Oblitus Magia: Verse 1 - Fateful Encounter in the City of Fools

[The Dog]

Morgen finally decided to put her arms down and simply shook her head, returning to her seat.

"Well... I have my own thoughts on the matter, but I don't think I'll stand around and argue politics with a talking lizard, goodness knows that's an entirely separate headache on its own." She found herself scowling at the tail end of her remark, however. Why is everyone on my case? "If I wanted to eat then I'd eat, I'm not a child." She said the last part out loud inadvertently, but stood by her words. She despised the feeling of being coddled by these lower class commoners, though she couldn't quite place why. And, hypocritically, she despised even more the fact that her plight was being ignored - despite the reassurances made, she sensed a definite threat on her life from this creature standing opposite to her.

Morgen did tell the truth, she was no witch... but that didn't mean she wasn't aspiring to become one.

Entering the kitchen, Selma stopped and looked from Morgen to Arx and back again before asking "Are you OK kid? Do you need help with anything?"

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Jacob enters the kitchen." the smell of this cooking. That smell reminds me of my wife's cooking," Jacob said.

" Jacob, I believe that you must have inherited your canine-like teeth from someone. Do you remember your parents?" Rhea said.

" How could I remember my parents when I don't even know what they look like? I was an orphan raised in an orphanage. I don't even know where I was born," Jacob said.

" I see something must have happen in the past to separate you from your parents, Jacob. Maybe you should go searching for your parents and find out what happen in the far past," Rhea said.

" Maybe I should go find my parents, Just to know where I came from," Jacob said.

[Melon God]

For a second, Morgen didn't register who was being spoken to until she turned around to see the voice's owner looking her way. Then she felt a vein pop somewhere. Calm yourself, Morgen. Remember who you are. Be graceful.

Deep breaths...

"Enough! Enough about me!" she blurted out, standing up from her seat and feeling her face grow hot with embarrassment. Her hands shook slightly, feeling the sensation of eyes upon her. "I am fine. I am not hungry. I am not a kid. For heaven's sake, what does it take to be treated with some respect around here? I've always sympathized with the less fortunate to some degree, but now I'm starting to see the reality... none of you know how to interact with society! It's no wonder you all acclimate to these conditions so quickly."

She pointed to Xia. "You-- telling me, to my face, that you weren't listening. Throwing me across the room back at the terminal. I was quiet about it until now, but that is unacceptable."
She pointed to Kinu. "And you, standing there like it's none of your business while this feral dragon was making threats on my life..."
She pointed to Arx. "And don't get me started on you! Am I the crazy one here? There is absolutely nothing right about this situation!"

Taking in panting breaths, Morgen intently surveyed the faces of those gathered around her before eventually controlling her breathing down to a slow. Swallowing uncomfortably, she attempted to fix her already perfectly combed hair out of habit and muscle memory. This wasn't the first time she'd had a meltdown in public, some might guess, but her emotions were out of her hands. She felt herself becoming light-headed, but ignored the onsetting sensation in favor of standing her ground and drawing a line.

"I am trying to help. Maybe that isn't valued here. Fine. I only wanted to know the truth, but I can't say I'm that interested anymore." Morgen tried to hold a strong face, but she couldn't hide the tears building up in the corners of her eyes. She felt stupid, blowing up at a bunch of strangers she'd just met - strangers who were mostly just asking if she was hungry, when her body language very obviously conveyed it. But she just couldn't bring herself to force down her pride. Did she believe her own words? Was she in the wrong? Morgen sniffled and turned her back.

"I've-- I've had enough of this place. I'm going home. Do what you want. Just do--" She couldn't finish her sentence. Morgen fell to her knees in the dirt and cried, facing away in shame. They were right. She was just a child. A spoiled, bratty little girl trying to invoke what little sympathy they could have for the fake crocodile tears of some snobby rich girl from the upper quarter. For what? Because she felt a little bullied? Get real.

Through her tears, she looked up and saw a shadow looming down over her.

