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

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Selma nodded in acknowledgement before deciding to leave Ange to her work. Walking away, Selma looked toward the kitchen area, considering whether or not to make something to eat. After a few moments, she shook her head and decided 'I'm not really feeling hungry at the moment. Maybe I'll get something to eat later.'

With that, she walked over to a chair, removed her guitar off her back, and rested it on her lap. Doing so, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. But doing so caused the faces of her makeshift family haunt her mind's eye. Their eyes, their smiles, all the little things that made each one of them so very unique in their own way. Rocko's lazy eye. Maria's birth mark on her shoulder that she swore was in the shape of a dog riding by a lizard. Alastor's right arm that which was covered in burn scars.

Opening her eyes, Selma raised her head with a sigh before rubbing her eyes with one hand. Quickly ensuring her guitar was tuned, Selma began strumming it as a song came to mind:

Day after day I'm more confused
Yet I look for the light in the pouring rain
You know that's a game that I hate to lose
I'm feelin' the strain, ain't it a shame

Oh, give me the beat boys, and free my soul
I want to get lost in your rock and roll and drift away

Oh, give me the beat boys, and free my soul
I want to get lost in your rock and roll and drift away




OT: Well that's not suspicious at all.

Jacob listens to Selma's song. That's a beautiful song. It reminds me of my wife." Jacob said as he wipes a tear from his right eye.

Jacob opens up his locket and looks down at the picture of him with his wife and kids with an expression of sorrow on his face.

[KingofPie]

A clawed hand gripped Omu's own, and with it came a cackle.

"Day of firsts, this is. Started with not killing a Witch," the Dragon said with a glance shot Morgen's direction. "And ended with a ... truce, to not eat a Mascot." A tasty, tasty mascot... the thought alone was almost enough to get the woman to start salivating; but a deal struck and shook upon was a deal upheld. So just as quickly as the clawed hand had shook the Centipede's own, was it retraced.

"Just don't make yourself more appetizing than you already are... uh. Bugman?"

" Oh, don't you worry... " Omu assured with a chuckle, his own arm retracting into theguestro scroll as it rolled up and disappeared from sight. "I don't plan on windin' up on anyone's platter anytime soon."

He'd hoped whatever food was being cooked up would be ready soon. As he took in the sights of the room, his eyes wandered over towards the work table. "...Might as well scrounge me up some weapons in the meantime," he mused, crawling his way over towards the tools and supplies. "

[The Dog]

Matthias raised an eyebrow briefly at En's comments, glanced over at Ange, then walked away, keeping the rest of his reaction to himself.

The food did smell good, perhaps too good. It was clear he was in no hurry to eat, instead letting the others enjoy the food first.



The music made him stop and look over at the young, blond woman. Finding a chair to sit down on, his lanky frame and long legs further emphasized by the simplicity of the furniture, Matthias allowed himself to enjoy the song. Her voice and skill with the guitar were almost magical, or perhaps it has just been such a long time since he had heard music of any kind.

As he listened, his eyes moved casually around the common room, taking in all of those assembled. He had once thought, perhaps too arrogantly, perhaps as a result of spending too much time alone, that he had a measure of nearly everyone. Clearly, he now realizes, that is not the case. He wondered if En's words, spoken in her usual childlike way, might have some wisdom within. His mind chewed on that thought as he leaned back in his chair.

Jacob listens to Selma's song. That's a beautiful song. It reminds me of my wife." Jacob said as he wipes a tear from his right eye.

Jacob opens up his locket and looks down at the picture of him with his wife and kids with an expression of sorrow on his face.

Selma noticed she was beginning to get a bit of an audience, and a wistful smile crossed her face as she kept playing and singing, the sight bringing back memories of life in A-9. Happy memories of her playing and singing for her makeshift family to give them entertainment and a moment to ignore that the world was a cold, uncaring place.

Hopefully she was doing the same for this ragtag group of strangers, forced together by events far beyond any of their control.

[grampagen]

The mask came off. Xia wasn't sure what kind of face was being hidden behind its emotionless porcelain countenance, but she wasn't expecting such a pretty face. Xia eyed her passively for a moment before returning to her food. "The real life is out there for the taking, but most don't want to take the risk. Most people are complacent and comfortable." She shrugged. "Their loss, but I won't begrudge them too much." If she had been in their position, she would have felt the same way. If she had a stable life, a job, a family, something worth coming home to every single day, then she would hold onto it all for dear life and never let go no matter how tempting the urge to explore the wider world was.

That she didn't couldn't possibly be seen as a blessing, but it wasn't the curse she had initially thought it was earlier in her life.



