Ruins of Khazan - Part 1: All Things Among Fallen Leaves

[Nik Hasta]

"Oi!" said Rae bringing up a thread outline from her back in the form of a pointing arm and hand, as her hat swiveling to face the boy. "I caught that look! Listen, kid, you don't have to like me, but you can take my word I'm not a demon." She paused, and brought the thread arm up to rub the approximate spot where a chin would be (incidentally ruffling Nemo's hair in the process). "Of course, I suppose that's what a demon would say, huh? Well, look, I just won't bug you if you don't bug me, square?"

Trevor's eyes widen, as he is once again clearly repulsed by Rae. He moves back, putting Krys and Kinu between himself and Nemo. Under his breath, loud enough hear but not spoken directly to anyone, he mutters a few words.

"Demon, get away from me. Treacherous thing. I'll - I'll not let you have your way,"

It is clear that Trevor is not going to feel comfortable around Rae and, by extension, Nemo any time soon. Whatever his experiences or cultural upbringing had to say about demons and magic, none of it seemed to be good.

As Nemo opened her mouth to say more, while keeping an ear on Rae's "interaction" with Trevor, something suddenly twinged on her mystic senses. A flicker of Mana from the flow of energies around them. A familiar whisper of sensation, furry bodies skittering past her feet, before it was gone. Rats! There were rats nearby! Or were there? Had it been a false blip, the shifting reality spitting a bit of that Mana Essence her way? Or were the furry little creatures actually present?

She quickly glanced around. Rat Magic had been one of the more unusual, and temporary, Magic's she'd learned, when a job gone bad had seen her play host to a Rat Pack that had just lost their Mage. Nemo didn't dislike the creatures, but becoming their dedicated host had not really been to her liking, so she'd found herself shifting clients and missions from helping a Rat Mage uncover a lost treasure, to finding a new host for the Mage's Pack. That Magic had been one of the oddest she'd taken on, and it was almost funny to end up with that being one of the few disciplines she retained. It might not be much in this ever-shifting world, but any advantage she could recover, she shouldn't overlook the opportunity.

But rats, of course, were skittish. If there had been one passing by, likely it was already gone. But it wouldn't hurt to look around a bit.

Nemo searches the broad open courtyard but doesn't find any rats. The prospect of local fauna within the infinite city seemed to be a foregone conclusion; an infinite city meant a certainty of anything possible eventually happening or occurring within it due the nature of infinity, rats were common in cities so, QED, rats were likely to be present.

At this particular time and in this particular place, no rodents were forthcoming. Most likely the explosions, the flame and presence of the hellhounds had driven them away.

[Sharkerbob]

Trevor's eyes widen, as he is once again clearly repulsed by Rae. He moves back, putting Krys and Kinu between himself and Nemo. Under his breath, loud enough hear but not spoken directly to anyone, he mutters a few words.

"Demon, get away from me. Treacherous thing. I'll - I'll not let you have your way,"

It is clear that Trevor is not going to feel comfortable around Rae and, by extension, Nemo any time soon. Whatever his experiences or cultural upbringing had to say about demons and magic, none of it seemed to be good.

Rae made a point to make an exasperated sighing sound, accompanied by a pointed flap of her shawl. "Ain't no pleasin' some people." Sometimes, there just wasn't anything anyone could say. Boys respected action over words, after all, and it would probably take saving the kid from death's door before he'd even entertain the notion to maybe consider her not a threat, and possibly not even that would do it, if he was utterly convinced she was a creature of malicious deceit. Paranoid little gremlin. And unlike the Scribed Lands, being genre-savvy about adventures probably wasn't going to be a reliable roadmap.

Well, whatever. If he wasn't going to warm up to her, that was fine, but if that meant he was thinking of using that knife on Nemo, well, that was going to be a problem. Unfortunately, ditching the kid wasn't an option either. Firstly, it wasn't his fault he was born into a World of evil wizards with demonic robes, so who could blame him? Secondly, she hadn't seen the kid in action, but going off his mannerisms, he probably wasn't prepared to hack it in this crazy iridescent World. Thirdly, he seemed quite latched onto the other women in the group, Krys especially. So they were stuck with him for now.

But the sooner she could recover her strength enough to be her companion's armor again, the better.

Nemo searches the broad open courtyard but doesn't find any rats. The prospect of local fauna within the infinite city seemed to be a foregone conclusion; an infinite city meant a certainty of anything possible eventually happening or occurring within it due the nature of infinity, rats were common in cities so, QED, rats were likely to be present.

At this particular time and in this particular place, no rodents were forthcoming. Most likely the explosions, the flame and presence of the hellhounds had driven them away.

Nothing to see, or hear, or even sense, here. She supposed in this constantly shifting world, there was a high chance any given facet of the city would have rodents housed within, but actually attempting to seek them out would be an exercise in frustrating gamble. Her best bet, if she really felt the need to buff up that power, was to just hope to stumble on some running by, and take advantage of the moment.

At any rate, she was still introducing herself to the new girl.

