Scene #9202: The Nightcrawler Crawls at Night pt 1

Owner	Pose
Madeleine Cadrasteia	OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES The Oakland Arena warpgate is a bit of an oddity. The gate was constructed, Madeleine explains to the gathering elites, back in 2012 shortly after this world Unified. It was an expensive project, but the thought of interplanetary sports tourism convinced the stadium owners to shell out tens of millions for a slickly designed, modern, efficient high-volume warpgate. Two years later, the Golden State Warriors announced plans to move across the bay to San Francisco. "Some indoor football team was gonna start here a few years back but the pandemic mucked that up and nobody's really called the Arena home since," Madeleine says. She shrug-gestures at the warpgate's surroundings, entirely vacant save for the team of elites. "Anyway, let's saddle up. Got a long couple days ahead of us." She presses a button on her key fob and a nearby grey-green van gives an affirmative honk. As the city of Oakland passes by outside the van, Madeleine explains the job in more detail. "So the Fresno Nightcrawler - funny little guys, look like sweatpants - on this world do a mass migration every fifteen years. This is the first one since the world Unified, and they wanted us to keep an eye on the migration to make sure the population's healthy and to keep poachers away. Lucky for us, Interstate 80's near a ley line that nightcrawlers seem to like the feel of." "Less lucky, the interstate's not quite on the ley-line, and we need to keep a close eye on the fellers, so we'll be taking some back roads. You know that's why the interstate's laid out the way it is, is because of ley lines? People gather around sites of power, whether they know it or not, and the path between cities that feels best is the one where that energy can flow freely. Of course, the lines move now and then so it's never an exact science for long. But hey, what can ya do." Indeed, what can ya do? As Oakland rolls out of sight, replaced by the flat farmlands of the California Central Valley, how are the other elites settling in?
Shinmyoumaru Sukuna	Shinmyoumaru Sukuna: - likes to explore and see new places - likes to meet new people - has an attachment for the kinds of beings that are overlooked by everyone else As a result, she's been an always eager volunteer for MCRD's road trips. Today is no exception, even though (or perhaps especially because) she has no idea what a Fresno nightcrawler is. For those who haven't met her before, Shinmyoumaru appears to be a four foot tall girl who could - aside from her height - pass for about fourteen. She tends to wear Japanese-style robes or dresses of various sorts in reds and blacks, and is doing so today. She also showed up riding a floating rice bowl and wearing its lid like a broad-brimmed hat, both of which she has since shrunk down to the size of an actual rice bowl (along with its contents) and tucked away, and with a giant sewing needle as a sword, which has been put into a length of bamboo for a scabbard but not shrunk. Shinmyoumaru tends by default to get wedged into the middle of the back seat because she's so small, but objects to this vociferiously until she gets to sit somewhere she can see out the window. She spends a lot of time looking a little dreamily out at the wilderness of California. Or the suburbs of California. She's not picky. Her feet swing as she sits, unable to quite reach the floor of the van. "Well, obviously people are going to follow the lines," she says, seriously. "Do they move the roads at all when they move? ...CAN you move the road?" She leans to one side to look as the asphalt for a moment. She seems to enjoy rides. Even long rides. At least at first, anyway.
Ozhira	Ozhira had said they were going to participate in this trip back when Madeleine first brought it up. However, at the appointed time and in the appointed place, the beast is not apparently present at all. Just the MCRD van that had been dropped off earlier-- and goodness, what a clunker. The interior is quite nice and clean and everything works, but when it's started up-- what a godawful noise it makes. That is until someone pops the hood and the engine is completely enveloped in a throbbing, blood-red sludge; some of which got sucked into the air filter. A set of jaws blearily snaps at prodding sticks until a still-waking-up voice harmonizes, "You are-- here? Already?" The slime loosens its hold and sluices off the engine block, pooling on the asphalt beneath the van. It sloshes out from under the vehicle and rises up-- taking a human shape as it does so, until the ooze manifests into a young woman stretching arms overhead with eyes closed, "We are sorry. It was warm. We, overslept." Helpfully for new faces, they introduce themselves with a simple, "We are Ozhira. It is, nice to meet you." Turns out that once there isn't a carnivorous goo monster in the engine, it works a lot better. Departure pretty much goes smoothly after that. -- During the drive out of town, the creature takes a back window seat this time, face pressed up against the glass. "Night Crawler," they repeat as Maddie gives the rundown, "Migration. . . Are there, predators?" Of course the resident actual predator would ask something like that. Then again, it might be good to know if overseeing the Great Pants Parade is the job ahead.
Ivy Carrow	"Some indoor football team was gonna start here a few years back but the pandemic mucked that up and nobody's really called the Arena home since..." "Sports teams are parasites." Ivy said, intensely. "They bargain for space in the citizens' sense of identitys, to make denying them a devastating move for the city. But they try to keep all the tourism they get inside their own facilities--their own food stands, their own services--You won't catch me dead putting something like this in Castle Carrow. If you're too good for a community stadium, you can go ELSEWHERE!" She huffed. Ivy was wearing a pair of camo, khaki shorts, with a black tank-top with the warprunner's tradmark red swirl on her back, leaving a peep of her midriff underneath in the California heat, her cloak tied up around her waist, like a jacket. A heavy pack hung slung to her back, with a blue cooler with dangling from her hand--only one hand; her prosthetic wasn't hooked in. "...to make sure the population's healthy and to keep poachers away." Once Ivy had relieved herself of her burdens, she sat down with an audible ...Whoof... Immediately, she began to fiddle with the cooler. "Do these things get a lot of poachers? What for? Illegal sweatpants?" "...so we'll be taking some back roads." "Then you'll need some of what every good road trip needs..." Ivy made a grand gesture, pulling out a bag of assorted candies from the cooler. "...Snacks! I put together a little care package for us." She gestured at a collection of chocolates and soft drinks and various little treats plucked from the Warprunners' suppliers. "It's easy to get lost in how ordinary most earths are. Especially Americas." She filled the time by, as ever, talking about travel. "But you know what I like about these kinds of places...? They haven't been entirely paved over, yet." "It's like stepping into the past," Ivy murmured, propping her hand against her cheek as she watched the hills roll by. "Before the forests were replaced by shopping malls were replaced by parking lots were replaced by warehouses and trans-world freighter trains."
