Fantasy New Oasis: Four Heavenly Kings — The B-Sides

[joshuadim]

HITOSHI YAMAKAWA

CS Link

SCENE:

Back in the Game

TIME:

Post Arc-3; July 5

LOCATION:

Boustan [A metropolis about a four hour drive from New Oasis]

PARTICIPANTS:

Hitoshi, Charlie, Milo

BACK IN THE GAME

Hitoshi blinked as Milo gave his answer, processing the information just as quickly with something visibly changing in his face. Like a lightswitch that had been flipped, so too had Hitoshi's overall composure the entire time as his face grew serious. And that was because things had gotten very serious. Elizabeth had been snatched - by who, it was impossible to tell - and now it was up to them to do their jobs. Hitoshi gave a quick reassuring pat to Milo's shoulder and gave a stern nod: "Then we will get her back." the veteran said before bringing Charlie into the huddle.

"Alright, don't panic. They can't have gone far. So we split up and determine where. There's the tram station exit, the north exit, and the south exit where we came from. We split up, each of us taking a different one. Get your phones out." Hitoshi said, pulling out his phone. He started a group chat call by dialing both their numbers and bringing them in. "We'll keep in touch. Report whatever you see when you get there, yeah? If you see Elizabeth or those that took her, we'll rush on over to where you are."

He glanced around briefly before nodding: "Alright. Every second matters! I'm taking the south exit!" the veteran declared, rushing off as fast as he could.

Elenion Aura Roda the Red

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

The Hard Way

LOCATION:

NOPD, West District

DATE:

Post-Arc 3, Timeskip 1 | June 4, 2022 | Daytime

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Mugen

THE HARD WAY

Something cold had erupted in her. Where she should have been scared for her life, Hiachi stared at the swarm with ire. This was animalistic. Instinctual. The static energy in the air was lifeless. First, he let her fade from memory without so much as a second glance. Second, the police officers grabbed him by the arm, confidence in their authority still intact. Third, they were thrown several feet across the sidewalk, bones crushed on impact.


A barrage of static and mics followed. Pagers for backup. A swarming of bees to a hornet, but not a normal hornet—one of those Sankaian hornets that were as big as a hand and orange.


It was all according to plan.


Officers with shields ran past. Detectives booking it for safety ran past. It would take a true idiot to look past the spectacle and at her. This was her opportunity.


She slipped in through the chaos. Walking past an officer rushing towards the unstoppable force, she swiped the keycard off of her chest with a gentle movement of the hand. Up until the glass doors of the department building, she shut out the outside world. But then she caught ear of a phrase.

弱いなら、邪魔をしないで。​

Could have been a proverb. Far more eloquent than what she expected from Mugen, based on his actions. In a strange way, he was a lot like her dad—bumbling words that didn’t belong to his tongue, but spinning poems out of his home language.


And just as it was then, it was irritating. She knew damn well what she was, and what she was going to do. It felt patronizing to hear it as a command from someone else’s lips, despite it not being for her.


She continued on.


As people swarmed around the office, Hiachi walked against the flow. She didn’t move so fast that she’d miss what she needed, but not so slow that she looked suspicious. Seeing that this particular station was worse off than the others in the West District, they kept all of their files physical or in hard drives. Their security cameras, if any, would be in holding cells and outside. Swiping that information would be a cinch.


As Hiachi lock picked cabinets and stacked files, the world outside grew quiet. Quiet as it could be, beyond the car alarms. Whatever commotion had been occurring outside had been silenced.

Spoiler

Elenion Aura

 

[Roda the Red]

Keith Sullivan

CS Link

SCENE:

Teeth for a Tail

LOCATION:

Zenith Tower, East District

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, June 23rd 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Keith, Cilian, Jessamine, Jesper, Ayame

Teeth for a Tail

Ah, the Azure Dragons, the wardens of East District, a gentle yet firm hand that covered over its domain in the city, protecting and enforcing its laws and dogmas. Some hated them and called them oppressors, and some others saw them as virtuos defenders of the people. Keith happened to fall into the latter, believing that the dragons, while irksome in some regards, were ultimately a noble force that, at the end of the day, worked for a greater good, something that at the least you could not say about the other gangs and their selfish purposes...Especially those ghoulish agents of chaos, who would rather server better to New Oasis as rotting carcasses that fertilized the land, over their meaningless, compromising lives.

But, for once, serpents didn't happen to invade Keith's very thoughts, as instead, as a member of the Azure Dragons, he had been called, summoned forth once more to help with their wishes and ambitions. And what nobler cause would there be than to save a helpless soul from troublemakers! He knew that they were in the right, this only served to support his beliefs.

Those who seemed like a few other members had gathered alongside him in the location indicated by the call: The ominous Zenith Tower. The atmosphere felt somewhat heavy, the other dragons that were tagging along proved to be of the more energetic kind. He knew none of them, although the last name Albrecht rung a bell, somehow. Keith kept mostly to himself, unsure how to tackle dealing with the snow-haired menaces. It was a little discouraging to see No Name was nowhere to be found, he enjoyed her company during his last mission much, much more than these pint-sized blabbermouths.

It was then that a voice called out to Keith. Startled, he turned to the source of the commanding words. "H-Huh?" The ginger lady proved to also be the kind to make her presence known, albeit in a less boisterous or hyperactive manner. Was she really ordering him around just now? Was she a veteran, perhaps? The confidence she emanated in the tone of her voice and elegant strut, it was no newbie's.

"Uh...O-Okay"

Yeah, she was definitely a veteran of some sort, even if she looked to be quite young, possibly even younger than him, it was only proper to respect one's seniors. And thus, he followed behind, his slight slouch and bashful expression now becoming a thing of the past, as his body and mind alike prepared for the threat ahead.

Keith also happened to wonder just what was a K/D score...Were the dragons rated for their performance? He could feel himself getting more nervous as they walked, he NEVER dealt well with tests.

simj26 BluEndings Tabbystick CelticHero37 AriAriAbabwa

 

[joshuadim]

RYUTARO HASHIMOTO

CS Link

SCENE:

A Summer Breeze Scatters Blossoms

LOCATION:

Katōre, Sankai

PARTICIPANTS:

Ryutaro, Samira

A Summer Breeze Scatters Blossoms

"A design philosophy so easily forgotten in our modern era." Ryu replied with an approving nod, "In the end, so many cities end up blending together in similarities. All the same skyscrapers and concrete jungles." The Tiger Queen rested a hand under his chin as he wondered aloud: "The unstoppable march of growth, ultimately, sacrifices identity. Just to fit in with everyone else in this age." He then scoffed: "Frankly, it disgusts me. None more so criminal than Mirova in Graad. Centuries of history torn down to make way for a new 'worker's city'. Anything that they saw as tied to the old regime was cleansed with hammer and flame."

He then turned to Samira again and offered a half-hearted smile: "I'm glad that is not the case with Telabiim. And I am glad that is not the case with Katōre. Although, in it's situation it is far removed from urbanization to warrant such attention in the first place."

He nodded towards his window, indicating the growing presence of the town as they drove on approach to it. "There is, of course, the estate. But the town itself is quaint. Is there anything in particular you have in mind you want to see? The summer festival is about to begin as well, if memory serves me right."