[Sharpandpointies]

Krys slowly shakes their head. "I'm well, Trevor -" they start, before Kinu slams down behind the youth. Krys can't help but jerk that that, twitching reflexively toward Kinu rather than away before realizing who it is. As Trevor shows his own astonishment, Krys raises one hand before their face, grimacing. It's shaking. Nerves, they tell themselves. It's just nerves.

Of course it is, a deeper voice muses with sardonic humor. Stress, fear...and the nervous system breaking down, like everything else.

That thought gets violently shoved back into the depths. Krys' lips thin, their gaze sliding up toward Jane. Need to talk to her about what I felt, see if she felt something similar. The faint whisper remains inside, barely discernible, but its presence does inform Krys of one fact - it's no random accident they're here. Perhaps their slide from Outside All Things began because of a misstep, but perhaps not, and their path here? No coincidence. For now, though... "Jane," they quietly state. "It would seem Trevor is correct regarding the hound, and I doubt you will garner any information from it." Keeping themselves out of reach of the teeth, they slowly stand. "It will likely die, but it would be better to end its pain. I'd rather not have anyone get bitten trying to finish it off, so...if you could?"

Despite the beast's attack, Krys finds it difficult to simply ask for its end.

Nemo has begun a conversation with the girl they've found - and...her? robot - so Krys leaves her to that. No sense sticking my nose in, yet. Nemo has it in-hand. There's something going on between Trevor and Rae, it seems - Krys catches the tail end of the boy's comment, but it may have passed. For now, at least; if it continues, they might need a referee. They throw a lopsided smile in Kinu's direction. "Good of you to drop in." A crease appears between their brows. "But you don't seem the sort to wait until everything is done, Kinu. Did something come up?"

Speaking of which...

Krys glances up. Now their eyebrows rise. "Trevor's right about that, as well; a rather amazing leap," they admit.

[grampagen]

Krys slowly shakes their head. "I'm well, Trevor -" they start, before Kinu slams down behind the youth. Krys can't help but jerk that that, twitching reflexively toward Kinu rather than away before realizing who it is. As Trevor shows his own astonishment, Krys raises one hand before their face, grimacing. It's shaking. Nerves, they tell themselves. It's just nerves.

Of course it is, a deeper voice muses with sardonic humor. Stress, fear...and the nervous system breaking down, like everything else.

That thought gets violently shoved back into the depths. Krys' lips thin, their gaze sliding up toward Jane. Need to talk to her about what I felt, see if she felt something similar. The faint whisper remains inside, barely discernible, but its presence does inform Krys of one fact - it's no random accident they're here. Perhaps their slide from Outside All Things began because of a misstep, but perhaps not, and their path here? No coincidence. For now, though... "Jane," they quietly state. "It would seem Trevor is correct regarding the hound, and I doubt you will garner any information from it." Keeping themselves out of reach of the teeth, they slowly stand. "It will likely die, but it would be better to end its pain. I'd rather not have anyone get bitten trying to finish it off, so...if you could?"

Despite the beast's attack, Krys finds it difficult to simply ask for its end.

Nemo has begun a conversation with the girl they've found - and...her? robot - so Krys leaves her to that. No sense sticking my nose in, yet. Nemo has it in-hand. There's something going on between Trevor and Rae, it seems - Krys catches the tail end of the boy's comment, but it may have passed. For now, at least; if it continues, they might need a referee. They throw a lopsided smile in Kinu's direction. "Good of you to drop in." A crease appears between their brows. "But you don't seem the sort to wait until everything is done, Kinu. Did something come up?"

Speaking of which...

Krys glances up. Now their eyebrows rise. "Trevor's right about that, as well; a rather amazing leap," they admit.

"Took a bit of a detour, went up to scout out the area, get a look at the situation," Kinu replied. "Don't like going in blind, getting boxed in even less...but you all work quick, especially when you got nowhere to go but through, heh."

Her eyes flit to one side for a moment, as if somehow trying to steal a glance behind her without turning her head.

Still feeling it in my knees...that wasn't just my eyes playin' tricks, it almost felt like the trip on the way in here.

"On the way over, I spotted the fellow in the mech. Big cannons, quiet jets. He went off on his own, but he didn't get very far. On the way to the tree, same as us, but even though he tried to rocket up there, he only ended up going down."

As Kinu leaps of the roof, she is struck with a tremendous sense of vertigo as she feels and even sees the fabric of space warping around her on her descent. The ground appears to fluctuate between being miles beneath her to almost a foot away for a second or two before suddenly she is falling normally.

The lands on the ground, with a loud crash but with grace and élan. Trevor whips around, distracted from the grim business of the demonic dog and stares up into the painted face as Kinu's cloak swirls around her.

"Whoaaaa!" he says, something about the effortless grace and the brightly coloured warrior of the wasteland seems to stir a more child-like instinct in him. "Mistress Kinu! Such a feat, to leap from so high!" He turns and points at the pinned hellhound that is clearly growing weaker with each passing second, "We got a prisoner. Ser Krys offered it mercy but it tried to burn 'em and we should - we - it's a wicked beast Mistress. No mercy for demons!"