White	White arrives to the scene of her latest bit of work by more typical means than usual; she has no particular reason to have already visited any version of rural America, so she's stuck walking to the site. Like a normal person! She somehow manages to be both mildly annoyed and quietly proud at the same time, as is her way, but her face likely doesn't advertise that well enough to notice unless someone is very confident in reading the arch of her brow. She's there in time, though, to hear Madeleine's little fun-factoid and slowly nod. The idea of 'indoor football' somehow evokes pity from her, like she's contemplating the desperation of the unfortunate. She nods to Calvin too, when she sees him! It hasn't been that long since the time machine incident... Or maybe it has. Teehee. Anyway, she 'saddles up' as indicated, cozying up in one of the back corner-seats of the van and tucking a little silk pillow between the door and her elbow. She mumbles "Sweatpants..?" along the way, softly enough she might get drowned out by the ongoing explanation. She seems to sit a little bit stiffly upright, not really turning her head to look around as much as someone might typically on a road trip. She didn't even bring a book, or a game system, or whatever else she might use to pass her time... Namely because she has a spy-der on duty managing her computer so she can watch shows in the back of her mind when she wants. Thankfully, she can still listen at the same time, even if it doesn't initially look like she is. She visibly winces just a little when she hears 'back roads', some unspoken trauma coming to mind in what's surely a dramatic flashback for her. Still, she doesn't argue. She's stronger now! Strong enough to defeat bumpy roads and motion sickness... She does start to make a second pillow though, something to busy her hands with unthinkingly. But, there's still something worth asking even if the work seems straightforward enough. It takes her a little bit to get the words out, but once Madeleine finishes talking White eventually manages to mumble out, "... What are we doing... With the poachers?" It's similarly hard to tell if she's acknowledging the unfamiliar people joining them on this trip at first, but Shinmyoumaru and Ozhira are odd enough that she has to strongly fight the urge to analyze them on the spot. 'It can wait. It can wait until they aren't paying attention! Don't be rude, Me. This is a lot of car ride and not a lot of room for being avoided, and if everyone starts squishing up against the opposite side of the van that's just going to be sad for everybody.' she reassures herself inwardly. She does at least offer Ozhira's greeting a nod and her usual one-word introduction of "White." though, and eventually if Shinmyoumaru continues to be scrunched and windowless she might get lifted onto the new pillow in White's lap. Even assuming differently overall, part of White still probably wants to treat the smaller woman like a kid, which makes it surprisingly easy for her to do something like this. Whether it backfires, she hasn't thought far enough ahead to predict yet.
Angela	Ceri is not able to go to Lobcorp. She was actually explicitely told to stop coming in and to keep her work for Trideag by Angela herself. And that means ... she's kind of just doing a lot of paperwork since Lilian hasn't given her work to do and the mission board is mostly light work and ... ... Honestly, the vibes in The City seem bad right now. Whatever Angela is up to, she's not certain it will be too safe in District 12 in the immediate future. And so she has asked for Solace to go with her on a field trip so she can stop thinking about it for a minute. Solace has expressed an interest in ''Hunting'' with Madeleine and she sees this as her chance and, more to the point, is the one member of Trideag who has gone abroad into the multiverse pretty much at all. Solace is a taciturn woman with a scar across her throat, she has a large axe on her back as well as one of the Night Mist-like swords. Ceri has vibrant pink hair and is wearing her TriDeag uniform, a rapier at her side. They listen to Madeleine's explanation largely silently, though Ceri is immediately struck by something. "Wait...what? Sweat pants? ... How can pants be alive? ... Are they like EGO or something? ... Can we wear them?" Solace frowns. "Not wearing cryptid." Her voice is hoarse as she stares at Ozhira and manages to not swing an axe at the creature, just barely. "...Friend of yours?" She asks Madeleine. They are seated next to each other but eventually Solace turns to look at White. "..." Solace stares at White. She stares for a while. And then she says, "Solace." Back at her. Apparently she's fine with one word introductions.
Calvin Nash	Calvin's truck is easy to spot. The model is a good thirty years behind the current standard of this world, to say nothing of the light bar over the cab, the livery or the fact that the paint and the livery are matte. Driving in California is only slightly better than driving over roads crumbling from disuse, cracked open by burst water and gas lines and strewn with debris. "Boy, ain't you got no damn sense?" "That truck ain't lifted so far I can't snatch your baldheaded ass out." "You ain't let but three people through! Who's the pencil-neck angel peckerhead you got runnin' this light?" "You gonna ride my ass like you got some place to be, but you got enough time to play on that phone?" Calvin had thought to see the great state of California on a scenic route, having left a little early to give himself time to arrive at the Oakland Arena warpgate. By the time he does arrive, the running tally is three brake checks, five horn pumps, four middle fingers and a litany of passive aggressive sleights towards other motorists. "Hey, Ms. Madeleine," he practically pushes out after closing the door, locking up and striding up to her on foot. Like the last road trip, he's wearing casual clothes for the first stretch, likely having brought along a uniform for the 'work' part of things. "Damned if I ain't happy to see you." His COMP buzzes. Calvin flips it open and checks his messages. Chernobog: I wish to see the Arena. Calvin furrows his brow and taps out a response. Calvin: see it how Calvin: its right over there Chernobog: It is a monument to ambitions unfulfilled and hard work for nothing. I would stand within it and take in the failure. Calvin sighs. Calvin: well it aint goin nowhre Calvin: well look after we get done. deal? Chernobog: Very well. Calvin nods and closes the COMP, smoothing out his black denim snap-button shirt. Anyway, let's saddle up. Got a long couple days ahead of us. Calvin takes a quick scan of his surroundings and notes a distinct lack of Petra. "Yes ma'am," he says, the brim of his black cowboy hat dipping down in the affirmative as he nods. "Just a second. Gonna make sure I didn't leave nothin' in the truck." Behind the cab of the truck, mostly out of sight of the others, Calvin indulges in a celebratory dance, kicking left with the right leg, then right with the left, hooking his thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans and shimmying side to side before finishing with a spin and pumping his fist. --- Calvin has settled into the same seat he had on the last trip, a window seat on the passenger side, in the middle row. He ends up giving it up for Shinmyoumaru, having no particular attachment to the seat. "Back roads ain't so bad when there's somebody to take care of 'em. All that pain in the ass I had gettin' around Oakland peckerheads got me wonderin' if it wouldn't be faster than the interstate sometimes."
