Morgant simply slumped over in Acid's arms with a groan, slipping into unconsciousness.
"...I'll take that as a yes!!" With another big splash, Kaloa leapt out of the hot tub and dashed into the house, his soaking wet shorts trailing water long after his skin dried off. He would return dragging a first-aid kit and a rather bewildered Lyden, to whom he explained the situation in a hurried, hushed voice. "I'mtellingyouMr.Morgantjustjumpedinandtherewasacr ackandhisnosestartedbleedingandnowhe's-"
"Understood." Lyden stood at the side of the hot tub across from Acid holding Morgant, popping open the first aid kit and pulling out a small, compact hypo applicator- a common model many heroes and villains took along on their adventures. He looked up to Acid.
"Advise holding Morgant steadily until he is capable of his own movement." Clicking it on, he then pointed the steady green beam emitting from it at Morgant- moving his arm up and down from his face to his stomach a few times with mechanical precision.
Morgant squirmed and groaned and as the beam trailed across his form, repairing his skull and his flesh from inside. His eyes slowly parted open in a woozy, dull blink, and he looked up and down along Lyden.
"...Hey, CC, since when did you become a guy?"
Lyden blinked a moment, then seemed to decide that one more run of the applicator was needed for good measure. He then took a step back to point at CC.
"Advise remaining contestants dry off and rest. Lack of sleep for tomorrow's challenge is inadvisable."
He then gave a light bow, and turned, going back into the house. Kaloaten pouted.
"Sir Morgant, are you alright?"
[ QUOTE ]
"...Hey, CC, since when did you become a guy?"
[/ QUOTE ]
"Oh no! His brains have been scrambled!" CC covered her mouth with her hands. "Is he going to be okay?"
[ QUOTE ]
Lyden blinked a moment, then seemed to decide that one more run of the applicator was needed for good measure. He then took a step back to point at CC.
"Advise remaining contestants dry off and rest. Lack of sleep for tomorrow's challenge is inadvisable."
[/ QUOTE ]
CC just nodded absently, still watching Morgant worriedly. Looking between Acid and Morgant, she echoed Kaloten. "Yeah, are you alright? I feel really bad...this is all my fault!" She looked around for a towel to wrap around Morgant's shoulders. "Here..."
Writing: Cape Fic
Featured Art: MechaTerp & CorporateRock, by Shia
Music: DJ Pyrria
"I...I think...I'm fine now." He stood up slowly, shaking his head, then stumbling back down on his butt. He blinked twice and then got back up again, starting to walk backwards out of the tub. "I...just need...to lie down and rest. Thank thee...all...kindly for what...thou didst for me. I must...repay...thee...all...someday. Heh...heh..."
One of Kairashi's Kabuki had come up and grabbed Morgant by the shoulder. It then threw down a smoke bomb and, with a puff of rice and smoke that smelled like fresh popcorn, the two were gone.
Apparently, Kairaishi wanted to get the night done and over with.
"Hm." Acid commented at the paladin's sudden departure, then stretched, "Yeah, I guess I'll turn in as well then. G'night everyone."
Though he could go a long time without sleep, let's face it, Acid had no want to do so. Picking up his closthes and re-dressing, it didnl't take him long to reach the font yard and find a tall patch of grass.
Flopping down onto it, he stretched again, then twitched as he rolled onto a large twig. With a mumbled curse, the obnoxious wood was disposed of via throwing...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"That's a relief.. Morgant's okay."
With everything settled settled down, a cold breeze blew by- Kaloaten blinked as he found himself alone with CC on the back patio. He looked across to her and smiled a bit, then walked over to the discarded hot tub cover and lifted it back into place.
"...It's crazy late, isn't it? Tomanton is always telling me to get to sleep on time, but there's no point. This whole.. house, experiment thing, it's exciting. I'm probably going to end up laying awake in bed all night.. I must drive him crazy."
He smiled meekly a bit. In the sky the overcast clouds were parting, beginning to reveal a rather nice night sky away from the light pollution of Paragon.
"Even if I'm not gonna sleep, I won't ruin it for you. Celtic Cross, right? CC for short? It's gonna be fun hanging out here for the next however many days. I just hope I don't get.. y'know, voted off before I really start to enjoy it. ..And you say you like to fight up close, too? Let's beat the living daylights out of a punching bag together sometime."
Kaloaten turned, walking back toward the house- silhouetted against the glass backing to the two-story, fully lit main room, he actually looked pretty tiny. He opened the backdoor to start inside, then paused- turning back to CC with a grin, holding the door open for her.