"Get real, Morgiana," the shadow said. "You don't know how much of a disappointment you are to this family. Who is ever going to respect a whiny little runt like you?"

[The Dog]

For a second, Morgen didn't register who was being spoken to until she turned around to see the voice's owner looking her way. Then she felt a vein pop somewhere. Calm yourself, Morgen. Remember who you are. Be graceful.

Deep breaths...

"Enough! Enough about me!" she blurted out, standing up from her seat and feeling her face grow hot with embarrassment. Her hands shook slightly, feeling the sensation of eyes upon her. "I am fine. I am not hungry. I am not a kid. For heaven's sake, what does it take to be treated with some respect around here? I've always sympathized with the less fortunate to some degree, but now I'm starting to see the reality... none of you know how to interact with society! It's no wonder you all acclimate to these conditions so quickly."

She pointed to Xia. "You-- telling me, to my face, that you weren't listening. Throwing me across the room back at the terminal. I was quiet about it until now, but that is unacceptable."
She pointed to Kinu. "And you, standing there like it's none of your business while this feral dragon was making threats on my life..."
She pointed to Arx. "And don't get me started on you! Am I the crazy one here? There is absolutely nothing right about this situation!"

Taking in panting breaths, Morgen intently surveyed the faces of those gathered around her before eventually controlling her breathing down to a slow. Swallowing uncomfortably, she attempted to fix her already perfectly combed hair out of habit and muscle memory. This wasn't the first time she'd had a meltdown in public, some might guess, but her emotions were out of her hands. She felt herself becoming light-headed, but ignored the onsetting sensation in favor of standing her ground and drawing a line.

"I am trying to help. Maybe that isn't valued here. Fine. I only wanted to know the truth, but I can't say I'm that interested anymore." Morgen tried to hold a strong face, but she couldn't hide the tears building up in the corners of her eyes. She felt stupid, blowing up at a bunch of strangers she'd just met - strangers who were mostly just asking if she was hungry, when her body language very obviously conveyed it. But she just couldn't bring herself to force down her pride. Did she believe her own words? Was she in the wrong? Morgen sniffled and turned her back.

"I've-- I've had enough of this place. I'm going home. Do what you want. Just do--" She couldn't finish her sentence. Morgen fell to her knees in the dirt and cried, facing away in shame. They were right. She was just a child. A spoiled, bratty little girl trying to invoke what little sympathy they could have for the fake crocodile tears of some snobby rich girl from the upper quarter. For what? Because she felt a little bullied? Get real.

Through her tears, she looked up and saw a shadow looming down over her.

"Get real, Morgiana," the shadow said. "You don't know how much of a disappointment you are to this family. Who is ever going to respect a whiny little runt like you?"

Selma watched Morgen basically break down silently, taking in her words without a sound until she seemed to have round down to tears. Moving over to Morgen, Selma put a hand on her shoulder and said calmly "That's good, let it out. We're dealing with a lot, and I can see you are too."

Turning a glare to Arx, Selma added "And don't worry, if you need it I'll make sure the people-eating lizard woman doesn't hurt you."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"If you were hungry, you'd have started cooking." She said as much, but on the tail end of her earlier conversation with Xia, was implying something else.

"But if you really wanted something," her view drifted over to the Dragon in a lazy simper, "and you couldn't take it...you ask for it, right?"

"You gonna ask, then?" Arx asked, head tilted slightly. "Or you just gonna stare?"

For a second, Morgen didn't register who was being spoken to until she turned around to see the voice's owner looking her way. Then she felt a vein pop somewhere. Calm yourself, Morgen. Remember who you are. Be graceful.

Deep breaths...

"Enough! Enough about me!" she blurted out, standing up from her seat and feeling her face grow hot with embarrassment. Her hands shook slightly, feeling the sensation of eyes upon her. "I am fine. I am not hungry. I am not a kid. For heaven's sake, what does it take to be treated with some respect around here? I've always sympathized with the less fortunate to some degree, but now I'm starting to see the reality... none of you know how to interact with society! It's no wonder you all acclimate to these conditions so quickly."