*snip*

His hand tightens on the knife once more but, again, as a child amongst adults who are far more experienced than him, he has been brought up to expect instruction from authority.


The robot let out a small quiet series of computational beeps and briefly looked up.

"I do not detect any <***5**star***> at this juncture. My long range sensors have been damaged by [TRANSIT]. The lights overheard are ... *psssh* *bleep* [ERROR] objects of such complexity that I cannot adequately scan them in a timeframe that maintains this dialogue."

It pauses once more, apparently considering what Ella instructed it to do.

In response to Trevor, Kinu flashed a small grin, carrying slight series of nods that briefly took the rhythm through her pose from head to toe.

"Hmm-mm. Wicked beasts, eh?" Taking a few strides closer to where the gathering around the last demon dog lay, Kinu spread her arms apart.

The rain fell in thin sheets, the beast's embers in its many eyes barely glowing, and after Krys, Jane and Nemo were done with the pack, it didn't seem like it'd free itself. Closing in with a haughty confidence, she lorded herself over the broken thing, displaying the rain slick mantle draped over her shoulders.

"...keep that option open," she said, sighting the knife in the boy's hand, "But hold on. Maybe me and the little beastie can come to an understanding."

Perhaps the creature would intuit this display, a multi-hued tapestry of hides and furs and skins stitched together with sinews...

Then her eyes widened, passing it over for a moment as she heard a strange, tinny voice, and caught a faint glow some distance away that seemed to move with another.

"...beasties and bots, this is getting better by the minute!"

OOC: Jane starts looking around more intently for the Sorceror who threw the fireball. I think she still has Nekromantia active too, if not, she flicks it on for this.




Jane stops searching for a moment, looking over as Trevor arrives and Krys huddles over the last dog.

She glances directly at Trevor for a moment.

"Fortunate you were not here. I doubt your armor was sufficient for a bite that could rend metal."

She looks back at Krys, puzzled for a moment before a process informs her of their likely purpose.

Ah, an interrogation.

She stalks over to the dog. Her guns still drawn, smoking in the calming rain, she leans over and presses it against the head of the hound, seeming to tower over it at her full height.

"You were commanded by a sorceror, a fire-thrower who killed someone not far from here. Tell us his location and anything you know, if you can."

Jane paused for a moment, unclear if she could really communicate with a canid in this manner. She was aware at the possibilities in translation this city had provided so far, yet this seemed a stretch too far.

"If you tell us, I will give you a quick death."

She seemed to rethink this for a moment.

"One of the others will give you a quick death," she amended, cutting her glance to Krys. "Quicker and less painless than what I gave your larger companion."

The barrel of her gun was not hot enough to cause pain, but it was still warm with use, and she knew the hound could feel it as she made her demands.

While she had arrived a bit too late to catch the tail-end of this train of thought, she still had to hand it to Jane. Her methods were different, but from one hunter to another, there was something respectably about the precision at a distance.

"Nice shootin', Looks like the big one, in particular, didn't take the hit so good," Kinu said, "...hmm...but when you took off after these guys, it was for a reason, yeah? Seems there was a pack of 'em too. What do you make of it?"

[Postmania]

As the beast's mouth bursts with flame Jane spins away at improbable speed and distance, ending up at a spot some feet behind and on a diagonal slant of the back of the beast's head.

The last of her strange joy leaving her with the beginning of the fall of rain, Jane returns her aim to the beast's head, hearing Trevor pose a question about the fate of the creature. Gun extended, she prepared to deliver her answer and was suddenly surprised by the arrival of Kinu, landing with a burst of freshly moist dirt.

Momentarily startled, Jane raised her gaze upwards and back down to where Kinu had landed, baffle. And then she returns to the situation as Krys speaks again, and Kinu responds.

She did not like the sound of the armored figure proving completely unable to reach the tree, but at the moment, she had other concerns.

Reluctantly, she kept the gun trained on the dog but did not fire.

"I appreciate your assessment," she replied to Kinu, taking the compliment in stride. "In the vision of death from that woman who's consciousness I briefly experienced, I glimpsed these canids mainly," she gestured around her and at the trapped hellhound. "However, there was another, one who threw fire as an ambush. If the woman had not run into that one, she might have escaped."

Jane's tone, already flat and disaffected as normal, grew flintier.

"I cannot be certain based merely on the miniscule glimpse of a panicked individual, but the experience felt like that of, to use a pre-modern example, prey being driven forth by hunting dogs into the waiting gun of a Huntsman. A trap. It is possible the largest hound was the leader, but I suspect the Huntsman is still out there."

Jane glanced around.

"Although I am unclear as to why the hunting party would be out without its Master. Perhaps they were simply foraging. But when I arrived here, the other Mechanical Being and the glowing woman had already engaged in battle with these hellhounds. They might know more than us, but somehow I doubt they encountered the Sorcerer either."

Jane turns her gaze to Kinu now.

"This understanding you refer to with the hound. What do you seek to achieve?" she inquired.

[grampagen]

As the beast's mouth bursts with flame Jane spins away at improbable speed and distance, ending up at a spot some feet behind and on a diagonal slant of the back of the beast's head.