((*prepares the bigass day two post* >.>
)
CC blinked at Morgant's speech and subsequent disappearance. She still felt a little responsible for his injury, but he would be fine. She was sure. Really.
[ QUOTE ]
"...It's crazy late, isn't it? Tomanton is always telling me to get to sleep on time, but there's no point. This whole.. house, experiment thing, it's exciting. I'm probably going to end up laying awake in bed all night.. I must drive him crazy."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Yeah...I've never been to a sleep-over like this before, that's for sure." CC had found another towel and wrapped it around her. Padding slowly over to the pool, she started to gather her clothes.
[ QUOTE ]
"Even if I'm not gonna sleep, I won't ruin it for you. Celtic Cross, right? CC for short? It's gonna be fun hanging out here for the next however many days. I just hope I don't get.. y'know, voted off before I really start to enjoy it. ..And you say you like to fight up close, too? Let's beat the living daylights out of a punching bag together sometime."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Yup! Oh, I'm sure you'll last until the end. I'm betting Lily goes in the first round," CC replied, her eyes twinkling. "She never gets along with anybody. But you're real nice! You'll make it." Cradling her clothes in her arms and slipping her bare feet into her boots, she laughed lightly. "Why stop at a punching bag? I bet there are some bad guys around here we can arrest. Besides the other guests."
Checking the grill one last time to make sure it was off, CC joined Kaloaten at the door. Grinning back, she made a mock curtsey before stepping through the door. "Thank you, sir." Seeing her bag was still in the main hall, she scooped it up and headed for the room to which Acid had been asigned. "Have a good night, Kaloaten! See you tomorrow!"
((Fair warning. I will be out of the area Tuesday - Thursday of this week for work. I hope to be able to check in during the evenings, but I make no promises. Please assume Lily and CC tag along to whatever events happen on Day Two, and I will post follow-ups if I have to. Thanks very much for your patience.))
Writing: Cape Fic
Featured Art: MechaTerp & CorporateRock, by Shia
Music: DJ Pyrria
Kaloaten grinned childishly as she walked in, closing the door behind the both of them.
"Good night, CC."
He would linger in the living room for a few minutes after she went off- getting on and off the couch and walking in circles, Kaloaten soaked in the main room in silence. A few moments after he left and went upstairs, the overhead lights all turned off in unison, letting moonlight flood in. Laying awake in bed as he'd predicted, Kaloaten's mind was alert with excitement- this early in the game, he really had no idea what to expect or what was to come... but if first impressions meant anything, he had high hopes. Very high.
Bad Company was on.
--Day Two--Twenty Contestants Remaining--
--08:25 AM--
Hitting of hands down against a table. "Tomanton, why bother with making anything?? You can just get the butlerbot to do it!!"
A clinking of small dishes and a swilling of water. "Kaloaten, be considerat. Your so-called 'butler bot' is no more responsible for maintaining this house than you or I. I am perfectly capable of making tea under my own power."
Uncomfortable silence. "Advise use of a lower speech volume while the majority other contestants are still asleep."
"Oh.. sorry, Mr. Lyden."
"My apologies, Lyden. The tea is ready. Would you like some?"
"Negative."
It was a picturesque morning. The still-rising sun was hitting off the small drops of moisture on the grass and on the vehicles in the open garage to give everything in sight an earthly glow- none of the indoor lights were on, but that didn't stop the main room from being swathed in a soft, warm light. It was still slightly chilly outside (Acid would find that a black blanket with the letters 'GSR' in white on it had been placed on him some time in the night), but the last remaining clouds breaking up in the wake of the rising sun was a good sign- it was going to be a great mid-autumn day.
Tomanton, Kaloaten and Lyden were in the kitchen area. Tomanton, two small cups of tea in hand, joined the other two at the table and set one infront of Kaloaten- who, while curiously watching Lyden open and pull out the contents of one of the GSR ration boxes, missed it completely. Lyden would immediately lift his mask to swallow two gel capsules and chase it with a small black bottle of some liquid or another, but then just stare at the ambiguously-packaged foodstuffs still remaining in the box. Evidently, he wasn't hungry, and it was hard to blame him- for something that was supposed to be carrying food, the box had a rather unpleasant chemical smell to it.
A sheet of paper had been taped to one of the walls in the main room, and beside it had been placed a pad of paper and a pen. The sheet read:
Aside from the voting off of contestants, Unit Lyden will require contestant assistance in dealing with various contest administrative functions. Advise checking this wall frequently for any updates. In the event of any questions or concerns, approach Unit Lyden at any time or merely slide a note under his door ((Send a PM ;p)) with the message paper provided.
