Tha sin mar bhàs.

[hollystrike]

Who: Katie and you!
Broadcast: Yes!
Action: Planetside
When: Now-ish

[Amusement Park]

[So this is where she goes when she wants time to think, apparently.  The bunker is a place she won't enter; between the heavy aftermath of a mass death and the understandably stricken reactions of its visitors, the atmosphere is far too toxic.  But it doesn't mean she isn't grieving.  The deaths could not be helped and are god knows how far in the past, but the fact that these people have been forgotten - not acknowledged even by this automated town, let alone the rest of space - is something that sits very poorly.  She can't even change anything about the town to reflect its population's final days.

She's walking the rollercoaster tracks, very high up, thinking over the issue.  Don't ask how she got up that high.  And don't worry if you should be using the rollercoaster at the time; she can avoid you.  Might give you a bit of a scare, though, sorry.

Eventually, she puts a call through to Sam.]

[Outside of town]

[As far as she can go before she suspects (or hopes) she's outside the range of the city's replication science so her work isn't scrubbed.  She's not too far from the bunker; it would be pointless if she were too far away from it. 

She finds a rock face smooth enough, and between a thick blade and Kirito's lightsaber she carves a memorial.  Maybe nobody will ever see it, but if any other visitors come to this place, they should know what happened.  It's worth the extra headache.]

[And Broadcast]

I've decided to quit making dreamcatchers and move on to voodoo dolls instead.  It's more fun.  So if you'd like to take one before I end up throwing them all out, feel free.

[Just so you know.  Totally honest, as usual.  Less cheerful than normal.

If anyone wants her she'll be curled up in her office with Licorice on her lap.  She's so tired of these planets.]

Comments

[hollystrike]

[Oh my goodness you have a cat. She perks up immediately.]

No. No visitors today. Come in and I'll explain why.

[...so yeah, come right in. And don't mind Licorice growling faintly at the new cat arrival before Katie taps her between the ears.] Don't fuss. Hospitality is a virtue.

[tsunergy]

[It's a sort-of-cat! Recognizing her answer as "typical Katie", Mikleo steps further in and tugs the little leopard kitten off his shoulders and down to the floor, where he immediately puffs up and eyeballs Licorice. More inquisitive than aggressive (because kittens are fearless apparently) he just wanders right over to try and catch a sniff.

Mikleo quirks a brow as he watches, shutting the door behind him so they don't end up having to chase cats all through the ship.]

He's going to get his nose clawed off if he's not careful.

[He also makes a mental note to self: try to stop asking questions. He's generally bad at this, because he always wants to ask a million of them.]

[hollystrike]

[A cat is a cat, wild or alien or domestic. Licorice shoots Katie a petulant look, but honestly she can't resist small balls of fluff either, in the end. She shuffles off Katie's lap to get a closer look.]

That would be a terrible tragedy. What's his name?

[tsunergy]

[Mikleo goes ahead and makes himself comfortable on the floor, ready to make a grab for a cat if a fight happens to start up. They seem alright for now, at least.]

This is Lucen. He's still a little rambunctious, but he's slowly learning to play nice.

[hollystrike]

[Katie's not worried about the cats. It helps she understands them down to their core. Just a lot of wary introductions going on.]

He's hideous. [Grin.]

Would you like something to sit on? I have a lot of comfy choices. [Piles of blankets and cushions, for example.]

[tsunergy]

Oh, he knows.

[Little brat. He reaches out to tug the leopard's tail, who immediately jumps because his full attention was on Licorice.]

I actually like it down here, if you don't mind. I've never seen cats play before, so I'm curious.

[This isn't what he came here for, but hey, they could probably both use a distraction.]

[hollystrike]

I mind terribly. I'll just make up for it by lounging more. Would you like some cat toys for Lucen while you're here?

[She's been making little wool monsters for Licorice.]

[tsunergy]

...Actually, I'd appreciate that. I've never had a cat before... never had a proper pet, for that matter. Keeping animals is more a human thing than something seraphim do back home, but in this case he chose me, not the other way around.

[He glances over his shoulder, where Lucen has started chewing on one of his shoulder capes, and lifts the creature up to scoot him back towards Licorice again. The ends are looking pretty frayed.]

As you can see, he plays with whatever he can get his mouth on, currently.

[hollystrike]

As long as he's not trying to stick a paw in your eye while you're trying to sleep. [Grin. She pulls herself up in one smooth motion and crosses to the desk, rummaging in a box before tossing a couple of draggly little wool puff balls to the two cats.]

I suppose if he's batting a Fizzgig about the floor, your clothing might be a little safer. No guarantees, though.

[tsunergy]

I'm sure you've dramatically increased my chances, so thank you for that. A... Fizzgig, though? That's an interesting name.

[Lucen is at least momentarily distracted by the New Cool Thing, sniffing at it and batting it around the room wildly.]

[hollystrike]

[It's taken as a challenge by Licorice, who tackles the kitten and the wool monster both. All in good fun.]

Isn't it? I came up with it completely myself. [Grin. She may have lifted it completely from The Dark Crystal.] It's an imitation of some creatures we have at home. I'll show you if I ever get the chance.

[tsunergy]

[Mikleo leans back and lets them rolling around, watching the show with fascinated, barely-contained glee. This is new.]

I'd love to see it. Things with odd names like that are often the most interesting.

[hollystrike]

Yeah? What's the weirdest named thing you've ever seen?

[tsunergy]

Hmmm...

[Ugh, there's been so many, though.]

Maybe... Managarmr? It's the name of a hellion back home, and I have no idea why it's called that. Though if we're going for pure silliness... Duhvision.

[hollystrike]

Duhvision. That does sound just made for mockery.

That first one's not some kind of magic wolf, is it?

[tsunergy]

[oh huh, wow.]

It is, actually- a "werewolf", or so we were told. I take it that means it isn't just a nonsensical word.

[hollystrike]

Garmr is a-- [She stops. Hrm.] Have you ever heard any tales of a shadowy wolf guarding the underworld?

[tsunergy]

I... can't say that I have. But I'm not familiar with an "underworld", either.

[hollystrike]

[Oh. That's more awkward, because it will round them to the subject of death. Which is... well.]

Hmm. Well, it's interesting. Some words and meanings seem to cross universes. I wonder if it's because there's a connection somewhere a very, very long time ago.

But mana seems universally to mean 'magic', or something magic-related, so I wondered, really.

[tsunergy]

I've been both fascinated and irritated with the similarities between words in different worlds or universes since my arrival here. In particular, seraphim... I can't count the number of times someone's asked if I'm an angel immediately after using the term.

[hollystrike]

I was probably one of them. [She can't remember if she was or wasn't, actually, but it sounds like the sort of thing she might have asked.]

So what's a duhvision then?

[tsunergy]

Absurd, frankly.

[Which isn't an answer, but it's well deserved considering the name.]

Imagine a giant, ghastly floating eyeball surrounded by amorphous purple tentacles, with the ability to teleport and shoot multiple laser rays.

[hollystrike]

Goodness. Sounds like our beholders back home. Does it just have the one eye?

[Katie those are from D&D

...but honestly there are chimerical beholders because there are some very deluded roleplayers out there lbr]

[tsunergy]

Just the one, yes, but it's enormous. Several times bigger than my whole head.

[hollystrike]

Sounds incredibly poke-able. [Straight-faced.] Hostile on sight?