general static of so many voices mixed together. And boy were there a lot of animals of all kinds. Quadrupeds, bipeds, tripeds, animals that hopped, animals that slithered, animals that flew, animals that naturally glowed bright vivid colors, animals that blended in. Slimy animals to furless animals. Robots to phantoms. Tall to small. Some wore space suits, others wore hazmat suits. Several groups moved in perfect unison, several other groups looked completely out of their depth in such a crowd. Some openly carried weapons while others openly avoided them. Some species were obviously louder than others. Difference after difference, peculiarity after peculiarity could be spotted just at a glance, showing just how diverse the crowd was. And that was just what species you could see on land, let alone what was going on in the waterways. And they weren’t empty either. Aquatic life of all kinds were splashing and breaching the surface, conversing with animals on land, and making their way in the same direction. Everyone was headed to something past the horizon to the right of Milky’s apartment.

Bailey hesitantly made his way over to the railing after being goaded by Purple’s “oohs” and “ahhs.” The brown pelted tom gazed over the railing with a disinterested look at first before spotting something that intrigued him. Trin let the younglings animal-watch for a bit while he smirked at Stalker floating in the pool sound asleep. Hunter was in dreamland at the pool’s edge as well. After approximately six minutes, L’Anne slid open the balcony door.

“Good morning.” She greeted, balancing a plate on her head, a plate on her back, and carrying another in her mouth. On the plates were waffles. L’Anne set Trin’s plate down in front of him by the pool. Two pink square waffles glazed just right.

“Your breakfast is ready!” Trin called over lightly. Purple looked back and trotted over with a pep in her step and L’Anne set her plate down in front of her after she took a seat beside her father. Purple had three red pancakes covered in whip cream and topped with sprinkles. The lavender sheline, nearly as tall as her father, beamed at the meal in front of her. Bailey on the other hand looked over at the duo with a look of longing that was almost immediately extinguished. Trin waved the tom over to them while Purple patted the ground next to her to usher him over. Bailey’s eyes lit up for a moment, he hesitated to move, but eventually made his way over and sat next to Purple.

“And I figured you’d like white chocolate, no?” L’Anne said to Bailey as she placed three white waffles down in front of the tom. Bailey nodded, garnering a smile from L’Anne.

“Bon appétit.” L’Anne purred, patting Bailey’s head gently before going back inside.

“It’s so cool getting to see all the aliens. There’s so many! I even saw one that had legs like ours but it sort of just slid across the ground without take steps. And another one was really itty-tiny but had these massive. Wings.” Purple gushed, looking up at Trin as she talked. The tom just smiled down at his daughter, nodding and showing interest when she emphasized how big the alien’s wings were with her legs. Purple’s descriptions ended when she leaned down to bite into her waffle, deciding not to use the utensils provided. Purple let out a satisfied groan at the taste and looked over at Trin with whip cream all over her muzzle.

“You’ve got a bit just right—all over.” Trin said with a snicker. Purple laughed and soon after Bailey joined in. Trin ran his tongue over a paw and wiped Purple’s muzzle. He dipped his paw into the pool and wiped her muzzle again.

“There we go. Now I didn’t wake you both up just to see the diverse species. There’s something else that’s gonna happen soon as well.” Trin meowed, gaining Purple and Bailey’s curious attention. Hunter woke up and began to stir as the tom spoke.

“What else?” Purple asked.

“Just wait a bit. It won’t be long.” Trin purred, nuzzling her and eliciting a giggle from his daughter. Purple readjusted herself and went back to eating her waffle. It was a minute later as she was chewing on a piece of her breakfast that her patience was rewarded.

The massive billboards on the skyscrapers came back to life in perfect unison. All the screens showed the same image. A pony. A blue-purple pony. Or maybe they were purple-blue. Their skin color was right between blue and purple. They had massive white eyes with purple oculars in them and wore a bubbly smile. They had no hair of any kind but their face was large and feminine. Their head had stiff tentacles that flowed down to her shoulders similar to hair. The blurple alien took in a deep breath with an anxious look on her face before pointing her snout to the sky and screaming.