Prior to the beginning of this contest no special arrangements with the medicom systems was made- If you are seriously injured you will be sent to your respective hubs -VERY- far away from contest grounds. Advise taking simple precautious (other than avoidance of violence) to avoid this and ensure safety, such as not running around the pool area. Contestant cooperation is appreciated. Lyden.
Directed at anyone in particular? Unlikely, though the electronic lock was in place on the back door, though, making it impossible to get out to the patio and pool. If one took a good look outside, though, they would see two black egg cartons sitting on the patio table labelled 'Greensryche Poultry Farms'. It probably had something to do with the forthcoming immunity challenge.
8:25 AM was the time that Helper generally began his work for the day setting up the laboratory for the scheduled experimentation. It allowed him plenty of time before the first scientists arrived at 9:00 AM to get the lab in working order. Unless he was working at the school, in which case 8:25 was the time he had earmarked for his first comprehensive boiler diagnostic. This place didn't have a lab, and the boiler was not within his jurisdiction. Helper was faced with the unenviable position of having nothing to do.
Helper was bored.
He shuffled around the room tidying things that he had tidyed half a dozen times already. He had offered his services to Mister Tomanton, perfectly willing to make his tea for him, but the extra-terrestrial insisted upon doing it himself, despite the urgings from Kaloaten. One thing Helper had noticed was that he seemed to have earned the somewhat inaccurate nickname of 'Butlerbot.' He then reminded himself that nicknames are generally given on a basis of social acceptance, and so, for the moment, he was pleased with his ability to assimilate.
Kefetasura practically fell for how badly he stumbled around. The purple skinned demon's vibrant red hair was even more disheveled than usual. As he entered the kitchen he reached into the freezer and pulled out a steak, slapping it on the side of his head.
"This hour of the day is Kali's doing," he grumbled as he flopped into a chair by the table, "That's the only way to explain how a goddess of destruction can be worshiped as a merciful benefactress."
He looked around at the others.
"Oh, right. So, did everyone sleep ok? Or at all," he said the last somewhat quieter with a sidelong glance at Lyden and Helper.
"Hell yeah! Couldn't be better!" Rosalind cheered as she came in one of the sliding glass doors. She was wearing long workout pants and a white sports bra, white tennis shoes and a old-fashioned cassette player in her hands, the earbuds up a little far to be placed in her canine ears. The were-human had gotten up at 7 sharp for a jog, as was her tradition, and she had greatly enjoyed the view of the grounds as she ran.
"Beautiful day out there." she said, a white towel she had grabbed from the poolside about her shoulders as she wiped the sweat from her face. Flushed with exercise, she seemed in a very good mood. "Got some clouds on their way, though, which may or may not give us trouble."
"Oh, I do hope not." Essex said quietly, hovering down the stairs, dressed neatly in her usual uniform. "I don't generally do well with electrical storms."
Stopping at the kitchen, she bowed her head politely with a smile. "Good morning, Helper, Sir Kaloaten, Sir Tomanton, Sir Kefetasura, Miss Rosalind, Sir Lyden. I hope everyone had a pleasant night."
With that, she began to rifle through the refrigerator, pulling out some eggs (regular, not the ones for the challenge), flour, some fruit, and some whipped cream.
"If anyone would like some breakfast, I will be making crepes." she said, hovering up a little higher to grab a frying pan and turning on the stovetop.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
Just after 0830, Acid sauntered into the kitchen as well, Morsko in tow, the night-black creature having a blanked of some sort draped over his back.
Not that Acid didn;t appreciate the gesture, but his jacket kept him plenty war through most conditions. After all, there were more than a few icy worlds out there. One had to be prepared.
During the night, Morsko had spotted Leyde, but decided not to do anything but growl for a moment, seeing how he wasn;t doing anything threatening. Acid had just taken the noise as a sign to saw more logs. When he got into a deep sleep, you could probably set off a nuclear warhead and he wouldn't budge.
"Howdy all." he greeted them, pulling up a barstool as he waited for Rosie to get done with the fridge.
[ QUOTE ]
"If anyone would like some breakfast, I will be making crepes." she said, hovering up a little higher to grab a frying pan and turning on the stovetop.
[/ QUOTE ]
"Hm? What's a crepe?" Acid wanted to know...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"Watch and learn." Essex chirped.
Mixing some sugar, the eggs, some milk, and a few other ingredients in a bowl, she made a very thin batter. Grabbing up a spatula, she put a very thin layer at the bottom of the now-hot pan, the resulting object turning into a thin, delicate, flat and sweet pancake. It was more like a tortilla than anything else.
Essex carefully slid the crepe out of the pan and onto a nearby plate, piling fruit inside carefully in a line. On a thought, she mixed some sweet cream cheese up and added it to the inside, folding it over and topping with whipped cream.
