A Bizarre New World, Chapter One: Cat’s In The Cradle

[Yun Lao]

With all of this growing tension, the scraping sound of a chair being moved might have caused some, like Sunny, to jump. Unlike the situation with the empty seat, this one was easily solved; the old man, Lars, was getting up from his seat. Groaning and grumbling, he firmly placed both the backs of his hands against the curve of his spine, straightening his posture as he began walking away from his table, and more noticeably, his untouched bowl of soup.

[Tami]

Lowering her own temperature levels, Jinny calmed down and considered the situation. She then asked the group the big question, "How many here know what Stands are and how many have one? I'm assuming that the invisible person probably has one."

[The Dog]

Lowering her own temperature levels, Jinny calmed down and considered the situation. She then asked the group the big question, "How many here know what Stands are and how many have one? I'm assuming that the invisible person probably has one."

Jamie raised her hand as she said "I know what Stands are... well, more or less. But I don't have one."

[Yun Lao]

"Stands? Invisible person? You sure you're okay?" King asked, rubbing his chin, "Considering how late you got here compared to us, it must have been a long day?" He suggested, no doubt trying to soothe the uneasy tension in the air, " 'sides, if there was an invisible person, why not just let them be? Otherwise, you'd be no better than people who pick on introverts at parties."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"Hey grandpa you forgot your soup!" Vivian called out, not really caring about the invisible girl or whatever.

Who was she to judge... unless she was vegetarian.

[grampagen]

"My diet doesn't usually cater to variety so having a choice of so many things is....its different." Lucy picked through her pile and removed a BBQ rib which she devourered, managing to cover her mouth with sauce. "....napkin...." The girl unceremoniously took the end of the tablecloth and wiped her mouth with it before returning her attention to Suzie.

"I wouldn't advise them to sweep it for awhile....not unless they want to lose an arm. Only intruders, assassins and covert ops use vents anyways..." Lucy didn't dwell on the fact she herself had been up there almost immediately. "But yes, I did pass by the Study before coming here.....no...I didn't see a way inside. If I had I would have spoiled myself on the will and bowed out by now."

"....oh....no, I don't particularly like nametags." Lucy answered, pausing with a distant look that she quickly shook away in favor of a danish from her pile.

After taking a nibble of the crisped layer of basmati and ghee, Suzie stilled a moment as Lucy mopped the barbecue sauce from her face on the table cloth.

Tearing a paper napkin down the middle, she clandestinely slid it over to her as she continued her surveillance report.

"Surely you won't stay a while? I mean, where will you go once...family business is concluded?"

As Lucy conversed quietly with Suzie, a strange conversation didn't escape her attention from just up the table. One of her family seemed to be speaking with an empty chair......wait no.....there had been someone there when she first arrived.

Or had there? No that wasn't right....Lucy was nothing if not observant.

A empty chair at a full table....a person that should be there but wasn't....the feint memory of.....something...

Lucy blinked, rubbed her tried eyes and then looked down the table once again towards the empty chair. The vague memory had dissolved now into a inch at the back of her mind...

That Itch burned at its eyes....and so they opened.

[Diamond Sky] opened its eyes, all of them. Rotating Rings, unseen to most, circled high above the dining room and focused their gaze down upon the empty chair.

From this close, that uncanny spiritual flicker Suzie'd probably never get used to seemed to flood Lucy's eyes and carry upwards; the strange, revolving rings peering round the room.

They'd been invaluable in the hospital. Saved the lot of us from Sergeant Starr...

She lift the cup of coffee up on its saucer and raised it just short of her lips.

"What do you see?" she whispered before taking a small sip.

[The Dog]

"Stands? Invisible person? You sure you're okay?" King asked, rubbing his chin, "Considering how late you got here compared to us, it must have been a long day?" He suggested, no doubt trying to soothe the uneasy tension in the air, " 'sides, if there was an invisible person, why not just let them be? Otherwise, you'd be no better than people who pick on introverts at parties."

"Well... they tend to have supernatural powers and are controlled by others. We kind of saw one during an incident where we were attacked by someone wielding one at a hospital after another incident on a bus that almost certainly involved a Stand." Jamie replied.

[Yun Lao]

"Well... they tend to have supernatural powers and are controlled by others. We kind of saw one during an incident where we were attacked by someone wielding one at a hospital after another incident on a bus that almost certainly involved a Stand." Jamie replied.

"Okay, so? You're just now pickin' fights with anyone that might have supernatural powers now?" King's tone of voice suggested he wasn't exactly taking Jamie's words at face value, but not completely distrusting. Feeling a tug on his sleeve, he briefly looked to Sunny before continuing, "Look, I get that you all might be jumpy because of the trip. Me and Sunny had our own difficulties, but trying to drag out everything that so much as looks shady is just going to give you more enemies."

After a moment of silence, King began chuckling, "Look at me, bein' all serious. Garçon! Another drink to take the edge off," He replied, half jokingly to the staff, only to find his request granted, as would anyone else who requested drinks.

"Hey grandpa you forgot your soup!" Vivian called out, not really caring about the invisible girl or whatever.