"I guess they're worth listening too, if they went through all that trouble," she replied. As for Mulvric, she didn't remember hearing anything of note. Then again, she was far too busy killing those three guards and trying to get her sword back to listen with full attention.

"If he did say something, I was too busy. Guards were on top of us during the breakout. Don't think he said anything of note until we met up with whichever ones GeeGee and Mercer are." If he was there in A9 when the shit went down, then there was no one in this hideout who knew the situation better than him. Out of all of them, he was the one Xia needed to pay attention to. And it was up to him to convince her whether or not this temporary life underground and on the Big Bosses' radar was worth it.

She sighed. Even if it isn't and I bail, I'm on their radar now, both for attacking a Witch and for breaking out of prison with three...well, one body left behind. Shit, I can't leave even if I wanted to. Not without a new face.

She took the fried pancake with a nod. "Thanks. I planned on bailing if I wasn't convinced, but I don't have a choice but to stick around. Got three dead guards under my belt."

"Uh...Gee-Gee would be Red, but the radio kept callin' her the Grey Ghost for some reason," Kinu replied, "I don't understand it myself. Anyway, that guy's Mercer."

She took another swig. "Would you believe he was the guy that blew up the bridge? Really explosive-happy that guy. Got kinda timid when I threatened to bust his spine, though, fuh-fuh-fuh..."

The mention of Xia's killcount seemed to slide in one ear out the other.

"Hey, if you're gonna bail, do what you gotta do," she said, and began stirring up the rest of the cabbage batter.

Xia, in all honesty, stopped listening after she heard what she wanted. Morgiana Dupont. Even her name was pretentious. She sighed and eyed the girl once she stopped droning on and on about pointless nonsense that had nothing to do with what Xia asked.

"Huh? Wasn't listening, yeah, I got your name, kid."

She noticed her eyeing the pancake she was just given. She could practically see the hunger in her eyes. "Hungry, kiddo?"

"I'm not hungry," Morgen lied.

Xia shrugged and started eating it piece by succulent, tasty piece. "Suit yourself. You know catering won't be showing up anytime soon, right?"

Almost as if on queue, Kinu poured out a second heaping onto the greased griddle, sculpting it into a circle before letting it rest over the fire. Then she spread out a heap of canned rations pilfered from the pantry before her as the grease spittled.

"I dunno what's in these cans," she warned, "but if you open 'em, you better eat 'em, yeah?"

[grampagen]

".....and just a little bit.......there we go." Ange flicked the switch on the side of her equipment...producing low static before she rotated some dials to. "Grey Ghost, calling HQ. Are you picking this up?"

The reciver buzzed a moment, before clearing up and being replaced by a familiar voice.

"Gee Gee! Its good to hear your voice...."

"Good to hear yours too En. The umm.....package is safe and sound." Ange glances in the direction of the workshop, where Mulvric is eyeing a tube of glowing blue liquid....with his ears turned towards them feigning concentration. "We'll work out the details of getting him to HQ soon, but....your father is gonna be fine."

There was a pause on the radio. ".....thank you Gee Gee......" Another pause followed. ".....and the ones who helped?"

"Why don't you ask em yourself. There all sitting over there with the..." Ange turned her head, her smile lasting long enough to fully process what was going on before she nearly but her lip in frustation. "GOD DAMN IT I THOUGH THE SMOKE WAS FROM MY DAMN RADIO! WHO SAID YOU COULD LIGHT A FIRE IN HERE?!"

Mulvric chuckled, and Mercer sighed. "Well....we do have ventilation......so its not a big problem."

"Fire? They started a fire?" En asked over the radio, curiosity in her voice. "Oh dear......our bunkers aren't up to fire code yet."

Huddled around the fire with Xia and Morgen, Kinu hunched over with a knowing fit of laughter as they continued to grill. Polishing off the beer, she then flattened it into a little disc and pitched it into a corner.

"I got a question for you, En," she barked from the corner. "Why'd they get their hands on Mulvric in the first place?"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

" Oh, don't you worry... " Omu assured with a chuckle, his own arm retracting into theguestro scroll as it rolled up and disappeared from sight. "I don't plan on windin' up on anyone's platter anytime soon."

Disappearing before she could ask, the Dragon questioned the air where he'd been. Platter?" If she was going to eat the Mascot; she was going to slather this 'Soy Sauce' all over him before ripping into him with her bare hands.

Turning back to check on Mulvric, she realized the man wasn't close to finished yet and growled. At this rate, she'd have to eat someone.

Boredom, as dangerous as starvation however, the Chimera realized she needed to stimulate herself... somehow; and looking at the group that had gathered haphazardly down below she realized how she might manage that. Now. Where's that...

"I'm not hungry," Morgen lied.

There we go~

Leaping down from above, the Dragon landed behind the young Witch.