"This, sir..." she said to Acid with a bright smile, "...is a crepe."
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"Oh, uh, hi everyone," said a voice out of nowhere. "Oops, dangit! I'm invisible again and forgot. . ."
Green smake billowed out, and Hallucinogen appeared in the doorway. "Yeah. . . good morning, Essex, Helper, Acid, uh, everyone else. . ."
"Indeed," said Moonscribe, who was suddenly standing behind him. "Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Priestess, Pharaoh, Priestess, Pharaoh, Pharaoh. . . good morning."
Hal jumped. "Moonscribe, quit that!"
"And Pharaoh, of course," Moonscribe said to Hallucinogen. "I do hope you slept well."
"Pull!" came a shout from outside, the voice only partially heard through the walls.
Bang.
"Pull!"
Bang.
Outside in the side yard, Solid was aiming downrange, his rifle smoking, as he waited for Mini Bot to grab something else to throw. Being fairly limited in his need for sustenance, Solid had lingered around in his room until about 8 before walking out and running into Mini Bot. It was easy enough to shanghai the little drone into helping him get some target practice.
"Ready!" Mini Bot shouted as it clutched a rubber ducky in its hand.
"Pull!" Solid shouted and snapped his gun up to his eye.
Mini Bot pulled its arm back and threw like a professional discus thrower, somehow sending even the unaerodynamic rubber play thing soaring through the air until it burst apart, having been shot neatly in the beak.
"Ok, that's enough," Solid said as he lowered his rifle and slid it under his cape. "The sight's off by a quarter of a degree. I'll have to fix that later."
"Awww...." Mini Bot sighed as it dropped the plate it had been holding. "No more shooting?"
"No more shooting," Solid answered. "And we should probably get to the kitchen. I'm sure everyone's waiting for us."
"Oh," Mini Bot said as it followed after Solid. "I think my boss is already there."
*********************************************
"Hmm hmm hmm I love phase engines," Toy Dispenser hummed to himself as he ran constant diagnostics on his prototype phase engine while it worked.
The mastermind walked through the table, adjusted a few lines, and the floated on top of it. He then took a step forward onto thin air at the height of the table. Invisible and intangible, Toy was thouroughly enjoying himself. Although he wasn't too sure about the voice masking function.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
[ QUOTE ]
"This, sir..." she said to Acid with a bright smile, "...is a crepe."
[/ QUOTE ]
Kaloaten had creeped over to the fruit-pastry-thing and was staring at it attentively. When he thought nobody was looking, he assassin's forked it- slicing off a small piece from the end, impaled the piece, and popped it into his mouth. After a few chews, his eyes began to widen.
"...This is awesome! We have to make more of them! Lots more!" And then he was in the fridge, rummaging for the same ingredients she had used, then finding an egg beater in one of the drawers. He turned back to look at Essex expectantly. "I'll just make the batter, okay? You did a really good job cooking it."
Lyden sort of bunched himself up closer to the table and his ration box, concious of how many people were appearing and having been instructed not to speak to them unless first spoken to. He picked around at his lunchbox in silence- synthetic food that was faker than plastic, and just more pills to swallow.
Tomanton just continued to sip his tea. "I've boiled some water if anyone wants to do something with it."
"Oh, you!" Essex scolded Kaloa laughingly, waving the spatula. "That one was for sir Acid! Oh well. They're easy enough."
"Then you won't care if I finish this one." Rosalind smirked as she scooped up the plate and wolfed down the contents. She winced a bit. "Damn, girl, how can you make this stuff? It's like a cookie got with a lollipop and had a freakin' sugar baby. Gew. Give me meat, any day."
Nevertheless, her tail was wagging, and she licked her lips.
Cheerfully, Essex got to work, using the remnants of the first batch of batter to keep making crepes busily. "Sir Lyden, would you like one?" she sang, tying a little white apron around her waist. "And good morning, Hal-chan, sir Moonscribe! It's good to see you."
"Hey, Moonie." Rosalind teased a little. "So go over that with me again. Was that... Pharaoh, Priestess, Pharaoh, Pharaoh?" she asked, pointing to Acid, herself, Kefetasura, and Tomanton, "or Pharaoh, Priestess, Pharaoh, Pharaoh?" now pointing to Kaloa, Essex, Hallucinogen, and Helper.
"I ain't no Priestess, ya know." she said with a toothy grin.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
((Essex FTW! Anyone who can flip a crepe without breaking it is aces in my book 
))
"You know," Kefetasura mused while watching hungrily as the crepes were prepared, "The world would be a better place if French people stayed in the kitchen and out of politics."
