A Study in Scarlet (DCStuck, OPEN)

[jessie]

"Um, well..." Kamulo looked at Ryan from the corner of her eye. Though it was hard to tell, because, y'know, dead eyes and all. She worried her lip with her fangs absently, thinking how best to answer that question. "Yes. Yes, we're- I'm friends with them. They played the game with me. Hey, if they see you're cool with me, they'll be cool with you! Don't worry."

Kamulo beamed as Lagola called her name. It had been so long since seen any of her teammates here, she was so glad. Not that Ryan wasn't cool. But it was different. "Hi, Lagola! Hi, Sirion!" She stopped waving as she waited for them to land.

[ryocker]

Ryan stood up, stretching out his arm while his nub of a left arm wiggled around in imitation. He looked... fairly nervous, but nervous was what he was when he met anyone even remotely new. He took a few deep breaths, waiting for the new folks to approach. "Um... H-hi!" he called, staying behind Kamulo.

For such a big fellow, he wasn't very confident in his own abilities.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Sirion descended and skidded to a halt, the soles of his hover skates kicking up sand and keys. Once he had touched down, he lowered himself enough for Lagola to slide off, then he gave Kamulo a nod, punctuated by a deadpan stare and an emotionless "Yo."

Anxious as he was to just ask the questions and move along, Sirion bit his tongue for the time being. The last thing he needed was a lecture on manners.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"H-Hey, Kamulo..." Lagola shakily and ungracefully climbed off of Sirion, her feet immediately rooting themselves on the solid ground. Still a long way to go before she got used to that...

"It's, uh... It's good to... see you..." She offered Kamulo a sad smile as she wrung her jacket sleeves. She wanted to start this out slowly. Break the ice before they got to the nitty-gritty. Who knew how long this version of Kamulo had been dead? The least Lagola could do was catch up with her before they dealt with the issue at hand. "Guess we're... Um... I-I hope you... Uhh... Hmm... S-So who's your friend...?"

Still a long way to go before she got used to engaging in conversation too.

[jessie]

Kamulo beamed at the both of them, so happy it was almost eerie. She kept her hands folded down her front, but she itched to just wrap everyone in a big group hug. "Oh, uh!" It took her a second to snap out of her jovial stupor to answer Lagola's question. "This is Ryan! We've been hanging out for, for a while. He's pretty cool!" She slung an arm around Ryan's neck, with a bit of difficulty due to their height difference. Partially to support Ryan, and partially to not have him hide behind her like she was his lusus.

They've just gotten back together, but she's going to ask anyways. "Uh, okay, okay, sorry if I'm going too fast, but, I have a question that'll make everything a lot easier in the long run. How did the Kamulo of your timeline die?"

[ryocker]

Ryan made a brief hurk, being dragged lower by her arm grab. He smiled, blushing a little from her calling him "cool." When she brought up how a different Kamulo died, though, he shot straight up.

"Don't take it the wrong way," He offered, his tone a very bleak, shy, and lacking in enthusiasm. "I-in the three or so days she and I had been hanging out, we've seen a lot of similar looking people come by with different causes of death. we ALSO saw another Kamulo at one point, so... it's possible this Kamulo isn't the one you're familiar with..."

He looked down, a worried expression upon his face. Welp, Pandora's box was open for business.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Sirion raised an eyebrow, instantly realizing that this question was an opportunity for them to get right to the point. And hey, she asked, so no one could blame him for giving an honest answer. As such, Sirion answered bluntly and almost immediately, "Didn't see it for ourselves, but if she died the same way we did, she was killed by a god tier demon after he sucked out her powers through the chagrin tunnel. Bearing that in mind, we're trying to figure out who said god tier demon is so we can take him down."

[ParamountKeymaster]

Lagola nodded, giving Ryan a shy smile in return. "W-Well, it's, um... nice to meet..."

She flinched slightly when Sirion spoke up, casting him a nervous glance before turning back to Kamulo and Ryan. Hey, he answered the question. Now they just had to address the main issue at hand. "Y-Yeah... we were... hoping to find some ghosts who... might... know something about the... the guy in the god tier scarf who... took our powers and k-killed us. Y'know, gather some information to pass on... in case we meet one of our living counterparts." She rubbed her arm and sadly stared at Kamulo. "You... wouldn't happen to know anything about him, w-would you?"

[jessie]

At Ryan's mention, she can't even believe they've only been hanging for 3 days. Though she can't decide whether it's because it seems as if it's   been less time, or more. She was going to comment on that, but then Sirion began speaking. Kamulo listened quietly to what they had to say, expression placid but intent. She thought for a moment after Lagola had finished.

"Well, I never saw him myself. Or perhaps I just can't recall. But..."

She put a claw to her squawk trap, nail point barely touching her cerulean talk cushions. "God tier scarf, I've heard of. Whispers. I've been dead, for, quite a long time. I've probably met at least two iterations of everyone we played the game with. At least. A strange figure, seemingly anywhere. Have you heard of them, Ryan? I don't remember if this is something we've talked about."