"You are though," Arx countered. "Hungry, that is." She wasn't sure about how 'fine' she was, or whether or not she was a 'kid' though. An argument could be made either way for the latter; though if she were a betting Dragon... the former seemed to be trending towards 'not fine'.

She pointed to Kinu. "And you, standing there like it's none of your business while this feral dragon was making threats on my life..."

"She probably noticed I wasn't going to follow through," Arx noted. "Knew I wouldn't have asked if I didn't already have some kinda idea at the answer." Or at the very least that's what she assumed. Couldn't get a read on the masked one. Fought like something from beyond the wall... but she also wore pants. Kind of.

She pointed to Arx. "And don't get me started on you! Am I the crazy one here? There is absolutely nothing right about this situation!"

"Never said there was, but it's the situation you're in now." The Dragon replied. "So rather than freaking out maybe you'd better just get us-" she was cut off however as the girl entered into a full meltdown.

Taking in panting breaths, Morgen intently surveyed the faces of those gathered around her before eventually controlling her breathing down to a slow. Swallowing uncomfortably, she attempted to fix her already perfectly combed hair out of habit and muscle memory. This wasn't the first time she'd had a meltdown in public, some might guess, but her emotions were out of her hands. She felt herself becoming light-headed, but ignored the onsetting sensation in favor of standing her ground and drawing a line.

"I am trying to help. Maybe that isn't valued here. Fine. I only wanted to know the truth, but I can't say I'm that interested anymore." Morgen tried to hold a strong face, but she couldn't hide the tears building up in the corners of her eyes. She felt stupid, blowing up at a bunch of strangers she'd just met - strangers who were mostly just asking if she was hungry, when her body language very obviously conveyed it. But she just couldn't bring herself to force down her pride. Did she believe her own words? Was she in the wrong? Morgen sniffled and turned her back.

"I've-- I've had enough of this place. I'm going home. Do what you want. Just do--" She couldn't finish her sentence. Morgen fell to her knees in the dirt and cried, facing away in shame. They were right. She was just a child. A spoiled, bratty little girl trying to invoke what little sympathy they could have for the fake crocodile tears of some snobby rich girl from the upper quarter. For what? Because she felt a little bullied? Get real.

Through her tears, she looked up and saw a shadow looming down over her.

"Get real, Morgiana," the shadow said. "You don't know how much of a disappointment you are to this family. Who is ever going to respect a whiny little runt like you?"

Arx blinked.

"Here I thought I was the one who got cranky when I haven't eaten." Should probably fix that. Looking to Kinu, and Xia the Dragon then pointed at the slumped over girl. "Got any food to spare for Mor-gi-ana, here? She needs some." At first glance, one might wonder why the Dragon who'd just threatened to kill her for being a Witch not five minutes before was trying to help the girl. Possibly even being 'kind'. The answer itself was fairly simple. Technically she was being kind. The reason why was probably just not something they'd agree with.

Before she could ask again however, this happened:

Selma watched Morgen basically break down silently, taking in her words without a sound until she seemed to have round down to tears. Moving over to Morgen, Selma put a hand on her shoulder and said calmly "That's good, let it out. We're dealing with a lot, and I can see you are too."

Turning a glare to Arx, Selma added "And don't worry, if you need it I'll make sure the people-eating lizard woman doesn't hurt you."

The woman turned to look at the new arrival and blinked.

"What? Only threatened to kill her if she was a Witch anyway," The Dragon countered, scratching a horn idly. "Which she clearly isn't. Magic doesn't smell right, for starters. So you and your hollow threats aren't worth all that much in the here and now. So maybe just... save everyone the headache? Especially the gi- ... Mor-gi-ana," she'd get the hang of the name... eventually. "I'm sure this isn't helping things."

Seriously, even a Dragon could see that.