The last of her strange joy leaving her with the beginning of the fall of rain, Jane returns her aim to the beast's head, hearing Trevor pose a question about the fate of the creature. Gun extended, she prepared to deliver her answer and was suddenly surprised by the arrival of Kinu, landing with a burst of freshly moist dirt.

Momentarily startled, Jane raised her gaze upwards and back down to where Kinu had landed, baffle. And then she returns to the situation as Krys speaks again, and Kinu responds.

She did not like the sound of the armored figure proving completely unable to reach the tree, but at the moment, she had other concerns.

Reluctantly, she kept the gun trained on the dog but did not fire.

"I appreciate your assessment," she replied to Kinu, taking the compliment in stride. "In the vision of death from that woman who's consciousness I briefly experienced, I glimpsed these canids mainly," she gestured around her and at the trapped hellhound. "However, there was another, one who threw fire as an ambush. If the woman had not run into that one, she might have escaped."

Jane's tone, already flat and disaffected as normal, grew flintier.

"I cannot be certain based merely on the miniscule glimpse of a panicked individual, but the experience felt like that of, to use a pre-modern example, prey being driven forth by hunting dogs into the waiting gun of a Huntsman. A trap. It is possible the largest hound was the leader, but I suspect the Huntsman is still out there."

Jane glanced around.

"Although I am unclear as to why the hunting party would be out without its Master. Perhaps they were simply foraging. But when I arrived here, the other Mechanical Being and the glowing woman had already engaged in battle with these hellhounds. They might know more than us, but somehow I doubt they encountered the Sorcerer either."

Jane turns her gaze to Kinu now.

"This understanding you refer to with the hound. What do you seek to achieve?" she inquired.

Eyes locked on the deposed hellhound, Kinu listened intently, nodding along as she pieced together the reasons for this encounter and the emergent story that Jane had, in some way, glimpsed a part of before they'd arrived.

"So that's it. There's another one. A Sorceror..." Kinu repeated the last word, and a bright hollow edge took her voice. Her black lips peeled back in a cruel, savage smile. The corners of her mouth wept darkly under the rainfall; cosmetic, perhaps, but none of her pallor carried away with it.

As for what she was hoping to achieve here...that'd be best to show.

"Keep an eye on this one, if there's magic involved, maybe there's some lingerig connection, depending on the rules if there are any," she replied, "some...contract, a seal, mook-and-master, thrall-and-summon thing, y'know. My point being, a critter like this recognizes dominance."

OOC: With Squash Match still active to boost intimidation, Kinu uses Pipe Bomb on the last Hellhound.

"Hora~! Little Beast!" Her pitch shifted, falling into something gutteral, and where there was previously some compassion or curiosity come for it, right now Kinu seemed to mock the hound. "Even if you're bleeding out, I see you still got fire burning in you! I can see it in each of your four eyes! And everytime one closes you're thinking to yourself, 'will this be the last time?'"

Moving adjacent to the creature such that Jane would maintain a clear shot, Kinu crouched, reaching up to assess the weight of the pillar with one hand, and grasping a handful of its nape with the other.

"Three close, one stays open! 'Will this be the last time I open my eyes?' What're they looking for, a chance to try somethin'? I'm sure you'd do it gladly, and if you could move, you'd do it again! Your master put you up to it! Called you here, sicced you on a fine piece of meat, maybe you'd have gotten a bigger piece of the action if you were the leader of the pack!"

Perched behind the dog's head, above its ears where it lay, Kinu leered over at its eyes. In some petty way, this brought her back to familiar, twisted times. Magicians could at least talk back. Magical creatures...from a certain point of view, she did not especially think any less of them.

"But you...you weren't the chosen one, were you? You were too small! You were too slow! And if you were smarter you wouldn't be a dead dog, now would you?! Carried a torch for a sorcerer, marked with their brand for this long and whaddaya got to show for it?! Your master, your summoner, your litter, they ain't coming to save you! You followed along with the pack? Well meet the new Alpha!"

She tugged on the scruff of its neck, a primal gesture in the language of the wild.

"Turn out your fire, you might as well return the last of it to where it belongs."

[Nik Hasta]

Perched behind the dog's head, above its ears where it lay, Kinu leered over at its eyes. In some petty way, this brought her back to familiar, twisted times. Magicians could at least talk back. Magical creatures...from a certain point of view, she did not especially think any less of them.

"But you...you weren't the chosen one, were you? You were too small! You were too slow! And if you were smarter you wouldn't be a dead dog, now would you?! Carried a torch for a sorcerer, marked with their brand for this long and whaddaya got to show for it?! Your master, your summoner, your litter, they ain't coming to save you! You followed along with the pack? Well meet the new Alpha!"

She tugged on the scruff of its neck, a primal gesture in the language of the wild.

"Turn out your fire, you might as well return the last of it to where it belongs."

Through the haze of bloodloss, as it draws closer to the death, the creature hears the compelling voice of Kinu and is buffeted by the words that strike directly into its foetid and lost soul. It summons what little of its energy that remains, on the precipice of death itself and attempts to resist the power of her words.

