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 Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 2:45 pm
Persy cast a rudimentary glance to Keahi, and then past him to the parents and children unloading at the murky shores. "One of my aunts has managed to infiltrate the housing markets of Central, and she will be more than happy to provide for your needs." When Persy had sent the warning and recommended that godlings bring their immediate families, she hadn't taken into account how large some of these families would have been. Granted, she was part of a rather large family tree herself, but they'd had centuries to cultivate their children. Either way, Aunt Vesta had a magic in the way she could fit people into the proper homes, and Persy had faith in that, if nothing else.
Ashlyn, however, seemed far less adjusted to the entire situation, stumbling backwards a step or two at Cerberus's 'friendly greeting'. Normally, she was fine with pets, but three-headed ones were one her growing list of 'things that weirded her out', and once again, she reached for her hilt for no other reason than for comfort. "Persephone, Hades...Des, we should probably head for Central. It's going to get dark soon, and they say there are still nuclear mutants wandering around from before the war."
Glancing at the people before her, Ashlyn began to think there was more truth to the myths.
The girl began to walk for the walls, glancing back at Valeriu, who (ironically) seemed to be the friendliest of the bunch. "Central's the main City development of what's left of the United States, a capital of sorts, and the primary location of any City's resources." They liked to brag about Central's amenities in public schools, so Ashlyn could at least recite that. "It's a lot bigger than Southern, and it's got anyone and everyone who is even vaguely important." She grinned, beside herself. "Our pizza's not half bad, either."
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 2:50 pm
"We're here right Seth?" A very sleep Edith remarked, observing the floor.
"Yeah" Seth groaned, pull her ago, he really wasn't cut out of this sort of thing. "Practically a god and I can't even carry someone properly..."
Looking around, there where plenty of other godlings he didn't know, but now there was a sense of foreboding since who they where was going to have to be his business now, Not like he had an excuse not to, insomnia would have it uses eventually. There was Vale, though he supposed he was safe for now, and Quinn, as much as he had disliked him, he wouldn't have ended up meeting Edith without him.
Seth tried to keep up with Percy, figuring she was going to have to give him all the info of what he just got signed up for.
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 3:21 pm
Padma had taken a little longer to get off the boat, but she was finally off. It seemed as if they had company, a girl who she could only assume was a fellow godling, and she approached the crowd, a little unsure of what was going on.
Well, a lot unsure actually. Still, now that they were here, she was fairly certain that everything would work out. Not that they had much choice in the matter.
She looked over the girl curiously. She wasn't marked like they were,with extra features, and she wondered how that would affect them. She shrugged. No stressing about it now.
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 3:25 pm
He followed along with his usual leisurely long-legged clip, not the least perturbed by the thought of an attack by nuclear mutants. Then again, he really had no reason to be; Valeriu was a monster himself, and with his sister in his arms to protect, there wasn't much that he wouldn't ruthlessly take down in an instant.
"Definitely a lot bigger," he agreed, eyes drawn back up to the gargantuan walls and buildings. He couldn't even imagine how many people might live there.
"Pizza?" Sydni mumbled from his arms, waking from her nap at the magic word. She was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in an instant, squirming eagerly. "And ice cream? Varu, you pra-you promised ice cream!"
He stifled a groan.
"I did, didn't I?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 3:45 pm
After a short hustle, the Campbells caught up with the rest of the group.
"Mutants? Sounds like fun." Writ smirked. Nuclear mutants were all made up of course, there were some tales back in Southern about five foot high rabbits that stalked the eradicated desert, but everyone knew there wasn't such thing as mutants.
He pat one of the heads of Des' three headed dog as he passed it by. If they weren't on the move, Writ would've probably rubbed it's belly and baby talked it to death.
Writ looked up at the gargantuan metropolis in the distance, and whistled. Southern was just an empty lot compared to this monster. The walls reminded him of a exterior of a stadium.
"I am so up for some pizza right now. I think I lost my lunch on the ride over."
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 3:47 pm
Ashlyn wasn't sure what else to say about Central: all in all, to try and explain the city to anyone who had never seen it was about as easy as explaining colors to a blind man. It would be so much easier to just show them, and assuming they got back into Central without any sort of problems, she could take them through the more important zones anyways. Well, she thought to herself, she could take them if she managed to make them look more 'normal'. Glancing back at the growing crowd, it seemed a nigh impossible venture.
However, something had clicked at the sound of a high-pitched voice, and Ashlyn turned to look at Sydni, the proverbial light-bulb blinking on at the thought of a wicked, evil plan. "Oh yeah, we've got all sorts of ice cream places at Central," Ashlyn continued with a flippant wave of her hand. "And candy stores and sweets shops and everything."