Beann

 

[miki]

Melody Tucker

CS Link

SCENE:

A Very Tucker Christmas

TIME:

December 25, 2021

LOCATION:

North District | Melody & Angúo’s house

PARTICIPANTS:

Melody, Teddie | Eliza, Angúo, Carlisle, Cassidy (NPC)

A VERY TUCKER CHRISTMAS

Holidays have always been Melody’s favorite times of the year. An excuse to generate excitement and celebration, even if for trivial reasons, were deeply special to her.

And this year was the most special of all. This was the first chance she would have to spend time with her brother on her own terms. The years they spent in their old family home were blurred with secondhand smoke and dust, but this year she swore: the only smoke in the air would be from their shoddily-built fireplace and candles!

They hadn’t been in touch the past few years, but in light of a miracle, he had sought her out. Proposed her with a deal she could nary refuse. So what wasn’t there to celebrate?

In the rush of her excitement, she invited the whole family over. Teddie, Eliza, and Carlisle. She had embroidered their names into socks from the dollar store, which she had nailed above the fireplace next to her family’s own. They had sat there for weeks. So had presents, which Melody had crafted herself. She refused to tell anyone what they were, just to keep the surprise intact. She hoped they would like them.

Melody was seized by a rushing excitement and fear. She wanted everything to be as nice as it was imagined. She had worked hard, indeed. She had strung lights messily around the house, she had captured and cooked the big bird that had been loitering around the neighborhood, and she had stolen a pine tree off the property of the park four blocks away. Melody was prepared!

And so was the rest of the family. Angúo and Teddie shared their own rapport, with them being a part of the same gang for longer than Melody had. So he was happy to oblige with his wife’s whims, especially now that she was a Serpent herself. He wore a red sweater with a pink collared shirt beneath it, and had offered to help Melody with setting up.

Cassidy was bouncing off the walls, as per usual. She hopped around rooms like a frog, with the occasional somersault. Cassidy had been beyond excited at the idea that she would finally have a playmate. She had a lot of trouble pronouncing Carisle’s name, but she got a general hang of it eventually. Still, Melody had to take some more cautions. Aware that her child wouldn’t be too fond of the smell of tar, Melody had purchased a stupid amount of scented candles and lit them all across the house. It smelled of pine and cinnamon to a sickening degree, so hopefully it was overwhelming enough that Cassidy wouldn’t even know the difference.

All that was left were the final touches, like plugging in the lights she had set up. She had no trouble setting up lights due to her height, but reaching was a different story.

Time to call on her knight in scarlet armor!

“Angúo!” Melody called out, stepping away from her predicament. On cue, his head popped in from around the corner. “Can you reach the socket?”

“Of course!” With a nod, Angúo kneeled down and grabbed the end of the plug. He stretched his arm against his elbow joint, allowing it to slip perfectly past the tree trunk and into the socket. The lights that had been choked around the scrawny tree were an assault to the eyes, but Melody clapped with delight upon seeing it light up.

“Thank you so much, sweetie!” She planted a quick kiss on his cheek, which he immediately went to taste with his tongue. His sharpened teeth glinted as she flashed a grin.

“Not sweeter than you~!” He said, before taking her tenderly by the hand. “Melody! Baby! This looks so pretty! You did so well!”

Melody smiled out of surprise. She hadn’t heard compliments from him in a long time. Yet she sighed as she put a hand to her cheek. She gazed around the room, trying to pry for anything she had missed.

The tree was a bit off balance, the fireplace’s fire was barely a spark, and the paper decorations she had cut out were sporadically scattered on the walls. Melody twisted her lip.

“I just hope they like it…”

Spoiler

WhiskeyMarten

 

[joshuadim]

RYUTARO HASHIMOTO

CS Link

SCENE:

The Art of the Deal

LOCATION:

West District, Czar Restaurant

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Ryutaro

The Art of the Deal

"Indeed. Though, I imagine in your situation the term 'freedom' seems rather cynical. Allow me, then, to offer a different perspective." the Tiger Queen then stated, leaning forward again in his seat and placing his hands clasped together in front of him. "That, in truth, not even I am free. None of us are. Shackled by the systems created by those who are beneath us, we are forced to follow the order and rules put in place by those with a false social power. It forces us into compromises. Into accepting that this," Ryu then said, waving a hand around him, "Is all we should accept. To have our fates controlled with methods meant to corral those without potentialities."

He then nodded to Hiachi: "Why is it that you must be resigned to squalor, as you have been, despite the advantage you were born with? You were given it for a reason, and you should - like any other - be free to carve your own path with it. Instead, you were consigned to scraping by a living... cheating at cards." His lip curled at distaste to the notion of someone being brought so low. "True freedom - for you, me, and others like us - will only come when that system is broken. When the established order is torn down to the last seam."

A moment of silence passed as Ryu took the time to cut out another small piece from his cake slice and ate it. Though he showed no enjoyment of it as he had previously, as instead his mind was elsewhere entirely. "That, is what freedom is to me. If that is appealing to you, then I'm sure we will speak again soon."

miki

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

Art of the Deal

LOCATION:

West District, Czar Restaurant

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Ryutaro

Art of the Deal

Hiachi was cautious of his perspective, at first. For good reason, she had thought. She wanted to roll her eyes at the insinuation that he was as shackled as she. He was the one who held debt over her head. The comparison seemed stupidly tone-deaf.

Or the fact that the lavish restaurant was gestured at in the same breath as “all we should accept.” Hiachi’s whole apartment was worth less than the establishment’s hourly profits.

But then he hit a nerve. When he expressed his distaste for how she had used her ability, she twitched. She wanted to feel offended, that her most tactful use of her potential was being looked down upon. But that wasn’t the entire truth.

She sat within a broken system, as did he. She had known that the world had been built unstable the second she was old enough to understand it. For all those who rhapsodize about hating the gilded cage, this man was the first to impress a desire to get out.

She nodded her head, despite not decisively agreeing or disagreeing. The only question she wanted to answer was this: If unbridled power was freedom to him, what was freedom to her?

She sat quietly.

She would be quiet from the end of his musings to the second she fell asleep. But in the silence, she could hear the answer she wanted to give, beating methodically in her heart.

fin.​

Spoiler

joshuadim

 

[miki]

Little Red

CS Link

scene:

A Daughter’s Eulogy

location:

South District

date:

2021 | Post Hurricane

participants:

Red, Jericho

A Daughter's Eulogy

Please, Red prayed, anyone but him.

The hurricane was a disaster unlike any disaster that had preceded Red’s life. The little house that her and Papa lived in had been wrecked, reduced to weathered beams and soaked panels. She had nowhere to eat anymore, other than waiting in long lines. She had to hope that the kindness of strangers would keep her afloat. She had to move much, much slower. Preserve the food she could get.

Even though she looked young, kindness wouldn’t be extended to her. It was feed yourself or starve, kill or be killed.

It was freezing. It was freezing and damp, and the water had frozen into ice. She slipped on it three, four times every day at least. And her back fell on broken concrete.