[ryocker]

The heavy set ghost looked up, his lips curled into a stout pout as his expression, apparently one of thought, looked like one of anger. "I didn't learn what a God Tier was until I came to this world laced within the psyche of the slain..." he began, his voice becoming somewhat dramatic. "But alas, I never saw a guy with a scarf made from odd symbols of ANY kind. Sorry I'm not much help..."

He slumped forward, a defeated look on his face. You'd swear his giant poof of hair was about to deflate with his expression.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Hm..." Well, okay. It was something. It wasn't much, but at least word of this demon had spread. And apparently he could be anywhere, anytime. Of course, that wasn't particularly surprising to Sirion. This foe had proven during their fight that he was no pushover, and having time and space powers alone potentially made him a nigh-omnipresent entity.

Nonetheless, Kamulo apparently had little information to give and the hornless freak had proved useless. Sirion was pretty sure he had heard enough from this corner of the ring. "So others have seen him, huh? Well, thanks. We'll keep searching, eh, runt?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Oh... Well..." Lagola was just as curious about the possible infamy this demon lived in, as well as the information on him that had to be out there, but as soon as Sirion had made clear his intent to continue onward, Lagola grew worried. "W-Wait!"

Curious as she was, she didn't want to be rude to Kamulo and Ryan. They might not have known much, but they had helped, or at least tried their best to. And more pressingly, Kamulo had been out here for so long that it seemed unfair to leave her so soon. The least they could do was offer gratitude in the form of their company.

"I-I mean... we can at least theorize a little bit first, right? Or... well... K-Kamulo, is there anything else you can tell us? Anything at all?"

Lagola was set on staying with her old friend as long as Kamulo wanted, but the only thing that would keep Sirion there was information, and she was not going anywhere without him.

...........................

Wow... That was kind of odd, the more she thought about it. Lagola wanted to be with Sirion...

[jessie]

"Oh, of course! I never said that was all I had to offer." She gave Sirion a playful smile for his restless impatience. No irritation, just, more like, remembering old times.

"Let's see, okay. This figure has been seen numerous times across paradox space, mainly covered up by clothing, features unidentifiable. They don a colorful scarf that appears to be made of god tier symbols, possibly as trophies of sorts. The symbols change from account to account of different ghosts, sometimes there are a few missing, or added. This does not mean, necessarily, that they have added or subtracted any. Perhaps the scarf shifted, turned around. Fun fact, Time, Mind, and Light are the aspects most frequently recalled. They've been observed as indifferent, or cold. Clever, ruthless. I'm not yet comfortable with sharing my psychiatric analysis, not quite polished enough, but it is all quite interesting!"

This was sure Kamulo, alright. But as she spoke, the landscape shifted ever so slightly. The orange dust gave way to grey rock, the roots receeded, the golem towering over them faded in and out of visibility. When she finished her spiel, it all popped back to its normal blended state.

"But um! Before you take your leave..." Her cheeks dusted with bloodtint, suddenly quite nervous. Her attention turns to mainly Sirion. "I don't know, exactly, what happened. No one gives me a straight answer. Either, they think I don't need to know, or it's too painful to recount. I dont know what it could've possibly been to make me, so, angry. That doesn't sound like me. But I know it was, and."

She took a steadying breath. Not that she needed to, being dead. "My point is, if you find another Kamulo, out there, she won't talk to you. You're lucky you found this me first. Not to, brag, but, I'd like to think I'm smart. And maybe this me doesn't have much information, but another me might. But I won't trust you. And I also know the Dreamscape like my own fangs. Really, cannot stress enough how long I've been dead. It seems like you two are a bit, fresh. Basically, I'd like to, come, with, you, if you have any room."

Kamulo looked to her side, then linked her arm with Ryan's. "And Ryan too! If we run into any human ghosts, it would be a lot easier to get them to talk if they see a friendly face, right?" After all this time, she wasn't about to ditch Ryan.

[ryocker]

The redheaded ghost smiled, nodding as Kamulo spoke, and adding the occassional tidbit. When her left arm linked with his right, he smiled big. "Yeah! I'm sure I know at least a few of those other guys out there- I think i can convince them to share a thing or two about a thing or two." The tiny, sketchy critter on his head started whooping a bit.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Sirion took a deep breath and forced himself to stay put and listen to Kamulo's report. It wasn't much to go by, but at least they knew what they were up against, as if they didn't have a good idea already. The real issue was finding a weakness to exploit, and clearly they would have to find that elsewhere. That lack of crucial information was clearly irking the impatient indigo blood.

When Kamulo expressed her alternate selves' mistrust of Sirion, he merely huffed and turned away. "Yeah. I know." As if Kamulo let ever let him live down killing Lagola, even when they were all dead.

And then of course she and her pink friend had to insist they come along. Sirion was in no mood for more company; he had all the help he needed.

It was... still strange to think that Lagola was helping him.

"I think we'll be alright," Sirion bluntly insisted. "I can get around fast with my hover skates, even with pipsqueak hitching a ride. Don't really need more dead weight. And we can handle the investigation fine by ourselves, huh?" He turned to Lagola as if expecting support.