2017-11-08: What to Do About Althena

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===============================<* Dazil City *>===============================

Located a few miles from the southern edge of the Great Aveh Desert, Dazil serves as the staging point for expeditions and travels deeper into the heart of the continent. Wells dug deep intot he earth with the assistance of the Ethos still produce water, and so the small city remains viable despite the ongoing desertification.

With its proximity to the excavation sites dotting the Great AVeh Desert, Dazil attracts a great deal of attention from Etones, Drifters, and anyone else interested in uncovering ARMs. Aveh's military keeps a close eye on the goings-on in Dazil, and stands ready to confiscate ancient weapons or Gears uncovered by fortune-seekers...although with the battle lines ever shifting, those forces are occasionally called away for a few precious hours.


<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
THE TOWN OF DAZIL has been visited by about eight people from out of town who came in in a group. No wagon; they were carrying large packs, instead. Renting a single room, the town sprouted a range of handbills displaying a large crescent moon and a big block print message:

WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALTHENA?

Along with a time and "TOWN SQUARE."

In smaller text: "refreshments provided"

NOW:

The refreshments are being given out from a clapboard stall by several grizzled looking veteran types who are none the less all smiles. It's mostly the surplus from the World Sutlers office, but somehow these guys seem to have lots of ice, so there's plenty of chilled delights and cold beverages.

There is also a dais. It has been hastily painted a sort of indifferent cheap purple and decorated with a big white crescent moon. It isn't immediately clear what's going to happen, although the dais and its relevant pulpit or similar fixture IS strangely near a free-standing cluster of curtains.

The air is tense with the joy of FREE BEVERAGES. 

<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.

        Virginia's had a bit of a frustrating last few weeks, as she starts to realise that being entrenched with Malevolence isn't actually all fun and games; largely, Uncle Tesla and Aunt Sheila had started to exhibit symptoms from what she can only guess is their exposure to her -- and that sucks.

        Maya's not been around either, and that mega-sucks!

        And now it's hot and she's dripping with sweat and that giga-sucks!!

        "Ughhhh if I have to stand out in this heat for one more moment I'll--oooh--"

        Virginia is immediately in front of the refreshment table, chug-glugging down a cool cup of iced water. "Fuaah! That really hits the spot!"

        A pause.

        "Weh? What's all this about, then?" 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Some people from out of town have also flocked to hear what to do about Althena.

One of them is tall, blonde, buff and currently is nursing a drink. Discreetly, Talise turns away from the refreshment stand and looks down into the cup, taking a little sip.

She narrows her eyes, then steps to one side and dumps most of the ice water into a street plant. Fishing a flask out of her jacket, she pours some of the contents into the cup. It's a clear beverage too so it's hard to tell at a glance that it's vodka.

A little sip is all it takes to warm her heart just a touch. Smiling a bit more easily, the tall swordswoman begins to wander in the direction of the dais, eyes searching it as though in search of who the speaker is.

Bounty on her head in Aveh or not, Talise hasn't really gone out of her way to hide who she is - though she's dyed her hair since she broke Fei out of the jail all those months ago. She's recognizable but not overly so. She still stands a head over most of the women in the crowd - and, to be honest, quite a few of the men. 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Suddenly Asteroid the Kid is standing behind Virginia Maxwell oh shit how long was she there. She is wearing her cloak that covers up most of her head, leaving only the yellow eyes visible even though most people know what her head looks like now in the PLAYER CHARACTER community. She doesn't seem to mind the heat because even before becoming a drifter she lived near a desert hellscape.

She takes a sip of her ALTHENA COLA and says to Ginny, "Hi Ginny."

She takes another overly long sip. She's actually curious about Althena because she's an alien space god. 

<Pose Tracker> Katyna Reidal has posed.

Katyna has been on Filgaia for some time now - months, at least - but she has never been to its moon. She didn't even know people lived on it until recently, and she certainly hadn't been able to find anything she could identify as a colony with a telescope (though she wasn't sure whether that was due to the quality of the telescope or not).

But from everything she'd heard from people from there, it was green there, and she certainly didn't see any green. And on top of that they had their own culture, with their own omnipresent deity. Here is the complete list of things Katyna knows about Althena:

- Is female
- Priesthood very well-established, possibly global
- Is in conflict with Filgaian religions, apparently?

And so when a handbill like that showed up, she decided to take a looksee. No matter who was involved, she might learn something about the planet she was stuck on for the moment.

Katyna is easy to spot, and has gone to no pains to hide herself or the fact that she is possibly some weird beastman. She is not wearing her coat either, sticking to a tight-fitting sleeveless outfit of unknown provenance and material (read: underlayer of a space piloting suit) and a pair of denim work pants (Filgaian local), as well as a roughly tailored bag that might be identified as a duffle bag in other places and times.

She took water, though she traced a line of it across her forehead with a finger and then drank the rest of it. She doesn't mind the heat, but Filgaia is so dry that it's unpleasant. 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

'What to do about Althena', huh?

What to do indeed...

A certain Captain Manydays couldn't help but be curious, so she'd found her way to Dazil to hear what all the hubbub was about. What could she say, she was a naturally curious person!

Her pirate-y coat and hat are still being cleaned after a certain incident, so she's still dressed in a rather casual manner, which has the added bonus of making her less recognizable as the pirate she definitely is.

She eyes the refreshment stand for a moment, then shrugs and reaches for a drink from her coat...

...Which isn't actually here, which means her hand comes away empty. Layna just shrugs in response, her eyes scanning the crowd until she lands on a familiar face.

"Shoulda known you'd be here too..." Layna whispers with a friendly grin, walking up behind Talise. "Let's see what they have to say, aye?"

With that, she turns her attention to the dais, her curiosity piqued. 

