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Post by DanteMGalileo on Nov 3, 2018 17:01:22 GMT -5
"Gimme an eight-letter word for invisible soldiers."
"Vallites."
"... It fits," Lobo said, scratching down the word in question. "Okay, what's a six-letter word for whiny pest?"
"Liderc," Loba replied, taking a sip of sugar mixed with coffee. "You still do crosseers?"
"Yeah, I've been tryin' to improve my vocabulary lately." Scratch, scratch. "... That one also fits."
Knock knock.
"I'm comin', I'm comin'!" Opening the door, Lobo saw a small crowd of humans. "Oh, it's you. I was about to tell ya to get lost. ... Well, don't just stare! Come in before I retract my offer!"
"Thanks Lobo, you're the best," William said, escaping from under Jordan's cloak to the dry sanctuary of the bar. "I smell... sugar." Jordan's nose crumpled, as William shot the younger blonde a brief glare as a scolding. "Angel thing?"
"Nah, it's a Loba thing. We're more inclined to spicy food, and yes I meant both types of spiciness."
"You and me both, man," Jordan agreed with Lobo. "So... what were we doing again?"
"Sigh. Let's just get some basic conversation in before we jump to it."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 3, 2018 21:22:16 GMT -5
Despite being muffled by the hood of his parka, Kenny was very clearly snickering at Jordan's comment as he followed the brothers inside. Tailing close behind were Paul and Kelsey, huddled close together beneath an umbrella, which Paul shook off outside the doorway as much as he could before closing it up and joining the others.
"Hey, Lobo," Paul breathed with a slight nod. "Sorry to show up on your doorstep after hours."
"I see you've cleaned this place up pretty nicely..." Kelsey noted somewhat awkwardly, an uncomfortable grimace on her face as she looked around the empty club, unable to stop herself from mentally filling that void with the image of the gunman entangled in her shadows.
Kenny lowered his damp hood and let out a sharp whistle. "Nice digs you got here. Must be one hell of a scene when it's all lit up. How come you've never brought me here, Paul? This place is awesome!"
"Um... Because this is a club and you're ten?"
"Excuses, excuses..."
After letting out a blunt sigh, Paul turned back to the angel siblings, mustering a weak, weary, but still genuine grin. "Things settled down since last night, I hope?"
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Nov 3, 2018 21:44:55 GMT -5
"Meh, we just retired early last night- dismissed the staff and all that jazz," Lobo said with a shrug. "Spent the mornin' cleanin'. Welcome to the club when it's actually quiet. That's a side not many people 'cept the inspector get to see." Snapping his fingers, several chairs blew over to the group. "So... what're you lot here for?"
"I, uh..." William's jaw hung open slightly, even as he took a seat. "You... aren't one for small talk. Well. So much for getting in polite conversation first."
Jordan smirked slightly, kicking back in his chair. "That's what I like 'bout you, stud. You don't like wasting words."
"I don't like wastin' my breath," Lobo replied. "So. What's the reason you lot are here?"
"Well... since there's no point in bothering..." William paused, as if thinking of the right words to use. "What do you guys know about the Cult of the New... New... Ugh... That stupid cat demon didn't seem capable of saying what came after, and Imago didn't either..."
"I see the censorship curse is still a thing." Loba chirped in, having put her cup of sugar-with-coffee down.
"So, you do know about it..."
"Meh, don't get your hopes up," Lobo interjected. "It's just the bare minimum."
"Oh, by the severed ballsack of Uranus..." William clenched his hair in frustration.
"Watch your fucking language."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 6, 2018 16:41:42 GMT -5
"Hey, it's better than nothing," Paul offered as he sat down next to the Lowe brothers, offering Lobo a warm but wary look. "We've gotta start somewhere."
Kenny plopped down in the next chair over. "Yeah, whatever it takes to take down this mass extinction cult slash suicide squad. Whoops, tautology!"
Kelsey said nothing. She didn't take a seat. She just stood with her back to the others, looking around the room, lost in her own thoughts.
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Nov 6, 2018 16:59:09 GMT -5
"Well, the kid's right. It IS a mass extinction cult slash suicide squad," Lobo continued. "Lovely, ain't it?"
"I'm, uh, more partial to the more harmless ones? Y'know, like... those Old Earth religions?" William piped up, the intent having clearly flown over his head, prompting Jordan to smack him upside the head.
"That was sarcasm. Man, you're worse than I thought..."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Let's see..." Lobo turned to Loba. "If you would?"
"Is it for display and helping, or do you just like hearing yourself scream?" Despite this, Loba, began conjuring water constructs, currently a shapeless mass around her body...
