IC INTRO - JUNE '18

[phantasmods]

After the fight with the siren has settled, those characters with phones hooked to the KEystone network will get a text -

Okay, everyone, you had better come back in. There's a storm brewing just off the coast.

Even given Up's usual professionalism, it seems rather... subdued?

----

For once, there are no androids at all to greet you upon your return, or arrival, as the case may be. A shelter has been set up for the boats on the shoreline of Glitterstone, however. By the time you tromp up the lighthouse stairs to the level of the Station itself, the sky is beginning to grey with the promised storm.

There's not the typical feast outside, but there is a fairly extensive taco bar set up in the common room, left unattended as well. The room sign-up sheet and boxes of freebies are also there, complete with the Braille versions, and a note at the bottom of both room sheets reads "If all rooms are full, space has been made in the meeting rooms on the top floor. We'll have additional rooms available as soon as possible."

It does appear that someone has updated the murder counter while you were away, however, for the turning of the week. It now reads 15 weeks without murder.

Other than that, you're free to explore, including in the newly finished sections of the Annex (should you be willing to brave the storm to get between buildings). However, wherever you go, the androids are almost conspicuously absent - even in the medical bay and Down's workstation in the command center.

The meeting room they have for their own private use is securely closed and locked.

Comments

[karappo]

[By now, Karamatsu has explored nearly the whole of the station, having tired himself out asking people questions and trying to find his brothers. He'd found out while talking to Izunia that the mermaid influence had worn off, meaning Choromatsu was a Pooka again by now.

Which meant...]

Ah! Brother!

[Karamatsu lifts both hands straight up in the air, waving them to try and get the Pooka's attention.]

Over here!

[shikosuki]

[ When he hears Karamatsu’s voice his pinned back ears immediately go straight up and he turns his head.

...You know there was a moment where he was afraid he was alone again. ]

Karamatsu-niisan!!

[ He takes off running towards his brother, jumping up and lunge-tackling him. ]

[karappo]

[Here he comes he's running, why is he running so fast, why is he jumping-

Karamatsu has all but a few seconds to think all of this before Choromatsu tackles him straight to the ground, leaving him no alternative but to fall back with the Pooka sitting on his chest.

This is familiar and in the opposite way, is this karma two years later.]

[shikosuki]

[ Aaaaand down they go.

As soon as he’s on top of him though, he starts sniffing him to make sure it really is Karamatsu and then rubbing his chin on him where ever he can, putting his tracking mark on him again so they can’t be completely separated again. ]

Thank goodness!! I was scared for a second that you’d been left behind...!

[karappo]

Wh- ah-? [Karamatsu lifts his hands a little without actually placing them anywhere, one pair hovering while the other lay flat against the floor while Choromatsu sniffs him furiously, chinning him like he used to do with him and the others back home. He knows this is a Pooka thing, but he wasn't expecting it with such...ferocity. It has him a little stunned for a moment, waiting for the deluge of sniffs to calm down a bit before he says anything else.] I w-was thinking the same about you...I was about to go back outside to try and find you...

[shikosuki]

[ He settles down eventually, laying down for the moment. He closes his eyes, ears pinned back and his nose wiggling slowly with contentment. His tail rests at his side, still damp. ]

It's a good thing you didn't... did you find any of the others?

[karappo]

Not yet...

[Karamatsu sighs, letting Choromatsu lay there while he props himself up on his forearms.]

I have learned some things about this place that you need to hear if you have not already, though.

[shikosuki]

[ His ears twitch and reopens his eyes. ]

Hm? What?

[karappo]

Well...unless the rules of the way the Fog God does things have changed, I do not believe we are in Ryslig anymore. Not here, at least.

[shikosuki]

Oh... yeah, it's a "fissure" thing, right?

[karappo]

Mm. From what I understand, the Fissures are what brought us here. They are, in turn, also what caused so many mers to be about earlier. Including yourself.

[shikosuki]

...Yeah. I kinda heard a bit of that. Wasn’t sure how much I believed it at the time.

[ He reaches up and fidgets with one of his ears idly, tugging on it. ]

But I guess it must be true.

[karappo]

The only other clue I have is that a man told me that he had been here for as long as this has been happening. Which has been more than a few months.

[He looks back in the direction of that sign from before.]

Which means...he should be a monster now. But he wasn't.

[shikosuki]

[ He listens... nodding along to show her understands. ]

I met one who didn’t know of the Fog God. That was already alarming.

...I really had hopes for a moment that this was where all the people that disappeared from Ryslig ended up.

[ Like their brothers. ]

[karappo]

[Hm. He hadn't thought of that...]

It might still be a possibility. It just sounds like a lot of people from other worlds end up here as well due to the instability of these Fissures that appear.

[shikosuki]

Mmm...

[ He shifts finally, sitting back up and moving to get off of Karamatsu ]

...Hey, Karamatsu-niisan? Does this mean we're finally... free? Of her?

[karappo]

[Karamatsu says nothing at first, though his antennae betray his mood, twitching forward and curling a bit at the ends, uncertain.]

I...am not sure. I have not yet seen any signs of the gods, but...well. You might have a better idea about that than I would.

[Not accusatory, just factual.]

[shikosuki]

[ ...He would, wouldn’t he.

He sits on the floor, a hand over his chest. His mark of allegiance to the Fourth God. ]

...I don’t feel Him here either. I could try find an electronic and praying to Him but... I don’t feel his power at all.

[karappo]

[That pretty much all but confirms they're not in Ryslig. It has to...right?]

...perhaps try doing that at some point, then. Just...just to be one-hundred percent sure.

[shikosuki]

I’ll try when I get a chance.

[ He pauses for a moment. It’s weird... that it might finally be “over”. It doesn’t FEEL over and he’s scared that if he talks about it too much the Fog God will find them all over again somehow.

Instead he turns and nudges Karamatsu with one knuckle. ]

Hey... have you looked at the rooms here yet? I saw a sign up earlier. We should pick one out.

[karappo]

Not yet. I was actually waiting to see if I could find you again, first.

[On the same page with that.]

Izunia-san told me that each room fits about two people, more if they are connected with extra doors put in.

[shikosuki]

[ He won't say it, mostly because of pride and he knows it's a dumb fear to have in the first place, but it's a relief to hear Karamatsu not suggest they get separate rooms or anything.

He smiles and hops back up on his feet. ]

Oh, that should be perfect then! We'll probably get more sleeping space if I stay in my animal form too.

[karappo]

[Karamatsu follows the Pooka into a stand, stretching his back and letting the mouth open and close its maw a few times after having been smacked right against the ground.]

Let us go sign up for one, then, before everything fills up.

[shikosuki]

[ He smiles and nods, then pauses for a moment before readying himself to jump. Midway though the jump he transforms into his travel form and lands on Karamatsu's shoulder like that. He makes himself comfy amongst the older's neck fluff. ]

Let's go!

[karappo]

[The shift is a bit surprising, one that Karamatsu hadn't been prepared for. He's landed on before he can look at him properly, and what he sees both makes a whole lot of sense as well as fascinates him.

Truth be told, he's never seen a rabbit with a squirrel tail. That's new.

He lets him get comfy against his neck, lifting one claw to very gently scritch the side of his face.]

I had not seen your new travel form before. It is cute.