<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
"Oh, the commander's gonna answer all your questions shortly," says Water Hound #1, beaming at Virginia. Meanwhile, Talise waters a plant before immediately SINNING, but on the up side, the sweet, sweet taste of booze. Water gets passed out in general, and Water Hound #2 informs people that they'll have some finger food out...

"After the talk."

The talk?

At least it's getting near sunset. Very dramatic. There is, somewhere, a tap-tap-tap on some drums - it's not immediately clear from where, but probably from behind those curtains.

Then - suddenly! There's someone at that pulpit. Hair brushed sleek black and pinned back, wearing a flatteringly embroidered silk robe, smiling with the benignity of the ages. Margaret sets either hand on the side of the lectern and leans forwards slightly.

"My friends," she begins, voice warm and caring. "Thank you all for gathering here. I suppose everyone saw the flyers, right?!" She beams.

This is a good plan, she thinks. I have good ideas. 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Turning a little to try and conceal her acts of sin, Talise offers her flask up to Layna. Her eyes find her fellow pirate's; she gives her a meaningful look, as if to indicate they might both need this by the time the night is out.

At least, if 'The Talk' is what she assumes it's going to be.

All of a sudden, someone is at the pulpit. It's someone Talise recognizes in a peripheral way - wasn't she in a tavern with her once?, she reminds herself - but hasn't had much to do with otherwise. But then, Talise doesn't spend much time socializing with Althena's Guard.

Her eyes narrow a little, and she leans over to Layna to give her a light nudge with her elbow. "I really hope it's not going to be the Guard trying to convert a town," she mutters. Not that people believing in Althena is necessarily a bad thing... but--

She takes a sip of her drink, then begins to move forward, closer to the pulpit and the dark-haired woman currently prepping to bully people from it. For now, she's just listening. 

<Pose Tracker> Katyna Reidal has posed.

There are actually a few people here Kat recognizes. Asteroid, though she actually passes over her the first time because her head is mostly out of sight (it takes a second glance to identify her). Katyna stays out of her way, either because she doesn't want to deal with awkward questions or simply because she looks busy.

But Talise, Katyna has also seen, in digs. She arrives near Talise (and Layna), shifting the shoulder strap of her bag. "I thought you already knew about Althena," she says, vaguely remembering one of the things Talise said in passing, "so are you part of the presentation? I have to admit, this isn't the way I normally get my religious news."

Katyna does not recognize the woman at the pulpit when she arrives, but she looks up at her. Hmm, she thinks. Katyna does not raise her voice to call back, but hey... she's listening, presumably. 

<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.

        Virginia rubs at her forehead and--

        --stares at Asteroid, and without even missing a single beat, she exclaims with cheer, "Oh, Astie, my bestest friend!" She goes and gives her a hug, letting out a sigh. "Uuugh, not to channel my inner Lemina, but things have been mega-mega-mega-lame."

        You just did, Virginia!

        "How've you been? I've--"

        She stares at Margaret as she rocks up. "Um-- I have no idea! I missed it!" 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Oh, definitely. Layna nods in response. She was glad someone had the foresight to bring the booze, at least.

"I sure as hell did..." Layna mutters, in response to the question of the flyers, then glances toward Talise.

"We'll see. Might just be some well-meaning soul, but...odds o' that seem low, aye?" Layna replies. It isn't long before someone approaches them. She gives Katyna a nod, then looks back up to the pulpit.

"I'm certainly not." She replies. She'll let Talise handle any of the more formal explanations, if she's up to it. 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

"Huh?" Asteroid says about the flyers though this might be just because she's mimicking Virginia. You can't be sure!

Asteroid returns the hug of Ginny's, patting her on the back. "Aww, I'm sorry, Ginny. You deserve things that are mega mega mega GIGA awesome." She is okay with channeling one's inner Lemina in part because she kind of unconciously does the mega thing now too sometimes.

"And it's catchy, so you can mega all you want. She doesn't have a copywrite. Also this is I think the Guard's talk so we probably shouldn't talk about how great Lemina is, even though she's pretty cool."

She pauses for a moment and then adds, "I've uh, I'm doing...better? I nearly killed Claude because I thought he was a certain kind of alien but it turned out he wasn't...? So I feel a little bad about that."

Pause. "...A mega little bad." 

<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
Margaret laughs warmly at Virginia's words. "Well, we've all missed something here and there, haven't we? And I know that the idea of Althena's kind of weird and strange, especially when you're used to things being hidden... concealed. Placed in a high place you can't reach..."

Margaret clasps her hands before her, for no good reason at all.

Her eyes turn towards...

The knot of people who are chatting. Her eyes pass Talise without recognition as she clears her throat and calls to them, smiling wide enough to show all that pretty elf tooth material, "Excuse me - yoo hoo! I'm going to be giving a talk, here, so if I could just have your ATTENTION. Thank You, In Advance~?"

She's smiling but it's somehow infinitely less friendly.

The guys who were giving out iced drinks start sweating.

"Now then. ALTHENA. All of you have heard the name, but what's the truth behind that name?" Margaret continues. "The truth is much simpler than you would expect. But I'll ask you all first - what DO you think of, when you hear that name?" 

<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.

        Virginia pouts towards Asteroid and flails gently, going, "B-baww, you're such a nice friend, Astie...!" She hugs her again, a little bit tighter. "Yeah, it's just been rough. I think I have to stay away from Boot Hill for a bit."

        She sulks further, and looks towards Asteroid. "U-uh, who's Claude?" A pause. "Wait, is it that guy from the tournament? Eh, he probably eats bricks for lunch or something, it'll-- probably be okay?"

        She pats her on the head a few times. "I'll hang with you so we can both feel better!"

