Newsflash (SSoDI)

[DanteMGalileo]

"Get off my foot, Mal."

"It's Mallory! Get it right, geeze! I'm not a bad guy, and besides! I consider being called a nickname to be highly unprofessional! ... Uh, aren't you using a nickname, too?"

"No. Percy isn't short for Perseus, Percival, or anything else. It's just that."

"Quit arguing with your boyfriend, Perce," William said, briefly recognizing the building. "Looks like we're here."

"He's NOT my boyfriend, sheesh! He isn't even my type..." The short teen rolled his eyes, taking in the building. "Nice place. Better than most of the tourist traps in Honni, at least."

"Even the love motels?"

"I wouldn't know... Hang on, how do you know what they're like?"

At the question, William suddenly seemed too interested in wiping his glasses to answer.

[ColArana]

Ranuen rolled his eyes at the bickering. "It's a nice enough place though. Thanks for offering it." He interjected briefly, still at his smaller height, to rest and recover his reserves of magic. After the round with Obsidian, Ranuen estimated he'd only had a few minutes left, tops, before he wouldn't even be able to make fire, let alone maintain a human level of height. Better then, that he take some time to recover, in case something else happened.

"Not that I have much to compare it with." Price of being as small as Ranuen was. But moving on! "So.... what's our next move then? Seems there's a lot more going on here than meets the eye, am I right?" He commented. "Dragon shifters, two crazy gunmen... well. One crazy gunman and one crazy gunwoman, plus a very hungry kitsune... Sounds like we've really stepped in it." And that wasn't even starting to get into Lark and his crew.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"No problem..." Paul murmured as he and the others crammed into the hotel elevator, falling silent as he hit the button for his floor and let the car carry them up, anxiously mulling over the course of action that had led him to this point all the while.

As everyone filed out, following Paul towards his room, Kelsey looked down at Ranuen, then up at Percy. "Spring-boarding off of that, how involved do you actually want us to get involved? Don't get me wrong, at this point I feel like we're all pretty much along for the ride and can find ways to make ourselves useful when... something of importance springs up, but what exactly would at stake here without our assistance?"

Paul let out a long sigh as he unlocked his hotel room, stepping inside and ushering everyone in. Immediately, Paul noticed the ten-year-old lounging on the couch in a plain white shirt and boxers, staring listlessly at the television on the wall as it broadcasted Game of Thrones. "Dude, I thought I told you not to watch that show."

"You did," Kenny replied. "I just opted not to listen."

Paul rolled his eyes. "Why do you like this melodramatic, hedonistic trash anyway?"

"Mostly for the tits."

"Dude..."

"And the dragons are pretty cool too. Figured you could appreciate that." Kenny looked up at his roommate, arching his eyebrows when he saw Kelsey standing next to him, then tilting his head when he noticed the rest of the group. "Dude, I'm pretty sure you're just supposed to bring the girl home. Or several girls. Or are you all just taking turns?"

"Kenny. Buddy. Inappropriate," Paul grunted, to which Kelsey nodded in irritated agreement.

[DanteMGalileo]

"... Well, to be frank, none of us can read any language around these parts," Percy sheepishly admitted. "Okay, there's one of us that can KINDA read it, but it doesn't seem like she's here. If you see a girl with a red pointy hat and pinkish braids that responds to Leanne, that's her... But I imagine you lot are more fluent in Old Earth languages then we are."

And then they entered the actual hotel room. "Huh. This looks like a bigger version of the room I share with my brother back home... Okay, the wallpaper's a bit higher quality. Actually, it's much better." William seemed to appreciate it.

Mallory just shrugged. "Minus the thing with the moving and talking pictures, it's worse than my quarters..."

And then the two taller individuals noticed Kenny. "Mind your language... Honestly, this presentation seems hardly worth wa... Oh, dragons. Nevermind."

"I dunno," William shrugged. "My kid sister's worse when she's mad. I reckon she picked it up from our dad and Lark... Yeah, I can dig this show."

