Yo! I could use a little bit of help here. Got myself a pet project. [grin] Don't suppose any of you fellas know a thing or two about growing plants would ya? I have a few in mind I'd need in greater quantity then I can get at the store.

[mulls] Come to think of it, I might need a few barrels too to get me started...

[Well, that explosion woke her up well and she just couldn't fall back asleep. However, she feels funny. Her hands and fingers feel numb and soft, a slight tingling feeling. Maybe it will wear off in a minute....]

[But, hey, a new day! Spend some time with Ciel and her Angelic Layer doll is finished! She needs to share that with Lelouch as well, and find some other things to do. She is getting better at putting her hair up by herself and getting ready, putting on her communicator and turning it on to hear any other messages from the network. Though, right when she reached to put away a cute bunny that she dressed up herself, things got freaky. White clear strings just laced out of her fingers, grabbing onto the plush doll. And the bunny moved.]

[Sorry, network, but have a screaming wake up call.]

Um, everyone! Something really strange happened to me this morning! Look!

[She put the camera onto the rabbit, moving one hand up and the other down, going into some pattern. The bunny is walking and twirling around. But, hey, she is staring to smile a little.]

Ah...This might not be bad at all!

[It's late. The crowds that gathered for the Celestial Nights have dispersed, leaving only a few inmates out and about, while most are tucked away in their beds. Pride is one of the few, wandering the alleys, looking, listening, smelling for something.

Annoyance at Gluttony's hunger pangs have left him searching for a meal once again. Something to take the pain away even for a short while. Something more delectable than the dead meat in the kitchens or those lizards that roamed the streets a week ago. Something alive. Something human, or close.

The artificial light of the moon and streetlamps makes casting a shadow no problem at all.

He sniffs the air, searching for easy prey. Someone who smells alone. Someone who could disappear without a trace, without a companion to problematize things.]

Good afternoon, everyone! I think almost everyone knows what their school schedules will be now, so if you're still interested in joining the student council, please tell me your name and what times would be best for you to have meetings. I want to make sure everyone who wants to join can.

I don't think we need a faculty sponsor, but if anyone would like to, I'm sure no one would mind! [Why yes, she means you. You know who you are.]

( Lost in troubling thoughts )

[You'll find Saix sitting in an out of the way corner of the library, reading intently and taking notes.]


(((OOC: Special invitation to anyone from the FMA-verse, since the majority of the books in Saix's pile have to do with alchemy and the philosopher's stone. :D)))

[One of the newcomers is a great deal smaller than the rest, and has a tiny ball and chain to match. He's annoyed by all the twolegs around him, and the lack of a way out. He can move about, but the chain drags, and slows him down a bit. He tries to search for any way out, but he has his doubts that he will find one. There is water above, not sky, and that unsettles him even more. Sometimes a twoleg gets too close, and he responds with a slash, hoping to keep them at a distance.]

Stupid twolegs! Why should I be bound by your rules? I have nothing to do with twolegs, and I want nothing to do with them. My ways are not your ways.

While I highly doubt the authority of this 'Acumen' is higher than that of the Vatican's and thus deserves an appropriate discipline, I'm willing to excuse this kidnapping as a mere mistake on the warden's part. [ Light cough. Now that's cleared up-]

Excuse me. I would like to inquire the whereabouts of one Allen Walker, Kanda Yuu, Madarao, Tokusa, and Tevak. Further assistance, however appreciated, is unnecessary.

Thank you.

Is there anything to do around here that doesn't involve the school or inane, childish games?

[A hungry Morgana has followed her nose to the pizza shop in Sector 5. They don't have pizza in Camelot or anything even remotely similar, so all she can do is stare as one of the bots brings her a cheese pizza.]

[Let's see: she's being served strange food by a strange creature in a strange place. That's a few too many stranges for her to not question the wisdom of digging in...but Morgana didn't eat lunch so her stomach is starting to lose its ability to care. There's still one problem, though: how are you supposed to eat this stuff, anyway?]

Not again...

Uhm... Hello...? There's got to be some mistake... Is it possible to get a hold of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning...? Or someone from it, at least...? I haven't done anything wrong...

[The face looks very familiar to another resident here, only older and with longer hair tied back into a ponytail but the color of it and his eyes are the same. He's also sitting in a wheelchair.]