"Hello."

Were Morgen to turn around, she'd be greeted with:

tumblr_d922b63ea7cfb87a7af71a2a67508402_770e6167_540.jpg

[Melon God]

Sighing, Morgen dug her chin into her palm as she stared longingly into the fire pit. Contemplative, for some reason. It definitely wasn't because of her willfully stubborn attitude that prevented her from interacting with others like a normal human being. She felt her stomach begin to rumble... a stomachache, probably. Either way, that woman was right. She wasn't going to get any catering in this stinking hole. She looked over her shoulder.

Oh, a dragon.

"UAAAH!" The rich girl fumbled out of her seat, nearly knocking over Xia's lunch with her wildly swinging arms. She instantly adopted a defensive posture upon regaining her footing, edging away slowly as she locked eyes. "Sneaking up on me like that... I see what's going on. You're just here to terrorize me, aren't you? Well, I welcome you to try it -- I won't go down so easy this time!" Morgen ended with a huff, perhaps more confident than she should be for someone who was immediately knocked out not an hour ago.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Uh...Gee-Gee would be Red, but the radio kept callin' her the Grey Ghost for some reason," Kinu replied, "I don't understand it myself. Anyway, that guy's Mercer."

She took another swig. "Would you believe he was the guy that blew up the bridge? Really explosive-happy that guy. Got kinda timid when I threatened to bust his spine, though, fuh-fuh-fuh..."

The mention of Xia's killcount seemed to slide in one ear out the other.

"Hey, if you're gonna bail, do what you gotta do," she said, and began stirring up the rest of the cabbage batter.

Grey Ghost? But her entire motif was nearly entirely red. Huh. There was probably a reason, but Xia could never be bothered to figure out the deeper things. If it was actually important, it would come out eventually, probably when someone else asked.

"I will. Bailing is the easy part. Staying hidden long enough to disappear is the challenge." She smiled to herself and took a swig of water. "Shouldn't be too hard. Pays to have friends in low places."

"Why don't you ask em yourself. There all sitting over there with the..." Ange turned her head, her smile lasting long enough to fully process what was going on before she nearly but her lip in frustation. "GOD DAMN IT I THOUGH THE SMOKE WAS FROM MY DAMN RADIO! WHO SAID YOU COULD LIGHT A FIRE IN HERE?!"

Mulvric chuckled, and Mercer sighed. "Well....we do have ventilation......so its not a big problem."

"Fire? They started a fire?" En asked over the radio, curiosity in her voice. "Oh dear......our bunkers aren't up to fire code yet."

Xia tsked and rubbed her ear. "Keep your panties on, lady. It's all under control."

[The Dog]

Sighing, Morgen dug her chin into her palm as she stared longingly into the fire pit. Contemplative, for some reason. It definitely wasn't because of her willfully stubborn attitude that prevented her from interacting with others like a normal human being. She felt her stomach begin to rumble... a stomachache, probably. Either way, that woman was right. She wasn't going to get any catering in this stinking hole. She looked over her shoulder.

Oh, a dragon.

"UAAAH!" The rich girl fumbled out of her seat, nearly knocking over Xia's lunch with her wildly swinging arms. She instantly adopted a defensive posture upon regaining her footing, edging away slowly as she locked eyes. "Sneaking up on me like that... I see what's going on. You're just here to terrorize me, aren't you? Well, I welcome you to try it -- I won't go down so easy this time!" Morgen ended with a huff, perhaps more confident than she should be for someone who was immediately knocked out not an hour ago.

Selma stopped playing and singing as the loud scream of terror filled the air. She jumped to her feet, setting her guitar down as quickly and gently as possible while turning toward the source, eyes searching for something to use or transfigure into a weapon in case they were being attacked. Or if the lizard woman had decided to make a snack of one of the others.

[The Chou Lives]

At this point he had fixed his glove and gotten a dirty mechanics uniform, he had witnessed the annoying one from before. Getting approached by a lizard thing.


“ Given how annoying g she is, I do not mind her being spooked. You eating her or anyone else for that matter, is a huge problem though. Stand the **** down ya animal and put some damned clothes on.”

He, really was not having it.

[Yun Lao]

The dragon woman was a new one. By instinct, Sigourney readied her pen and paper to begin documenting this only to realize that both sides of her notes were completely full of writings. Nothing meaningful, mind you, but rather the clawing words of someone venting hateful rage. Sighing softly, Sigourney approaching the small fire and added her contribution by throwing the used up notepaper into the flame.

"Smells good," She said complimenting Xia's handiwork while the chaos if the dragon lady went on nearby.

[MrSandman]

Huddled around the fire with Xia and Morgen, Kinu hunched over with a knowing fit of laughter as they continued to grill. Polishing off the beer, she then flattened it into a little disc and pitched it into a corner.