- Small Dog 1 has lost 10 ENR from blocking and takes 7 DMG from Pipe Bomb

- Small Dog 1 has failed its RES check and is inflicted with Charm - Compell

It feels the truth in her words, it knows that there is no hope. The hellhound is not an intelligent creature, as an entity born in hellfire and fed on lost souls, it has never known loyalty or even much of a sense of self. However, here and in this moment, having seen others like it killed, been left with horrific wounds and no other options, it feels a new sensation.

The determination not to die.

Creatures of hell have no instinsic loyalty for theirs is a heirarchy of fear. Kinu strikes out with a promo and inspires a different response; not fear but resolve. In this moment, a connection is forged - the hellhound, a magical creature in essence and Kinu, magical girl on some level, bound together. Their two wills momentarily touch and unite. There is a surge of flame from the four eyes of the creature as its soul twists in ways it did not know it was possible for it to do.

Kinu's right hand is consumed in fire, she feels a searing pain and she is marked with a satantic looking brand, made up of occult and strange symbols.

- Kinu has lost 10 HP capacity and is now on 215/225

- Small Dog 1 has gained 10 HP, is cured of Lacerate and is now an ally to Kinu

Still pinned under the pillar, the hound now looks at Kinu, not with the hatred and confusion it had before, but with a curious serenity and deference to its new master. With a sense of purpose that is so personal and so new to this creature, it reaches within itself and grasps on to some kind of hope for the first time in an eternity.

[MrSandman]

With the hound already attended to by her new comrades, Nemo decided to break the ice with the newest "arrival" to this strange situation. She stepped towards the strange girl and the giant robot, offering them a smile, while keeping an eye on the hound situation. "Hello there," she said. "We mean you no harm, if you mean no harm to us. Have you been traveling here a while, or are you also a new arrival?"

"No...this is my first time outside." Ella answered hesitantly. "I'm designed for combat resolution but never combat initiation....So don't start anything and I won't either. U..Understand?" The hologirl crossed her arms imposingly(not really) and attempted to look more intimidating(not very). "Between violent fire dogs, robots and rabbit cosplayers this place is already a bit nutty without brawling every other minute....not to say your cosplay isn't good, very realistic."

Ella smiled nervously. "....Uhh....Sorry, I haven't talking to people in awhile. I'm a bit rusty....let me start over."

She took a step back, and gestured toward herself. "I'm Ella, I can provide serial number if you need it...but I prefer Ella. I work at the Schrodinger's Cafe...maybe you'd like..." Ella pauses, her mind spinning for a moment. "...Aha...nevermind. We haven't been open to the public for awhile...but don't let that stop you from asking me anything you need. I'm a multi purpose maid, I can help you with anything you need...I even do magic." Ella winked.

[Postmania]

Jane listened to Kinu's words. Something about her words seemed foreign to her. She could not quite follow them even though she understood the ultimate purpose, or thought she did anyway.

She turned to Krys slightly, keeping the hellhound well in view, bewilderment staining her words.

"She speaks as if she were singing," she remarked in a moment of confusion and mild awe, before turning back fully.

Then fire consumed Kinu and the hound and Jane takes a step back, guns ready again to fire until she sees the docility of the hound and the light subsides.

"I don't fully understand what you said," she begins, "but your strange speech seems a complete success, very well done-"

Jane stops, sensing something strange in the stillness and Kinu's now changed hand.

"This understanding you have with this beast," she says slowly. "is not temporary, is it?"

[grampagen]

Through the haze of bloodloss, as it draws closer to the death, the creature hears the compelling voice of Kinu and is buffeted by the words that strike directly into its foetid and lost soul. It summons what little of its energy that remains, on the precipice of death itself and attempts to resist the power of her words.

- Small Dog 1 has lost 10 ENR from blocking and takes 7 DMG from Pipe Bomb

- Small Dog 1 has failed its RES check and is inflicted with Charm - Compell

It feels the truth in her words, it knows that there is no hope. The hellhound is not an intelligent creature, as an entity born in hellfire and fed on lost souls, it has never known loyalty or even much of a sense of self. However, here and in this moment, having seen others like it killed, been left with horrific wounds and no other options, it feels a new sensation.

The determination not to die.

Creatures of hell have no instinsic loyalty for theirs is a heirarchy of fear. Kinu strikes out with a promo and inspires a different response; not fear but resolve. In this moment, a connection is forged - the hellhound, a magical creature in essence and Kinu, magical girl on some level, bound together. Their two wills momentarily touch and unite. There is a surge of flame from the four eyes of the creature as its soul twists in ways it did not know it was possible for it to do.

Kinu's right hand is consumed in fire, she feels a searing pain and she is marked with a satantic looking brand, made up of occult and strange symbols.

- Kinu has lost 10 HP capacity and is now on 215/225

- Small Dog 1 has gained 10 HP, is cured of Lacerate and is now an ally to Kinu

Still pinned under the pillar, the hound now looks at Kinu, not with the hatred and confusion it had before, but with a curious serenity and deference to its new master. With a sense of purpose that is so personal and so new to this creature, it reaches within itself and grasps on to some kind of hope for the first time in an eternity.

