Scene #5924: Still-Life

Owner	Pose
Carna	Twice before, paintings have mysteriously appeared in the large round room that is the base of and entrance to a near-infinite tower known as Escher. Enark took the time to clean this large area up, to make it more livable, and to bolt furniture to the floor so that it can be distinguished from any mimics that might sneak back inside after their escape. The front door has been replaced with something much sturdier, with a mix of physical and magical locks, and there is now proper lighting everywhere, including along the winding staircase leading up to a portal that connects Escher with the the Library of Murdered Knowledge upstairs. There are also now three disturbing paintings hanging on the walls, none of which were brought here by Enark or anyone else they know of. They just keep appearing. There is the first to appear, maybe a month or more ago, of a white-haired girl sitting in the lap of some withered deathly thing that can't be seen in-frame. There is a landscape painting of some dreary and dire-looking marshlands with bleak mountains in the distance and a croud of figures pointing into the distance, with one among them staring wide-eyed out of the painting at the viewer. The effect is like that one optical illusion where the eyes seem to follow you wherever you go. The third painting is completely black, but textured, like hands caked in black paint were smeared all over it to hide whatever sanity-straining image lies beneath. Enark is here, still as aged as he has been since everyone left Emblem City, though now accompanied by a white-haired, dark-skinned girl in a replica of Enark's own Blue Scholar robes, though they had to have the sleeves and hemline cut extensively so that the child isn't walking around wearing a tent. She is standing back, looking very uncomfortable with the paintings, her arms folded together under her arms defensively. There's a teleportation beacon, a Shrine of Light, just outside the tower's entrance, so arriving should be easy now that the Shrines of Light are hooked into the Warp Gate Network. The doors open for authorized personnel, all of whom the people coming are categorized as.
Leyanne	Leyanne makes for the tower as soon as she hears about the new painting, her tail swishing behind her. She looks around the round room, spotting the pair. She walks over. "Evening Enark." She says, with a slight bow. "Miss. Don't worry, they give me the heebs too." She smiles, before looking over the paintings. She resists the urge to poke out the eyes of the one in the marsh... she hates the way it's always looking at her. Then she comes to the new painting, the one all in black. She frowns at it, tilting her head. "Okay that's not a nice effect..."
Kushiko	And as twice before, curiosity beggars following up on strange and weird things that happen in Lumiere. Which, pragmatically, means 'nearly everything'. There's something happening 'again', as it were, not so much the revelation of a new painting being here, but the sense that, given events in the the City, that they might be retreading steps. If so, why, and even if not, then what can they learn from all this? Her interest in this is ... peculiar. She felt. Violated. Betrayed, in a sense, finding out who and what she was. She wasn't using Nova nor Valkyr, though Nova has been quietly 'retired' as her mental inclinations have subtly changed. This particular Warframe is known as Mag, and is the Orokin-tech enhanced variant of it. A wielder of powerful electromagnetic forces besides, it follows a more 'guardian' aspect of hers that's risen to the fore. Also inquisitive, but that's beside the point. Between say, the Boogeyman, and the group she was a part of as Soupi, maybe there was something from that that she had no true reckoning of the meaning. Regardless, this is the figure, the Warframe's running lights flickering as she arrives via the Shrine of Light--no need for being hidden or otherwise, you know, concealing her presence, pushing open the tower's door to catch the sight of Enark... and well. Who is this here? <"Enark. And. I do not think we have been introduced."> Her head cants slightly, the faceless gaze momentarily falling on the dark skinned girl, though her gaze, such as it were, seems to drift just as much to the paintings itself. It's kind of weird--one can feel her 'focus' on individual objects sure, but then draws back at times, and not wholly from the Warframe's neuroptics. After all, given what Leyanne just said, she's fairly certain the peculiar effects will either A) be explained, or B) presented as a likely problem to be discussed.
Finna	After the Emblem City mess, Finna was hesitant to return to this crazy deathland. But with a few allies taking a dive into it again... the white fox has returned, and is sniffing around the cleaned-up tower's foyer, impressed by the work that's been done. Especially the bolted furniture. NO MORE MIMICS! "Someone's been busy!" The fox bark out happily after leaping up into a NOT MIMIC chair, eyes on the painting... and Enark's companion. Finna doesn't recognize EITHER of them of course, and the scholar's age... has her worried, since she never heard what happened.