She looked back to Vale and grinned far more than anyone who had been almost frightened minutes ago should have been able to do. "I could show you guys the way if your dad is willing to treat." It didn't occur to Ashlyn that none of the weary travelers would have currency, or that none of them would be in the mood for sweets after such a rocky trip. Her plans never usually got past the execution stage, and this one was no different.
Her good mood was suddenly crumbled by an insane surge of power, though, and she blinked back her surprise when she saw another man trotting up, the first one toting an actual weapon she'd seen all day. Now this was a warrior, she thought, and a part of her burned at the thought of someone she could actually fight, but instinct told her that fighting him would be biting off far more than she could chew. With a soft flip of her bangs, she decided that the man deserved at least some level of respect. "Or pizza, pizza is good, too," she mumbled in response.
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:09 pm
Quinn was probably more excited about Ashlyn's news then Sydni was. "Candy stores?"
He had waited for Writ and his parents to get off the ship to make sure Writ didn't fall flat on his face from drunkenness, but he moved forward at this news. He licked his lips.
"I could go for some chocolate right now." He paused, and glared at Vale preemptively. "'You could al'vays go for chocolate, Q'vinn'" he mimicked. "Whatever." He hooked his thumbs in his pants and kept pace with Ashlyn.
" 'Dad'? Vale isn't her dad. They're siblings." He could see where she'd be confused, though. Vale did look like an adult, now. He raised an eyebrow at her mumble to Writ, and looked at the dog. "No. We are getting sweets first. I haven't had anything but your gross beer since we left town, and it was gross. I need to cleanse my palette. Or whatever. Lead us to someplace with chocolate and coffee, girl-with-a-sword!" He commanded.
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:25 pm
"You threw up on the souls of the dead," he muttered to Writ with something akin to outraged disgust. "I don't think there should be pizza for sacrilegious men like you."
His head swiveled back over at Ashlyn with a look of betrayal, even as Sydni started cheering for ice cream and sweets and candies.
"Varu! Varu - hurry up!" She tugged emphatically at his hoodie strings, tightening it uncomfortable even as he tried to gently dissuade her hands from choking him. "You promised!"
"I did," he answered, wearily.
"You so promised!"
"I know." He grimaced.
"Land of ice cream an' sweets an' candies!"
This was going to be terrible. Especially with Quinn egging her on every step of the way.
"Don't make fun of my accent," he grouched, trying to ignore how Sydni was chanting pizza and ice cream in his ear. "Let us just make it into the city in one piece first, yes?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:46 pm
"Thats what they were?" Writ rubbed his chin, "Did anyone try to stop me?" Writ looked at a fresh cut on his shoulder. It was healing, but Writ knew that it wasn't there yesterday.
"I don't think that was beer." Writ replied to Quinn. It probably was- probably. Writ couldn't recall what he did with the beer bottles after he emptied them.
As the arguments for sweets, coffee and candy were mounted Writ sighed, "A city this big has got to have all three close by to one another. Besides, she agrees with me, and she's the one taking us inside."
He leaned towards Ashlyn and asked, "What's your name? I don't think I caught it."
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:04 pm
Pizza sounded amazing, and she knew that she had more than enough to get pizza for her as long as the currency was the same. Was the currency the same? Before, she probably would have said yes, but now, well, everything was topsy-turvy, and she decided that it would probably be better to clarify things now, before they had ordered a bunch of food.
"Erm, miss?" Padma asked, waving her arms to get her attention. "Is the currency the same here?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:04 pm
Ashlyn listened to the squabble behind her, glancing back even as she walked forward. Despite the fact that there was something about the group that sent her instincts on a roller coaster ride and that she was currently strolling with enough weirdos to constitute her own freak show, she found that there was something about the group that she liked, something that felt warm and familiar and way cooler than her other friends.
It was a shame she'd have to kill them all to win the Game.
"Did they not have malls in Southern?" she called back to the group, almost laughing to herself. "You see, they have these magical things called food courts, and they serve everything at the same time." She added spirit fingers as a nice touch, then looked up to the imposing man with the tomahawk, realizing a moment too late that he was a little close for comfort. "...Ashlyn. Ashlyn Catigern," she said, her eyes glancing up at his ears. If not for those, he could probably pass for normal, like her.
Her moment of distraction was thankfully broken by a small, four-armed girl's question, and she blinked as she forced herself not to sarcastically respond, 'How should I know?' Instead, she fumbled through her pockets and pulled out a dollar bill and a few coins that seemed to match Southern currency, holding it out for Padma to examine. "If it looks like this, you should be fine," she explained.
