[ORP] Welcome to Oldpeka! Watch for Mutants.

[AMItotic]

Of course Ashlyn had been to Oldpeka before: all the cool kids had. It was like the elephant graveyard of Central, the rotten out buildings a testament to something long forgotten but nevertheless daunting, and everyone she knew at the University all had stories about how one time they'd been almost captured by nuclear mutants or how they'd found the Lost Ark out there but lost it during the trek back home. There was something mysterious and magical about Oldpeka, and Ashlyn was pretty sure she liked the flutters of mischief that ran through her gut. If the Suits caught her out here at this hour, they'd be sure to give her a stern talking-to, but Ashlyn was not the type to get caught.

Ashlyn didn't know much about the Game, but she knew Brigid, she knew she could trust her goddess, and she knew that others were coming. Others like her. Standing on the banks of a murky retention pond, the girl clenched her hands around the hilt of Hrith, ready to draw if needed. Other Players meant that maybe she could have someone who understood, but it also could mean that there would be battle, and Ashlyn was still deciding if she liked the flutters in her gut about that.

Nevertheless, despite her tough-girl bravado, the young woman nearly jumped out of her skin when several river barges appeared out of thin air, and by the time they reached the edges of the pond, Hrith was drawn and ready, the expression on her face one of surprise and wariness. Calm yourself, these are our guests, said Brigid softly, but even as Ashlyn straightened her posture and put away her weapon, she still felt ill at ease. Where had all this power come from?

She watched the godlings approach, a strange crew of feathers and scales and markings of divinity far more bizarre than that. For once, she felt lucky that the only change she'd seen had been her eyes.

"...Welcome to Oldpeka," Ashlyn said stiffly, holding out a hand to the first of the strange Southerners to go near her. She tilted her head back to the high walls and the higher buildings off in the distance. "Central's up this way."  

[Sejii]

It had been quite a journey, and now to Sarah’s relief, it was coming to an end. The small girl would be one of the first to quickly rush off of the boat, more eager than ever to flee from the water that had surrounded them for what seemed like an eternity.

She struggled to recuperate from the trip, and in her haste nearly bumping into the warrior woman that had greeted them. “Old-a-what-a?” The cat godling blurted out rather suddenly, giving the girl a perplexed look. She then realized that the other girl had held out her hand in a greeting. Cautiously, she took the hand in a firm grasp and shook it, not wanting to look like a wimp in front of all of the other godlings.

“Er, hi there.” She gave the girl a half-forced smile, still not feeling too well because of the trek on the boat.
 

[AMItotic]

"Old-a-peka," Ashlyn responded, not unkindly, as she returned the shake. She surveyed the girl and her strange features, but after a quick glimpse out to the others on the boat, this one was not the worst by far. Another noticable feature occurred to the young woman, and even though she smiled on the outside, doing her best to behave, her tone with Brigid was far from amused.

I thought you said they were warriors, Ashlyn hissed at the back of her mind. These are a bunch of refugees! Kids at that! What'd you have to get me so scared for?

Children grow, Brigid replied sagely, And faster than you'd think.

Regardless of what her goddess thought about the whole affair, Ashlyn was still more than a little disappointed. "You guys are from Southern, right? I heard about the power plant. That sucks."  

[Sejii]

“Oldapeka. Got it.” The cat godling echoed Ashlyn’s pronunciation, still wearing a perplexed look. “So that’s Central over there with the… Really big walls? Oh boy.” She looked nervous after gazing at the walls into Central. “This isn’t like one of those ‘Big Brother is watching you’ things, is it?” This wasn’t going to be easy. Even though her changes weren’t the worst of the group, it was still hard to hide her changes in the summertime without being extremely uncomfortable.

As Ashlyn spoke of a power plant, Sarah gave her another strange look. “Power plant? What power plant?” She didn’t remember anything of the sort, is that what people were saying what happened?
 

[Scroll]

The boats nudged ashore, and not a minute too soon. Valeriu was about to tear his hair out after the hoops that Sydni had put him through the past few hours, and land was a welcome relief for the both of them.

With care they disembarked, Valeriu lifting Sydni and placing her on the safe, solid ground; immediately, she yanked at his arm for freedom, and he grimly contemplated getting her a leash and harness. Their immediate surroundings were not so very friendly or childsafe, he noted, eyeing the ruins around them.

Central. The new city was huge - his eyes followed the skyscrapers up and up and tried hard not to be impressed, before they finally dropped back down to the young woman apparently waiting for the group. Frankly, the sense that recognized other Godlings was usually buried beneath all his other instincts, many and indescribable as they were; but this time he knew the tickle for what it was.

Huh. So there are Godlings in other cities.

The thought shouldn't have been so surprising. With the barest hesitance, he tucked Sydni in close to his side and moved forward to join the ongoing conversation.

"It v'as not a power plant," he muttered, scrutinizing the new girl as he kept Sydni half-hidden behind his leg, where she'd finally learned to quiet down and watch with some fraction of the caution that Valeriu felt. "Nor v'as it an accident."  