Madeleine Cadrasteia	Madeleine sighs at Ozhira's choice of napping spot, but it's a slightly amused sigh. That means permission to do it next time, right? Ceri: "Wait...what? Sweat pants? ... How can pants be alive? ... Are they like EGO or something? ... Can we wear them?" Madeleine frantically waves her hands in a 'slow down' sort of motion. "Woah, no, they're not for wearing! It's not like they're hollow inside. Although that is one kind of poacher we'll need to worry about, is folks looking to make luxury clothing from the hides. Solace: "...Friend of yours?" "You could say that. This is Ozhira, they've been along on trips like this before. I went hodag counting with 'em back last year, that was a good time." Calvin: "Damned if I ain't happy to see you." Madeleine smiles warmly. "Charmed." Shinmyoumaru: "Do they move the roads at all when they move? ...CAN you move the road?" "Actually, I don't think they even knew they were building on the ley lines to begin with. Tell the average person about 'em and they'll look at you like your head's screwed on funny. It's strange how people can think, 'magic? not in MY world', just because they don't know how to see it for themselves." Ozhira: "Migration. . . Are there, predators?" "Well, the adults are too big for birds of prey and too fast for most land predators to keep up. Wolves go for 'em sometimes, but nightcrawlers tend to hang around the fringes of human civilization, a little closer than wolves are comfortable getting. And of course when they're migrating en masse they can defend each other. But the little ones do have to look out for hawks and eagles and so forth. They've got this really clever life cycle, though - the eggs they lay out in the salt flats are dormant for fifteen years, kind of like cicadas? So when the grown-ups are coming back on their migration, not only do they lay their eggs in the ground but they can lead the hatchlings back to California with safety in numbers." Ivy: "Sports teams are parasites." "I know, right?" says Madeleine, in a tone that suggests she hasn't really considered this before and is agreeing on instinct because she likes Ivy.
Madeleine Cadrasteia	Ivy: "Do these things get a lot of poachers? What for? Illegal sweatpants?" White: "... What are we doing... With the poachers?" "The reason cryptid poaching can be such an issue in the multiverse is that with so many different civilizations to sell to, there's really no end to uses for monsters and monster parts. Some of their organs are used for magic rituals or potions, some of them contain rare compounds that high-tech wolds will shell out for. And of course there's the amateur cryptozoologists, too - folks who'd keep Bigfoot or whoever in their own private zoo. Blech." "As for what to do about 'em, that's really going to depend on who shows up. We're authorized to use force to repel them, but ideally that won't be our first resort. Sometimes just showing up with a badge and a warrant is enough to convince someone to go away. If they haven't actually killed or captured any of the nightcrawlers - that is, if we do our job right - they haven't committed any crimes, so the most we can do is tell 'em to leave. 'Course it's not uncommon for these folks to get belligerent - when a pretty penny's on the line some people just go crazy - and in that case we destroy their tools and weapons and send them on their way. We're not actually authorized to make arrests, since the Concord isn't really a government. But we can at least threaten to turn them over to local authorities if they don't listen to us." Calvin: "Back roads ain't so bad when there's somebody to take care of 'em. Ivy: "But you know what I like about these kinds of places...? They haven't been entirely paved over, yet." Madeleine nods, this time in sincere agreement. "Yeah, there's something really special about worlds that aren't totally 'civilized', y'know? That've still got secrets and mysteries and wild places. Some creatures need that stuff to thrive, physically or metaphysically. Pigeons might be fine with city life but nightcrawlers aren't. I'm glad you get it." --- The hours pass by as the elites make conversation, and the Central Valley gives way to the Sierra Nevada mountains. "I'm glad it's been a mild winter," Madeleine comments. "Every van's supposed to have snow chains somewhere in the trunk but I wouldn't fancy havin' to dig through all the supplies to find them. Say, Ivy, got any Red Vines in there?" In time, past the summit of the range, Madeleine takes an exit from the interstate and starts to explain the plan in further detail. "Nightcrawlers are nocturnal, of course, so they're probably snoozing in a big heap somewhere right now. We want to get ahead of them today, let them pass us overnight, then sort of leapfrog our way to Salt Lake. Thankfully we've got access to the GPS data from the local government which makes sticking close to them a lot easier. They're south of Reno right now, so once we're through the mountains we'll have a bit of desert driving to go. We're gonna try to make it as far as Eureka, since there's a whoooole lotta nothing-for-us in the middle of Nevada." "By the way, Calvin, I was wonderin'. You ever been this far west before? Wasn't sure if we were in unfamiliar territory for ya."