        She glances back towards Margaret. "Isn't that the goddess that has the Guard and stuff?" She thinks a little bit on the last time she was with the Fiends. "Doesn't like drinking and dancing and singing?" 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"Both of us do, yeah," Talise admits as she shifts to bring Katyna in on the secret a little; she's keeping her voice low enough so as not to carry past Katyna and Layna. "Althena's Guard enforces some pretty insane rules, though. Things like banning music and dancing. I want to see if that's what they're trying to do - if they're trying to convert people here."

There's a hint of an edge to her tone. Drink in her cup or not, there's a cold sobriety behind her eyes as she looks up towards the pulpit again. She breathes in through her nose, then out, mentally centring herself.

For a moment, Margaret's eyes flit over her; Talise tilts her head, reasonably confident the woman won't remember her. It was a pretty passing encounter, after all.

Margaret begins to give her sermon, and Talise takes a slow sip of her drink, listening in. Her eyebrows come up.

"Music!" she calls out. "Singing!" 

<Pose Tracker> Katyna Reidal has posed.

"Huh. Well, you never know," Katyna says in response to both Layna and Talise's brief expanation, and leaves it at that.

This is because Margaret is talking again. When she is, Katyna's attention is right on her. Katyna has a rather intense gaze, accompanied by the fact that (when she wants to make a point) she doesn't blink very often; normally she goes at about human-normal but she looks at Margaret for an uncomfortable length of time without doing so.

And then she smiles, because mostly she just wanted to look like she's showing interest. Which she is. This promises to be educational in one way or another. 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Even if she can't hear what they're saying, it looks like the woman up front can at least see that they're talking. That cold smile of hers makes Layna grin, though she keeps it to herself.

She was an interesting one, this speaker.

And she asks what the first thing they thought of when they heard 'Althena'? Layna just grins and glances toward Talise and decides to follow suit.

"Alcohol!" Layna follows up, folding her arms in front of her. 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

"Uh." Asteroid gets confused. "Wait, does she hate singing or like singing?"

She rubs at her head in confusion. What does she think of first when she thinks of Althena? She says, "Alien space immigration." to Margaret.

She then looks back to Virginia and smiles at her. She seems to be a little 'down' over it still and since it has been some time ago, it must still be affecting her. "Oh he's not actually that bad of a guy. He got me a cake even though I tried to hit him with a meteor?" Pause. "With Rigdobrite?" Pause. "He calls Rigdobrite Rigdobro. And then he punched Rigdobro until he went away and that was kind of amazing to be honest."

She's bepatted on the head.

"Heeh...it's a deal." She tells Virginia though she's already feeling a little better. 

<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
"It's not that," Margaret says, to Ginny, before Talise calls out about music! Singing! Other people call for ALCOHOL.

Margaret's smile turns into a grimace. Her head tilts forwards. Her eyes come a-glower and a sudden cloud seems to pass over the dimming sky.

The water hounds take a step back and give the visitors an apologetic look. ("Shoot, we forgot to put out a tip jar." "Damn.")

Her brow furrows...

And now she DOES bellow.

"Listen up, you worthless sandworms!" Margaret shouts. "You're being tricked and deceived!" She gives the podium in front of her enough of a kick that it flies up in the air, far enough to not be immediately visible as Margaret's hands come up.

"Do you think the living goddess wants you to stop drinking or dancing because she hates fun!? Are your little sand-clotted brains so pathetically shrivelled up by the fear and loathing being radiated out of that trash-for-brains in Bledavik that you can't think for yourself!? Think, idiots! THINK!" She taps her temple even as she lets her eyes scan across the crowd, gleaming now.

She leans forwards, still above everyone but nearer to them. "Doesn't it seem... WEIRD, that a living, real, vibrant, breathing Goddess who brought salvation and protection to the ENTIRE WORLD OF LUNAR... would do something like BAN that? Hmmm, perhaps, you might think, was there a reason? Gee, maybe there'd have to be a very GOOD reason for something like that!"

Margaret stomps the dais. (it makes an impressive thoomp. They paid for that.) "And that REASON... is that UNFORTUNATELY, in this SINFUL era, which I am sure each and every ONE of you can attest to... things are so WRETCHED, so CORRUPT, that even some harmless naughty fun like that is enough to let THE DESTROYER ITSELF through the VEIL OF THE COSMOS!"

"Has Shakhan ever told you about THE DESTROYER??" Margaret says, raising up one hand as if to milk an invisible giant cow. 

<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.

        "Has Shakhan ever told you about THE DESTROYER??"

        VIRGINIA'S HEAD

        A single Virginia races to the proverbial delta of Virginia's mouth as she exclaims, "I know, I know! I MET HER!!!"

        Three other Virginias pile on her from opposing angles to go, "Are you an idiot??? Don't tell her that!"

        Virginia are getting into a scuffle, please wait warmly...

        REALITY

        "... uh-- is that, uh, the red guy in the Gear who blew up a village? The Demon of Elru or something?" A pause. "Ooh, no, wait, it's the guy in the Gear who showed up at Lacour, isn't it??" 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid listens intently. She looks over to Katyna and then does a double take. THE ALIEN!!!!! she doesn't approach now, though. She looks back to Margaret and takes a long sip from her cup.

And because the last time she really interacted with Margaret was her giving her one hell of an evil eye, she doesn't make, shall we say, the most diplomatic of decisions.

"You're not really good at preaching, are you?" Asteroid says. "Can I give it a try? I bet I can do a better job." She starts approaching Margaret, fully intent on preaching about Althena too.

She is completely uneducated about Althena but that's not neccessarily going to stop her. 

<Pose Tracker> Katyna Reidal has posed.

Katyna Reidal has already spotted one bit of conflict in what Margaret is saying, though she's sure Margaret has an explanation if she cares to ask for it.