Carna	The girl jumps when the doors open, turning to face the people who enter, whether it's together or one at a time or whatever. Enark waves tiredly, and says, "Thank you all for coming. For the ones who did not meet her yet, this is Lacey. She is a survivor of Emblem City. With difficulty, I have secured a body she can use to exist outside of it." Lacey curtsies nervously to everyone. "Good evening. Or... At least... I think it's evening. It's always dark... So.. It's... hard to tell..." her voice gets smaller and quieter the longer she speaks until it's practically a whisper at the end. Enark moves immediately to business, and says, "If you were not aware, three paintings have now appeared mysteriously here in this room. They do not appear to be portals as some others have been, but their purpose is as mysterious as their origins and method of manifestation." He gestures at the black-smeared one with one hand. "This is the newest." Lacey fidgets, with her hands on the skirts of her robe, not knowing what to do now, and darting her eyes around periodically.
Leyanne	Leyanne smiles and crouches down until she's more on Lacey's level. "Hey Lacey. Do you remember Paird? I'm her. The... important bits of her, anyway. It's good to see you made it out." She smiles, but as she turns to look at the painting, her face looks more serious. Her cybernetic eye makes faint clicking sounds as the mouse stares at it, changing from its usual green glow to a dull red, followed by a hazy purple. She frowns "...anyone got a low-level X-ray source? Maybe I can get a look at the painting that lies underneath. You know, like those X-ray imaging techs." She roots through her backpack, pulling out a militarized tablet computer. She plugs a cable from it into her neck, and after a moment it displays a black-and-white image of the painting. The walls surrounding the painting are shades of grey, getting paler towards the lights. The painting itself however, is deepest black. "Hmm. Maybe not. This is a thermal image of the painting. White is hot, black is cold." The image flicks to a psychedelic rainbow. The world is rendered in hues of red, green and blue... except the painting. Beyond a slight blue halo, the painting is black. "It's just sucking in every kind of radiation that hits it. This one's ultra-violet... I don't think X-rays are gonna do dick."
Kushiko	Not that it's necessarily an /easy/ thing to tell, but when Enark begins to explain, Mag--Kushiko--goes stock still. Something about what's said triggers a little something in the back of her mind. That... she should know this, that she should be a little more cognizant. 'Survivor' of Emblem City. Wasn't... Code names. Child. It's not something she immediately can try and call her out on right now, at least not without interrupting the current topic at hand otherwise. <"More history. But this one is practically useless as events go, given it's hard to make out what's going on."> If anything at all. She shifts slightly to look towards the girl for a moment. "...or for that matter, Soupi."> She has ... maybe a hope. Half a thought triggered by tattered memories haphazardly string together. She's brought a little bit out of her reverie, before considering what Leyanne was doing. Maybe fueling it with energy will do something, but she's presently somewhat distracted.
Finna	The mention of Emblem City gets Finna shivering on the chair she's taken residence on. But the fox keeps her chin up - so to speak - for Lacey's sake! "Don't worry about it, Lacey! Time doesn't seem to mean much in Lumiere anyways!" The fox springs down off the chair and towards the paintings Enark's been talking about... "X-what?" She asks Leyanne... right as she sticks her nose up near the same painting and gives it test sniff. Who knows? Maybe there's a clue left that only the nose can know!
Carna	Lacey startles at Kushiko using the name 'Soupi' and turns to look at her. Enark says, "Ah, yes, this is the one you know as Soupi, or... As she is called out here, Kushiko." Lacey glances to Enark and then back to Kushiko. "R-really? It's really you?" She has trouble believing it. Kushiko looks so different! "...So you're a robot now?" Lacey asks in confusion. It's not like Mag actually... Resembles Kushiko. Or Soupi. As Finna goes to sniff at the painting, she comes away with the scent of paint, obviously. However, something weird happens. The painting ripples. That's the only warning Finna gets before an oily, black, semi-fluid begins pouring out of the painting. Or off of it, by the looks of it, since more of the painting is revealed as the black peels away. It pools on the floor, but without any true weight or substance to it, like it's not really matter at all. Maybe more like it's... A simplistic, cartoonish face of dismay appears in the puddle of 2-D black. "Hey," Crow says. "I dreamed I died." D:=
Leyanne	Leyanne blinks. As the painting ripples and starts to flow, the mouse's left hand moves. It bends in a slightly unnatural manner to draw her revolver from its holster and level it at the painting, surprisingly fast. When Crow's face reveals itself, she raises the gun to the ceiling and holsters it. "Yeah man that's been goin' around a lot." She comments, with a wry smirk. "I dreamt I was dead in someone else's afterlife... glad you made it out of there, even if it wasn't entirely intact."