Shinmyoumaru Sukuna	It's been a while since Shinmyoumaru has seen Ceri, and she waves to her in greeting, not quite bounding up on her feet to do it. She's treating this a bit like a pleasure outing. (Well, maybe it is.) "I think they're not actually pants," Shinmyoumaru says, though she's guessing with more confidence than she feels: "Because pants don't migrate. I think. If they do that's just another reason for me not to wear them!" Shinmyoumaru does not see the dance. Calvin is safe. This time. Shinmyoumaru won't sit next to Ozhira, apparently - she remembers them from previous trips and is not eager to get particularly close to the oozy, bloody sludge. Especially after they've been sitting in the engine. Who does that? Why didn't they at least sit in the back seat or something?? Is squishing into the engine more comfortable? "But people like sports," Shinmyoumaru says. "I saw baseball once and I tried to get some of the other inchlings to make a team, but nobody was interested except Seija, and she won't follow the rules so it's kind of pointless to play a game with her... Anyway, it's kind of a shame if nobody ever goes! I'd go." Shinmyoumaru, thanks to Calvin being willing to trade seats, does not get lifted by White. This is probably for the best given her usual reactions to be treated like a child and the fact that she is armed. (Also, she wears her seatbelt like a good passenger, having been told about that the first time she got in a car.) But she does notice she's being looked at, and she brightens up. "Hello!" She's cheerful about meeting a new person. "I'm Shinmyoumaru Sukuna. I remember you from the radio!" She recognized White's voice, or the name from her single-word introduction, one of the two. "I didn't know you were going to come on one of these trips, though. You'll like them, I think. I mean, I do," Shinmyoumaru says, trailing off a little bit. "Anyway, they're fun! And you get to see things. This is how I first came to America, I'd never been outside Japan before. I'm from Gensokyo but I'd been to Tokyo at least." She has comments on poachers, too: "I have lots of ways to make someone go away if we want them to," Shinmyoumaru says, grinning. "Especially if we can break their things. I don't really do hunting, just fishing, but I know some people get really... intense about it. I just like fishing! And I like fish, so it's not like they're wasted. A nice big fish can feed a lot of people! I really need to get better at cooking though..." Apparently becoming the near-Breakfast Boy was enough to get her interested in a new hobby. "...Snacks! I put together a little care package for us." Shinmyoumaru's attention is immediately taken entirely by the prospect of snacks. "Ooh," she says, trying to crane around to see into the cooler. A beat as she examines the options, then: "What's a snow chain for? I do hope it doesn't snow though, I didn't bring the right kind of clothes for it..." Shinmyoumaru doesn't even usually wear shoes because she has spent most of her life indoors and also has a flying rice bowl. If nobody told her to dress for winter, and it's not cold when she leaves, she's not going to think of it.
White	White is content to acknowledge and then say nothing to Solace unless prompted, for now. It may be unsurprising that her fellow Quiet Woman is taken at face value as inoffensively good company. Calvin, following his celebratory dance of unknown cause, gets a sort of odd look from White before long. It's supposed to be a 'good for you'-implicative look, the hallmark card of congratulatory expressions, but if she smiles it's a matter of milimeters' change from her default expression of calm. It doesn't go on especially long, at least. Ivy's snacks seem to prompt a slow double-nod from White, something a more animated individual might say 'Of course, of course!' with. When she sees chocolate, she reaches over to pluck a little bag of something small and nibbleable, and draws a snack-bag of onion flavored chips from her sleeve to even the trade. It's only polite to contribute! Madeleine's answer seems acceptable to White, on how to handle any problem-causers. Sure, it'd be easier to just shoot things at them from the van, maybe, but she doesn't mind being on relative standby while others negotiate. That, and if it comes to force she doesn't expect to be in much personal danger... If anything it might be fun to just kind of manhandle someone if they get belligerent. But that's a thought for later, and she's just as happy nibbling at rodent-pace from a bag of M&Ms. She'll just take a nice wide look around periodically with her enhanced vision and go from there... Even if it looks like she's still doing nothing at all. Hmm. Maybe it'd be good not to just let that impression sit. Thinking so she quietly notes, "If we run out of something... I can go get more." Shinmyoumaru's deliberate introduction does seem to spark recognition for White though, as she actually turns her head to fully look at her rather than only glancing sidelong. Her eyes are still closed per her usual conduct though. "I remember you too. Hello." The reassurance about the fun of the trips leads to her looking away and out the window briefly, though she could already see the scenery pass by in her own way. "I didn't know either." she says back. "... I rode in a wagon last time. It... Hurt." Her choice of wording feels deliberately vague. A lady doesn't discuss their butt aloud, after all.
Angela	Ceri, who WAS told not to go to LobCorp this week, WAS told not to go to Lobcorp in the vein of 'Don't Go To School Tomorrow' and so she is actually pretty relieved to see Shinmyoumaru Sukuna. Ceri is not especially close to Shinmyoumaru but the fact that she could be lost in Lobotomy Corp while lord knows what's happening--made her feel strangely concerned for the youkai. Knowing that she's NOT there is a bit of a relief. "Hey Shinmyoumaru. Good to see you." She exhales slowly. "Feel like being away from The City this week's a good plan." Solace quirks her head suspiciously at Ceri. "Just bad vibes." Ceri murmurs to the Huntress. Neither Ceri nor Solace seem to be aware that Calvin did a silly little dance out of view from everyone. Solace is staring at Calvin when he returns. The glare is almost accusatory. "...Hey. Did you forget anything?" Oh maybe she was just curious about that. Solace always seems like she's a half step away from talking about her first kill or to desscribe in detail some war or another. And yet she never does. ''This is Ozhira.'' "Ah." Solace says, hoarsely. ''Woah, no, they're not for wearing!'' "...Good. I don't wear sweatpants. ---Poachers huh? That's disgusting. Are we killing them or just thrashing them around a bit with a warning?" Ceri crosses her arms, glancing away. Solace nods at White, unsurprisingly comfortable with quiet people as Ceri delicately takes a chocolate out from the care package and pops it into her mouth. She didn't bring any snacks herself, though Solace brought some kind of jerky with her which she's exclusively munching on throughout the trip. Ceri, being a lady, also doesn't mention her butt but it's fine right now anyway.