She does not. It's not a matter to bring up now because she was not expecting the raw religious fury - wait, no, it's called fervour when it's religious, isn't it? Either way: Katyna has never really experienced the old-time religion (Filgaian, Lunarian, or Halloran). She's not a believer and she generally stays out of the various churches' attention, and nobody from Granas or Nisan has ever tried to convert her. Not even Rosaline, who she took a job from. The Althenan contingent worries her because of their army and, apparently, battleship, not because of their beliefs.

This is a little louder. She's never seen anyone be so... direct and aggressive about it.

Katyna takes a half step back and her hand moves to the bag. She doesn't open it, though, and her hand rests flat against it after a moment, relaxed; whatever she was going to pull out of it, she decided not to. Still, her eyes are slightly narrowed now, and she seems suspicious. Maybe it's being called a worthless sandworm that did it.

Maybe she shouldn't've come, Kat thinks to herself. Stay out of the god business from now on. It's not her style. 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

On the plus side, they've thrown Margaret off of 'nice' and into 'hellfire and brimstone' from the get-go. Talise should be more satisfied with that than she is.

Mostly because she doesn't trust villagers not to be a little terrified by all of this, to tell the truth. She watches Margaret react, briefly passing her tongue across her lower lip before lifting her cup for a slow sip of her liquor. Pale green eyes narrow as she listens to the Guardswoman hurl rhetorical thunder down from the pulpit, invoking the name of the Destroyer.

Talise lowers her eyelids a shade and thinks back to a chance encounter outside of town. Herself, Lynnai, and a girl with blue hair and a big red robe who seemed much less impressively malicious than her reputation conveyed.

Setting her drink down, Talise reaches back and pulls her lute out from over her shoulder. She raises it and calls out, "Music isn't corruption at all! Althena's always been a goddess of song! Stop trying to scare people into believing in your weird deprivation cult!" 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

That was a sudden transformation. Layna can't help but smirk at the sight of it, though she can't help but wonder what the townspeople think of all this. She glances around for a moment before looking toward Talise.

"Hear hear!" Layna says with a grin and a nod, then looks toward Margaret.

"Aye, I'm sure she had her reasons. But in the end, banning drinking, dancing, and song didn't stop the Destroyer from appearing, aye? Course, that happened after the ban went into place, so I'm not sure how much good it did in the first place..." Layna comments with a shrug. 

<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
"The destroyer has many forms and many allies," Margaret tells Virginia, gazing upon her with her full intense radiance of attention. "I don't know either of those two people but it could well be. The destroyer DOES have a form that WALKS AMONG YOU, but it's a clever being - beyond time and dimension, the destroyer lurks within the imperfections in the souls of the living, a terrifying tiger-force - when you cry out in fear in your nightmares, it is the Destroyer that you saw!"

"You! Stay away from the stage," Margaret says to Asteroid. "If you wanted to make smart remarks, you should've stayed home! Smart remarks are another way the destroyer gets its hooks in you!"

"Turning good against good... using even natural and wholesome things to sow dissidence and discord, opening gaps in the ranks of the living and the harmony of civilization that can be turned to war, pestilence, excessive local property taxes... - Kiss my entire ass!" Margaret shouts at Talise. (Holy!)

"HMMM YES let's just second guess the LITERAL LIVING GODDESS," Margaret glowers at Layna. "Have you ever - SEEN - the actual Goddess? Because I have! I clapped eyes on her myself - she's real! This isn't some abstract philosophy like those nuns up in Nisan, you know. We're talking about REAL, LIVE people. And for YOUR INFORMATION," this totally at Leyna and Talise, "the destroyer's current incarnation appears as a woman of marriagable age, and even the Goddess, in her purity of intention, cannot countenance the RANK DECEPTIONS AND CORRUPTIONS which the destroyer will stoop to! To which, excuse me, the destroyer will stoop!"

"And if you're so ARROGANT as to think you know better - well come up the stage, missy!" Margaret says at Layna, waving sarcastically. "Come up here and save the poor people of this withering planet! Because that's how you can tell the destroyer's been running all around you, brave people. I can tell this beautiful star has a ton of potential, but it's getting squirted away like leftover beer going through Lemina Ausa's mother's kidneys -- and for the same reason!"

Margaret clarifies a moment later: "Because the ruling elites want to draw a blind eye to things. This world's so corrupt that EVEN THE DEMONS ARE FOUNDING ORPHANAGES!"

There is nothing actually stopping Asteroid, or anyone really, from rushing the stage. 

<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.

        Virginia sighs and rubs at her cheeks for a moment, before thinking back on her nightmares for a moment.

        The thought of Maya being hurt, being consumed by Malevolence. Of Uncle Tesla, and Aunt Sheila, and even dad... ... mysteriously, Armengard is cackling in the background, unaffected by these abhorrent unholy flames.

        "What's the Guard doing about Malevolence?"

        She pauses, and genuinely has to ask that, despite the fact that she minorly radiates it. She does kind of try to ease Asteroid back if she relents, but she's not so eager as to grab her and yank her back.

        "I mean, if we're talking sin, then you gotta talk about that, right??"

        She puts her hands to her waist and squints. "The Shepherd can purify Malevolence. The Guardians can too, right?"

        She still remembers the feeling of Lucadia washing over her, trying to remove the taint from out of her. It sucked.

        "I mean, if these other folks are out there able to scrub it up, why can't the Guard do anything about it?" 

<Pose Tracker> Katyna Reidal has posed.

Katyna Reidal still seems tense. Part of her wants to ask a question, but the smarter part of her doesn't really want the attention from the religious lady and, presumably, her enforcers. (Katyna is pretty good at picking out enforcers, even if they are being nice about handing out water.) She still has her hand resting on her bag, with her thumb kind of hooked in so she can open it in a hurry if she needs to.