“GOOOOOOOOD MORNING STARWORLD!” She yelled, her voice booming. It sounded and felt like her voice was coming from everywhere; from the sky, from the ground, from the horizon, and from the buildings themselves. Her voice was omnipresent. Hunter was just waking up but he was every bit awake now. Stalker awoke with a fright at the loud wake-up call, sending her gasping and caterwauling into the pool. With a fright the cream she-cat sprang off her pool floaty and splashed into the refreshing water. She popped up a second later with wide eyes and a loud gasp for air. Said wide eyes allowed her to see the small collection of animals chuckling or giggling at her expense as she paddled to the pool’s edge.

“Gotcha!” Hunter laughed, reaching out to help Stalker out of the pool. Stalker gratefully grabbed his paw and let him pull her out. She flopped onto the deck, panting and still barely coming to terms with everything that was going on.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny.” Stalker grumbled out. Making it clear and evident that she was not amused


“Excuse me. I said, Goooooooood morning STARWORLD!” The blue alien yelled again, raising her hoof up to her ear. A low rumble of responses could be heard from the city down below.

“Good morning.” The blue alien mocked the weak response, shrinking down and quivering to emphasize the shy tone of her voice. With the roll of her eyes and the shaking of her head she re-adopted her confident ebullient demeanor.

“Uh-uh. That is not going to do. I SAID!-“ She inhaled,
“-GOOD MORNING STARWORLD!” The equine screamed with limitless energy, her voice booming across the city and out to sea.

“Good morning!!!” The animals in the streets below responded in unison. The response morphed into a roar of excited cheering and shrieking right after.

“Yes! That’s what I want to hear! I didn’t get up this early to hear a couple of voices. We’ve got TWELVE BILLION new distinct species and counting in this city alone!” The alien cheered, pumping a leg excitedly. Cheering erupted once again at the mention of how many species there were.

“Right!? And it’s only like 7 o’clock. What’s wrong with you animals? It’s like you have somewhere to be today...Huh? What’s that?” The alien looked down as though they could see someone specifically, nodding along to an unheard voice.

“Awww. You’re here with your family to see The World’s Symphony, and your mom just got released from the hospital. Now that’s wonderful—Hmm? You too!? And you? Hol’up-hol’up-hooold up. Are you telling me you’re all here for the Symphony!?” The blue mare on the billboards asked, recoiling in shock with her fore-hooves up in front of her.

“YES!” Was the general consensus that animals of the city chanted in response.

“That’s crazy! Never heard of it. Must not be that good if I haven’t heard of it. And you’re all going? You?..You three, debating on whether to get muffins or omelettes, you’re going? Really?! Well then consider me surprised, though I’d say muffins trump omelettes but what’re ya gonna do. I’m a herbivore...How about you all on the balcony eating, what is that, waffles? You all going to this Symphony thing I keep hearing about?” The blue mare asked, leaning forward. On the billboard in front of the balcony it genuinely looked as though she was looking at them, even squinting to see what they were eating.

Purple gasped in awe before nodding her head rapidly, totally dumbstruck that the girl on the billboards was talking about them. Purple’s level of amazement only skyrocketed when the blurple pony reacted according and nodded back.

“You all too? Well then this World’s Sensory thing must be pretty good. Hmm? I know what I said. I’m the one on the billboard alright. When you get on your own skyscraper then we can talk mister ‘I drink coffee and soda at the same time.’ Bleck.....It tastes like a drink from your culture? Oh okay, remind me never to visit your planet.” The blue mare joked, falling into a fit of giggles by the end.

“Alright alright alright. Ehem! Hi! It’s everybody’s favorite weather A.I, up in the sky! Fye! It’s soooo nice to see you all! Look at you! All these smiles and frowns and grimaces. Some of you don’t have mouths. Haha! Today is the day. The World’s Symphony! Who’s excited!?” Fye exclaimed, jogging in place eagerly. Cheering and agreement came up from the streets.