Who was she to judge... unless she was vegetarian.

The old man continued grumbling, with only the words "too noisy" being discernible.

[The Dog]

"Okay, so? You're just now pickin' fights with anyone that might have supernatural powers now?" King's tone of voice suggested he wasn't exactly taking Jamie's words at face value, but not completely distrusting. Feeling a tug on his sleeve, he briefly looked to Sunny before continuing, "Look, I get that you all might be jumpy because of the trip. Me and Sunny had our own difficulties, but trying to drag out everything that so much as looks shady is just going to give you more enemies."

After a moment of silence, King began chuckling, "Look at me, bein' all serious. Garçon! Another drink to take the edge off," He replied, half jokingly to the staff, only to find his request granted, as would anyone else who requested drinks.

Jamie frowned as she stated "We didn't start the fight either time. Especially the one involving the bus."

[Yun Lao]

Jamie frowned as she stated "We didn't start the fight either time. Especially the one involving the bus."

"And that's fine, but trying to bully an invisible person into showing themself isn't going to help you."

[Tami]

"And that's fine, but trying to bully an invisible person into showing themself isn't going to help you."

"No intent of bullying was made, but I've experienced what it was like when something I could not see was affecting me and it wasn't pleasant." Jinny kept her focus on King, "I have no qualms with someone who wishes to be left alone, so long as they don't mess with my head in doing so. If that is his or her Stand's power, then they need to learn to control it better."

Jinny then took a sip of wine before continuing, "From what I've seen so far, pretty much all of Johannes' kids are likely to obtain a Stand of their own eventually. If you haven't gotten one yet, then it might only be a matter of time. If you really don't know about them, then you should learn for your own sake."

"Though who am I to talk?" As Jinny spoke, [Genesis] appeared behind her, the banquet hall then began to dissolve away to change into a watercolor of multicolor clouds and a field of flowers beneath their feet. Only the chairs, table, and everything on the table remained, The effect lasted only for a minute, then it dissolved back into the actual room again. As it did, [Genesis] melted away as well. back into a puddle then vanishing from sight.

Perhaps it was foolish to give this demonstration, however, for their own sake, Jinny felt the need to make a point through a visual demonstration.

[Yun Lao]

"No intent of bullying was made, but I've experienced what it was like when something I could not see was affecting me and it wasn't pleasant." Jinny kept her focus on King, "I have no qualms with someone who wishes to be left alone, so long as they don't mess with my head in doing so. If that is his or her Stand's power, then they need to learn to control it better."

Jinny then took a sip of wine before continuing, "From what I've seen so far, pretty much all of Johannes' kids are likely to obtain a Stand of their own eventually. If you haven't gotten one yet, then it might only be a matter of time. If you really don't know about them, then you should learn for your own sake."

"Though who am I to talk?" As Jinny spoke, [Genesis] appeared behind her, the banquet hall then began to dissolve away to change into a watercolor of multicolor clouds and a field of flowers beneath their feet. Only the chairs, table, and everything on the table remained, The effect lasted only for a minute, then it dissolved back into the actual room again. As it did, [Genesis] melted away as well. back into a puddle then vanishing from sight.

Perhaps it was foolish to give this demonstration, however, for their own sake, Jinny felt the need to make a point through a visual demonstration.

Sunny whispered into King's ear and he simply shook his head and downed the last of his drink before rising, the former doing the same. "Kinda hypocritical, innit? First, it's "don't mess with my mind" and then you do pull the equivalent for what? To warn us? Whatever. Have fun bullying a chair." Heading out the same way they all came in, Sunny could be seen watching them with every step she took, almost as if she expected them to be attacked.

Meanwhile, Huey Lewis looked up from his meal which was now surrounded by several emptied plates, clearly oblivious of what had just occurred, and blinked, "Huh, guess everyone's getting full."

[Tami]

Sunny whispered into King's ear and he simply shook his head and downed the last of his drink before rising, the former doing the same. "Kinda hypocritical, innit? First, it's "don't mess with my mind" and then you do pull the equivalent for what? To warn us? Whatever. Have fun bullying a chair." Heading out the same way they all came in, Sunny could be seen watching them with every step she took, almost as if she expected them to be attacked.

Meanwhile, Huey Lewis looked up from his meal which was now surrounded by several emptied plates, clearly oblivious of what had just occurred, and blinked, "Huh, guess everyone's getting full."

"That did not go as I had hoped it would." Jinny took another sip of wine, then stood up, leaving the rest of her meal uneaten, "I need some air." With that she headed out of the room, looking for a doorway or patio where she could get outside.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

As more and more people fled from the... conversation, Vivian set down her 'cookbook'. "I feel like my case against the ghost puppies, is proving itself more and more the longer certain individuals have them." She groused.

"How am I supposed to enjoy the background noise of conversation, if you fucks keep scaring them off?" It also meant she wasn't passively eavesdropping on anything worth eavesdropping on, too... but the background noise was nice while reading.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

" I'm going to guess this aspic this meat is incased in was made from chicken stock, because it tastes like chicken stock," Boris said.