She'll have to get her information from someone else. Someone more likely to actually answer her, someone who isn't halfway through a rage and someone who cannot presumably point the guards at her for heresy or simply because they decided they wanted the Blue Beastwoman's bounty. All Kat can do now is listen because she's sure as hell not going to be able to steer this conversation.

Though someone else has, and it's another thing Kat doesn't know much about. Malevolence. Why can't Filgaia have been a simple planet? she thinks to herself, though to be fair it probably wouldn't interest her nearly as well if it was one. 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"So if the Goddess can't handle the corruptions of a sixteen-year-old girl, how's she supposed to protect anyone here, huh?!" Talise shouts back up towards the stage. "How's she supposed to save the world by banning singing and drinking? That's not going to do anything except make your lives miserable!"

It pains her to make that case, at some level. Second-guessing Althena is a tough call - but in all the lore she grew up with, with all the songs of Dragonmasters past lingering in her memory, there's nothing that resembles the Althena Margaret's talking about.

She covers her internal Althenological struggle through a simple expedient: She clicks her tongue and points up towards the stage. "Besides, I bet it's not even that nice an ass!" she calls.

Resonance or not, Talise isn't paying enough attention to see any hint of Malevolence radiating from around Ginny; must be some trick of the light, she decides. She nods slowly as the girl asks that question. "The Shepherd's not even a member of the Guard," she calls out again, throwing a touch of incredulity into her tone. "They're just a bunch of thugs!" 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

ASteroid starts approaching the stage but is eased back by Virginia before she can really get up there. She says, "This sounds a lot like Granas. They hate 'smartness' too." to Virginia quietly. This works for a while, allowing Margaret to get through her lecture everybody further though she kind of starts zoning it out after a while. She listens in this kind of vague way until she hears about orphanages.

She blinks twice. She rewinds the speech a bit and realizes that Margaret is talking about Riesenlied's orphanage. Asteroid has BEEN to that orphanage and she has a soccer team there. She rapidly takes more offense.

"Okay," She says. "I'm really sorry, Ginny."

She approaches the stage and will climb right on top it before turning to everybody else.

"I AM ASTEROID THE KID, GRAND PRIESTESS OF ALTHENA!" She bellows. "And I have this to say! Althena not only loves singing and dancing, she loves all people! She is a mighty Goddess, and doesn't fear a destroyer or mere mortals, so THEREFORE you are free to do whatever the fuck you WANT! She even loves people afflicted by MALEVOLENCE because people afflicted by MALEVOLENCE are amongst the nicest people ever even if some of them try to poison wells for some reason, but that's probably more to do with them BEING KIND OF STUPID and less to do with them being EVIL. Therefore, Althena is against STUPID PEOPLE! But the correct path to deal with STUPID PEOPLE isn't to insult or belittle them, it's to educate them in science! Especially rocket science, so that we can build an intergalactic society that can handle a planet or two being DESTROYED because the society is spread out and thus SAFE and also REALLY SEXY."

She points towards Virginia. "Althena thinks Virginia Maxwell is THE BEST PERSON EVER and she is totally a Hellion or whatever, but she is the coolest so it doesn't matter!"

She takes in a deep breath and adds, "Now, because Althena is ALMIGHTY and thus not scared of anything, you can pretty much do whatever you want but you're responsible for your own actions because Altena believes in PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY so like, sometimes you gotta deal with your own shit! SO IS THE WORD OF ALTHENA!"

She fans out her arms from side to side. "ALSO ALTHENA COLA IS PRETTY TASTY!"

She thinks about it for a moment before adding, "Oh and please buy stuff from Asteroid the Kid's Althena Gift Shop for all your Althena Shopping Needs!" 

<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.

        Virginia is totally a Virginia-shaped cutout after being pointed at and-- oh, there she is, trying to tiptoe away with a thick brow of sweat. 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

"Ginny? Where are you going Ginny?" Asteroid says in unskippable text as the camera shifts to sneaking Ginny. "I, Asteroid, your loyal minion--will not let anybody badmouth you or the cool orphanage where they play soccer!" 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

"Those sound like human problems, to me. I hate to say it, but not every problem is the result of one ultimate evil making things worse, aye?" Layna replies with a shrug.

"What, so you can clap me in irons as soon as I'm up there? No thanks, I know what your type is like." Layna replies with a roll of her eyes as soon as Margaret waves her up. "If you want me, you're gonna have to come down here and get me, lass, unless shouting and bluster is all you're good for."

Her eyes narrow, the challenge subtle but obviously there.

"Speaking of abstract concepts...what do you think of the Guardians? 'Cause, I haven't met the Goddess - except for when all of us saw her - but-"
She's interrupted by Asteroid rushing the stage and immediately giving her own speech, which causes Layna to erupt in raucous laughter.

"Aye, I'd drink to that! That's a Goddess I can get behind!" She says, reaching into her pockets and flipping a Gella coin to Asteroid as a 'donation'. 

DC: Katyna Reidal switches forms to Gear Battler Katyna!

<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
"How sure are you," Margaret says, "that they're not just covering it up?" Her arms fold and she looks at Virginia, though the Glower Power Level is significantly lower.

Her attention pivots back to Talise. "Well maybe if you cleaned up your act, threw out the garbage that's infesting your leaders, act like adults and REFRAIN FROM CATCALLING, it might get rescinded! Do you think this is the first time something's been prohibited, or a prohibited thing forgiven??"

Margaret rolls her eyes visibly as Talise brings this up. "OK, Little Miss Destroyerpants, you get up here, right now. Fight me, with your prayers, and we'll see --"

Layna's challenge goes unresponded-to, because Asteroid's gotten up on stage to explain how Rigdobrite is, in fact, for the children. Margaret turns and strides off.