Her clothes were frozen strips of fabric. Her hair, even in a braid, was matted and damp. She looked dirty and pathetic. She felt worse than that.

But all of that would have been okay. That would have been fine. If she could just find him again, she’d get her direction back. A plan.

I need to find him. I need to see him again.

So her wish was granted.

She stared down at the lifeless body. Limbs ever-so-slightly off. Glasses shattered. Mouth slightly agape. The man who had been by her side since the start, her beloved papa, with his soul knocked from his body and cast away into the tides.

Red looked down and couldn’t place the despair she felt. It was the end of something, but the continuation of what always had been.

When another Phoenix went to touch her shoulder, she screamed and shoved them away. Barked about nothing at all, lashing out in childish anger. She choked as her tears choked her breath back.

She ran away. If Papa had been alive, he would have told her to slow down. But his voice wasn’t there anymore, and she ran until the last of her energy dwindled.

Red collapsed onto her knees, digging them into the mud. She welcomed the discomfort, for once. It wasn’t like she could go anywhere else, like this. Her limbs were slack, and her spine buckled as she fell backwards and looked at the sky.

It was ugly and gray.

Spoiler

angel doe

 

[BluEndings]

CIRCE VELIS

CS Link

SCENE:

[Epinephrine On-The-Go]

TIME:

Post-Arc 3 | June XX

LOCATION:

Stellar Medicine Pharmacy, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Circe, Orion, Tatsuo

EPINEPHRINE ON-THE-GO!

Any excuse to get out of the office was a good one, and that was true whether the work was legal or not.

Rather than go to the slew of Knightbucks at more convenient proximities, Circe had made a habit to venture further towards less mainstream coffee shops. It meant a longer commute, and in some cases more traffic, but that was fine. She had already determined the routes that burn the most time, while ensuring the beverages returned at ideal temperature for their drinkers. It may have required multiple stops to offset different warmths, but the outcome couldn’t be argued with.

Her exit had been like any other, save for the explosive collision that greeted her just seconds out.

Forget about grease stains, the iron-eyed woman had been newly decorated in whipped cream and numerous tawny blemishes from the sweltering spills. Her shock failed to dawn on her face, nor the supposed pain that might follow. Instead, the logic that fueled her advance was the realization of her clothing’s condition. In two rigid movements, she had returned to her feet, and assumed a running position.

Not some casual jog, or frantic scrambling. The sprint the woman was exerting was practically hitting ninety degrees with each joint, with all she cared to utter being a simple:

“You’re dead.”

NAVIGATE

 

[Coyote Hart]

SEBASTIAN SE

CS Link

SCENE:

Of Moose and Murder

LOCATION:

East District, Not Far From the Eternal Night Palace

TIME:

June 18th, 2021 | Pre-Arc 3

PARTICIPANTS:

Sebastian, Mirza

OF MOOSE AND MURDER

Mirza Kartal. That dashing worker at the brothel with the antlers. He was a bonafide thirst trap, one that Sebastian had let himself fall into. All deliciously tan skin, multi-hued hair, and sharp yellow eyes. Whilst Sebastian had been a customer at the Eternal Night Palace, he had rarely seen the man with his shirt on. And the only thing that was softer than his hair was his exposed skin: soft, even despite the alluring firmness of his toned muscles. Yes, Sebastian definitely liked Mirza.

And that was why he had to die. How pretty he would be, his toffee skin covered by a sheen of red. And Sebastian could only wonder how his screams would sound. Yes, Sebastian had to see Mirza bleed.

Hence Sebastian was currently tailing Mirza after his shift at the Eternal Night Palace.

Committing murder in the East was a difficult job. The immaculately clean streets and authoritarian rules made for a very orderly district, one where the effort to kill someone was astronomically high. But the act itself also lent a burst of ego, as if Sebastian realized that even the rules set up by the Dragons couldn't stop someone like him.

Sebastian furtively looked backward. He had been trailing Mirza a good solid distance behind, and finally, it seemed that there were not any people around. Even if there was, the beautiful foliage would provide enough cover to block out any sight. As long as nobody saw his bioluminescent hair, that would be all Sebastian needed. The serial killer sped up his pace to catch up with Mirza. His pace quickened in anticipation of the unspeakable deeds he was about to do.

Oh, this was going to be so much fun.

WhiskeyMarten

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Passeri Park

CS Link

SCENE:

Overcast, In Saline

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, July 7th [Morning]

LOCATION:

Clemency Private Hospital, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Eric, Dagger, Kiwi, Dante, Pei

Overcast, In Saline

Elise was quiet. That wasn't unusual. She'd always been a quiet woman, even as she'd started to warm. Speak when spoken to, and say what you needed to. That was the kind of person she was. But, even then, the eyes spoke when the mouth did not.

She couldn't see her eyes, even as she fell by her side. The silence was deafening.

But the mouth, the eyes, they were not the only things that spoke. The faint tremble in Elise's hand as she took hers. How she squeezed her tight, as if trying to keep her from running away. That much was fine. That much she could handle- Process- Work with-, but no sculptor could work with tears. They felt hot and heavy as they fell against Passeri's hand, those tears which fell from eyes dead and lost. Corrosive, like acid. Scorching, like magma.

"Elise, I'm... Really... You-"

Her social acumen, which was usually so sharp, was rusted dull and useless by Elise's tears. It wasn't what she knew, this. Passeri Park was an inlet. Out of arm's reach. That was supposed to be how things were. How she'd made them. The tides that surrounded her were shallow, so shallow that even she could wade through them, but these, the inky depths of the other woman's emotions, were threatening to drown her.

I'm sorry. The words stung, like nails in a coffin, as they fell from the other woman's lips.

"It's not your fault." They were messy words, brash and uncalculated. "It's okay. I'm still here, aren't I? I'm..." Fine. The word, the lie, wouldn't come out of her lips, not anymore. Something inscrutable churned within her chest. The words that Elise had not spoken were right. She was not fine. When she dreamed, it would be of him. Him, the hunter, and her, the prey. A knock at her door. The collapse of it all. The world. Her life.

Everything.

"I'm..." She didn't know. What she was. Every tear, every muffled sob, was another swell in the tides. Her hand went to Elise's cheek, and brushed her tears away, but still, they flowed. She struggled, desperately, to keep her head above the water.

"I... I'm sorry, too." She didn't know. What to say. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise. Please, just..."

People weren't supposed to cry, not for her. Not for Passeri Park. She didn't want to see it. She couldn't.

"Just..." She didn't know. What she wanted. From her. For the first time in years, she didn't know what to say.

"You don't have to cry... Knight, remember? I'll be fine... In a few days..." Cold logic was the best she could do, but even that was starting to melt. The strain in her voice grew deeper and deeper. "Please, you don't have to cry..."

Not for her. She couldn't handle it. Not for much longer.

She didn't know. Anything at all.

Spoiler: Tags

Interacted: simj26
Relevant: gxxberkit

 

[Coyote Hart]

SEBASTIAN SE

CS Link

SCENE:

Ours and Ours Alone

LOCATION:

The Vanishing Lot, West District

TIME:

Post Arc 3 || June 20th, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Eric, Sebastian, Hiachi, Takakazu, Dante, Kisara

OURS AND OURS ALONE

"I suppose it isn't all that unusual. It is a nice break to get away from the blood and the violence," Sebastian said. He held the stick of pocky as Eric munched on it. A small wicked smile was on his face as he greedily watched Eric's lips move. Then as Eric got to the last bit of the stick, Sebastian released the pocky, lest his fingers got eaten too.