"So anyway... you two. Food?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Xia let out a long, frustrated sigh. All she wanted to do was enjoy something to eat and the warmth of a fire pit, not sit and listen to all this ****. People having mental breakdowns, idiots hurling random insults completely unprovoked, people trying to act motherly and coddle the kid when she clearly didn't want to deal with any of it. Her head was pounding. "Beer isn't helping," she muttered.

"Unless you're blind," she said to the Dragon, "you'll see there's plenty of food on the pit. I asked her twice if she was hungry, she said no. She'll either starve or get over herself." She shrugged. "Not gonna force her to do something she clearly doesn't want to do." That was exactly it. She had been staring at the food Xia and Kinu had been preparing like an abandoned puppy, but she supposed pride wouldn't allow her to eat food prepared by "lesser" people. The rich and elite of society were something else. It was like they were an entirely different species with how foreign and alien their way of thinking was to her. She supposed the same could be said about her as far as they were concerned.

At any rate, she wasn't going to baby Morgen.

She got up and left to grab more meat to put on the pit. If nothing else, she needed to get away from these people for a bit before she punched someone.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

“Come now, no need for threats and theatrics. We’re all in the same boat at the moment.”

Owen walks over, a serving tray floating beside him. While others had gathered by the fire and conversed, he had silently went about preparing some tea he had seen earlier.

On the tray is a simple ceramic pot, chipped, with steam coming out of spout and a bunch of small cups. None of them really match, but the presentation was decent.

He pours a cup and hands it to Morgen.

“Drink, please. It will help. It’s also a decent blend. Just a hint of mint.”

He proceeded to go to everyone else near by, offering a cup and nodding politely, introducing himself as Owen.

[MrSandman]

~Wait, what? Why? How? How does that even...~

The first thing that came to mind as he looked towards Kinu, who had asked a couple of questions of him, was a rather unpleasant memory of the one time someone thought to surprise him with a full-spectrum kaleidoscope. Even to this day, he still got the shivers when he remembered the nightmarish assault of ever changing colors. Trying his best to avoid looking at her 'outfit', Lucifer responded.

"Well, assuming this... Ruin Poisoning doesn't actually destroy memories, then they all still be there- even if its nearly impossible to recall them normally. If that's the case, then I have an ability that should let me bypass the poison's effect and access said memories. I've never really tried it on another person so I don't know if it'll work on anyone else, but given the scope of what we're trying to uncover, even one man's perspective of things as they actually went down should be useful for something."

"Very good Mister Lucifer......errr.....can I call you luci?" En asked politely over the radio. "Or would you like a code name? I'm good at code names....How about...." She paused for dramatic effect. "THE WEAVER!"

Ange snorted.

".....You never complained about your code name Gee Gee." The pout was absolutely audible over the radio.

"Why yes...yes I did." Ange muttered. "Didn't help but I did......dying my hair didn't help, changing what I wear didn't help."

"Red Ghost doesn't ring though....and neither does Arr Gee." En complained, then muttered something totally inaudible before continuing. "But we're off topic now....So Weaver!" She said proudly. "Before you accept this....I need to explain something, and its not just to you.....its to everyone in this room. May I?"

Ange looked around, then turned to the radio. "If its what I think it is.....hold off til they finish eating and stop mentally exploding.

"Oh....Ok...." En sounded confused, a a bit depressed, but accepting. ".....Yeah, I can wait."

[Melon God]

Morgen felt a hand on her shoulder, and its warmth reassured her. But, she hated the feeling of being comforted. Even more, she hated the feeling of being left in such a vulnerable state in the presence of so many onlookers. She'd gone and made a scene in front of everyone, after all. What else did she expect? The humiliation alone was searing enough, but that it was by her own hand was the real nail in the coffin. Numbly, she took the tea offered to her and thanked him, but wasn't sure if any words actually left her mouth. As she sipped the tea, again, she felt warmth.

"I'll have some food," she said quietly. A momentary lapse in her pride. Her mind told her it was weakness, but her gut told her it was a learning experience. Somewhere deep inside, she knew that no matter how much she tried to fake it, she could never be like them. But she'd told herself time and time again, that appealing to them was all she could do. There was no miraculous found family here, nor the spirit of some self-sustaining entrepreneur dormant inside of her.