[AMItotic]

For Ashlyn, the ability to sense other godlings was a new and strange sensation, and to feel the Cultist drawing near made her visibly uncomfortable, a hand slipping back to the hilt of her sword. This one was feline as well, but a considerably stronger and darker presence, and even Brigid seemed to tense in the slightest, though whether it was from unease or excitement she couldn't tell.

"What do you mean it wasn't a power plant? It was all over the news." There was some level of the girl's thought process that began to wonder if she shouldn't just turn in these kids to the suits. After all, she had no way of knowing whether or not they were actual Players or just the resident mutants of Oldpeka.

Trust, Ashlyn, we have to trust them.

Grudgingly, Ashlyn released the grip on her sword, trying her best to look into Vale's black scelera without turning away. It was proving to be far more difficult than she could imagine: in all her life, she'd never seen a more bizarre group of people. How they'd manage in Central, she'd have no idea.  

[Kappawolf]

Quinn jumped off the boat dramatically, feathers fluttering in the wind as he fell towards the ground. He landed with a thud, and stood up straight, looking at the woman with the sword. He smiled at her, letting his fangs show.

"Yes, Vale, quit your silly mumbling. There was nothing to make us think it wasn't an accident." He reached his hand out to the girl, as much as it pained him. She was their welcoming party to the new city; he needed to force himself to be nice to her, regardless of her gender.

"Quinton. Quinton Moreau, girl-with-a-sword. Call me Quinn." He had to admit, the sword made him respect her a little bit more.

He glanced back at the boat to make sure Faylen was making it off safely, then turned back to her.

"Serious question: Where are we going to live? Hopefully not here. This place looks like a dump."  

[Scroll]

"The news lies." He shrugged, and couldn't deny that he felt a dubious sort of enjoyment in rankling the woman's composure with his mere presence. He didn't fail to catch her hand slipping to the sword at her hip, though, and tried not to look so menacing.

It didn't really work (a tight and unhappy smile that succeeded in flashing a carnivorous set of teeth in her general direction), but he tried.

"The Blacksuits decided to destroy all of our city to stamp us out."

They were obviously unsuccessful in that endeavor.

He was surprised that she actually had the confidence to look him in the eye. Most people usually avoided his steady stare, and he didn't blame them.

He shot a glare at Quinn's less-than-polite introduction.

"V'e v'ill find someplace in the City," he growled at the boy, huffing. "Do not be a brat."

Abruptly and awkwardly, he held out his own hand to shake, attempting not to look embarrassed.

"Valeriu. Valeriu Jaklovzsky. Please, do not be minding him. He is the City idiot, you see," he explained, obliquely.  

[Nikorasu-Kun]

Admittely, Seth was tired, not the usual kind of tired for him. Stoners as follows where okay most of the time ,since they didn't care for much, but that was the problem, nothing was ever going to get done, and really, a lot of the past few months had been a blur. He supposed it was time to wipe the slate, now seemed as good as a time as any when your half-dead. So he'd left them.

Well, save for one, Edith, his current sort-of-not-really girlfriend who was currently clinging to him, half asleep. She was really the only person he really cared about to any degree. But he supposed he was probably going to only drag her into further messes, maybe a memory wipe? Decisions...

He shakily stepped out, most of the journey spent resting, struggling with his weak arms to carry Edith.

"Erm...hello?" Seth waves with one free hand. Somehow Seth doubted having wings on his head was going to be as easy as it used to be.  

[AMItotic]

"Ashlyn Catigern," was the curt response made in regards to the girl's introductions. After looking at how dark and scary cat-boy was, it was almost a relief to see the Vegas-style showgirl that hopped off the boat--well, she'd thought it was a girl until she got a sight of his--her--whatever it was's goatee. The fangs were also something she took note of, and idly she began to wonder why it was that she didn't have such fabulous markings of her own.

Would you prefer that your hair were made of flame? I'm sure the local authorities would find it rather fetching.

Uh-huh, story of the century. It took everything in Ashlyn not to roll her eyes in front of the two cultists before her. This is Central, we can't have nice things.

As to their living arrangements, Ashlyn hadn't really gotten that far into planning, and in the moments that she fumbled, searching for an answer, a petite woman with brown hair and bright green eyes approached the group, her expression bleak.

"I've arranged for some apartments to be made available in Central," Persy said, glancing up at the Cultists with some level of distaste, "but you'll have to learn to curb some of your looks or you'll be camping out here where the Suits can't find you." She glanced back to the redhead, then nodded. "You must be the godling we've been in coorespondence with. I am Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld and sco--head referee of the Game." Persy's face scrunched up, but if there was a reason why, she didn't say.

"Y-you're a goddess?" Ashlyn asked, her eyes widening.

"In the flesh. There's a few of us that came on the boats."

Ashlyn couldn't help it, but she stared, first at the tiny woman and then at her much-taller companion. They both had pointed ears, but otherwise no other strange features, not even a twinge of power. All in all, she felt like s**t had just gotten real, and for once, she might have been in over her head. However, if she felt that way, it didn't register on her face, other than the general look she'd been giving everybody else.