Percy, however, seemed more interested in all the modern conveniences. "Holy crap, you have a coffee maker? That actually makes coffee?! And your sink actually has clean and hot water?!"

[ColArana]

Ranuen entered the apartment and looked around. "Wow.... The place is nice!" He admitted, glancing around. It was a lot better than some of the other places he'd seen around here. With actual electricity and everything. Oh, and Kenny. Ranuen remembered him! ....And as Kenny went off, he also remembered his language. "Ahh... good times, good times." Ranuen had never heard of this "Game of Thrones", nor did he watch TV anyways, but he paid some basic attention.

"Well, I'm glad to see he's still doing alright." Ranuen noted. Then Percy rapidly began to draw the attention back, discussing reading ancient languages. Ranuen thought for a moment. "Ah bugger. Old Earth languages? That other guy I was hanging around with, Alaric? He said he's a big scholarly type, so he might be able to figure something out. Assuming they're not secretly occult stuff. He seemed into that sort of thing. Unfortunately, we left him on top of the mountain with Seeker..." He noted, in an annoyed tone-- then was briefly distracted by Percy's exclamations regarding the luxuries of Paul's apartment.

"....You've had a rough life, huh?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Eh. It's not much, but it's enough," Paul murmured as he took a seat next to Kenny.

"It may be smaller, but it's still nicer than what I had back home..." Kenny grunted, shooting Paul a stink-eye when the dragon man grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. "Aw, c'mon!"

"Kenny, listen..." Paul sighed, rubbing his temples. "A lot has happened since I left, and I may be involved in it for quite a while, so I brought Percy and the others here to bring you up to speed and explain to us what exactly he knows about the situation."

Kenny blinked in surprise, then rolled his eyes and shook his head. "S***, man. Go out on a date, come back from a reality-altering adventure. Why does that not surprise me?"

Kelsey sat down on Paul's other side, raising a nervous eyebrow at Percy. "You don't even have clean water where you're from? That's... kinda sad."

"Do you... want me to make coffee...?" Paul hesitantly offered. "I know it's kinda late, but I can if you want it..."

[DanteMGalileo]

"Holy crap, so this is what a refrigerator actually looks like!" Hello light. "Looks like it's way more efficient than the iceboxes we use back home... A lot bigger, too."

At this, William and Mallory both sweatdropped. "Ignore him for now." And now Percy was examining the bathroom. ("Plumbing that doesn't leak!") "He was raised in extreme poverty. There's a reason he goes barefoot, and it's not just because he's a bit touched in the head."

Mallory shrugged, and picked up what appeared to be a TV magazine. "You mind if I borrow this? I kinda want to practice my Old Earth Language #42. Thanks." Without waiting for a confirmation, he sulked off, found a corner far away from whatever Percy was examining at the time, pulled up his hood, and began to read.

"... I don't know this guy. Ah, yeah, I owe you an explanation, I guess... Where should I begin? Perce, put that back where you found it."

[ColArana]

Ranuen frowned. "Geeze... that sucks..." He noted. Probably a little flat, but Ranuen wasn't skilled at articulation. So oh well. The shrunken mage/swordsman looked around for a perch to climb where he could get closer to eye level with everyone, and hopefully avoid being trod on by someone not looking where they were walking. He figured he'd start with a table and began climbing up it.

"Anyways.... on the topic of our reality altering adventure... While Mal over there is doing his studying--" Whether Ranuen was deliberately using the nickname "Mal", simply didn't care enough to use his full name, or was doing it accidentally, it was tough to say.

Ranuen amused himself by watching Percy examine the glories of modern appliances... not that he could talk. If Ranuen hadn't broken into people's homes for a roof over his head already had a fair amount of experience with these appliances himself due to his own tenure on the island, he'd probably be reacting similarly. His homeland of Fiore had some luxuries, but certainly nothing of this caliber. Magic was generally allowed to take care of most people's minor problems.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"I'll just take that as a no on the coffee..." Paul mumbled as he watched Percy run around his hotel room like an overeager, curious child, then cast William a sympathetic frown. "Wow, that's... That's too bad. I'm... sorry to hear that..."