Sebastian took a moment to look at the crime scene. Or the lack thereof. Even the foundation of the building had vanished, leaving nothing but the dirt beneath it. There was no sign of any machinery moving things, and there weren't any visible residues of a potential being used. How... strange.

In the moment that he was distracted, Eric had run off right up to Iori, leaving Sebastian to play catch-up. Sebastian had to jog to make sure that he didn't miss any of the conversation, and upon being introduced by Eric, he twirled his arm and gave a graceful bow, "Good afternoon. A pleasure to meet you. Eric's exaggerating, of course. He never cries no matter what I do to him."

Her response was interesting though. Dull and lifeless, not quite befitting someone as energetic as an idol. Sebastian didn't watch any of her music videos and had only one of her songs in his playlists. But even so, he knew that this was not her normal behavior. Her mind was focused on the situation at hand, and that left no room for idle chatter.

Idly, Sebastian continued to look at the crime scene while Eric interviewed Passeri. Police officers struggled to contain a woman who was hell-bent on involving herself in the crime scene. Her skin and sparks signified that she was an HP. And as he stared at the crime scene, Sebastian swore that he was hallucinating. A trick of the eyes. It almost seemed like... he could see into the studio.

Then, with a start, Sebastian realized that no, he was not hallucinating. A portal to the inside of the vanished studio was appearing right in front of his eyes. Sebastian smirked. How interesting.

"I'll be joining you. 'Nothing good' sounds like an invitation to a good time," Sebastian said. He took a look at the pink-skinned woman who pushed forward past Eric and the other cops. If she got in the way, it seemed like the two of them would have to incapacitate her. So be it. "Don't get in our way either then, gal."

He followed closely behind Passeri and Eric, looking up and around as he stepped through the spacetime crack. It seemed as if nothing was out of the ordinary aside from the fact that he had just materialized into the studio. But when he took a look through one of the windows near the entrance and saw Eric's face peering back at him, that impression was shattered. Nope, there was definitely something wrong.

"This somehow feels really creepy," Sebastian commented as he peered at the directory posted on the wall, "I like it."

With the layout of the first floor committed to memory, Sebastian began his sweep down the first floor. The rooms were empty and devoid of life, although something about them stood out besides that. With a start, Sebastian realized that the office space that he had been looking through... wasn't supposed to be an office space. Didn't the directory say that this room was a rehearsal space? But with all the cubicle walls, it didn't seem feasible for this room to be used as a rehearsal room.

"Yeah, something definitely feels wrong," Sebastian said to Passeri.

The One Eyed Bandit Roda the Red simj26

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Passeri Park

CS Link

SCENE:

Overcast, In Saline

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, July 7th [Noon]

LOCATION:

Clemency Private Hospital, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Eric, Dagger, Kiwi, Dante, Pei

Overcast, In Saline

Cracks begot cracks. The slip in Eric's demeanor caught Passeri off guard. That was it, then. That was who was here today. He'd lied to the nurse, plain and through his teeth. Detective Evensen was elsewhere, buried in worry. He'd said as much himself.

Even as she was, Passeri had made preparations. For questions. To be interrogated. How she'd throw them off of his scent, how she'd keep her secrets safe, how she'd lead some faceless officer by the nose, and off in the wrong direction. So why had it had to have been him, here? A face that she knew. A face that knew hers, better than even she knew.

The Detective, impassive and wry, would have been better. Easier.

"Gosh, that's..." There it was again. Worry. She saw his brow crinkle, and the black depths of weariness in his eyes. A layer of thick tarnish on the gold of his eyes. She didn't want him to worry. She didn't want anybody to worry. Not where she could see it, at least. Not where she could feel it, at least.

Honesty. The truth.

No, she couldn't.

"That's sweet, really... But you really don't have to, you know?" She folded the truth away, deeper and deeper. Maybe one day, he'd know. Why she needed to keep her lips so tight. The stripes on her back, and the stitches that they put in her mouth. But for now, she replaced the words she couldn't say with the ones that she wanted to be heard. Just like she always did. "I know Amestrian Healthcare doesn't have the best reputation... But you'd be shocked by what money can do for you. You can relax. Please?"

So that she could keep lying. If anyone ever found out what she was, that she was a Tiger, it needed to be from her, and her alone. Not him. That voice that had been so possessed with spite and hate.

Not only that.

She could still see them. The endless folds of concrete. She could still hear it. The way the world had churned as he turned it into his plaything. She'd gotten lucky, but there was no guarantee that Eric would, too. An officer of the law was still no more than a man. She didn't want to see him, or her, smeared across the pavement. Bloodied and battered. Only she needed to hurt, like this.

"Have you eaten, yet? You look tired." Why did everybody have to look so tired? "I can ask a nurse to bring you something, if you'd like. It's just hospital food, but, like I said, money really does get you a lot. I hear the soup is actually quite nice."

She looked him in the eye. A warm bowl for a heavy heart. That was supposed to help, right?

"How does that sound? We can still chat, while you eat."

Spoiler: Tags

Interacted: Roda the Red
Relevant:N/A

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

TATSUO IORI

CS Link

SCENE:

Epinephrine On-The-Go

LOCATION:

Stellar Medicine Pharmacy, West District

TIME:

Post-Arc 3 | June XX

PARTICIPANTS:

Circe, Orion, Tatsuo

EPINEPHRINE ON-THE-GO!

Today was a wonderful day for a walk through the cities! Gang-controlled or not, there was no denying the effort everyone put in to live their own lives. In the West, businesses were booming. Families ran their jobs by the day, offering their services to all who needed them. Such as the Knightbucks across the road!

Others were walking about, minding their own like Tatsuo herself. Or, as she found amusing, the man who found it fit to jog down the busy sidewalk. A little inconsiderate of him, she thought, but as long as he didn't hurt anyone!

Such as the person coming out of the Knightbucks... who he crashed into at full speed, spilling the poor girl's drink on herself. And the audacity of him, running away without even apologizing! The young girl looked livid—wait, isn't that... Circe?

Well. Things certainly didn't look so swell, now, and she had a feeling that the 'jogger' might have been up to no good.

The path he was running, Tatsuo had plenty of time before he went behind any cover. This is where her yumi bow came in handy. It was currently slung around her shoulder as she ran to a nearby tree in the sidewalk. She huffed and scaled it, taking an angle without the passersby in her way. Drawing the bow, she took a blunt arrow from her bag and loaded it up.

She scanned ahead of the man's trajectory, thankful that he ran into mostly open territory. Tatsuo pulled the arrow back and held her breath. White, glowing kami appeared from the ether. They circled the arrow and made its tip the same luminosity. Then, she let go.

The arrow landed before the thief's feet. It exploded in harmless light, much like a flashbang, attacking his senses. The kami flew out and swirled at his legs, slowing the man down.