“Now you’re all awake. I definitely heard that one. For all the first timers I am your host for the Symphony once again. I made sure that today would be a nice and pleasant sunny day here on this lovely planet. There won’t be a single cloud in the sky today and I’ll keep a light breeze going for you guys so that you can take in the ocean air. As well as keep cool anyone who finds 80 to 81 degrees a little too warm. Remember to stay hydrated, drink water, methane, helium, whatever your species needs to stay in tip top shape!...oh? You drink ethanol?...And your blood has ethanol!? Watch her then, never know when she’ll strike. It’s always the fluffy ones.” Fye continued on to explain with a bubbly disposition, not hesitating to tease animals across the city. It was no more than few seconds when her ear perked up like she heard something and she put her attention onto someone else specifically.

“Me, a trick?! Of course I can hear you! What do you mean how? I got ears dude...You think I’m a recording? Okay say something...something...Pearly Pentecostals perused the pageant and pursed their puckers pleasantly in the pantry-what? You just have that sentence taking up space in your mind? Just at the ready huh. Well at least now you don’t think I’m a trick.” Fye rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Y’all see—hehe. Y’all? Y’all see that d’ere barney-bass down yonder.” Fye snickered, putting on an exaggerated southern accent as she pointed out the Barnabas. The equine watched the airship float for a couple of seconds before blowing at it. In sync with her blowing the ship moved a bit and the banner it was carrying flickered in the wind. Purple practically choked on the air in her mouth and pointed at the display in awe, looking at Trin to see if he saw it too. Trin smiled back at his daughter and she went back to watching the billboards.

“Did I make anyone mad with that accent?...Ha ha! Give me your best mimic of my accent....I do not sound like that!” Fye said, looking down at someone while feigning offense. This time you could actually hear a large group of animals laughing not too far way, revealing the location of who she was talking to.

“You want me to say what? Pip-pip cheerio? What’s that?....CHINESE!? That was not Chinese! Show me one species that speaks Chinese and says pip-pip—I stand corrected. Hahahaha, oh you guys are killing me. And you know there’s a bunch of animals who are just not getting this at all because this doesn’t translate to their language.” Fye chuckled out. A large collective laugh came out from the city.

“See...Alright all you early birds are awake. Even those of you in your sound-proof homes, yeah I know my voice gets in there too. Trust me, there’s no amount of acoustic paneling that’s going to block me out. I once got this long 400 page letter essay from someone complaining that I woke them up despite the fact they were in their sound proof basement. I’m just sitting there like, IT’S SYMPHONY DAY! It’s not like you didn’t know I was gonna show up. And you don’t have to work early, the business district is closed. They wrote four hundred pages, saying that my waking up of animals early endangers the proper development of adolescents and causes permanent ear damage. I’m not that loud. Anyway! You all got me on a tangent—you said I am that loud? Ha! Okay, you guys are awake, but how about my cruisers? All of you out in the bay can you hear me!?” Fye pointed her attention to the mass of ships floating off shore. A low cheering carried on the wind came from the ships but it wasn’t nearly as loud and the buildings probably blocked most of the animals on the street from hearing them.

“Ooooh. I heard you but you’re all a little far out. Let’s try this. Ship captains! Can you give me a big toooooot–toooooot? On three! One...Two...Three!” Fye pumped her hoof up and down like she was blowing a fog horn. The ship‘s horns blew loudly in unison, giving two loud bursts of their horns.