Where Kinu gripped the hellhound by the scruff of its neck, through her fingertips she felt its faint struggle, some small resistance at first; When she felt that slowly thaw, she knew the cretaure had submit, leaving its life in her hand.

Then that hand caught fire.

"Ah! Dammit!," Kinu's featured curled into a snarl. "You little~!"

Immediately she felt something inside her lurch, as if something more than had passed between them. Raising her hand, she prepared to bring it down, but for the pleading look in its four reinvigorated eyes, and she brought her fist back. Briefly, she inspected the darkened skin and raw, exposed flesh, throbbing even as it cooled.

She'd seen the like of it in the Walled City in languages written to wring order from the chaos of nature. This was a bit less intricate, but there was no mistaking it for anything else by a magical mark.

But what does it mean?

Jane listened to Kinu's words. Something about her words seemed foreign to her. She could not quite follow them even though she understood the ultimate purpose, or thought she did anyway.

She turned to Krys slightly, keeping the hellhound well in view, bewilderment staining her words.

"She speaks as if she were singing," she remarked in a moment of confusion and mild awe, before turning back fully.

Then fire consumed Kinu and the hound and Jane takes a step back, guns ready again to fire until she sees the docility of the hound and the light subsides.

"I don't fully understand what you said," she begins, "but your strange speech seems a complete success, very well done-"

Jane stops, sensing something strange in the stillness and Kinu's now changed hand.

"This understanding you have with this beast," she says slowly. "is not temporary, is it?"

Flitting her gaze up to Jane and the others for a moment, she flicked her wrist a few times as if to fan out the burning sensation.

"Heh, nothin' to it. All you gotta do is speak their language, and make sure they're listening!"

Standing to her feet, she looked down at the back of her hand one last time before dusting her palms together.

"Not...quite sure what happened, exactly. It's like, I willed for the little hound dog to stick around, and something passed through the both of us," Kinu continued, "Let's make sure it knows who's boss."

With that, Kinu began to lift the stone column to give the hellhound a way to wiggle out.

[Sharkerbob]

"No...this is my first time outside." Ella answered hesitantly. "I'm designed for combat resolution but never combat initiation....So don't start anything and I won't either. U..Understand?" The hologirl crossed her arms imposingly(not really) and attempted to look more intimidating(not very). "Between violent fire dogs, robots and rabbit cosplayers this place is already a bit nutty without brawling every other minute....not to say your cosplay isn't good, very realistic."

Ella smiled nervously. "....Uhh....Sorry, I haven't talking to people in awhile. I'm a bit rusty....let me start over."

She took a step back, and gestured toward herself. "I'm Ella, I can provide serial number if you need it...but I prefer Ella. I work at the Schrodinger's Cafe...maybe you'd like..." Ella pauses, her mind spinning for a moment. "...Aha...nevermind. We haven't been open to the public for awhile...but don't let that stop you from asking me anything you need. I'm a multi purpose maid, I can help you with anything you need...I even do magic." Ella winked.

Nemo gave a little bemused smile. She wasn't entirely sure what precisely the girl was yet, but the subtle faint glow and almost anime-girl aesthetic was enough of a clue that she wasn't quite human, herself. After a few seconds of observation, it clicked that the girl reminded her of holographic avatars of the World of Axallia, the sleekly colorful high-technology realm which a former traveling companion had called a "cyberpunk" reality. And yet, this being had that tell-tale human habit of mistaking a humanoid-looking entity for a human in some kind of costume.

Nemo bowed politely. "Pleased to meet you. I am Nemo." She gestured to her hat. "And this is Rae."

Rae turned away from her little outburst on Trevor, to cheerfully flip her thread-hand around and wave at Ella, and tip her hat at her. "Hey, how's it goin'?"

"And these," said Nemo, making her lopped ears flick back and forth a bit, "are not a costume. I am a Lopfoa. Humans sometimes called us rabbit-folk, though to my knowledge, we didn't evolve from rabbits. Might I inquire as to your own nature?"

"Heckin' cute is what she is!" said Rae. "Also heckin' unlucky, if this is your first time outside."

"Indeed," said Nemo. "Do you mean to say you're from this city, then? Did you come out from one of these buildings? Or did you pass through the large Gate to reach here?"

[MrSandman]

Nemo gave a little bemused smile. She wasn't entirely sure what precisely the girl was yet, but the subtle faint glow and almost anime-girl aesthetic was enough of a clue that she wasn't quite human, herself. After a few seconds of observation, it clicked that the girl reminded her of holographic avatars of the World of Axallia, the sleekly colorful high-technology realm which a former traveling companion had called a "cyberpunk" reality. And yet, this being had that tell-tale human habit of mistaking a humanoid-looking entity for a human in some kind of costume.

Nemo bowed politely. "Pleased to meet you. I am Nemo." She gestured to her hat. "And this is Rae."

Rae turned away from her little outburst on Trevor, to cheerfully flip her thread-hand around and wave at Ella, and tip her hat at her. "Hey, how's it goin'?"