That happens around when Asteroid declares you can do whatever you want. Somewhere around Asteroid mentioning her gift shop, Margaret reappears, stalking up the stage. She is carrying a gift of her own for Asteroid the Kid.

It is a folding chair.

She jabs it right at the side of Asteroid's head.

"I'll correct you, you mocking harpies!! You think you can just laugh and cackle and pull quotes from those fishwrappers they sell in November?! For the sake of this filthy planet's salvation, I'll take all of you on!!"

The guys running the water table pick it up and immediately move behind another building. They seem to have a plan, but it doesn't involve hitting Drifters. 

GS: Margaret has attacked Asteroid the Kid with My rebuttal is a folding chair!!!
GS: Margaret has completed her action.
GS: Asteroid the Kid guards a hit from Margaret's My rebuttal is a folding chair!! for 52 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.

        Virginia lets out a shriek as she flails to say, "Ix-nay on the Ellion-hay, Astie--" and then it's too late, because Margaret's grabbed the chair and dealt a sneaky surprise attack at the start of the round?!

        "Hey, hey! That's not cool--"

        And without even thinking, because of course she doesn't, Virginia's Malevolent power surges outwards--

        --and a shadowy eclipse of Virginia's shrouded itself near Asteroid, ready to defend her from additional harm.

        "... oh. Uhh. Portals, Asteroid...?" 

GS: Virginia Maxwell has attacked Asteroid the Kid with Shadow Servant!
GS: Virginia Maxwell has completed her action.
GS: Virginia Maxwell heals Asteroid the Kid! She gains 100 temporary hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid catches the gella because that's free money there. "Huzzah!" She says. "My religion has made one gel--"

Margaret's folding chair slams into Asteroid's face and she goes down, just like in wrestling. Asteroid shrieks and holds up her hands to protect her body like some kind of feral animal but when the Shadow-Ginny appears to cover Asteroid, she seems to regain her confidence. Her head is still ringing so she doesn't summon portals in part because she just isn't thinking about that right now, and also because she was caught off guard so her instinct doesn't say 'be smart', her instinct says 'bite Margaret'.

Which is why she leaps into the air like a tiger and tries to latch onto Margaret and bite her, screeching all the way. Virginia knows that Asteroid tends to tire herself out quickly but by that point it might be too late. 

GS: Asteroid the Kid has attacked Margaret with BITE!
GS: Asteroid the Kid has completed her action.
GS: Margaret takes a glancing hit from Asteroid the Kid's BITE for 44 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Katyna Reidal has posed.

Katyna finally opens her bag.

There is a lot of stuff in there, most of which she really doesn't want to flash in public and some of which she doesn't want to show any Filgaian, but the thing she was actually going for was a bandolier that she conveniently left right on top. The bandolier has a number of throwing knives, some of which have odd grips or central spines of the blade or edges...

ARMs. All of them, ARMs.

Katyna yanks the bag back closed before anyone can see much more in it; there's a spare change of clothes wrapped around something heavy and boxy and behond that it's unclear. Keeping the bag over one shoulder, she drapes the bandolier over the other loosely. If she had time, she'd set it up right, but she didn't want to look aggressive ahead of time.

Pulling one of the strangely built knives, Katyna spikes it at the ground at her feet. It does not appear to do anything, even when she uses one foot to push it more firmly into the ground and then step back, still leaving one foot resting on the spiked knife. She has another knife still held between two fingers of her right hand, but does not fling it. 

GS: Katyna Reidal has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

As she beholds the speech from the great priestess Asteroid, Talise opens her mouth a little bit. Her lower jaw hangs like that. Then she breaks into a gale of laughter, stifling it behind one hand. But the fact that Layna's laughing too makes her efforts to contain herself utterly impossible. Her laughs heighten into a high, raucous cackle as she smacks a hand against her thigh, doubling forward a little. Her eyes begin to water.

Even the mocking from the priestess on the stage can't stave off the laughter. She just presses a hand to her forehead and sucks in a breath, struggling to rein in the mirth. It helps a little bit, but she's still kind of chuckling heavily as she looks up towards the stage, her cheeks colouring a little. "Aha... ha... trust me... you don't even want to see how bad I destroy pants," she shoots back, waggling her eyebrows.

And then the jokes stop - or do they continue?! Margaret starts swinging that folding chair, and Talise just laughs again, this time shorter and more incredulous.

What Virginia does is much less warranting of laughter. Talise cuts off in mid-giggle and blinks at the girl. Frowning, she scratches at her temple.

"I have sudden misgivings," she says more mutedly, before sighing and storming towards the stage. "Fine," she calls up. "Let's just have a big stupid faith fight!"

As Asteroid starts gnawing on Margaret, Talise picks up her drink - the cup still full of vodka. She hefts it a little, then whips it towards the stage, aiming to brain Margaret with it - and splash the sweet, sweet booze inside it all over her poor head. 

GS: Talise Gianfair has attacked Margaret with Tonight on WCW Thunder!
GS: Talise Gianfair has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Margaret takes a glancing hit from Talise Gianfair's Tonight on WCW Thunder for 47 hit points!
GS: Cripple! Statuses applied to Margaret!

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

And suddenly there's Margaret with the folding chair. Layna frowns slightly, folding her arms in front of her.

"You know, frankly, I'm not surprised." She mutters, shaking her head and glancing off to the side. She notes the minions dragging the table off, and pats Talise on the shoulder before she runs off.

"I'll be back with you in a moment, aye?" She says, slipping away.

When Margaret's minions go to move the table behind the building...

There Layna is, leaning against the building with a drink in one hand. Apparently she'd somehow stolen it off the table at some point...

"Your boss is a real piece of work, aye? You know, if you lads are ever looking for another job, I'm always hiring." She comments with a grin, watching them carefully. She swishes the cup around, sniffs the contents before downing the lot.

