IC INTRO - MARCH

[phantasmods]

Sometime after the showdown, those with communication devices from the station will all get a collective message -

Okay, everyone come back! We might need to do a final sweep or two of the beach, but it looks like most of the Fissure is stabilized! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

Everybody go ahead and come back up - and bring anyone else you found with you! I know I saw a couple new faces on the drone cameras. (*･▽･*)

Also, if you get a chance, check out the new door leading out of the residential area! It's a surprise for all your hard work. (´◕ ◡ ◕｀) There's also food in the kitchens if you're hungry and want something warm!

With that in mind, grab your new friends and go ahead and come on back.

STATION EXTERIOR

Upon returning to the station, the first thing most will probably see is Up, standing on the rooftop to congratulate everyone on a mission accomplished and also handle any questions the new arrivals might have that haven't gotten answered yet. They stand tall and graceful beside the ramp... Most of the time. Occasionally, one might catch them trying not to fidget with the belt that now hangs fashionably askew on their hips.

For those who want to seek out the surprise Charm promised, there's a second ramp leading down off the far side of the roof, as well as the door he mentioned on the network. Both lead to the shiny new viewing deck, with its mismatched furniture, half-roof, and view of the beach.

Charm himself is here, long android limbs spread across one of the lounge chairs as he fiddles with one of the wind element crystals in his lap. It occasionally reacts and blasts the tails of his red scarf in random directions, but he doesn't seem to mind.

STATION INTERIOR

Those adventuring to the kitchens will find that there are four large pots arranged in a line beneath a set of heat lamps on the stove. Three contain curry - labeled "mild," "spicy," and "the fire of a thousand suns" in neat handwriting - while the last contains plain rice. An assortment of mismatched bowls and utensils sit on the counter nearest the pots. (Welcome to Keystone Station, you'll have an easier time finding matching cutlery at your local Goodwill.)

In the common room, meanwhile, the boxes of clothes and trading post are set up again. Those who investigate something fluffy in a particular box on the end of the couch may discover a girl and friend taking a nap...

Comments

[riderofcharlemagne]

[He made the mistake of looking directly at the sauce.

He knows some of you are monsters when it comes to spice, but this is something else]

[newlawtolight]

[The moment Astolfo looks at the character in the sauce, he is, perhaps, suddenly seized by worries. The sigil is not a mere scribble, not with how it glows and burns.

No. It is more than that. Yet looking at it further threatens to open up a part of the mind best left closed. Would he dare to keep looking?

> No

> Yes - This will assuredly change your character permanently, for better or worse.]

[riderofcharlemagne]

[ > Yes

Too bad he can't go to the moon to retrieve reason & sanity here. He might very well need it.]

[superstylishsquid]

[Good thing there's another demon around who's...getting really 'bad juju' vibes from whatever Letty did to that sauce? He's going to come over and take Astolfo by the shoulders and try to turn him away.]

I don't think you wanna pay too much attention to that.

[riderofcharlemagne]

[He lets himself be turned away by Alastor, blinking several times as his gaze is broken away from the sauce.]

I...what was THAT?! It was glowing!

[newlawtolight]

[You turn away to get a glass of your favorite drink and you turn around to see--]

Oh, I did warn him. He just seems to have a tendency to do otherwise.

[Meanwhile, meanwhile.





Is that a sliver of white suddenly slithering down like ice on one of Rider's pink bangs?]

[superstylishsquid]

Some people are just way too curious for their own good, it's annoying, but it happens.

[Then, to Astolfo.]

That was dark magic of the sort that humans really aren't meant to play around with.

[riderofcharlemagne]

Dark magic? In curry sauce?

[More likely than you think.]

[superstylishsquid]

She's a demon, some of us have really...exotic tastes, by human standards. Just be glad she isn't flavoring it with souls.

[riderofcharlemagne]

She would do that?

[There's no reason to be surprised, he just seems more amazed that it's even possible.]

[superstylishsquid]

I dunno, personal tastes on that sort of thing vary. Some demons have more of a taste for human food, others...just plain have a taste for humans.

[riderofcharlemagne]

She wouldn't...we don't have to worry about that do we?!

[riderofcharlemagne]

[He doesn't immediately notice the change, but it sure matches the white tuft he has on the other side! How nice it is to be symmetrical, now.]

What is that stuff? Curry shouldn't look like that, I think. Nothing should.

[newlawtolight]

It's nothing you need to worry about, if you don't wish to. I simply wanted to make my food a little spicier, so I used it to aid me. Nothing more.

[riderofcharlemagne]

You sure about that?

[He's not convinced.]

[newlawtolight]

Quite positive. Though humans don't take too well to the sigils. Among other things.

[riderofcharlemagne]

[He's already gone over the "not human" thing, but...]

Is it like the sherry?