"And these," said Nemo, making her lopped ears flick back and forth a bit, "are not a costume. I am a Lopfoa. Humans sometimes called us rabbit-folk, though to my knowledge, we didn't evolve from rabbits. Might I inquire as to your own nature?"

"Heckin' cute is what she is!" said Rae. "Also heckin' unlucky, if this is your first time outside."

"Indeed," said Nemo. "Do you mean to say you're from this city, then? Did you come out from one of these buildings? Or did you pass through the large Gate to reach here?"

"Well, I've been confined to my cafe for....oh dear, my chronometer has been acting up for awhile. I couldn't even say..." Ella paused a moment, seemingly in thought about something unnerving enough to momentarily leave her in a state of confusion. "A...long time......and I was....chasing Johan, and I fell through somewhere....and then I was chasing him through the gate and now I'm here." Once all the points clicked, Ella shook her head and smiled in embracement. "I don't think this is the city I lived in...I didn't go outside personally but I watched the news, and it looked different from this, mostly."

"So....your Nemo, and your cosplay costume is named Rae, and it talks." Ella glanced up to the hat. "....That's AMAZING! Sentient costumes are an untapped market, your the first one I've heard of with one outside cartoons. It clearly has good taste too." Ella hufed proudly at the compliment. "But....the rabbit ears aren't a part of the costume then?"

Ella stepped up and examined the girls ears a bit more closely. As the girl stared quietly, Nemo would notice the orb at the center of her chest also seemed to be faced towards her...like a tiny eye at the center of her body.

"...Scan complete." Ella reached up, placed both her hands on the top of her head....and then pulled them away as two ears of similar shape and size to Nemo spread out in their place. "How do I look? I told you I'm magic."

Ella spun in place, letting Nemo get a good look before laughing and allowed the ears to dissolve. "Or to be more accurate...I'm a 4th generation Solid Light Generated Autonomous Intelligence. My body is generated by a 4-Dimensional Bozen Field extrapolator overlaying solid light mass on a 3D plane.....But if that's confusing, Magic also works."

"Soo....Lopfoa was it? I've only dealt with humans and rats as customers in the past....so please let me know if there are some species specific traits I should know about....beyond the ears I mean."

[Sharkerbob]

"Well, I've been confined to my cafe for....oh dear, my chronometer has been acting up for awhile. I couldn't even say..." Ella paused a moment, seemingly in thought about something unnerving enough to momentarily leave her in a state of confusion. "A...long time......and I was....chasing Johan, and I fell through somewhere....and then I was chasing him through the gate and now I'm here." Once all the points clicked, Ella shook her head and smiled in embracement. "I don't think this is the city I lived in...I didn't go outside personally but I watched the news, and it looked different from this, mostly."

"I see," said Nemo, rubbing her chin a bit. "I do wonder if all those we encounter must pass through the Gate to get here, then. If this entire city were one great dimensional tear, we probably would be encountering a steady flood of newcomers blipping in and out of existence. Unless every rendition of the City we see is of an abandoned settlement." She shook her head, waving her own thoughts off. "Ah, well, not enough information yet for a solid speculation."

"So....your Nemo, and your cosplay costume is named Rae, and it talks." Ella glanced up to the hat. "....That's AMAZING! Sentient costumes are an untapped market, your the first one I've heard of with one outside cartoons. It clearly has good taste too." Ella hufed proudly at the compliment. "But....the rabbit ears aren't a part of the costume then?"

"Aw, you're so sweet and correct!" said Rae, wriggling her hat and making a happy flap of her shawl.

"Nope, the ears are natural!" said Nemo, flicking them forward and back again. "The tail, too, though it's usually covered."

"Usually!" Rae made a point to unravel a small hole to fit Nemo's cottontail through, and Nemo turned sideways enough to wiggle it, before turning back and letting Rae cover it again.

Ella stepped up and examined the girls ears a bit more closely. As the girl stared quietly, Nemo would notice the orb at the center of her chest also seemed to be faced towards her...like a tiny eye at the center of her body.

As the Ella inspected her, Nemo inspected back. She was not much of a mechanist (yet), but she did make note of the orb in her chest, and had a feeling it was more than a decoration.

"...Scan complete." Ella reached up, placed both her hands on the top of her head....and then pulled them away as two ears of similar shape and size to Nemo spread out in their place. "How do I look? I told you I'm magic."

Nemo grinned. "Neat!"

"Hey, we're magic, too!" said Rae. "Well, I am, anyway. Nemo is magical."

Ella spun in place, letting Nemo get a good look before laughing and allowed the ears to dissolve. "Or to be more accurate...I'm a 4th generation Solid Light Generated Autonomous Intelligence. My body is generated by a 4-Dimensional Bozen Field extrapolator overlaying solid light mass on a 3D plane.....But if that's confusing, Magic also works."

Nemo nodded. She didn't know all the terminology exactly, but she recognized enough to get the gist. So this was some kind of holographic avatar, made solid through it's advanced technology. "Fascinating!" Given how the orb seemed to focus on her, she wondered if it was, in fact, the true body of the girl in front of her.