"Anyways, the suicide squad cult... The gist of it is, they're deluded enough to think that somehow, killin' everyone and everything is gonna solve all the problems in the world..." As Lobo spoke, Loba's water constructs formed into rude gestures. "I dunno who's leadin' it, or how they plan this mass suicide... but whatever. Just remember. These people can't think rationally like you or me, and that's what makes 'em so dangerous."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 6, 2018 18:08:11 GMT -5
"Hey, look at it this way," Kenny muttered. "What problems would there be if nothing existed?"
Paul shrugged, finding himself less considered with the why than he was with the how. "So... you wouldn't happen to know if these guys have any connection to... anything that happened last night? Lark, Seeker, that giant monster in the Plaza? I mean, maybe there are some bread crumbs on the island already."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Nov 6, 2018 18:29:26 GMT -5
"I dunno about Lark or Seeker," Lobo said with a shrug. "But we angels can detect stuff like that. Neither one of 'em's givin' off a readin' that screams DEATH TO ALL REALITY." The shouty angel put a hand under his chin. "But the monster in the plaza... I fell asleep, so I missed most of it. What'd it even look like, for one?"
"I can take it from here, stud," Jordan offered. "Yeah, that's the thing I was trackin' last night until it suddenly vanished on me. How the fuck does something that big just disappear, anyway?" That part seemed to be troubling the younger brother. "Anyways. Aside from being massive, it was grey and looked like a bunch of animals fucked. Spring dragon, lion, bird..."
"I, uh, would like to add that it made scary sounds," William added. "Lark called it a Protostar Beast or something like that. Do you guys know anything about that?"
"Well..."
Before Lobo could complete that thought, a figure fell out of the ceiling. "Oop!" As Leanne fell, William sprang up to try and catch her, only to be crushed under the pink-haired girl. "Sorry 'bout that, bro! Lark's teleportin' cloak does this shit!"
"Tell Lark to go perform an act of procreation with himself."
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Post by ColArana on Nov 6, 2018 19:41:40 GMT -5
Crash
"Ow." A familiar voice grumped from the approximate location of Leanne's head. "Does he always send you off like that? People like that are why I hate teleporters." Ranuen grumbled in frustration. There was a brief pause as Ranuen took stock of the situation. "Oh hey Paul. Hey William. How's it going?" He asked, as if his ride in hadn't just landed on top of him. He looked around. "Wait, what are we doing in Club Lobazotah?" He asked, recognizing the two angels and being a touch confused by their change in locale.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 6, 2018 21:59:36 GMT -5
"Well, if you want an abridged version of what happened..." Paul offered, rubbing his neck. "...it showed up in a meteor with a few slime creatures, Ranuen and a few others took out the slimes, Kelsey fought the beast. And how exactly did that go down, Kels? Why did it fly away again?"
Again, Kelsey didn't speak. She just turned and shot a somewhat wary look at Loba out of the corner of her eye.
Before any further progress could be made, though, Leanne came dropping down atop William, with Paul and Kenny nearly jumping out of their seats in surprise. After the siblings greeted each other, Kenny awkwardly spoke up, "Okay, is this gonna be a thing with you guys? Please tell me this isn't going to be a thing with you guys."
"Uh..." Paul hesitantly offered a wary grin and a bashful wave to the shrunken mage accompanying Leanne. "Hey, Ranuen. Nice, uh... Nice of you guys to..."
"Dude, if you say 'drop in,' I will seriously blow you in your sleep," Kenny stated in perhaps the most casual tone ever imagined.
"Kenny, dude, you are vile," Paul mumbled, though it was clear from his tone and his smirk that he was a, used to this kind of language, and b, just playfully teasing the kid. "No, but seriously, where've you guys been?"
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Nov 6, 2018 23:03:41 GMT -5
"I'm afraid that's something you're gonna have to get used to with us," Leanne said, getting off her brother. "Mr. Mercury will get ya to yer destination in time, but he likes to drop ya in weird places."
"Such as on people," Jordan snarked as William got his his feet, rubbing his sore arms.
"Not funny, Jordan..."
"Anyways! I was just gettin' my magic lessons from Mr. Mercury at the cemetery-"
"Hey, Leanne... Why does Lark keep insisting you go to graveyards for this?" William hoped that nobody picked up on his voice suddenly squeaking.
"I dunno. Maybe he likes the silence?" Leanne shrugged it off. "Anyways, Raunen apparently followed me to the cemetery, and to cut the crap, he's my classmate now!" Taking a seat, the pink-haired girl placed her hat down on a table. "So! What'd I miss?"
"I will take it from here," Loba said, noticing Kelsey's glance. "I was called to calm it down. I have... a song that can calm such beasts." She nodded. "And yet, that's the strange part. Somehow, it felt... familiar, despite me having never seen such a creature..."