Ozhira	> "Sports teams are parasites. . ." Ozhira chirps, swinging their attention towards Ivy. They have nothing to say on it; clearly listening to what she has to say on it instead. Whatever matters are related to city planning seem to go beyond the creature's understanding, though. All they wind up doing is adding a cant to the way their head rests. They're about to return their eyes to the window when the cooler comes out; "Ah. We will, hydrate." Ozhira acquire for themself a soda can. There's no attempt to pop the tab. It just-- hisses in their grip, suddenly. Something clearly punctured the can, hidden by what's being used as a hand. Shinmyoumaru's active attempts to avoid being near them goes unnoticed; the creature only speaks up when the inchling brings up fishing; "We enjoy this, too. Hunting in water. It is-- different. Fun. Sometimes, fish prey has-- a little prize." Their eyes close, head swaying slowly from side to side, "Like . . . finding an onion ring. In our French fries." Truly a treasure that a creature like Ozhira would appreciate. The tension Solace and Ceri view them with is returned with an awkward, unpracticed sharp-toothed smile. Maddie already took care of that, at least. When examined by White, they show as a skull-grade threat, classified as an Ooze-type Monster. That much is clear, but the level of hazard and adaptation is-- somewhat juxtaposed by the unfocused expression on their tired-looking face. Their eyes shift a bit towards White mid-examination. A less-forced, and therefore less-awkward, little smile appears as they lift a hand to wiggle fingers in a wave. "We recognize your sound. We listen. We do not, speak much, on the device. Not recently." > "Well, the adults are too big for birds of prey and too fast for most land predators. . ." "We understand," Ozhira's attention shifts to the woman in the driver's seat, "Then, their hunter is-- poachers." Eyes closing, the beast bares their teeth in a third-- more earnest, more honest and natural smile, "Then we will hunt, the hunters."
Ivy Carrow	"Say, Ivy, got any Red Vines in there?" "Let's see...We've got Twizzlers." She held up a bag of the heretical candy and jostled it, once. Shinmyoumaru and White's interest doesn't go unnoticed either--Ivy's eyes twinkled, and she reached in, pulling out what looked like a gold coin. "Catch~" She flipped it in the air with her thumb toward them. But, if they fumbled much with it, they'd discover it was just a wrapper, around an oversized chocolate coin. "I have some M&Ms," she went on, happily. "Some Sunbursts, chips, sprite and coke and monster, you name it and I've probably got it~" There were also a few plain little sandwiches in bags, and some waters...Girl was PREPARED. "I couldn't always teleport wherever I wanted, you know?" She offered, wagging her finger. "Back then, you had to remember to take what you need, or how to make it, or you just won't have it!" "Yeah, there's something really special about worlds that aren't totally 'civilized', y'know? That've still got secrets and mysteries and wild places." "That's close!" Ivy smiled so wide it looked like it hurt. "But I don't know if 'civilized' is the word I'd use. Sometimes, there's 'civilization' that has its own heart. Its own soul, pumping and thrumming with its own blood..." "But at some point, people start to carve that out to fit a little better into the grand machinery of industry. They'll trade life for efficiency, until everything is gray asphalt, like everywhere else, and not even the people who did it want it anymore."
Calvin Nash	"Glad to meetcha," says Calvin to Ozhira, Solace and Ceri in turn. "Calvin Nash." White's look of acknowledgement is not overtly acknowledged by Calvin, who might just be oblivious to it, but might also be putting on an act that no dance happened at all. ...Hey. Did you forget anything? "Nope," says Calvin to Solace, with certainty and even a note of relief. But we can at least threaten to turn them over to local authorities if they don't listen to us. I have lots of ways to make someone go away if we want them to. "Listen," Calvin says addressing the van generally, "You get any trouble with folks actin' 'beligerrent,' you just send 'em to me." Given how he was with Hell Biker, that could either be a really good idea or a really bad one. And he'll probably invite himself as the solution to the problem, anyway. "I'll have 'em outta there like shit through a goose." By the way, Calvin, I was wonderin'. You ever been this far west before? "No, uh-uh." Calvin shakes his head. "Furthest I ever been's Nevada. Most of California's gone, back home, 'cept up north and close to the Nevada state line." He looks out the window at the range. "This looks familiar. But most of what we passed through, a few hours ago--that'd be long gone, whether it was the bombs, the wildfires after, the utility lines goin' or just mother nature." "Anyway. Sounds like a good plan," he says, giving a thumbs-up. Anyway, it's kind of a shame if nobody ever goes! I'd go. "I would, too, but only if there wasn't nothin' else. Way I heard it, the pro teams didn't have to be from whoever they were playin' for. Hell, you could have players all the way from the other side of the country if you paid 'em enough. The Atlanta Braves--Georgia team--had some fella from Florida." That 'fella' was a little-known player (read: widely known as a fantastic football cornerback and occasionally as a decent baseball outfielder) who on this particular Earth is probably living quite comfortable if he exists here. Calvin omits this, partly for the sake of making his argument and partly because he doesn't often talk about baseball to remember Sanders' name in the mental hall of mythical figures of days past he keeps in his head. "What kinda sense does that make?" "I guess it's better than not havin' no team at all, but personally, I think if you wanna call yourself an Atlanta team or an Oakland team, you oughta focus on what they got in them places," he says, punctuating the sentiment with an index tapped to his palm. "Any asshole can wave a wad of cash at somebody three, four, five states over." Calvin peers at the cooler Ivy brought. What's a snow chain for? "Tires'll slip all over the place in the snow without 'em. Treads won't grip the road through all the mushy shit," he says, motioning with his hands to demonstrate. "They'll just sorta spin in the snow instead, and that's dangerous." "Oh, hey, Coke. I always wanted to try one of them. Lemme get one of them, if you don't mind," Pssht. "And a sandwich." "Thanks, Ivy," says Calvin after a bite.