"Soo....Lopfoa was it? I've only dealt with humans and rats as customers in the past....so please let me know if there are some species specific traits I should know about....beyond the ears I mean."

"Humans and Rats?" said Nemo. "Must have been an interesting cafe!" She wondered if the rat essence she'd sensed had anything to do with the girl, but she didn't feel anything directly now. Chances were, if any rats had come through with her, they were now lost among the streets. "I should be alright, thanks. I can eat a human diet, and Rae's powered by her own magic. And no, carrots aren't my favorite food."

Nemo glanced to the others, where it seemed they were trying to coax the surviving monstrous hound into surrendering. "Well, the lot of us have just formed a little traveling group, at least for the moment. All of us just arrived very recently ourselves, and we all seem to be from different worlds. If you're interested, I'll introduce you, and if you're not already committed to another path, maybe you could join us? I get the feeling there's going to be a lot more where those hounds came from."

OOC: Whoever wants to engage next can have Nemo start the introductions, if they want.

[Sharpandpointies]

Krys cocks an eyebrow at Kinu's description of the armored person. "Interesting. Sounds like this might be a bad place to try taking shortcuts," they muse. Either the armour is more damaged than it had appeared, or there are potential issues with using it to fly. Perhaps the city protects itself, in some ways. "I've a feeling we'll meet that one again. As for us..." They shrug. "Sometimes there IS no other choice than straight through, right? And if that needs to happen, it should probably go quick."

Then the warrior-woman turns to the dying dog, and what transpires next drags a hiss of shocked surprise from Krys. They can only watch as Kinu comes to an understanding with the beast, imposing their will upon it in a most peculiar fashion...and the hellhound somehow accepts this. There's light, fire, and a curse form Kinu, then...what? A pact is forged between them? "I don't know if this is some ritual from her own land," Krys confesses to Jane, shaking their head in pure astonishment. "Or simple force of personality. But it seems the creature has caught the meaning of Kinu's words, and agreed." They shrug. "I hope revenge wasn't the plan, Jane, or that you've had enough of it for now; it seems the hound is Kinu's, now." They risk a quick glance toward Trevor, assessing his state of mind, before returning to Jane for a moment.

"Jane, if you have time later..." Their voice drops. "A minute ago I felt something, something focused on both of us. And I'd like to compare notes. But..." They make a wave, taking in Nemo speaking with the girl, Kinu and their new follower, and Trevor. "I think we're a touch busy right now."

[Postmania]

As the pillar was lifted from the robot, Jane watched in bemusement, processing the seeming new addition to the group.

Her objectives still remained in her vision, flickering at the top right of her display: Kill dogs who killed you, and also Kill Sorcerer. As Kinu freed the dog, the Objective: Kill Dogs flickered to a Failed status. For a moment, her pistol, outstretched and pointed at the dog, trembled.

"If we truly aren't going to kill this hound now," she said flatly, "I hope it can tell us about the sorcerer."

Still, despite the failure, Jane was surprised to not feel more anger here. And then, contrary to this, she felt anger at not feeling more anger. It was very confusing for her. She realized somewhere through this thought process she had brought a hand up to her temple, and quickly let it fall.

It did confirm something that she had suspected: her emotions were not wholly her own in this respect. Likely the dying strands of the woman's memory were what had clung to her from the experience and had driven her out here. It was small wonder the scientists had not done a complex test of her death sense, if it could lead to this state. Even bringing her hand up as a gesture was not something she did. Such a movement, she believed, was an organic gesture.

"Revenge was indeed the plan," she replied to Krys in a tightly controlled tone, masking emotion. "Whose plan, or how much of it was truly mine, I am unsure of."

Jane holstered her pistols, retracting them back into her wrists and forearms before addressing Krys.

"I believe the dying dream of that woman compromised me emotionally. Rationally I know that I have no real reason for this anger. I understand that the one who died was likely a lowly figure of no real importance. She has no authority to command me in any capacity. Even now her presence fades as all unnecessary emotions were removed from me post-missions at the facility. She is only important in that she encountered me, in a roundabout fashion, post-mortem. That's all."

These sentences were delivered in as cold a tone as when she had initially spoken to Krys. There was a small hesitation before she continued.

"By which I mean, what importance she has to me is from this circumstance, and that she is of no importance to me. There are competing emotions from the remnants of this individual within my decision not to kill the dog regardless, but I am sure these will fade to background noise over time. I won't be controlled by Nekro or her, or anyone. I choose who to kill, or what to feel."

Despite her tone remaining steely, a distortion peak emanated with her voice as she spoke "feel", and seemingly unbeknownst to her the fingers of her right hand tapped onto her leg, one after another, from smallest digit to index.

Jane turned to Krys again. Her voice was now in a noticeably different tone, as if setting something aside.

"So you felt something as well in that moment? I must say, I've never encountered a technical glitch quite like that before. This city it seems, is wreaking havoc on my systems in numerous ways. Of course we can speak about it, when there is time, although I am unclear what we could conclude."