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Post by ColArana on Nov 7, 2018 20:12:08 GMT -5
Ranuen gave a small grumble, but nodded in agreement with Leanne's statement, staying perched on the hat, and now, by extension, the table. "Well, I'm glad he's not abusing me too much on that yet. There's worse places I could have ended up." He muttered. Lots of worse places, at his size. Arriving with Leanne where he'd been hanging out before the teleport was downright preferable, even if he had to sustain the landing. "And to answer your question Paul.... What Leanne said. Teleporters seem to get their kicks at sending people places in the most inconvenient method manageable." He added. At least in his experience. They probably found it funny.
The discussion of the protostar beast was moderately catching Ranuen's attention, but it shifted over entirely once Loba noted she can calm the monster. "Wait, you can do that?" So then... was the reason the monster fled the other night....? He shook his head. "You've never seen it, but have you heard of them before?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 8, 2018 16:45:43 GMT -5
"Oh! Well hey, that's pretty cool!" Paul chimed in, smiling and nodding to Leanne and Ranuen. "Good on ya! Some new tricks will probably come in handy in... whatever it is that's about to go down."
"So you're like, what, a witch or something? Got fire magic going on?" Kenny mused, thinking back to their first encounter at the church with an intrigued grin. "Where do I gotta go to learn some spells like that?"
Paul chuckled at Kenny's enthusiasm, then he listened in respectful silence as Loba explained her role in placating the beast the night before and her confusion over its origin. "Huh... Well..." He turned to Jordan. "Where was the last place you saw it before it vanished? Couldn't hurt to try learning more about it. Er, uh, no offense, Kelsey."
"None taken..." Kelsey breathed, facing the group with her eyes on the floor and her hand in her hair. "I was kinda thinking the same thing, honestly. We may as well try to either discover or rule out any possible connections. I'm just... nervous about how it might react to seeing me again."
"Well you... did try to tear its spine out..." Kenny meekly piped up. "Can't really blame it for being pissed."
Paul let out a sigh. "Kenny..."
"No no, he's right..." Kelsey mumbled. "I'm anticipating pretty much any possible reaction the next time I run into that thing. Not that I'm looking forward to it..."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Nov 8, 2018 17:39:36 GMT -5
"I'm... afraid I never heard of such a creature before last night," Loba replied in response to Raunen's inquiry. "We don't have tales of such a creature in our mythology or history, either, and to my knowledge, such a creature does not exist on Paradiso, nor did it exist on Old Earth..." She placed a hand under her chin. "So, why was it familiar to me? It... felt like I knew it. Its energy felt familiar..."
"Well, that's cryptic," Jordan remarked. "Anyways, where'd I see it last before it just disappeared? Looked like it was heading east. I dunno, though. And to be frank, I'm sure none of us are eager to see it again, even if miss splashy knows how to calm it down."
"Anyhoo! Why don't we worry more 'bout the present than the past?" Leanne said in response. "We'll deal with the moron mass and this beasty when it's time! So, uh... what're we doin' now?" Out of a lack of further things to say, she turned to Kenny. "I'm not sure if ya can do magic. Mr. Mercury says those who can do magic produce it in their body in some way, and if ya don't make that magic, well..."
Knock knock.
"I'll get it!" William sprung up, opening the door, revealing...
"Oh, hey Will. Didn't know you were there." Percy walked in, coatless, followed by two more individuals, both with wings, and a third such person on his back...
"I, uh, Perce... who're they?"
A soft sigh could be heard, accompanied by a short scream. "Why did you have to bring that whiny pest in?!" Lobo yelled, hand yanking at his hair, entirely directed at the winged man on Percy's back.
"... Did I miss something?"
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Post by DMis on Nov 8, 2018 17:55:04 GMT -5
Sophi quietly entered. "It's a long story.... And I doubt you want to hear it..." she offered. The female angel didn't carry herself with as much pride as she usually did and the fact her feathers were clinging together didn't help as she looked smaller than her usual self. "One of his wings is broken and you two are the only other angels I would trust to help him." Given how much I failed... she mentally added.
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Post by ColArana on Nov 8, 2018 22:23:52 GMT -5
Ranuen nodded. "Yeah, once I get the hang of it. Right now it still takes a lot outta me. Probably can't rely on it too heavily, but that's what trial and error is for, right?" He offered up, cheerfully. "Well, no way of practicing like diving in headfirst." He let Leanne handle disappointing Kenny with the knowledge he probably wouldn't be able to learn magic himself. "But anyways, have we got some baddies I can set on fire?" He asked.
Loba confirmed though a complete lack of familiarity with the beast. "Huh.... That is weird. I'm guessing it's probably not some weird transformation spell on somebody that you used to know either." He considered. "Well, maybe this is what they call a natural affinity for stuff!" He suggested. "You're just born... or made... or..." How were angels made? "....that. ...For this." He concluded somewhat lamely, and immediately tried to put Leanne's hat between himself and Loba, out of embarrassment.
As Percy and Sophi entered, Ranuen's focus was mostly on the male. "Hey Perc. Welcome back!"
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