“Yeah! I love it! It pays to give you guys some nice calm waters to sail through to get here doesn’t it? Alright now you guys up in the ionosphere!—I’m joking, they can’t hear me. I’m joking guys! I haven’t lost all my marbles yet. Don’t worry, you’ll know. I’m going out in a blaze of glory. There’s gonna be tornadoes and fires, and fire tornados with waterspouts
and just pure chaos with a side of panic... Nah, I’m not going to do that. I love you guys....It’d definitely be a big tsunami....Hmm? What’s a tsunami? Let me show you....Hahaha! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to panic any of you. Some your faces though! Whew. A tsunami is just a really really big wave. Doooon’t worry, I’m not letting any tsunami or weather disaster ruin this day. We’re all here to have fun! Make some friends, experience each other’s cultures, create some life long memories, all that good stuff. And we’ve got so many new species here this year!” Fye smiled, only to begin giggling again.

“This is so cool!” Purple squealed with a wide grin. Bailey nodded his agreement while Trin just smirked. Stalker was busy drying off in the sun while Hunter watched Fye’s antics with amusement.

—

Speed, Lula, Hunter’s daughters, Saraphina, Aceline, everyone was woken up by Fye’s loud wake-up call. Yuripi went back to sleeping like a log.

Speed stepped out of her room a couple minutes later wearing her race suit. She padded down the steps and waved to Nastiel.

“How’d you sleep?” He asked. Speed cocked her head and thought about her answer for a second.

“Pretty good. And you?” Speed tossed the question back.

“Well enough. I will be–“

“How about you guys?” Speed posed the question to the masked guards, cutting off Nastiel.

“Good.”
“Decent.”
“Like a kitten!” The three armed animals responded. Their voices were not what one expected to come from masked militants dressed in all grey and black. Speed was pleasantly surprised nonetheless to learn that they at least didn’t sound like trigger happy grunts.

“Where’s the investigator and the defected demon?” Nastiel asked Speed as she was going to greet Lula.

“I assume they’ll be here. Not exactly easy to move about the city on Symphony Day.” Speed answered nonchalantly.

“Morning Mia’Moray.” Speed purred to Lula happily.

“Good morning.” Lulalissa responded, stifling a yawn before rolling off the couch.

“I feel SO much better.” She added on, stretching her legs with a satisfied look on her face.

 

[Firestorm of TempestPack]

Thrush wakes with a start to the initial - incredibly loud - morning call, already on her paws and heart kicking into gear before she can even process that something isn't right. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she notices that she is alone on the bed. "Trin?" she calls, cringing at the sound of her sleep-hoarse voice. Clearing her throat, she tries again, "Trin?" When she doesn't receiving an answer she quickly equips her weapons and investigates. Sapphire eyes glow, piercing through the shadows of the darkened room. To her dismay, the surrounding area lacks the familiar shape of a certain white tom.

The Crater-born Earthling stalks out of the bedroom. As she makes her way downstairs, she peers into one of the guest rooms and spies the bright form of her brother, awake and moving, accompanied by who she assumes is Holly. Thrush stops at the bottom of the staircase and scans the main living area for Trin.

Out on the porch, the last place she checks, is where she finds Trin. She sneaks over to where he, Purple and Bailey are enjoying their breakfast. Like second nature she carefully places each paw in front of the next and slows her breathing so it's inaudible even to her own ears as she closes in on the trio. "You know -!" Thrush exclaims and simultaneously grabs Trin's shoulders with both paws in hopes of startling him. " You could've warned me about the lovely wakeup call we'd be getting today." There is no anger in her voice, rather mild amusement and maybe just a hint of annoyance. Releasing his shoulders, settles down next to him.


Thistle also woke with a start to Fye's unfamiliar voice and loud greeting. Stumbling out of bed and lowering into a stance suited for paw-to-paw combat he calls out to the air, "Whozere?" The tom would be intimidating were he not half asleep, blinking away the sleep-haze and swaying on his paws.


Lethe involuntarily jolts when Fye's voice suddenly breaks the peaceful quiet of the living room. He groans and covers his ears with his paws. When he realizes she won't stop talking, he huffs a resigned sigh and slides off the couch.


Nyx yawns and heaves herself to her paws, beginning a series of slow yoga-like stretches.