She sets the cup down and offers them a wave before heading back around the building to see how the fight was playing out.

Talise would probably be fine without her...but she'd be there just in case. 

GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Layna Manydays with Stolen Drinks Taste the Best!
GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action.
GS: Layna Manydays takes a solid hit from Layna Manydays's Stolen Drinks Taste the Best for 0 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
Virginia sends forth her Shadow Copy and Margaret tilts her head back, lip curling in a way that makes two random Dazilites of exotic tastes convert to Althena, at least on a provisional basis. "You think you're going to beat me with a technique like THAT, you witch?! While you were gestating in your mama's belly, I was mastering THE SHADOW ITSELF!"

Two more Margarets (Margaroi? Margareti?) appear besides her, faintly washed out but hard to distinguish in the fading twilight gloaming. They lunge forwards, aiming to burst into splendid purple ink in the faces of both Asteroid and Virginia.

Then Asteroid rushes forwards and bites Margaret on the arm. She recoils, screeching as she does, "You vulgar --"

-=-=-

The two Hounds round the corner and find Layna.

"We know," they say.

Then the one on the left scoffs. "Thanks for your offer, but we've been through too much with the Commander to switch off now."

"We won't insult you with the tale," says the one on the right.

They don't move to interrupt her.

-=-=-

The cup bounces off Margaret's head. The vodka splashes over her face and smears what was significantly more makeup than may have been thought, even if underneath she's just kind of pale and dark-ring-eye-having, rather than... like... old. It's a little uncanny.

Her answer is to spike the chair right square at Talise!! 

GS: Margaret has attacked Virginia Maxwell with Shadow Wish!
GS: Margaret has attacked Asteroid the Kid with Shadow Wish!
GS: Virginia Maxwell takes a solid hit from Margaret's Shadow Wish for 0 hit points!
GS: RUIN! All positive status effects and temporary hit points purged from Virginia Maxwell!
GS: Margaret has attacked Talise Gianfair with My rebuttal is a folding chair!!!
GS: Margaret has completed her action.

DC: MISS! Asteroid the Kid completely evades Shadow Wish from Margaret!

GS: Talise Gianfair guards a hit from Margaret's My rebuttal is a folding chair!! for 60 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.

        Virginia was soooo totally not seeing this coming when she woke up today! "U-ugah, feh, pweh!!" she coughs and flails as the ink splashes over her face--

        --which just seems to burn off as she starts getting instinctually more angry. "If you're not gonna back down, then--"

        She twists her hands around in a quick gesture, that blackness rising further over her in an uncomfortable and definitely noticeable state... and it bursts outwards, a howling, shrieking wall of nightmares shrouding her for a moment as her eyes start to gain black sclera.

        She thrusts her hand, and black ribbons thick with the stuff of curses tries to grip around Margaret--

        --which is apparently a distraction for her to just hoof it, traditional style. "Run, Astie!!" 

GS: Virginia Maxwell has attacked Margaret with Black Curse!
GS: Virginia Maxwell has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Margaret takes a glancing hit from Virginia Maxwell's Black Curse for 46 hit points!
GS: Mute! Statuses applied to Margaret!

<Pose Tracker> Katyna Reidal has posed.

Serill is probably doing... something, somewhere, not here. She will be glad for this later.

Katyna is here, but she's still not doing much. She could rush the stage, but she doesn't really want to get targeted by a Church hit squad (she's entirely sure, at this point, that such things exist). She likes Talise, but she is getting strong feelings of 'not my business' in this situation - it might be different if she was more involved with any church, but... she's not.

Also, nobody else is drawing a weapon so she feels a little silly with hers, even if it isn't actually doing anything deadly.

With one of her ARM knives still in her fingers, Katyna keeps her foot on the grounded one even though it's anchored now. A particularly close look might suggest that the knives look like modern Filgaian throwing knives with modifications rather than something ancient... but it's kind of hard to tell and she's not drawing attention to them.

When Virginia calls for running, Katyna decides to lend a hand. She steps off the anchored knife and taps it with her toe. It starts to emit a cloud of smoke, and between that and the twilight it's damn hard to see into the crowd as the smoke intensifies. If anyone wants to get away, well, there's very shortly going to be a semi-concealed route. 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Talise really isn't stoked about fighting on the same side as someone soaked with Malevolence and someone who seems to be subservient to someone soaked with Malevolence. A part of her re-evaluates her life fecisions.

The rest of her is, momentarily, horribly interested in just how much makeup the priestess is wearing. She hadn't thought it was quite that much and it's causing her to wonder just how she really looks without it. It's not like the woman looks old or unpleasant--

She ends up taking a chair to the face for her trouble. The steel slams into the palms of her hands and then into her forehead as she gets her arms up at the last moment, but not quickly enough to deflect it all. With a gasp, she staggers back and falls over, tumbling and flipping over onto her hands and knees.

Her eyes narrow a little. Virginia running away makes her feel a little better. Quickly she looks between the three Margarets, trying to determine which one is real--

"Guess what," she says.

Then she barrels forward with a fierce grin and a grunt of effort. Snapping her arms forward, she drives herself towards what she's fairly sure is the real Margaret - and she levels her shoulder, attempting to slam it into the woman's gut, her hands snapping down to try and pull the woman's leg out from beneath her in the same go. 

GS: Talise Gianfair has attacked Margaret with You're Next!
GS: Talise Gianfair has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid the Kid leaps to the side to avoid Margaret's shadow copy. "Aha!" She falls off the stage. "Argh! THIS WAS SELF DEFENSE YOU SAW IT! SELF DEFENSE!" She hits the floor roughly. Virginia's words tell her to flee so she--after what already feels like an eternity--draws her portal pistols and fires off a couple shots, one near Virginia, and one underneath herself. She shlorps through her personal portal, pops out by Ginny, and takes her hand.