Divon BluEndings

 

[Roda the Red]

Keith Sullivan

CS Link

SCENE:

The Welcome Wagon

LOCATION:

Azure Dragon HQ, East District

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, June 27th 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Ruriko, Mirza, Renjiro, Dorian, Pavel, LLoyd, Keith

The Welcome Wagon

Somewhat cheery and giddy, Keith had been spending the last fourty minutes deciding what kind of clothes to wear. Just a few days ago, almost as if it had been some sort of divine intervention, a letter was suddenly placed inside his house. At first, naturally, he freaked out, believing that some potentially hostile entity had entered his humble abode. However, upon closer inspection of its contents, the rookie was overjoyed to know he was invited to some sort of Azure Dragons meeting! It was even cutely stylized with a charismatic red creature! He was wasn't quite able to recognize what it was, perhaps it was another mascot of the gang? Maybe they had a more child-friendly mascot so kids weren't as scared of the dragons?

Whatever questions Keith had eventually died down by the next day. Now, he focused mainly on what to wear for the occasion, a bit of a challenge given the little information he was provided with. As always, Keith struggled somewhat when it came to his own wardrobe, it wasn't easy to pull off a variety of interesting and diverse looks while having to conceal his hideous arms. Settling on one of his nicest sports jackets, and a pair of stylish dark-blue sweatpants, he felt satisfied, although not before covering his disgusting hands with a proper pair of gloves.

"Okay, I'm leaving for a bit, wish me luck, okay?" He said gently as he reached for the main door of his home, his eyes lingering on a framed photo of an old family photo. He closed the door behind him, now leaving the lifeless house in complete and grieving silence.

__Some Time Later__

"U-Uhm, hi, I'm looking for-" Keith was about to finish his sentence as he reached for the letter of invitation in his pocket. "Lemme guess, funny red letter, is that right?" Asked the receptionist, a sly smug on her face as she rested her elbow on the desk, by the looks of it, she had been having a good bit of fun for a while now. "Y-Yeah! Exactly..." He ended up handing it either way, better to be safe and sorry. "Yeah, thought as much" She raised her hand up to her head level, her thumb extending and pointing towards her side, she didn't even bother to properly check on the card. "Right over there you have the elevator, can't miss it"

The dragon bowed respectfully at the helpful receptionst before making his way to the elevator. Once he was at the right floor, the first thing to his him was , of course, the strong aroma of tobacco. It was quite nostalgic, to say the least. Keith's dad used to be a bit of a smoker, and despite being a pretty exceptional father in his son's eyes, he didn't practice the most responsible of smoking location habits.

Keith's curiosity was piqued as voices game from one of the rooms. Even for Keith, who wasn't the sharpest took in the shed, was able to tell that it had to be the place the meeting was taking place. He stopped in his tracks, now realizing the reality of most likely meeting people he hadn't met before. He squatted there, his hands holding onto his head. It took a few moments of mind-clean and deep breathing to finally regain his composure, his feet making the effort to get past the final stretch.

"U-Uhm, Hi there..." He said bashfully, his head peeking out into the room from the whole, his gaze capturing a myriad of unfamilar and intimidating faces. However, he decided muster up enough willpower to elaborate on an introduction. "I'm Urumi...My alias, that is...You can call me Keith instead if you want..."

He felt deeply proud of himself for having improved so much when talking to strangers, he wasn't even having a panic attack among all these people. "Oh, Jessamine! Hi there" He perked up, noticing the unmistakable short woman he journeyed with on a mission, just but several days ago. He weakly waved at her, feeling a bit ashamed on the gap in the confidence the two emanated.

simj26 Beann WhiskeyMarten Slav Jexon Whells tityanya

 

[Divon]

Orion Stellaris

CS

SCENE:

Post Arc 3, June (xx): Epinephrine On-The-Go

LOCATION:

Stellar Medicine Pharmacy, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Tatsuo Iori AriAriAbabwa || Circe Velis BluEndings

EPINEPHRINE ON-THE-GO!

What was with people and not minding their own god damn business?!

If the murderous aura behind him wasn't enough to make him jump out of his skin, the blinding light and his feet giving out beneath him took the cake. He let out a yelp before he tumbled forward onto the ground, elbows unceremoniously scraping against the concrete. He could hear the skid of the plastic container a few metres ahead of him, amongst that were the gasps of bystanders.

The thief bit back the sting of pain and blinked away tears from the flash, as he pushed himself back up but he couldn't seem to fully get up; streams of light caressing his legs harmlessly but rendering him sluggish.

"Bloody hell--" He tried as he spun himself around so he was on his ass, scooting as much away as he could from the purple-haired woman. "Listen lady, I don't got the time for this."

He began to blindly rummage through the kangaroo pocket of his hoodie, hoping to find -- perfect! It didn't get thrown off when he fell.
"I'm not gonna be done in just yet, especially by you fucking creeps!" He snapped as he pulled a metallic grey capsule out with a ring-trigger attached to it.

__________

"Is that a woman up on a tree?" Orion blinked, stopping his pursuit (if you call a leisurely pace a "pursuit") to the direction of the commotion. "The things people with so much free time do nowadays..." He murmured. Though he hadn't really put in the effort to catch the thief, the possibility of someone else doing the job already made him less inclined to help -- he should just go back inside, shouldn't he? Perhaps think of something to reward the good Samaritan --

A scoff.

In this district of Greed? He wouldn't be surprised if the thief had a taste of their own poison.

Orion ran a gloved hand through the mop of his hair, sadly not having had the time to style and brush it that day.
"Make it look like you atleast TRIED." He sighed in the end and continued the trail of disturbance the thief had left behind.

 

[BluEndings]

CIRCE VELIS

CS Link

SCENE:

[Epinephrine On-The-Go]

TIME:

Post-Arc 3 | June XX

LOCATION:

Stellar Medicine Pharmacy, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Circe, Orion, Tatsuo

EPINEPHRINE ON-THE-GO!

If there was something the sedulous woman hadn’t anticipated, it would have been that arrow.

The intentions of whoever had decided to intervene would have to wait. The small but potent blast of light was ample enough to rob her of sight for time enough to quite possibly squander her pursuit. Yet it wasn’t something she would let be jeopardized by even a seconds’ allowance. Instead, small cracks in the sidewalk formed around the soles of her feet, and material reformed in the place of her retinas.

Just as quickly as it had happened, the stone in her eyes flaked away returning them back to their organic state, as well as the vision that had been temporarily blinded. Things were once again back on track, but opportunity came and went as soon as the capsule entered into the picture.

Her approach did not stall, but her eyes had peeled away from the thief to gauge the distance between them and the dispersing bystanders. There was—what she could only expect as—mere moments to make a decision. Her mind clocked away, measuring the possible danger of such a cylinder, and settled on the most hazardous. Whether it was a weapon, drug, or something else she decided to treat it as a threat to everyone in the vicinity.

She brought her hands up in the form of a gun, not that unlike children would during play. In tandem, some of the plentiful splotches of amber on her person began to lighten. Then, with her leg still sprung from its last hefty push, Circe’s Potentiality expeditiously stripped the perimeter of cement around her heel, which crawled up and around her like an insect’s chitin.