"I got a question for you, En," she barked from the corner. "Why'd they get their hands on Mulvric in the first place?"

"Wrong Place, Wrong time...." Mulvric stated, coming out of the workshop with several vials of neon blue fluid. "Doing a recon mission A-9, looking at Administratum activity, making contacts with the locals....usual sort of thing." The man paused a moment, taking a moment to consider if he could continue before nodded to himself.

"Also investigating some rumors....." With a casual flick, his tossed a vial of fluid in Arx direction. "....Nasty rumors....people going missing in the slums.....Never got a chance to get very far...."

Mulvric shook his head. "Admins must have caught me at some point....I made a mighty fine scapegoat for all their problems. Rebel leader appears in city right before ruin outbreak.....hell....I'd think I were suspicious with timing like that."

".....Boss....can you tell us what happened?" En asked quietly.

".....I can and I can't....." Mulvric replied. "Ruin Poisoning.....addles the mind......makes memories fleeting and hard to grasp. But....I remember......the sound." Mulvric shook his head. "......the sound of the sky cracking.....almost like a scream. I've devoted my life to the research of ruin and I can tell you now.....what happened in A-9 was unlike any ruin infestation I've ever seen or heard of. To quick.....to potent.....usually starts in the slums......but here.....it was from the inner city. I remember the sirens......"

"Damn it..." Ange muttered. "Vague memories aren't gonna help us....."

"I know.....but we have an Ace up our sleeve." En responded. "Right...Mister Lucifer?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Xia was doing what she could to ignore the stupidity going on around her. If she stayed, she was stocking up on alcohol.

The dragon woman was a new one. By instinct, Sigourney readied her pen and paper to begin documenting this only to realize that both sides of her notes were completely full of writings. Nothing meaningful, mind you, but rather the clawing words of someone venting hateful rage. Sighing softly, Sigourney approaching the small fire and added her contribution by throwing the used up notepaper into the flame.

"Smells good," She said complimenting Xia's handiwork while the chaos if the dragon lady went on nearby.

The girl from before reemerged from wherever she disappeared to. There was enough food left over for her and Morgen, if she decided to pull her head out of her ass and eat something. If not, Xia would do it for her.

"Here," she offered. "Eat before I change my mind."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Sighing, Morgen dug her chin into her palm as she stared longingly into the fire pit. Contemplative, for some reason. It definitely wasn't because of her willfully stubborn attitude that prevented her from interacting with others like a normal human being. She felt her stomach begin to rumble... a stomachache, probably. Either way, that woman was right. She wasn't going to get any catering in this stinking hole. She looked over her shoulder.

Oh, a dragon.

"UAAAH!" The rich girl fumbled out of her seat, nearly knocking over Xia's lunch with her wildly swinging arms. She instantly adopted a defensive posture upon regaining her footing, edging away slowly as she locked eyes. "Sneaking up on me like that... I see what's going on. You're just here to terrorize me, aren't you? Well, I welcome you to try it -- I won't go down so easy this time!" Morgen ended with a huff, perhaps more confident than she should be for someone who was immediately knocked out not an hour ago.

The Dragon scratched one of her horns nonchalantly as the girl first screamed, and then regained her composure. "If I wanted to sneak, would I have said hello?" All signs would've pointed to "no" surely. "Same thing with terrorizing. No need at the moment," thought there was perhaps a bit of want, "good and fed."

Continuing to scratch at the horn, the Dragon's smile fell away.

"So... uh. You actually a Witch? Answer is kind of important."

At this point he had fixed his glove and gotten a dirty mechanics uniform, he had witnessed the annoying one from before. Getting approached by a lizard thing.

“ Given how annoying g she is, I do not mind her being spooked. You eating her or anyone else for that matter, is a huge problem though. Stand the **** down ya animal and put some damned clothes on.”

He, really was not having it.

The Dragon looked at this... strangely dressed meal on wheels for a moment before tilting her head to once side, and offering him the same grin she'd offered Morgen. "Animal? Pretty sure she's human. Should be a bit nicer to your own kind, yanno?"

[Yun Lao]

Xia was doing what she could to ignore the stupidity going on around her. If she stayed, she was stocking up on alcohol.



The girl from before reemerged from wherever she disappeared to. There was enough food left over for her and Morgen, if she decided to pull her head out of her ass and eat something. If not, Xia would do it for her.

"Here," she offered. "Eat before I change my mind."

"Thank you," Graciously taking the food, the girl promptly skedaddled away from the others, reminiscent of a cat dragging off its meal to eat in privacy.

She still didn't trust a majority of them, but Xia had earned a few points for the food.