Look what you've done now. It takes a special kind of idiot to make a fool of yourself in such a spectacular fashion. Forget respect, you'll be lucky to be offered even pity now.

Morgen sniffled deeply, having briefly forgotten that she was still crying. Maybe the tea snapped her out of it. Either way, now she was really glad Lucia never came. She may have been the nicer of her siblings, but if she was caught looking like this, she'd be worse than disowned. Shuri would bust a gut laughing over that, she was sure...

She slapped both of her cheeks a few good times. Alright, enough with the pity party. Do you want people to take you seriously or not? You're behind the curve now, so you better make your actions count from here on out.
Picking herself up and dusting herself off, she took her seat once more by the fire and helped herself to what was left on the griddle.

"I apologize for... all that," Morgen said sheepishly, side-eyeing Ange. "I haven't been in a good place as of late, to be honest. And for earlier as well, on the rooftop... must be high and mighty of me to demand apologies without giving any."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Jacob grabs some food and takes a quick bit." Hmm, this is pretty decent, not bad," Jacob said. Jacob takes another quick bite." My parents, I might need help tracking them down, but at least I know where to start, The Orphanage I was raised in," Jacob mumbled.

Jacob looks down at his food." I could find clues about my parents there," Jacob mumbled.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Xia unceremoniously dropped several pieces of chicken -this time with proper seasoning - down on the grate. She sat down where she had been before in time to accept the tea from Gumdrop, apparently named Owen. How Kinu got Gumdrop, or Gumshoe or whatever, from Owen was beyond her.

"Thanks, Gumdrop," she said with a nod.

She glanced at Morgen, who apparently remembered she was an grown woman and in fact not a child. She wordlessly placed some chicken and vegetables on a plate and handed it to her. "Eat well. Keep your strength up." They were probably going to need it, if today was any indication.

[MrSandman]

Morgen felt a hand on her shoulder, and its warmth reassured her. But, she hated the feeling of being comforted. Even more, she hated the feeling of being left in such a vulnerable state in the presence of so many onlookers. She'd gone and made a scene in front of everyone, after all. What else did she expect? The humiliation alone was searing enough, but that it was by her own hand was the real nail in the coffin. Numbly, she took the tea offered to her and thanked him, but wasn't sure if any words actually left her mouth. As she sipped the tea, again, she felt warmth.

"I'll have some food," she said quietly. A momentary lapse in her pride. Her mind told her it was weakness, but her gut told her it was a learning experience. Somewhere deep inside, she knew that no matter how much she tried to fake it, she could never be like them. But she'd told herself time and time again, that appealing to them was all she could do. There was no miraculous found family here, nor the spirit of some self-sustaining entrepreneur dormant inside of her.

Look what you've done now. It takes a special kind of idiot to make a fool of yourself in such a spectacular fashion. Forget respect, you'll be lucky to be offered even pity now.

Morgen sniffled deeply, having briefly forgotten that she was still crying. Maybe the tea snapped her out of it. Either way, now she was really glad Lucia never came. She may have been the nicer of her siblings, but if she was caught looking like this, she'd be worse than disowned. Shuri would bust a gut laughing over that, she was sure...

She slapped both of her cheeks a few good times. Alright, enough with the pity party. Do you want people to take you seriously or not? You're behind the curve now, so you better make your actions count from here on out.
Picking herself up and dusting herself off, she took her seat once more by the fire and helped herself to what was left on the griddle.

"I apologize for... all that," Morgen said sheepishly, side-eyeing Ange. "I haven't been in a good place as of late, to be honest. And for earlier as well, on the rooftop... must be high and mighty of me to demand apologies without giving any."

"...Hmm..."Ange eyed her for a moment, cocked her head to one side and sighed. "......its alright. To be honest, I've dealt with the type alot in the past....your a Dupont right?"

Standing up, Ange seemed to consider her again for a moment.....and then her form vanished.

