mental link; it's a catbus!

[wille]

[ It's an ungodly hour of the night as these things go, with both Misato and Gildor's minds flickering to announce their presence to all. Forceful and unapologetic, for her part, while urgent and unsettling, for his part. They insist on your attention. ]

( Everyone. We found something out there beyond the barrier. It was too dark for us to see much-- )

(Or anything, for some of us, but-- )

( But it's massive-- )

(Big as the shuttles that brought us-- )

( And predatory. At least, it seemed pretty clear that it wanted to take a chunk out of us. Some of you found tracks the other day, right? Let's talk. )
 

Comments

[ryohji]

[ that's called a crime of passion, misato. ]

( That's strange. A creature with sense of smell so acute it can pick trace odor from the wind, but it can't sense the civilization some miles away. Its physiology should be more consistent, especially if it's as big as you say.

Unless it has some reason to ignore us when we're behind the barrier, and it was your trespass it was reacting to, not your scent. )

[wille]

[ Did you mean "mercy killing"? ]

( I think it has something to do with the barrier. It smells static-y. Strong enough to mask a lot of things.

You're saying the beast might serve the same function as the barrier.

[ryohji]

( That could be it. Its properties are known by someone, or else it wouldn't exist. So it all comes down to asking the right person the right questions. )

[ 'assisted suicide'. we can hand the particulars over to the criminal experts once it's all said and done. ]

( I'm saying it might not appreciate visitors, is all. What you're saying, I'm afraid, is that there exists a need for multiple failsafes, which means the first two barriers can be exploited somehow. That sounds more interesting, ambitious. )

[wille]

[ Once all is said and done. ]

( Don't mess with the barrier. You're so gonna get nailed to a tree, and not by strangers.

I'm gonna go ask the guards. It's normal to be curious. )

[ryohji]

( 'Do as I say, not as I do'? That doesn't seem very fair. )

[ he's supposed to remind her of her father; she's not supposed to remind him of his mother. kaji knows better than to mention this in the presence of company. ]

( It's normal to install guards who don't know what they're guarding. I wonder if there's a group of technomagicans who see maintenance. )

[wille]

( We've both given up on fairness, haven't we? )

[ Fairness has no place in the most basic of human intimacies, not in friendships, let alone in anything more. Besides, pot meets kettle. ]

( The hypothetical magical scientists are all yours. But please, please warn me when you're about to mess with the thing. )

[perroquet]

( You two sound like you've a history beyond the Nest. )

[ Just an idle observation. Misato's concern in her double ''pleases' is telling. He's toned down the frantic organ music in the background to pointedly listen. ]

( Be my guest if you'd like to investigate the barrier yourself sir, but I'll not be opening another dimension door through it anytime soon. )

[ryohji]

[ an idle observation only deserves an equally idle response, a noise resembling a chuckle halfway committed to seeing it through. ]

( Who tipped you off? Careful, the answer might come back to haunt you. )

[ and fortuitous that he interjected when he did: kaji can skate over misato's request proper. he didn't receive any sort of forewarning, and if they've put fairness behind them... ]

( Dimension door... tell me about that. Isn't it possible that the creature you saw belonged to a different dimension? One very similar to this one. )

[perroquet]

( Both of you. )

[ Sometimes taking the safest answer is better than revealing the true one. ]

( And no, I'm not an amateur.

Gildor, by the way. Gildor Helyanwë. )

[wille]

[ Gildor mistakes her frustration at the mess that would inevitably result from Kaji's meddling for concern, which is just as well, it conforms to the common ideas of how they should be. And where he sidesteps the question, she would rather put it to rest with finality. ]

( We're from the same town. )

[ As for the prospect of multiple dimensions and doors that can open to them . . . ]

( Kaji, Gildor. Gildor, Kaji-- is this your plan of escape? )

[ryohji]

( Just a stray thought, nothing more.

It's a pleasure, Gildor. I guess you've had this ability since before the symbiote. )

[perroquet]

( From the very same town? What an interesting coincidence.