Madeleine Cadrasteia	White: "... I rode in a wagon last time. It... Hurt." Madeleine chuckles. "Not used to roughing it?" Then the smell of White's proffered snack reaches her. "Ooh, are those onion chips? Pass 'em up here after you've had a few." She takes one hand briefly off the wheel for a little grabby gesture. Ceri: "...Good. I don't wear sweatpants. ---Poachers huh? That's disgusting. Are we killing them or just thrashing them around a bit with a warning?" "Unfortunately," Madeleine says with a wry smile, "being a Concord Partner doesn't quite give me permission to kill with impunity. Not people, at least. I think Yuuki can if she wanted to though - she's the Director or somesuch." "Let's see...We've got Twizzlers." Maddie makes a face. It's a good thing Ivy can't see it. "What's in the sandwiches?"
Shinmyoumaru Sukuna	Shinmyoumaru is not picky about what snacks she gets but definitely takes a full share. For someone as small as she is, she has a pretty big appetite - and, more importantly, wants to experiment a little, so she takes ones she hasn't had before. The coin she catches out of the air and looks at slightly confused until she realizes it's chocolate. "Thank you!" she says, agreeably. "I brought some things but they're for later. I've got a box of 'pocky' someone told me about, and arare peanuts, and some daifuku..." Shinmyoumaru also does not discuss her butt (it's fine, thanks) but she does make a face at the 'wagon' comment, so maybe she got it anyway. "The last wagon I rode on was pretty friendly, but when they're not it can be bad," she agrees. Well, it was friendly to her. She looks at Ozhira, trying to figure out what prize is in a fish, and she decides it must be either another fish or a lost hook. Either way she doesn't have a good comment about it, but she can talk about fishing all day: "It used to be the only thing I really left to do... because we needed some food that didn't come from inside the Palace, and the lake wasn't very far, and I could fly there. I still do it. Maybe we'll have time for fishing before we go?" She sounds vaguely hopeful. Shinmyoumaru is definitely not at LobCorp. She is aware that something is happening in a general sense but hasn't been out that way very much - maybe her experience with Melting Love scared her off. "I wasn't going to go there this week," she agrees. "Instead we get to go out for a ride and chase down some poachers and maybe see some nightcrawlers. Not the worm kind," she adds. "The Fresno kind." Maybe she should look up what a Fresno is. Shinmyoumaru looks blank. "You mean it's not a local team? I thought that was the whole point!" She agrees with Calvin here: "It seems a little weird to have people come and play here, unless they don't have a team there. Or if they've got friends here, or something. That's different. You have to support your friends!" Finally opening up one of the Sunbursts, Shinmyoumaru chews on it thoughtfully. And chews. And chews. She's gonna be there a moment. But eventually: "Gensokyo's like that, I guess. It's civilized! There's a town and a castle - all right, more than one - and a manor and everything. But it's still pretty wild too, and it's full of weird things, because it's where all the youkai live." Which she is not, even if Ceri thinks of her as one. Inchlings aren't youkai! Probably! "You can always poke them a little," Shinmyoumaru suggests, about the poachers. "Or tie their weapons up. Or do a whole lot of other things. Get creative! It's fun!" Someone has far too much fun being a pest...
White	White slowly shakes her head at Madeleine. "I wasn't." So she got used to it, then. But still remembers it bitterly too? It sounds about right, since she came with a pillow for this trip too. The prompt about chips is taken differently than how it was delivered though; Madeleine has her own little baggie of chips dropped over her shoulder into her lap. They're small bags, so making people share would just be inhumane, and it's not like White needs to hoard her snacks with Ivy sharing too. With how she's nibbled her M&Ms so far, she probably doesn't go through them very fast on her own. As for the poacher-handling conversation, White noncomittally observes around not-even-close-to a mouthful of chocolate that "Word spreads better if you scare and release." She speaks from a place of experience and authority. She nods to Calvin too with a little "Mm." of confirmation; he has her stamp of approval for menacing the ne'er do wells. Not for any particular reason, just on vibes so far. It sounds like it would be funny to watch. Shinmyoumaru- nickname pending until White can think of something a little cuter than Shinny or Shins, maybe Shinsuke?- gets another puzzled look from White. This time she even tilted her head to make it obvious. She considers, then her eyelashes flutter slightly as if in realization. "Ah. Some are better than others." she seems to agree, though she's thinking about the spider-mounted palanquin she once rode with Ariel, and comparing it to other forms of animal-based transportation. It's close enough to a matching wavelength for now though, and when Shinmyoumaru starts musing on ways to harass people without hurting them she seems to nod along automatically. LobCorp coming up seems to distract her a little, though. She's been uninvolved with matters there despite getting along with Angela, and hasn't even officially joined Trideag as of yet, and being willfully out of the loop on something like that is uncomfortable for her. But Angela had particularly talked about having a 'normal relationship' with White... After whatever came to be had gone and left. She had to hope that it was for the best for Angela; she herself didn't know well enough to speak against it, so for now she just has to wait and see. Thinking about it leaves her looking faintly pensive and distracted while the others talk, and her head tilts down as if to look for answers inside her empty M&M baggie.
Ozhira	> "Word spreads faster if you scare and release." Ozhira lets out a thoughtful chirp-like noise at White's statement, tapping a finger to their chin in thought, "Scare...and release." After a moment, the creature nods once, "Yes. We understand. We will hunt-- to scare. Not to feed." They consider Shinmyoumaru again with a trill-like noise that's made without moving lips, "We will hunt fish. If this takes a few days. You can hunt fish, with us. We would see how you hunt. You would see, how we hunt. Yes?" The creature returns their attention out to the passing scenery with a more human-like hum, though the tune isn't any existing song.