She didn’t expect there to be enough time to reinforce her whole body, but it would hopefully serve to dampen whatever consequences lay in her next two actions.

First, a thin stream of lukewarm coffee shot out the tip of her finger towards the burglar’s eyes. Second, and most audacious of all, Circe lept towards them with a primed full tackle.

After that there would be nothing left to do, but hope for the best.

Spoiler: Mentions

Divon AriAriAbabwa

NAVIGATE

 

[gxxberkit]

Kiwi Dior Bonheur

CS Link

SCENE:

Overcast, In Saline

LOCATION:

Clemency Private Hospital, Central District

TIME:

July 7th, 2022 (Morning) || Post-Arc 3

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Eric, Pei, Dagger, Kiwi, Dante

Overcast, In Saline

Kiwi had been sitting in her car for over an hour.

Her hands sat motionlessly on her steering wheel. Pins and needles pricked at them. Though shaky, her breaths were slow and deliberate.

It was something about just knowing someone close to her got attacked. It didn’t really matter why. It just brought to her attention that that someone could’ve been her. Somewhere, somehow, someway, Kiwi was just as likely to get assaulted as Passeri.

Her grip on the leather tightened.

She could hear the beating in her ears.

With one more deep breath, she tapped lightly on the wheel. “Five things… Pedestrian… Tha’— hoh-hospital… Car… Clouds… T-tree…” she mumbled, the needles fading away.

“Four… Leather… tha’ floor… my seat… my hair…

“Three… cars… the… rain? Uh… my tapping…” She couldn’t hear her heartbeat anymore. Instead, she was rocking forward and back, slowly.

She hummed…

“Alright. Alright... Alright. Yeah. Yeah, alright.” She’d opted not to finish the ritual— the last two were the hardest, anyway…

Her hands peeled away from the wheel, reaching upwards towards the ceiling in a stretch. Another moment passed until Kiwi managed to pop open her door and begin making her way into the hospital.

After a quick interaction with the receptionist, she navigated through the hospital until she reached Passeri’s room.

She knocked once before opening the door.

“Whass—”

Ah. There was another person here. The way the black coated one was leaning into Passeri… just, wow. What timing.

She tittered, glancing between them. “Ha… sorry! I.. didn’t know… haha… I’ll be… Uh. Bye.” The door clicked shut.

Sigh.

That would’ve been significantly less embarrassing for all parties involved if Kiwi hadn’t sat outside like a lunatic… Her lips pressed together, her arms folded over each other.

Tapping on her arm, she noticed a bench just across the hallway. With slow steps, she went over to it and sat down.

She stared at the tile floor.

She waited.

The One Eyed Bandit simj26

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

Taking A Break

LOCATION:

West District | Camila’s Apartment

DATE:

June 28, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Camila

Taking A Break

Hiachi was thankful for the jobs she got that were simple. Ones that didn’t involve dead bodies, animalistic murder machines, and reality bending. She wished she was being facetious, but everything she had listed were things that not only happened, but happened to fuck her over.

So picking up a package and handing it to Camila was like a gift from the gods. Was it going to be worth anything? Hardly. But the time she was spending here was time she wasn’t spending on more life-threatening activity.

If she were to complain about anything, it would be the temperature. They were in the trenches of the summer now. Wearing a jacket made her look stupid and feel disgusting. The sweat that clung to her sleeves clung to her arms and made her arms twitch with discomfort. But at least she wasn’t drawing any attention to herself, which was the point of espionage.

Camila was one of the tigers lucky enough to live in a district that had been designed by an architect on shrooms. Buildings were made up of non-euclidean geometry, smoothed white walls aligned with giant glass boxes—all buildings. Meticulously placed pneumatic structures, otherwise known as ‘living statues’. Buildings that mimicked plant structures.

It was all… really pretty.

Hiachi knew she didn’t look like she belonged there. She belonged beneath it, or on the outskirts, skittering for errands for those within it. But the only way to her apartment was through it.

Luckily for her, the apartment Camila lived in wasn’t nearly as daunting as the others. It was a simple box, tall—not too tall—and relatively easy to spot. It was fancy, but not gaudy. Comforting, in a way.

Hiachi was given a copy of a keycard in advance. She was able to walk in with ease. Looking down at the package now, Hiachi could be confident that whatever was in it wasn’t something Camila was comfortable being searched through by the security office. Because when she looked back up, she saw a desk entirely dedicated to deliveries to residents. Such is the way of a tiger.

She tried her best not to look lost as she scanned the area for an elevator. Following the signage, she walked directly towards the metal doors. Hiachi mentally reviewed the numbers in her head before pressing the correct buttons.

Hiachi tapped her foot rhythmically on the walls of the elevator, until it came to a gentle stop.

She walked down the hall, turning two corners until she found the one that matched Camila’s apartment number. Instead of ringing the doorbell, she knocked with three hard taps.

Spoiler

Roda the Red

 

[Can Abyss]

Image by Divon/Koi.

Verta Kraujas
Scene: Feed the Oracle
Location: North District - Dodgetown - Blood Works Clinic
Date: Current Date
Participants: Divon. Then first come, first served. All patients welcomed.

☆—---------------------☆

The alarm goes off, playing a song from her favorite playlist.
Stirring within the cocoon of her king sized comforter, Verta rolls out of bed and yelps in tandem with the song's own screams, screaming in sync with them. This is her favorite song, after all. She tumbles onto the floor, wrapped tightly in the large comforter. She lets out a small yelp and writhes about like a caterpillar, struggling with her captor.

She stops, letting her muscles relax as the music washes over her. Almost like magic, the comforter starts to slack and peel away from her like a wet bandaid. The cool air of her apartment stabbing her warm skin, causing goosebumps to erupt. She sits in the puddle of the blanket that bound her, trying to contemplate on her current state.

Her stomach feels like Santa's Sleigh being pulled by eight body builders decided to burst out like a demented old naked man from a leather couch. She lifts her t shirt, checking her stomach for any visible injuries. None. She touches her stomach and it convulses under her touch, nearly crippling her into fetal position.

"Okay," Verta mutters through clenched teeth. "Yeah. That pain's familiar. Too familiar. Oh, god." She knew it had to do with the last patient. She didn't remember any instances come up before him. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!"

She performs her morning ablutions, she goes over what she can remember from her last patient. He insisted that he had a cancerous lump and wanted her to drink the entire vial of his blood to confirm it's not cancerous. Judging by the pain, he could have been jumped after leaving her clinic. Did she save him and get hurt in the process?

She skulks in to work using her usual unusual route and starts her opening process for the clinic.

"Hah!" Verta shouts spontaneously. "And only two hours late!" A glint catches her eye before she unlocks the clinic door. It came from the little rolling silver tray in the clinic room. The glint seems obstructed.

Verta inhales.



"Contaminated."



Author's Note: I can not properly describe the voice Verta just had. It was like she took control of every multiverse she lives in and they all spoke that one word in unison where it echoed across all of their ears simultaneously. And that word reaaaaally needed some space after that kind of impact. We appreciate your understanding and would like to thank you for choosing Can Abyss for your reading entertainment needs.