"...You guys'll have to tell me what happened on the walk back. We've got a ways to go," she added quietly to the catboy and his Vegas-style dancer.  

[Sejii]

“Erk…” Sarah let out a nervous sound as the older players started to file off of the boat. Some of them were docile, but the male cat had unsettled her even during the boat ride. Carefully, she backed away from most of the group, now searching for Ginger and Toby, who she had left behind for the sanctuary of land. The two parents of the cat godling stepped out slowly, clinging to each other and looking as if Earth itself had collapsed upon them. “You guys okay?” She called to them after sneaking out of the group of Cultists.

“Y-yeah,” Ginger was the first to speak, oddly not being the most shocked. “This s**t is crazy… Do we have to go to God-Kid PTA meetings now?”
Sarah chuckled slightly at the question, they really had no idea what was going on, even now. “No, not that I know of.”
 

[Oliveman]

Writ didn't quite remember the trip in it's entirety, the boat had become a booze cruise halfway through; for him anyway. His memory was fuzzy, but he was pretty sure that he vomited into the waters of the underworld, got yelled at by Persy, and lost his shirt on the way to Central. He had no sea legs and enough alcohol to stock a small bar, the ride was a little more than rough for him.

Out of the boat, him and his parents were in the midst of a desert ruin, which Writ thought was just fine. It reminded him of Mad Max, or the Road Warrior. He pulled out his axe for dramatic effect.

"Hey!" Writ yelled to the crowd ahead of him, "You're not gonna leave us here, are you?" He waved his axe over his head.  

[Nikiana]

Keahi, more comfortable than some upon the water (though he was even more comfortable in it with Honu), waited as several of the more desperate riders got off. He helped his mother get the younger of his siblings headed off the boat, making sure they'd remembered to get their bags. Finally, the family made it off and Keahi glanced up. A godling here? Interesting. "Stay here. I'll find out what's going on."

He made his way towards the growing group, arriving as Persy announced that apartments had been made available. There was no way his family would fit into such cramped quarters, though if they had to, they could make do temporarily. At least his markings were ones easy to cover. He'd stolen some makeup from one of his older sisters to keep the markings on his hands covered. The others were easy enough to hide if he bothered to button his shirt and wear slightly longer shorts or break down and wear pants.

"Apartments?" He brought himself back to the problem at hand. But then his courage failed him. All these older players and he was complaining about the space they were given...  

[Silverah]

The tall man beside Persephone had been, so far, silent. He was in possession of a large, three-headed dog which had also been, so far, silent. However, now that they were starting into the ruins, it barked, tugged on its leash, and decided that the first order of business was to bury its center head in Ashlyn's crotch.

"Cerberus! Down!" exclaimed Des, yanking the dog. It yelped and whined, but obeyed, clearly reluctantly. The god looked sternly at it. "Bad dog," he said, and looked sheepishly at the girl. "I'm sorry about that-"

All this was still sort of baffling to him. Persy had explained it all to him before, and he felt like there ought to be some niggling sense of familiarity, but there wasn't. He was a god (in the flesh), but he also wasn't.

Dog suitably restrained, he gave their tourguide a weak smile. "I'm Des," he said, and quickly corrected, "Hades - God of the Underworld - actually, don't worry about that part, I'm no one important."

He stayed close to Persy and kept the dog on a short leash - he'd seen it try to snap at the lion girl's tail, and he didn't want anyone else to fall victim to its crotch-sniffing antics.  

[Scroll]

Valeriu eyed Seth as if he was half-contemplating ripping the boy's nonexistent heart out once more, but seemingly decided better against it now that he was a god, and a scorekeeper to boot. Plus, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of any more of Persy's disapproving glares.

It wasn't his fault his god went overboard with the physical blessings. He supposed that, while in this city, shadowed hoodies and jeans were going to be his major fare in terms of clothes. But it looked like, for more reasons than this, he'd be making this set of ruins, Oldapeka, his home.

The younger players were starting to crowd close, though thankfully they gave him a wide berth. Still, he reflexively swooped Sydni into his arms - the girl finally, finally falling asleep. The other feline in the group had darted off (that's right, this was his space, you run along!), Writ was being a noisy idiot ("V'e are leaving you behind, Writ. Yes, just you.") along with Quinn, and--

Oh hey, turtle soup. Well, he amended, the kid who smelled like turtle soup. He remembered that - his first battle win, back in the days when he wasn't able to finish his enemies off. Well, as long as the kid wasn't looking for revenge, Valeriu didn't feel much need to tie up loose ends.

He nodded to Ashlyn's request, although there wasn't much of a story to it, unfortunately.

"Then you shall tell us about the city, da? It looks like it might be-" He paused, eyeing the stern looking walls. "-a little different from our home."

New city, new rules, and Valeriu didn't want to draw any attention to himself by screwing up with his first steps into the metropolis.