Angela	Solace's tension actually seems to be sticking around. They don't look uneasy, exactly, but her hand is never too far from the handle on her axe and she's spending most of the ride watching Ozhira. She can do this for most of the ride, but is occassionally distracted by views and the passing conversation. The same tension doesn't seem to exist around White, probably because she's completely unaware that White is some sort of spider monster, infamously part of a demon army, but she is also completely unaware that demon armies exist. She's definitely aware of spider monsters but where she's from they don't usually look like White. So, most of her tension is Ozhira directed. Madeleine vouched for them but even with very little information to go off of, Ozhira triggers ''vibes'' in Solace. The tension doesn't leave her shoulders or her fingers. The 'vouching for Ozhira' seems to have stopped her from swinging her axe at her but she's wary. It took Rita proving she wasn't going to eat her kids to make her not wary about Rita. ''Nope.'' Solace nods to Calvin and leaves it at that. She's not exactly the best road trip company. Ceri is more vocal and more animated though she frowns skeptically at Madeleine saying she doesn't have a liscence to kill. "You sure about that?" Ceri says. "Don't figure you can just go around slaughtering everyone you meet, but poachers are vile--no, perhaps I ought to say that the circumstances that create poachers that is vile, but even so--they do a kind of harm that is not easily repaired. Murder, in a way, is a lighter crime." Solace quirks her head at Ceri again. She's learning new things about her boss. She tries eating a twizzler and hack-coughs a little as it proves tougher to chew than expected. ''Instead we get to go for a ride...'' "Mmhmm... For the best..." Ceri says, but is still visibly anxious about it. She's happy for the distraction, truly, but it isn't being a perfect distraction either. She doesn't know what she's going to go back to. Half of her expects The City to be wiped off the face of the multiverse. She notices the distraction in White but Solace notices it more. She extends a single twizzler towards White, wordlessly. Did she think that White wants more candy? No, but she has a feel for the vibe.
White	White reacts to the incoming twizzler with a mute perplexity, different in texture from the curious reaction to Shin... Shinsworth? ... Suzy. Different from how she reacted to Suzy (Her own cognitive peanut gallery is already booing her). On one hand she seems to think she's missed something to have prompted the offer of a dubious treat, but on the other hand she has principles. She crumples the paper packet from her previous snack and tucks it into her sleeve to send it away, and then takes the twizzler. Without a second thought, she raises it to place between her lips like a cigarette where she can hands-free nibble the end and slowly make it disappear. She has had much, much worse to eat, and leaving gifted food uneaten is completely outside of her moral capacity. Nibble, nibble. At least now she's slightly more distracted by trying to figure out what prompted this than she is with gloomy musing on the unknowns of fate.
Calvin Nash	Calvin's first sip of Coke is almost coughed out. "Damn, sneaks up on you," he says, which is probably the funniest thing anyone could say about one of the most ubiquitous soft drinks in the world. "Good, though." White's pensive staring into her M&Ms draws Calvin's attention. "What's the matter? One of 'em come out funny?" Murder, in a way, is a lighter crime. "Not no kinda way I ever heard of," says Calvin, between bites of his sandwich. "But I can agree I don't like the idea of somebody killin' somethin' just to make a quick buck." A few moments of chewing in silence are the prelude to his next question. "I never seen a castle before. You live close to Gensokyo? Maybe you could show me around sometime, Shinmyoumaru."
White	White glances Calvin-ward and shakes her head a little. If she's slower than normal to answer, it's not by too much at least, but he still has to wait a few moments for her to make up her mind. "... Just thinking about Miss Angela. And the other people I know helping her."
Ivy Carrow	"What's in the sandwiches?" "Oh nothing fancy," she made a casual flourish. "Some peanut butter and jelly. Some bologna. Basic stuff to keep you going! I also have granola..." "...No, perhaps I ought to say that the circumstances that create poachers that is vile, but even so--they do a kind of harm that is not easily repaired. Murder, in a way, is a lighter crime." "You know..." Ivy mused to herself. "You're not completely wrong, but..." "There was a world I visited once that had oceans of silt. And something like worms would swim through it. Was getting pretty colonized by people out in the multiverse, and they were hunting the worms, and so they wrote up a new law. 'You can't hunt these things.'" "Later, one of the ones people were tracking to monitor movements got killed. And they figured, it's a poacher. And...They weren't wrong...But..." "They get there, and there was this indigenous tribe. One of the few real natives. And once a year, they'd hunt a worm, and they'd feed themselves off it through the winter. Sure, it was poaching, but...Like...They weren't the ones hunting them to extinction. And they didn't get a say in the rules, either..."
Madeleine Cadrasteia	Ceri: "Murder, in a way, is a lighter crime." "No, yeah, I get where you're coming from," Madeleine says. "At least with murder you're like, emotionally invested. And people are better at defending themselves from people than most critters are. There's always gonna be people, but once you run outta nightcrawlers that's kinda that. I'm big on hunting, but it's gotta be sustainable, right? It's about coexisting with and participating in nature, not destroying it." Ivy: "They weren't the ones hunting them to extinction. And they didn't get a say in the rules, either..." "I guess it is more about what effect you're having than about the law. They could make it legal to hunt as many nightcrawlers as you want and I'd still do this job."