She sees a foreign object on the tray. She stomps over to the tray to see three little dime bags. She grabs and puts on a pair of nitrile gloves before picking them up. She gives them a sniff then tosses them into the trash.

Did the last customer of the day stiff her on payment? She couldn't even remember his face. It was as if her memory of him had been blurred. She shrugs, knowing the answers will come soon enough. They always do.

"Well, today can't get any worse than last night," she mutters the only thing she can think of with positivity after mulling over what little information she had. Though she can't remember the details, she knows the routine enough to be patient and let the memories flood back when the opportunity arises.

 

[FabulousTrash]

Kanna Katsura

SCENE:

[Pre-Arc 1] Dealing With A Squid's Mistakes

LOCATION:

Kanna's Garage, East District

PARTICIPANTS:

Kanna, Yong-Yut Somsri

Dealing With A Squid's Mistakes

[Remember....]

Kanna nodded with a small hum of affirmation as she returned to her work, removing the suspension rods.

"For a few years now."

She set aside the detached rods and her socket wrench, gripping the body panels that make up the front end. With a quick motion, Kanna removed them off the frame of the bike. They were too damaged to be repaired, but Kanna knew she had spare parts of the same model in storage. Maybe later she could salvage the broken parts, assuming Yong didn't want to keep them. With the damaged rods and body panels in hand, Kanna stood up from her chair

"I should have all the spare parts in the back. I'll be right back. Feel free to look around."

She headed towards the back of the garage, pushing open a door and disappeared into the storage area, leaving Yong on her own in the expansive space.

[...]

The sound of engines drew close to the garage. Outside the open entrance, three cars pulled up, along with a group of people on bikes. The ones in the cars got out, some of them carrying weapons including baseball bats and metal pipes.


One of the strangers stood out from the rest, dressed in an all-white suit, except for the black tie and leather jacket. Various rings decorated his fingers. In one of his hands was a pistol.

His eyes narrowed as he walked into the garage building, his eyes looking around before finding themselves on Yong.

"You."

With his free hand, he pointed at Duchess as Yong's bike rested on the jack.

"The girl that's working on your ride, where is she?"


Behind the man, the other strangers began wandering around inside the garage, as if searching for something. Some of them went around the outside of the building and headed towards the back.

gxxberkit

 

[Vorifengrous]

Babarutthoth

CS Link

SCENE:

I am (not) your Grandpa!

LOCATION:

Calrissian HQ, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Babarutthoth, Samira

I am (not) your Grandpa!

Babaruttoth blew air from his mouth as if to go “whew”, sarcastically feigning relief with a confident smirk. “I promise you’ll find your consideration today to be an extremely wise decision in hindsight.” He was attempting to be reassuring. Up until this point he had been consciously irritating with his behavior. Now Babar would pivot in his behavior entirely and attempt to be as accommodating as possible, coupling the relief from his antics with the promise of a lucrative deal to attempt to win Samira over in one fell swoop.

Babar raised his hands with his palms facing upward, as though he were weighing two sacks of rice. “The conditions are relatively simple. I’d like to be put up with room and board and a modest line of credit.” Upon saying this his left hand lowered, as though the weight on that side were getting heavier. “I also want work.” His left hand lowered further. “And it should go without saying but this deal of ours should be my in to your exclusive club. In exchange for these conditions I am prepared to offer you an explanation as to how my potential works as well as how I have come to be here today.” As he spoke he began slowly raising his left hand and lowering the right. ”I will also allow you to use my skills as you see fit so long as you’re willing to pay. I also promise not to tell a single living soul of the information I already have, and any further information I gather under your employ will be disseminated only as you see fit.” At this point his right hand was now lower than his left hand, as though the metaphorical scale had tipped in his favor. From Babarutthoth’s perspective it certainly felt so. He thought he had concocted a deal wherein so long as both parties honored it it was truly a win-win. “As for your first question, it's likely the same reason anybody wants to work for you. Money.” He spoke matter-of-factly with a wink. While outwardly he projected confidence, inward the tiniest flicker of the flame of doubt licked at his heart. He tried not to think of what might happen to him if his potential employer didn't find this deal appealing.

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

Fighting A Wild Animal Seems Scary Until You Get Hungry

LOCATION:

Central District

TIME:

April 17th, 2022 || Pre-Arc 3

PARTCIPANTS:

Tak, Hiachi, Dante, Tatsu(?), Eric

INTERACTION:

Dante, Hiachi

Fighting A Wild Animal Seems Scary Until You Get Hungry

Tak mindlessly flipped the ticket between his fingers as the conversation continued; he only offered Dante a slight glance as he seemed bewildered at the concept of banana foster; the remotest bit of pity he had was overwhelmed by the feeling of superiority in his more experienced taste buds.

“Hell were you eatin’ as a kid? Just those malformed faces of the cartoon characters? Loved Custer the Chipmunk and his bubblegum eyes, huh?” Tak belittled and teased Dante for his different childhood, reaching a hand up to slick back his hair as he smirked, “Sit back and let the real ice cream connoisseurs talk,” he snide as his messy hair popped back into a disorganized place like it was made from rubber.


He didn’t bother saying anything as Dante became the target of two annoyed middle-aged moms, him and his language messing up their family fun. Half of him wanted to give the women a piece of their minds, tell them to mind their business, but another half just wanted to give Dante a knowing look, a slight smirk. He chose the latter without a second thought, “Oi, oi. It’s not lookin’ good for your legacy,” he commented, Hiachi’s earlier comment still jumping around in his mind.

As the women broke their concentration on Dante, walking away to whatever they should have actually been doing with their time than policing language, Tak glared at their backs, “Fuckin’ bitches,” he murmured under his breath, the other half of his brain that was annoyed at them finally getting control. As both sides of his mentality were satisfied with getting what they wanted, he listened as the discussion turned back into ice cream. Dante’s decision to actually go with that horrible-sounding ice cream caused his expression to sour a bit; he thought he was better than that. That brain of his had begun to be ruined from getting hit on the head too much.

“Don’t be cryin’ to us when you start shittin’ purple. Or your dick shrivels up and gets replaced by a unicorn horn or somethin’,” he sighed, a disappointed shake of his head. “While you’re eating that slop made for those freakish fans of hers, I’ll be enjoying some real premium flavors.”

He continued to talk about how much better his ice cream picks were, his sublime nuance in picking out the trash from the pristine. A frozen sweet pundit, but all his talk of ice cream, nothing prepared him from the discussion being turned toward Hiachi’s declaration of sherbert.

“Huhhh?” Tak’s head turned towards the small girl; his usual neutral, annoyed expression and furrowed brows seemed like he was going to say something dumb or demeaning as he always did, but instead, he put a hand on his chin, closing his eyes.

“Damn, I didn’t even think about sherbert…I wonder what flavors they got,” Tak mumbled in thought. It seemed the only thing he could be amicable about was food; the brief moment of genuine response from Tak was short-lived as Tak turned his attention towards Dante with a frown, “Looks like you’re the only guy here who doesn’t know what we’re talkin’ ’bout. Damn shame to be that uneducated.”