Kushiko	Silence seems to deaden the space between Kushiko--well, Mag, between herself and Enark and Lacey, at least for a few moments. Her attention does flit briefly towards what Leyanne and Finna were doing, and she begins to speak. <"Y... Yes. And no."> Even with the faceless countenance here, there's something, tension sharpening into a blade. <"I don't know if I really... was, or we--"> She's cut off in her explanation by what Finna's doing. <"C... Crow??!"> She's actually stunned by the sudden appearence; given all of what happened prior... it's enough to make her focus at least. Light begins to shimmer up and down Mag's body, lilac and blue luminescence, and an odd little /pulsation/ sound. That's when the Warframe simply locks up, like a mannequin, and she seems to melt out of it, like something being almost peeled from it, making it look like she's made partly of light and energy, hundreds of motes of light swirling from the point of exit. This... does sort of look like Soupi, at least what Lacey may remember. But the scars, and the futuristic attire... maybe not. "It's more complicated than I think any of us know. The others, the Gargoyle Knights, they wondered where you went."
Finna	Just paint! Boring. But Finna blinks a few times... then-- YELPS! A screech of alarm sees her BACKFLIPPING away (yes, as a fox) from the painting to watch weird darkness dripping and oozing out-- Then the 'face' appears. "... Crow!!?" The little fox's flesh melts and oozes similarly, rocketing up and re-solidifying like quicksilver taking the form of its mold. Finna takes human form, boldly allowing her fox tail and ears to remain visible for all as the Moonsilver Tattoos shimmer across her flesh and typical outfit appears. She's smiling up a storm at this development. "Hey... ! Welcome back!"
Carna	"Ah... Paird... I'm sorry, I don't..." she begins, trying to listen to Kushiko's halting explanation at the same time, but then the thing with the painting happens, and between Finna freaking out and a shadow falling off of and then talking, she sort of loses her train of thought. Crow replies, "...Huh? Out of where?" to Leyanne. It struggles to lift itself up off the floor to gain a bit more mobility, but flops back down. "Wow I feel like a noodle. ...Glad to be back though! ...How long was I gone?" Lacey is totally lost, and Enark is just rubbing his face in weariness. "Several months at least. There was a... Other you, or something, inside of a... You know what? It's a long story and I'll tell it later." Lacey is overwhelmed but brightens when she sees Soupi -- or someone very Soupi-like, even if in... Hologram form? But she grows sadder when she is reminded of the Gargoyle Knights. "But... Mister Enark said... They're all gone. I'm the only one who made it out." Enark says, "As far as we know, yes. It might be best not to talk about that right now. However, I think Lacey would like the... Opportunity to talk to you all, thanks to your memories of Emblem City. It might help her adjust to her new existence to have familiar faces around." Lacey looks around at everyone. A fox, a mouse, and a robot. "Familiar...?" "Familiar-ish." Enark ammends. Crow just says, "I have no idea what's happening!" =:D
Leyanne	Leyanne smiles to Lacey. "I... Paird built and flew that flying machine around." She smiles, softly. "She was always planning to offer you kids rides in it, but... it was never quite ready for passengers." She smiles softly, rubbing the back of her head. "Strange times." She sits down, rooting through her bag. She pulls out a bag of sour candy, offering it around.
Kushiko	"Didn't think it'd be good to go into too much right now," Kushiko admits. Is it a hologram? Or is it truly her, phased out of the Warframe itself? It looks remarkably real. "But... we can try and talk some more." she offered, a quiet smile. A slight motion, and she falls backward, melting into the Warframe itself which becomes active once more. <"As familiar as we can be. Think of this like ... Titania, except I am part of her."> she offers, her voice reclaiming that little echo it had before. Still, she sighs, regarding Crow and actually remarking, <"Well, there's a lot to talk about. But... hopefully it will be alright.">
Leyanne	Leyanne smiles softly. "We're all still who we were, the... core soul of us hasn't really changed." Leyanne comments. "Emblem was... we're still trying to come to terms with what it was, why it was... and the pain of... well... becoming me again almost felt like dying again." She sighs, softly. "Man I'm really crap at this whole 'supportive' thing, aren't I?"
Finna	Finna was going to say something big to Crow, but having Lacey here, seeming so lost and confuse, it touches something in her. She inhales deeply and with some reservation, but... Light shimmers around her, a silvery-white glow as her spirit rushes out and then forms into an illusion around her-- And in a few moments, Nico Zangt is reborn, standing amongst the group, with a grin full of mischief, life, and curiosity... complete with the robes she used to wear. Though, with that grin, they make her seem more like a shifty merchant's daughter or something than a proper scholar. "It's complicated, Lacey! Big headache complicated."
Carna	While all this takes place, attention might overlook that on the canvas revealed by Crow falling off of it, there is an image of a dusty gray hill, in some vague and forlorn landscape. Details are few. But distinct in the foreground is the image of three crumbling stones arranged in a triangular formation, with a long-dead camp fire at the center of them.