That and a few more tricks, yes. If I have a symbiote ability, it has not yet revealed itself. )

[wille]

( No such thing as coincidences. )

[ To be clear, and no such thing as stray thoughts either. ]

( How far away can you connect the two openings, Gildor? We'd be able to look through it, right? Like we did earlier? )

[perroquet]

( How far? Ah... )

[ He takes his time with this, and the numbers he comes up with have more to do with intuition than actual math. ]

( At least four-hundred feet, at most... twelve-hundred? Maybe a bit less to avoid draining myself too quickly. ) [ These things have rules and a cost, Misato. ]

( You should be able to look through, yes. )

[ryohji]

[ numbers well worth their wait, kaji marries them off and observes the holy matrimony from which inferences are begotten:

it goes quiet, you know. if you go far enough away from the rest of the people here.

he had bigger fish to fry. bigger than megafaunic monsters prowling their far horizons. in his experience, the presence of such creatures served only to distract people with their size and unknowability. ]

( Does it work like a transporting device, or a pair or binoculars, is what I'm wondering. Can it take you from point A to point B? )

[wille]

[ Rules and a cost that she, unfortunately, can't pay herself. If she could, she would, or so the rhyme goes, and push that limit to fifteen-hundred and more and more. And Kaji has his interests that she is waiting to hear. ]

( You told me you'd just need sleep, is that really it? Or were you trying to let me off easy. )

[perroquet]

( Dimension Door is a spell meant to transport the caster, though they may take one other with them and whatever is on their persons at the time so long as it fits through the door - which cannot be made larger or smaller than an average door.

And no no - I do just need to rest a bit after casting such spells, but I can cast much more than tonight in one go. )

[ He was being honest. He's tired and would like to rest now, which he makes apparent in his mental tone of voice as he recites the rules he remembers. It feels like his mentor's old teachings, read to him out of books and hardly put to practice within the walls of the Guild.

Though despite the exhaustion, he's hardly begun to push the limits of his magic. He's still shaking off the rust from five magically stagnant years, but it's much like getting back on horse, or a bike if he knew the metaphor. ]

( May I ask what you are thinking of using me for? )

[ His casting may be stiff, but his intuition as a support castor is still sharp. ]

[ryohji]

( When you put it that way, I'll feel bad for asking in the first place. )

[ he can smell the vulnerability a mile away; its familiarity a pair of well worn shoes. ]

( Like I said, it was just a stray thought. Don't let me stop you from get your rest in, Mr. Helyanwë. This isn't a conversation we can't have tomorrow. )

[perroquet]

( Oh, apologies - I'm quite used to being used for my abilities. It's not a bad thing - I meant nothing more by it than my own curiosity. )

[ He's a bard - he's there to be useful. It's what the Guild taught him and what life has proved to him time and again. ]

( But yes, perhaps we can discuss this again later - and far away. )

[wille]

[ Quite used to being used for my abilities. How quaint. She's like a shark sensing blood in the water. ]

( Gildor. We found something important tonight, I'm sure of it, we'll figure out what it is soon enough, and I couldn't have done it without you. So thank you. Rest up, you deserve it. )

[perroquet]

[ He had rubbed Misato's ego a bit out on the training grounds, and he's no fool when she does the same now. Gildor is quite aware - yet unable to resist. The swelling organ in his mind trickles down to a much gentler piano - a kinder note to leave this exhilarating and dreadful night on. ]

( While I am more apprehensive about our find, it has been a bard's pleasure to scout with you tonight, Miss Katsuragi. You're very welcome. Likewise, I couldn't have confirmed this finding without your help, so thank you as well.

I'll leave you two old friends to your analysis of all this, but do get some rest soon. Goodnight Miss Katsuragi, Mr. Kaji. )

[ His mind doesn't close off from them entirely, but the shadowy mass of his consciousness does fade out. The absence leaves the collective head space of those still connected blissfully quieter. ]