A moment later she reappeared next to her....and with a moments hesitation, planted a box of ice cream chocolate bars on the floor next to her. "......Here.....got these from a specialty shop in the high end sector. Costs a lot....so you only get one."

Morgan would recognize it was a very high quality brand, one that often found its way into her home at her mothers request.

[Noldere]

"Very good Mister Lucifer......errr.....can I call you luci?" En asked politely over the radio. "Or would you like a code name? I'm good at code names....How about...." She paused for dramatic effect. "THE WEAVER!"

Ange snorted.

".....You never complained about your code name Gee Gee." The pout was absolutely audible over the radio.

"Why yes...yes I did." Ange muttered. "Didn't help but I did......dying my hair didn't help, changing what I wear didn't help."

"Red Ghost doesn't ring though....and neither does Arr Gee." En complained, then muttered something totally inaudible before continuing. "But we're off topic now....So Weaver!" She said proudly. "Before you accept this....I need to explain something, and its not just to you.....its to everyone in this room. May I?"

Ange looked around, then turned to the radio. "If its what I think it is.....hold off til they finish eating and stop mentally exploding.

"Oh....Ok...." En sounded confused, a a bit depressed, but accepting. ".....Yeah, I can wait."

~Weaver, huh? That's apt enough, I suppose...~

"I'm not all that familiar with how code names work, but I'd definitely prefer Weaver to Luci, if I have a choice in the matter," Lucifer said, all but implying that he felt he really didn't have a choice in that regard. "I'd really prefer you call me Lux over anything else, but I imagine that's probably a bit too on the nose for a proper code name. Anyways-" Lucifer looked towards Ange when she mentioned the hair dye. "-while I presume it's definitely not my business why you would want to hide such a beautiful shade of greyish silver hair, but if it names that match with what you trying to go for, how about Scarlet Spectre?"

[MrSandman]

~Weaver, huh? That's apt enough, I suppose...~

"I'm not all that familiar with how code names work, but I'd definitely prefer Weaver to Luci, if I have a choice in the matter," Lucifer said, all but implying that he felt he really didn't have a choice in that regard. "I'd really prefer you call me Lux over anything else, but I imagine that's probably a bit too on the nose for a proper code name. Anyways-" Lucifer looked towards Ange when she mentioned the hair dye. "-while I presume it's definitely not my business why you would want to hide such a beautiful shade of greyish silver hair, but if it names that match with what you trying to go for, how about Scarlet Spectre?"

"NoNo....Gee Gees Hair color doesn't matter. She'll always be Grey Ghost on the inside. Its the very first codename I ever gave...." En sounded very proud over the radio.

Ice Cream bar now in her mouth, Ange mumbled something inaudible due to the food.

"But Scarlet Spectre.....Yeah I can use that one. Hey is there anyone else in the room that's red?"

Eyes in the room converged on Arx.

"......No....Nobody I can see..." Ange muttered.

[Melon God]

Morgen accepted the plate given to her and proceeded to devour it in a decidedly unlady-like fashion. For the time being, her sense of care had left her -- she felt free for once in her life. She was still a Dupont, but nobody here gave a damn about that. As aggravating as that was, that also meant that she didn't have to hold herself to anybody's standard, and she could simply be herself... whatever that looked like. She watched as Ange set down a box of food at her side.

"More? I was hungry, not starving to death--" She recognized the label immediately. Whenever this was around the house, not even she was allowed to touch it without permission. It might've been shared with her maybe once or twice in her lifetime. And something else clicked, too. What business did this woman have in bringing up her family name? Were they acquainted somehow? They certainly never met before now...

She slowed down her eating and wiped her hands clean. "... You were looking forward to these, weren't you?" she asked, glancing up. "It's okay. There's no shortage of quality treats at the house, I could eat these whenever I wanted." But, more importantly... "A Dupont, yes. It sounds like you have some history with the name. Not bad history I hope, given you've chosen to offer chocolate instead of... a knife between my eyes."