[Even with all the strangeness going on today... class must go on. That's what Fletcher and Alphonse decide, anyway. They set up in the educational facility, and by 10AM they're ready to start.]

[The class begins with a warning that none of the students will be transmuting anything for at least a year... maybe a few months if they're quick learners, and from there consists mostly of a lecture on the basics of alchemy with overhead slides depicting sample transmutation circles and the most common symbols that go inside them; both boys also give a demonstration of their alchemy for the class. A good demonstration of what they talk about can be found in this section, though the manga-only stuff, anything about the gate, and so forth will not be coming up.

It should be noted, though, that Fletcher is distracted for a lot of the lecture, as though he's listening to something else... Namely, all the confused new arrivals.]


((Tag into the appropriate threads inside the post! ALSO, please keep in mind that while Al and Fletcher said "at least a year", no one from outside the FMA universes is actually going to be able to learn to transmute anything. Ever. :Db HAVE FUN))

[ some fumbling and the view of the dome's fake sky, then the video twirls around until it lands on a girl with black, long hair and bright red eyes. ] Lucifer of Pride, present. Who has summoned me here, and not yet my sisters? Is it Lady Beatrice this time, or perhaps Ange?

(( lucifer from umineko! yes, she is furniture of Beatrice. ))

[The food at the shelter had been getting a little bit boring - and it felt a bit confined after having the whole city of Tokyo to wander. So after a quick glance at the map, the Pizza Shop in Sector five it was. He'd try the Ramen Shop another day. It had been a while since he ate at a restaurant anyways.]

[Needless to say, the dome was a bit... different looking when Fuuma exited than when he entered. The fog, the ... was it really ash falling? Not to mention the annoying hole in the road that made him go the long way back. He probably could have jumped over it, or just teleported, but now he was curious as to what was going on. So walking it was. That was of course when a pack of raptors came charging at him through the mist, with one lunging straight for him. It was surprising, but all it took was putting a hand out in front of him to send it flying back with telepathy, bowling over the other raptors as it went. The angry, shrill noises of the lizards getting back to their feet can probably be heard in the background when he speaks.]

Do monsters commonly attack people here? It wasn't mentioned in the welcome pamphlet.

[He doesn't sound irritated, or worried at all. More amused, in fact. Fuuma finally had a good excuse to see how much of his power he'd gotten back. If anyone else in the sector wanted an easy way back to the shelter, or elsewhere, the raptor being sent flying into a wall and splattering upon impact is a clue who might be able to help.]

Um... hello? What is this place and why did this... Ak-yoo-men person bring me here? And why do I have this ball attached to my ankle? It's heavy...

I want to go home. I miss my mommy and daddy...

Isn' t this just lovely... I'm starting to wonder if anyone learns anything around here. How many times has our warden, past and present, been tampered with now? Perhaps those creators had best work on one that won't get tweaked by one of those that are meant to be kept in check.

Seems like Acumen isn't actually better than Sentience at all. Ironically enough I find myself missing the days were it actually was Sentience in charge. Silly me.~

Should any of you actually feel the need to procreate, please do so far from me. I think I'll be holing myself up at home or at the arcade. Haven't decided which, but I would appreciate it all the same. Thank you!

[This actually means that yes, Joshua will be sneaking to the arcade despite the night time going around and sleeping on a pool table. Because he can and he likes being an inconvenience from time to time. Feel free to catch him on the way there or finding him inside. He'll leave to find something to eat eventually, but for now he's not in the best of moods.

Then after a minute:]

Does this mean school's canceled for today?

[He's starving.

They're getting old, the hunger pangs that Pride has inherited from his little brother Gluttony. No matter what he's tried to eat in the last couple days, it hasn't been anywhere near satisfying. His attention has been suffering as a result of not eating enough

He's already having to restrain himself from eating those humans he's passed by today as it is. He couldn't risk it yet. Those who had friends would surely note their disappearance. He needs to learn more, see who he could use and who could disappear with no concern.

But first, something must be done about this hunger.

The shelter kitchen stands silent at the moment. His container standing watch for anyone coming in for an afternoon snack or tea, his shadow goes to work. Thin tendril-like hands wrap around the handles of pantry doors and refrigerators as large ravenous mouths sprout from the shadows, ready to devour all he needs.