[ QUOTE ]
Tomanton just continued to sip his tea. "I've boiled some water if anyone wants to do something with it."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Ooh, tea," the demon chirped happily. He helped himself to a cup of steaming water and dropped in an odd, sweet-smelling blend of spices and chai leaves. After letting it brew for a minute or so, he strained it and added some salt.
"Mmmmm, this is some good stuff," he said after his first sip.
[ QUOTE ]
[Rosie]"Damn, girl, how can you make this stuff? It's like a cookie got with a lollipop and had a freakin' sugar baby. Gew. Give me meat, any day."
[/ QUOTE ]
The purple skinned demon laughed at that rather heartily. He held out the half thawed steak, which he had tossed rather irreverantly on the table, to Rosalind.
"You can have this one, I'm done with it."
Acid had to admit he was thankful for the thievery. That...thing had smelled sickeningly sweet, even from more than a meter away.
"Oh, that's alright." he said to Essex, "I'm not much into sugar anyway. But thanks for the offer."
With that, he stepped to the fridge and rummaged about for...hmm, what did we have here? Sausage, eggs, cheese...pantry time!
He was over at the pantry in a flash, supplementing his collection with garlic, potatoes, onions and herbs. His arms now full, he fished a pan out of the open drawer with his tail, skillfully placing it on the stove as he fetched a large knife and cutting board, all the while grinning toothily. Oh yes, having a tail was very enjoyable at times.
Morsko, in the meantime, had stalked outside once more. He needed to have breakfast...his own way...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"Oh, my apologies. . ." Moonscribe said, frowning at Rosalind. "I suppose you are. . .an Ancestor? Dear me, everyone is so difficult to classify these days. . ."
"So, what are you making, Essex?" Hal said, stepping forward. "It smells good. . ."
". . . Uh, I don't know if you would know though. . ." he muttered, his face falling ever so slightly.
"Ancestor? To who, foo?" Rosalind laughed. "Sure, I'm almost freakin' 200 years old, but that ain't nothing to some spirits. And I haven't had a litter or anything. Sheesh." Heading over to Acid, her tail's wag intensified. "Now what are YOU up to?" she asked, her eyes growing large and watery at all the meaty goodness. "This is more my speed."
Essex smiled down at Hal from where she hovered at the stovetop. "Oh, don't be so depressed." she said cheerily. "They're crepes. I made you one special, see?"
She hovered down a bit, holding out a plate to Hal with a crepe on it - the half-folded circle of pastry on half the plate, full of fruit, and two strawberries and a blueberry making the whole production a smiley face.
"Tada!" she chirped. "But I don't know what kind of fruit you like best."
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"Oh, thanks!" Hal said, beaming. He didn't really like blueberries, but was determined to eat them anyway. He didn't hate them either. . .
He took the plate from Essex and took it to the table to sit down, trying not to be depressed as she said. . . he just had difficulty thinking of anything else at times like this, other than how Essex lacked several of the senses of a normal human. It just seemed so unfair. . .
"So, demon," Moonscribe said casually, walking over to Kefetasura, "how have you been? I do hope you have not devoured TOO many innocent souls. See, they have places to be. . ."
[ QUOTE ]
"Ancestor? To who, foo?" Rosalind laughed. "Sure, I'm almost freakin' 200 years old, but that ain't nothing to some spirits."
[/ QUOTE ]
Kefetasura gave a short bark of a laugh.
[ QUOTE ]
"So, demon," Moonscribe said casually, walking over to Kefetasura, "how have you been? I do hope you have not devoured TOO many innocent souls. See, they have places to be. . ."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Eh. You know how it is, hypocrite," Kefetasura said without emotion, his attention still mostly focused on his tea, "You keep on trying to fulfill the function that they created you for, and eventually they forget. Then it's your fault that you just keep on doing your job. And, for the record, I don't devour souls. Devouring souls would be reprehensible. I just push them back into the cycle of karma and borrow the stuff they don't need anymore.
"How's the judgment business going?"
Kaloaten perked up.
"My specialty is KICKS!" Impossibly flexible, he shot a foot out from beneath the bubbling water, inches from her head. It would quickly go down into the water once he realized precisely how awkward the motion was. "And some punches, too. I mean.. weapons like swords and stuff are neat, but only 'till they get taken away from you. Well, I guess your legs could, too..ACK!"
He gave another yelp in surprise at Morgant's quick entry to the pool, at first backing off as Acid held him up.
"It.. it probably isn't a bad enough bump for the medicom, but.." He stood up, water splashing everywhere. "S-should I go and get Mr. Lyden?"