"Just stay out of my room, okay?!" Kenny hollered to the strange man rooting through the place. He then took note of everyone else in the room, asking anyone who was listening, "So what exactly is this all about?"

"Basically, what started as a firefight in the club Paul and I went to ended up being a hectic journey full of magic weirdos and crazy creatures," Kelsey bluntly responded. "So if we're looking for a place to begin, maybe it oughta be with the freak who started this downward spiral and the nutcase they're after."

[DanteMGalileo]

"Oh, yeah. Lark. Lemme draw you some pictures. Is anyone using this? Whatever, I don't care," William said, picking up a piece of paper and a pen. "Yes, we don't have refrigeration, and Perce grew up without clean water, but we reinvented or rediscovered the ballpoint pen. Gimme a minute."

There was a series of scribbling noises, before the blue-clad individual held up the drawing; several crudely-drawn heads with what was likely another script for names next to each one. "These are Seeker-" He gestured to the face with the eyepatch. "Flint-" The one with a dragon head next to it and a double-sided arrow. "And Val." The only well-drawn one with hearts next to it. "We call them the Terrible Trio. For... some reason, they have it out for Lark." He gestured to the long-haired head with a crazy look. "Lark is a loose cannon at best, and to be fair, he DOES have a minor criminal record of his own. Mostly burglaries and break-ins, with one account of..." There was a pause as William let out what sounded like a chuckle. "...Impersonating the Chancellor of Erpoue's daughter."

Percy returned to the room, and despite examining the TV remote, seemed to join in the conversation. "Okay, I'll admit, that one was hilarious. Did you get to Obsidian and the others?" Click. On went the TV, click, there goes the news.

"I was getting there. Also, don't play with that." William gestured to a head with a fox next to it, and another double-sided arrow. "Obsidian. Notorious leader of the equally notorious fox clan. We don't know why, but they work for Seeker." His hand moved to point to a figure with a damaged eye. "Mort Isaac. No, really, make sure you call him that. Our boss, and... Well, my dad says he used to be a lot nicer until his wife left him. Percy's foster dad." William lowered his voice. "Don't ask." Back to normal voice. "He had us all go through this portal in his office, and, well... Sorry for dragging you into our mess."

[ColArana]

As William sketched out his work, Ranuen walked over, so that he was practically standing on the drawing when William finally finished, allowing him to get a good look at it. He didn't miss the hearts around the picture of Val. Ranuen doubted he'd ever be able to identify the people by the picture William had just drawn alone. Though given he'd seen Seeker and Obsidian in person, and Percy and William were around, hopefully he wouldn't have to. "So, we have one dragon guy, two good shooters, and a kitsune. Got it." He noted, aloud. William briefly discussed Lark, and Ranuen frowned.

"Gotta say... there was something off about that guy though. Lark, you said? Something was wrong with him... Or wrong about him. Doesn't seem like that's the limit of what he's done." He commented. William continued through them all, and finally concluded with a summation of why they were here and an apology for dragging the group into it. "Is what it is. I like a good adventure or two, so it's all good."
Ranuen replied, cheerfully. Then continued.

"Do you know anything about the history of Lark and Seeker? Seems like there's some really bad blood between them. I mean... hell. Seeker just chased Lark to the top of the tallest mountain around, didn't he? That doesn't seem like something you'd do because of something petty..."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Okay, so..." Kelsey rubbed her temples. "We know that Seeker and their gang are after Lark, but we don't exactly know why. By extension, we don't who, if anyone, is in the right and what would be accomplished if either side came out on top. All we know is that just about everyone involved is completely bats*** and our job in this conflict basically amounts to damage control."

"I... guess that's a fair way to put it..." Paul blankly responded. He wanted to say something about Kelsey's choice language, but it wasn't like his ten-year-old roommate didn't drop several f-bombs per day, so in the grand scheme of things, no harm done.

"So is that guy supposed to be a dragon or something?" Kenny asked in reference to the dual pictures of Flint.

"Shapeshifter, apparently."