Raw steaks...ham...turkey...tuna...flour...oats...butter...milk...ice cream...tea leaves...pineapple juice...soda...coffee beans...cabbage...squash...onions...crackers...cans of soup...kosher salt...black pepper...chili sauce...mayonnaise...soy sauce...miso paste...olive oil...

His shadowy mouths gorge on the food and drink, crushing the packaging and food alike between his teeth before swallowing. Each fridge and pantry quickly depletes, leaving behind empty shelves and drawers.

All that food is gone now, with one fridge alone untouched. Shadowy hands open it, revealing plastic bags of blood lined up on the shelves. Those, too, find their way into his beak-like mouth.

It's somewhat satisfying, the taste of humans. Not quite the same as full human, flesh and soul included, but it helps a bit.

It's all gone now. Nothing left to eat but cookware, pots, pans, the refrigerators themselves, ovens, toasters, and so on. Not the sort of meal he really feels like eating. His monstrous shadow body shrinks down until it looks simply like that cast by a little boy.

Pride still hungers, but it's subsided a little. He can deal with it for now.]


[The boy slips out of the kitchen into the cafeteria. Now off to the education center. He has a lot to learn about these other worlds free for the taking, now that he's not so distracted...]

((OOC: Little note over here on the OOC community with some info.

Feel free to run into Pride anywhere from the cafeteria to the education center.))

[The communicator turns on with a face full of black cat and Al laughs, pulling Tama away.] Tama, don't eat the communicator! [He smiles, picking his kitty up and rubbing noses with her.

It's been a week since Al has looked like this. Eyes bright, a big smile on his face. He looks happy. More like the old Al, before Ed vanished and the issue with Envy started.

He smiles at the video.] Thank you for taking care of Tama for me, Fletcher!

[Tama meows and bats a paw at his nose playfully.

Al laughs and hugs her close.] I missed you too! Come on, let's play some more. [He picks up the small golfball-sized toy he has by his side and rolls it along the ground, watching the kitten go tearing off after it.]

[It's time.]

[Fou-Lu, in hybrid form, circles through Sector 6, only low enough to be seen in silhouette from the ground, yet not too far from those waiting for the confrontation to begin. Avoiding looking in anyone's direction, he tries a few aerial tricks as a distraction while he mentally prepares himself for the fight. They're half-hearted and sloppy maneuvers, for while he has no fears or reservations about what he is going to do, the repercussions may not be so easily endured.]

[Out of nowhere, as is his nature, Xellos appears a few dozen yards in front of where Fou-Lu is dancing around. His amusement is clear, the only other emotion evident is a very clear challenge.]

Well, well. I see you're looking for me, Sir Fou-Lu. [He bows, tossing his cape, and then glances up, his normally closed eyes opening to reveal inhuman, cat-like pupils.] I am, of course, at your service.

***

((OOC: The first thread will be a CLOSED thread with Xellos, Fou-Lu, Minako, Ryu, Joshua, Ammy, and Zelda. Please note that all property damage will be caused by only Xellos unless specifically stated otherwise. Will contain violence, obv.

Bystander thread is HERE, and is OPEN, treated as an event post (ie, threadjacks aplenty!). Read the first comment of the thread for details as to what your character will see, what sort of rubble and spells they will dodge, etc.))

[Good morning Marina! Have a smiley Xellos!]

What a lovely day, isn't it? I just had to bring my new friends out to play~ [he leans close and wags a finger, winking] Be sure to let them know how much you enjoy their performance! They're terribly shy.

( Slightly squickable content, perhaps. )

Bravo, bravo! That calls for an encore, I think...

((OOC: The lines are from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Thanks to Pip for helping me find them!))

Good morning inmates. It is the 69th day of the third generation.

This system notes that many inmates show somewhat decreased lifesigns, and urges them to proceed to the hospital to tend to the injuries taken during the late-night festivities and fireworks. It seems it was a mistake to include the traditional beverages yesterday. Please exercise more caution when traveling at night, in the future.

To alert those who expressed interest, and those unaware, an address system will be set in place today by remote units, so the initial stages of the postal system requested by inmate Peregrine Mendicant is now underway. Barring any interference with this process, it will not be long before mail will be able to circulate the facility.