Shinmyoumaru Sukuna	Shinmyoumaru never considered fishing with Ozhira. "Maybe? It's not really hunting, though. Not like the nightcrawlers or the poachers or anything! At least, not the way I do it. I do hook fishing usually, but I know some spear fishing too!" She picks up her needle for a moment, jiggling it for emphasis. "Shining Needle Palace floats above Gensokyo," Shinmyoumaru explains. "It was made a long time ago by the inchlings, but was dragged into Gensokyo by the oni and the other youkai! But it's hard to get to; only the inchlings live there now, and some other outcasts, all forgotten by everyone else... Most people in Gensokyo don't think the inchlings matter - it makes me angry!" And, indeed, Shinmyoumaru fumes for a moment, but she lets out a puff of air. "You wouldn't fit into our places, but you could see Gensokyo, at least. Gensokyo's kind of a strange place, though... it's where the things forgotten by the Outside World live. Like youkai, and inchlings, now. I'm the Princess of the Inchlings," she adds, because she's not sure that everybody knows that - White, for instance, certainly doesn't. "There's a lot of youkai there. It's part of why I like going other places. And that way people will know you can't overlook people like me! I'm going to go everywhere in the Multiverse." A pause, just for a moment, then: "Maybe not everywhere. That will take a few lifetimes, I think... I'm not that old!" Shinmyoumaru chews on another Starburst, before she says, "Anyway, there's not a lot of humans there. You'd probably be okay. Especially if you're with me. Just don't annoy the youkai unless you want to fight them!" She cranes around to look at White again, then Ceri, as if hopeful for a Twizzler. She reaches into her oversized sleeve and pulls out a box of Pocky, opening that up to share it in exchange.
Angela	"Murder is murder, poaching is extinction." Is Ceri's attitude on the matter, glancing to Ivy and adding, "Obviously hunting because you need to eat is one thing,and it doesn't sound like these worms were even endangered! If you let rules completely define you and ignore nuance, of course you'll find an example for where the rule does not fly. But when I think of poaching, it is not simply that it is illegal--it is for profit and ecologically disasteruos." She looks towards Solace for support but Solace is focused on White and is watching White eat a twizzler. By Solace's standards, twizzlers are the most delicious item she's ever eaten but she is still unaccustomed to the salary that Trideag provides her and puts most of it away as savings for the kids. ''Just thinking about Miss Angela. And the other people I know helping her.'' The name is vaguely familiar to Solace, she feels like she has heard it before but it does not come readily to the forefront of her mind. Perhaps it is Angelica, they mean? "She told me not to go in. So whatever is happening is happening now. We'll see how successful that is soon." She sighs. "I guess she didn't want me to miss out on Trideag work." Solace nods. Trideag work is important. ''But once you run outta nightcrawlers that's kinda that.'' Ceri is happier to talk about the extinction of strange and wondrous creatures since her reasoning for caring about this is largely academic. "Mhm. I am not speaking to some legal definition, I am speaking to the effect on the environment."
Calvin Nash	... Just thinking about Miss Angela. And the other people I know helping her. "Oh." Calvin chews on White's answer, reflecting on a previous conversation with Angela. Normally, Marshal Nash, I would try to paint some little flowers and maybe a little sun around what we do, but you seem like someone who can handle such information responsibly. And at this point, what will happen will happen. I won't say it is too late to stop me, but whether I succeed or not is largely going to be based on what people do, not what information is dispensed. I appreciate it, Ms. Angela. I ain't crazy about it. But if I wanted to go in there like a bunch of damn cowboys, I woudn't be in the Paladins. There's rules. There's things you gotta consider. I heard the capital L there in Light. I wanna believe that all of that shit's happening for a reason. You bein' who you are--much as we've talked, anyhow--makes it easier for me to believe that. "Yep," says Calvin, with the kind of quietly harrowed energy of someone who's done plenty of his own staring-for-answers. "It'll be aight," he says, as much for his own benefit as White's and Ceri's. "There's good people workin' on it." And they didn't get a say in the rules, either... "Poaching's different from hunting. 'Swhy we got a different word for it," says Calvin helpfully. But he does have a thought to offer that isn't pedantic. "One worm to last a whole village through winter's a hell of a lot different than one worm to buy somethin' nice for a coupla hired hands," he says, finishing his sandwich. "But that's how it goes, a lotta places. You get people movin' to follow money, and they end up someplace where they don't know their ass from a hole in the ground," he says, gesturing dismissively with his Coke before taking another sip. "Then you get the stupid leadin' the stupid'--and it's always everybody else that ends up payin' for it, 'cause when the money dries up--" he makes a 'fwisht' sound like a brisk wind blowing across a plain (or someone quickly skedaddling) and gestures with his hand. "What ended up happenin' to them folks that didn't get a say?"
White	White softly 'mm's as Suzy talks about home, having to remind herself that just because she could maybe make a spider-clone small enough to visit on her behalf doesn't make it a good idea. At least, assuming 'Inchling' is as descriptive as it sounds, since it doesn't seem like Suzy... Okay, Shinmyoumaru. Nickname pending, again. It doesn't seem as if her current height would really warrant all this talk of not fitting anywhere; people duck under low ceilings all the time. The neighboring site full of yokai and the like does capture her imagination for a little while, but not enough to jump into the conversation and abandon other thoughts. When Shinmyoumaru starts looking around for moochable twizzlers, White probably doesn't even know what she's doing! She's already halfway finished hers anyway, and letting someone else finish it for her doesn't even cross her mind. Ceri and Calvin acknowledging what she said before mostly just prompts a small nod in return. If she's ever lacked for visible confidence, it's here, but it's still only visible by margins. It's hard to tell if she's just bottled up or has that little experience with expressing things, but she certainly doesn't seem strained to hold it in. Still, the slightly aimless "I hope so." she gives Calvin for his reassurance feels weak, albeit less aloof than her norm. She 'watches' the conversation and considers offering her own piece; she might be a Demon Army Commander, but she has rather strong opinions about scarcity, starvation and the things that lead to them normally. It takes her a while to work her way up to it, like usual though. "Eating what you kill... Should be common sense. Nothing that lived should be wasted. People could be happy anywhere... If they have enough food."
Ivy Carrow	"What ended up happenin' to them folks that didn't get a say?" "They were forced to stop." Ivy said, bloodlessly. "Couldn't get enough food to get through the winter anymore, so most of them had to get up and go. Never really knew what happened to them all." "Didn't sit right with me."