"Huh." Kenny smirked and elbowed Paul. "Interesting company you've assembled here. Consider my curiosity piqued."

Paul said nothing, simply rubbing his arm and staring at the floor.

After Ranuen inquired about Lark and Seeker's past, Kelsey jumped back in, asking, "And what exactly did your boss send you here for? 'Cause whatever it is, given how involved we are at this point... if it all ties together by the end, we may as well be in on that to some degree as well."

[DanteMGalileo]

"Yeah, there's a problem with that... He literally told us nothing but to jump in, and that it would make sense when we got to the other side...." Percy admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Thus far, all I've found out is that Obsidian, Val, Seeker, and most likely Flint are also here, and that Lark has even more mental issues than I previously thought..."

"He also neglected to mention the language," William added. "This is embarrassing, but the two of us can't read jack shit around here." He pointed to the television, where a news anchor was reporting mundane occurrences, as words trailed along the bottom. "See, I can understand what she's saying just fine, but the words? Can't read that."

JUST NOW: SHOOTING STAR SIGHTED IN VOID CITY PLAZA.

"Hey, Mal, can you read what's on the talking and moving picture?"

Mallory groaned and looked up from the magazine he was reading, glancing at the television. "For the last time, it's Mallory!"

"Fine. Mallory, can you read what's on the talking and moving picture?"

There was a quick pause, as the awkward man took in the words on screen... "... ''now... star... plaza...' Something now about a star and a plaza."

"There are stars around here?!"

"I thought those were just myth!"

Mallory shrugged. "According to my studies, yeah, they're still there in our world... Just that they're not covered by the eternal clouds here."

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Hey, Paul, do you have a good window view from here?"

But it seemed Percy had already found the window, and opened it, fingers and toes forming into appendages more suited for climbing a building. "Screw the window! I'm getting a view from the top!"

"Perce, remember what happened the last time you scaled a building?" William sounded like an older brother. "You broke your leg and..." The brunette had vanished, climbing up the building and no doubt freaking out a few of the other patrons on the way up. The taller man sighed. "Why do I bother?"

[ColArana]

Okay, so nobody had any idea what was actually going on. Ranuen, despite being the one who raised that point, didn't seem to see a problem with this. "Oh well. As long as our side wins, there's no problem, right?" He noted. "Seeker, Lars, whoever's in the right, nobody's in the right. We seem to be a third party in this anyways, so it doesn't matter to us if either of them wins as long as we don't lose." Also it seemed Kenny was getting interested in this assignment. Ranuen wasn't sure how to feel about that. Despite acting like a teenager, Kenny was still a kid, and they were definitely involved in something dangerous here.

And the party couldn't read either? Hoooo boy. "Well. That's a fine mess~" Ranuen added on, cheerfully, as the news anchor went off about some shooting star sighting which seemed to have Paul and William's interest piqued. "Am I missing something? Do stars have a different terminology where you're from than where I'm from--" And boom, Percy was off, right out the window. "Watch yourself on the way down! Knew a guy who liked to leave buildings like that once, never failed to lose his grip."

Ranuen glanced at William. "But seriously, should we be concerned about that?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"'Just now: Shooting star in Void City Plaza'," Kelsey bluntly read aloud. "Not sure why there would be a star on a planetoid, let alone in a public area. Shooting stars aren't even stars. It's just a fancy term for a meteoroid as it enters the atmosphere, becomes a meteor and emits a visible path. So... I guess there's a meteor approaching the plaza?" Well, when she put it that way, it sounded much more concerning to her.

"You guys' world is so clouded you can't even see stars?" Kenny inquired. "No offense, but it kinda sounds like your universe sucks balls. So do you guys know anything about this shooting star meteor crap or whatever? Is this relevant at all?"

Before Paul could point them to the window right there in the living room, Percy was already climbing out of it, clearly unnerving him. "Uhh, I don't think that's necessary! There's a risk of property damage, someone may see you and get the wrong impression, I-I don't even know how clearly you can see the sky through the city's light pollution, and you're already climbing up the building. Fantastic."