What no doubt would become a future argument when it came time to order their frozen desserts was briefly put on the back burner as the line moved forward. Tak had begun to impatiently tap a foot; his eyes didn’t focus on the happy families, the backs of old men and women blocking his way forward, the annoying screaming and chortling of rambunctious and excitable kids. Luckily, he wasn’t alone, or no doubt he would have already caused a scene; as impatient as he was, his one-track mind was pulled away from the current situation as Dante proposed a ridiculous hypothetical, a chimp vs an HP.

“HP would win easy,” Tak began, crossing his arms as he glanced over his shoulder towards Dante, taking his inane hypothetical as seriously as a heart attack, “It’s just a damn monkey; anyone reasonably in shape could just cave its skull in with a little effort. I’d bet all my money that any HP could--”

His explanation stopped midway as his expression deflated, visions of the depressing, bug-eyed, pale-skinned creampuff he was currently with. He wasn’t sure that girl could even make her way out of a finger trap. A cold sweat went down his face as he thought about it. He had a desire to actually put money on Dante’s ‘food for thought,’ but the vision of a crazy-ass chimp riding on top of Hiachi caused that thought to quickly get thrown out; it would be better just to ask her.

“Oi--”

Just as he was about to question her, he blinked to see both of his cohorts engrossed in something hung up on the wall. He blinked in confusion before strolling up to see what it was all about. A peek over Hiachi’s head quickly gave him the answers. Looked like they were interested in a penguin exhibit, Skippo and Rice? What kinda names were those?

“Man, what are you guys, five?” Tak chastised them, quickly turning away from the pair to focus back on the line without a second thought. He was pulled away from the conversation as they neared the ticket booth. On the other side of the screen was a woman, her face obscured by the gleam going across the glass, a smile on her lips. An unreadable nametag on her chest, and the words Oasis Zoo labeled clearly on her shirt.

“I’ll take your ticket!” She was simply doing her job, and of course, for that reason, Tak had to give her a bit of an attitude.

“I got it right here, ya blind or somethin’?” He sneered, sliding the ticket into the small opening; she quickly took it and replaced it with the stub and a folded-up map.

“Have a fun time!” She responded, clearly rehearsed and used to dealing with troublesome customers. Taking the map and unfolding it open, Tak’s eyes narrowed as he scanned across it.

“Looks like those penguins are at the end, around the aquarium….” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as he frowned. It was going to be a bit of a walk to get there. So, he turned his attention to see what was on the way, spotting something shortly after that made his eyes widen. The cartoonish renditions of hippos were placed in their exhibit, right where the path split in two towards different zoo sections.

“A hippo exhibit? We definitely gotta check that out,” Tak stated, pulling his face away from the map, turning to Dante and Hiachi as they came on the other side of the line, officially entering the zoo with him, “Those guys are fuckin’ crazy. Have you ever seen the videos of them tearing cars apart? Basically, nothing in Cafria can even do anything to ’em. It’s wild.”

miki @Haze-

 

[angel doe]

jericho s. madden

CS Link

SCENE:

a daughter's eulogy

LOCATION:

south district

TIME:

2021 | post hurricane

PARTICIPANTS:

red, jericho

a daughter's eulogy

Jericho wasn't entirely sure how he ended up... wherever this was. Maybe it was fate because if he hadn't been here he never would have seen the blur that sped by. It startled him, but he went after it without even thinking, trying to keep up the best he could but lost it rather quickly. Jericho wasn't sure what made him continue forward, but he eventually came across someone on the ground- it looked to be a young girl.

“Uh... hey, kid?" Jericho approached slowly, lowering himself to the ground next to her so he didn't appear as intimidating, “Are you okay?" He internally cringed the minute the question left his mouth; what a stupid thing to ask when she clearly did not look okay.

“Do ya need some help?" Rico went quiet after this, however, realizing he was rapid-firing questions and didn't want to confuse the poor girl. Now that he got a better look at the girl, he thought he recognized her- maybe he'd seen her around, or perhaps she was a phoenix? Jericho decided to put a pin in that to bring up later, should she accept his assistance.

miki

 

[Divon]

Orion Stellaris

CS

SCENE:

Feed the Oracle

LOCATION:

North District - Dodgetown - Blood Works Clinic

PARTICIPANTS:

Verta Kraujas Can Abyss

FEED THE ORACLE

'Why don't you just go to our local GP? We've never really had a issue with her.'
But she would run her mouth to you if I went there without your notice, wouldn't she? So much for patient confidentiality.
'It's nothing serious I assure you, dearest.'

Orion exhaled through his nose stiffly. In his gloved hand was a flyer that he'd procured from a telephone pole, when he'd snag a piece of his pant leg on a protruding nail.

He didn't feel like taking a ride to cross the bridge to Dodgetown since he was certainly in no rush today. He may not have adequate "payment" on him at hand as the decision was made on a whim, but he was curious. That and he could attempt at bartering with this unique "clinic" as it labelled itself.

He had wanted to go for a walk anyway, a brief respite from his husband's motherhenning. But even then that gave off a red flag to his younger spouse; walks with no set destination weren't his style. Regardless, Orion was grateful for Warg's silent acceptance. Years of steadfast communication had a developed an understanding between the two that when the the other wanted to deal with whatever was going on their head their own way.

And yet Orion wondered just how long he could hold on without breaking anymore.

Gauging from the time on his phone, he'd arrived at the Bloodworks Clinic atleast 30 minutes into it's opening hours. Apart from suspicious loiterers that gave him the side-eye before minding their own business or stalked away from his gaudy appearance, the whole atmosphere didn't seem so dangerous for the man.

He almost made a fool of himself when he assumed the door to the clinic was unlocked (it should've been! that was what the flyer boasted about...) and his body unceremoniously smooshed against the entrance. It had only been a second or so but a light pink flush blossomed across his face regardless, as he pushed up his glasses and took a few steps back.

No wonder the folk outside were just standing idle, the bloody place wasn't even open!

Orion bit his lip and turned tail, head held high and body composed as if he was meant to do the entire debacle. Perhaps he'll check back in another hour or so --
He sniffed incredulously as he balled his fists and then let go. He shouldn't have to go back after all that, this was done on a whim after all.

His steps faltered slightly and he placed pressure on his chest, a moment to regulate his breathing.
"Fine, tea." Orion muttered and rubbed his temples as he went off in search of a nearby cafe in the area. Coffee was his go-to when he was working but today...was just not a coffee day.

> > > > > > > >

He hadn't expected to explore Dodgetown since the namesake itself insinuated trouble. 2 hours had flown by and he had taken away another set of tea , this time passionfruit (one to take home and another to drink on the way) and he found himself drifting back to the Bloodworks clinic. It was on the way home so he figured it wouldn't do much harm to check if it was open.

The loiterers from earlier seemed to have dispersed more or less, and this time he made sure to test the door with his free arm rather than his entire body. It opened, thankfully, and Orion let out a soft exhale. The tea itself calming his nerves more than the idea of not repeating the same incident.

So here he stood within the clinic's reception, sipping gingerly at his beverage as his tangerine-filtered gaze scanned the room.

"What on earth..." Orion spoke between cautious sips, "Is anybody here?" Anything *alive* he deigned not to add.