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:17 pm
Keahi nodded, smiled, and relaxed. Good. There would be a place for them. His parents would be relieved to hear that. Of course, it would've been their own fault if they'd been crammed into an apartment; eleven kids was pushing it a bit.
As they moved on, the conversation led to food. Now, Keahi could go for food. Any kind of food, it didn't matter. Let the others fight over what kind of food. He'd just happily follow along.
Keahi allowed himself to slow some, letting the other godlings continue on as he caught up with his family. Updating his parents (who were relieved to hear that a home would be arranged for them), he took Lilo from Lanai, letting the younger girl ride piggyback style for a distance.
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:18 pm
She noted the girls name, filing it for reference. If the other godlings of this city were anything like her, well, things might not be that easy. Of course, she could be the only godling here, but if she was, Padma didn't think it would stay that way for long. Now that the game was here, this is where the new players would be.
Padma pulled out a little bit of change herself when the other girl did, matching it up to what had been offered for examination. "It is," she commented. "Thanks." That was fairly reassuring. At least not everything was different here,
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:19 pm
Never again. Kyle was never going to drink another beer ever again. Never mind how it tasted like tomatoes and vomit, it had only taken one can to make standing on the small boat feel like he was trying to balance on matchbox. How did Writ stand this stuff? Thankfully, by the time the ride was over, the effect had mostly worn off. Nevertheless, Kyle was exceptionally careful while disembarking. Since when had walking become a matter of aiming her- His feet at the ground. And why did he keep missing?
After a few minutes of deep breaths on steady ground, the horrible feeling finally drained away. Kyle was able to listen to the conversation between the tall cat person and the girl with the sword. So, the people in Central thought the whole thing was an accident? Kyle glanced at his parents, who were standing to one side, trying to figure out how they were going to start a new life. Stabbed with guilt, he looked away again. They'd have an easier time fitting in if they didn't have to worry about their gender-confused child, he told himself.
As the group headed towards their new homes, Kyle looked to the flame-haired girl with curiosity, and jogged forwards on a whim.
"Hi. You're... Ashlyn, right? Are you the only Player in Central?" he asked, extending a hand. "I never thought there'd be other Players elsewhere, but I guess it's only reasonable. Oh, I'm Kay-Kyle. Nice to meet you."
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 6:13 pm
As his small group on the boat had grown, Faylen had edged himself out of the discussion, answering only when addressed, sinking back into that state of neurosis he had been in before everyone had set upon him and gave him way more attention than he had wanted. Any answers slowly became reflexive products of auto-pilot and to him, his voice sounded far away and tinny. Finally, he'd been able to sneak away entirely, staring over the edge of the boat and watching the water. The water made him feel...good. At some point, his sister had come up and draped her arm around him, standing silently for the rest of the ride. Now...now they were back on solid ground and being herded to the city. He walked along, still in a haze, his small group following.
Emphasis on small. It wasn't even a group, really, but a pair- him and his sister.
It wasn't that he didn't try and get more to come along. He... remembered being so frantic after hearing the news. He ran to his old neighborhood and hammered on Pavel's door. He thought...maybe he could pass them off as extended family. But they weren't home. The house was buckled down and dark- likely out for the night; out for dinner. He ran around the neighborhood in a panic trying to find them but to no avail. He eventually had to limp back to the docks, hip throbbing, chest heavy and eyes clouded with tears. He had been panicked that his sister wouldn't make it in time but lo, she showed up looking about as pale and gaunt as him. He'd sent her to go and try to get their mother and from her look, it was obvious she hadn't succeeded.
So it was just them. From here on out. Maybe, though...that was all he ever had.
He felt...like dirt. Worse than dirt.
'You cannot save everyone, child. There comes a time when a godling must choose to live or let die.'
'I wanted to save her. She was my mom...'
'She locked you in a closet, child.'
'A parent has to punish their children if they expect them to learn right from wrong. I had to learn. She just wanted me to grow up right. She wanted the best.'
A sigh rolled across his mind like a gentle breeze. 'What more could you have done? If she wouldn't go, she wouldn't go. What could you do...stay there and melt? That is not your destiny child.'
He knew...it was true, that the old goddess wasn't just stupid. But why, then, despite his goddess' logic and his sister's shaky reassurance that it'd be okay because they had each other, did he feel so low?
He fell into step close to the few he had been speaking to on the boat, though he did little to branch out and talk to them or the new godling (so there were others in different cities? That was something else). He simply...walked. Walked, and listened. If he could manage that, he was doing good.
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