"HELLIONS RULE ALTHENA DROOLS!" She shouts though at this point you probably don't hear it because a smoke bomb is going off and she starts coughing halfway through it.

But it's the thought that counts. 

GS: Margaret critically Guards a hit from Talise Gianfair's You're Next for 20 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

"Well, hey, that's fair. Loyalty, I can respect that." Layna responds with a nod and a shrug as she departs. She returns to where the fight is going on, watching Talise very nearly take a folding chair to the face, though she blocks it at the last second.

She glances off the side, noticing Asteroid and Virginia escaping and Katyna setting up an escape route.

"I think we oughta get outta here, but I'll leave the decision up to you. I don't think she's the type who's going to change her attitude." Layna comments with a glance toward Talise.

She's there nearby and ready to help, but she doesn't have any plans to step in unless Talise asks for it or Margaret forces her hand. 

<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
"Do you think you can  ?!" Margaret shouts at Virginia. Well. Mostly.

"  ??"
"  ???"

Margaret pulls a face and grimaces, but this is enough time for Asteroid to use her power of Hellion Magic to skedaddle serenely. After, of course, declaring herself to be a Hellion - that'll surely influence the court of public opinion! Maybe! Who knows??

A smoke bomb goes off. Margaret looks towards it. "  !"

Talise lunges towards her. " " Margaret says, and her ankles crackle with lightning, before
she
shimmers and twists largely out of the way of that blow, the sweep of the leg hitting her in the calf instead as she leaves after images - or perhaps ASTER images - trailing behind her. Several of them, overlapping; where IS she in that mess of Margarets?

Kicking at Talise, that's what! 

GS: Margaret has attacked Margaret with Thunder Road!
GS: Margaret takes a solid hit from Margaret's Thunder Road for 0 hit points!
GS: Quick! Statuses applied to Margaret!
GS: Margaret has attacked Talise Gianfair with Seven Sisters!
GS: Margaret has completed her action.
GS: Sneak! The true nature of Margaret's attack becomes clear!
GS: Talise Gianfair guards a hit from Margaret's Seven Sisters for 91 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Talise doesn't actually have much of a defense against magic, to be honest with you.

Not only that, Asteroid's yelling something awful. "No, Hellions are bad too!" Talise shouts in obvious frustration, eventually rolling away once she fails to actually get ahold of Margaret. Her teeth grind as she flips backwards a bit awkwardly, coming up in a defensive crouch.

She turns out to need it. Several overlapping Margarets start pounding on her. With an angry growl, Talise throws her forearms up and defends herself as best she can. She nevertheless takes a solid hit to the jaw; blood runs from her lip, a shock of pain shooting through her. Another blow slams into her shoulder and knocks her to the side, another Margaret slamming her in the back of the head. Her eyes fog for a moment and her pupils dilate to small points --

        A FEW YEARS AGO

        "You're dead! HIAAAAAH!!!" shouts a sixteen-year-old Talise Gianfair as she swings and swings and swings at a man in heavy platemail and an Althena's Guard tabard.
        The tall man chuckles heartily. His blade dances about expertly. Steel and steel meet again and again. Everything she throws at him is simply batted away.
        Talise shouts angrily and keeps chopping. The guardsman boredly knocks her weapon aside.
        "You're not very skilled, are you?" he asks with the most patronizing smile possible, before swinging and proceeding to beat her to within an inch of her life.

Talise tears herself out of the Margaret circle and she's not sure how she does it. She doesn't do it consciously. She just jumps as hard and as high as she can. Her legs come up over her head as she goes sailing somewhat gracelessly away from the pulpit.

Coming down in a rough landing, she grunts heavily. In her heart, all she wants to do is run back there and tear Margaret apart.

        But I'm too weak. Even after all I've been through, I'm still too weak!

She does the only thing she can do: She runs off in the same direction Layna fled. 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Layna winces at the sight, but she lets Talise start to depart before moving after her. She starts toward the smokescreen, but pauses and glances back to Margaret.

"Listen up. You shout about all the evils these people are being put through because of 'the Destroyer', but you damn well better make sure you don't become one of them, aye? Don't take much to slip off the deep end. Might not even notice it when you do. But I will. My eyes are on you." Layna says, before reciting an incantation.

Those familiar with the Blessing of Althena will feel it surging before a wall of wind is formed in front of the pathway. Layna turns and walks through it after Talise.

The wall will remain there for a little while, at least until they're far enough away. 

<Pose Tracker> Katyna Reidal has posed.

When people start fleeing, Katyna joins them.

The knife she dropped vanishes somewhere along the way, because she grabbed it. This means the smoke cloud migrates with the group slightly, but it's mostly expended by that point, so it doesn't come along very far; she just didn't want to leave it for a Filgaian (or Lunarian) to examine. 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

The blessing of the wind roars behind Talise. She can feel it but not share in it.

Because of all the Lunarians, she seems to be the only one to have escaped Althena's Blessing. She's limited to her sword and her gun. Yet another reminder to her.

Another cold reminder that she's a criminal apostate in a world where her supposed goddess has outlawed everything she loves - a world where she can beat White Knight Leo in exhibition matches, but when it matters, she chokes. A world where she's finding herself on the same side as Hellions, while most of her actual friends are so depressed as to be halfway to incapacitated. Not even her own world.

The wind buys the group some time to get some distance. Only once they stop, a ways away and in the clear, does Talise seem to breathe again. She doubles over at the waist, knits her hands into her hair and takes short, heavy breaths.

Under most circumstances, Talise presents an air of either straightforward 'one of the guys' cheer or hard-nosed stubbornness. In this case, Layna gets to see something she's probably not seen much of before.

Talise's eyes are wide and unfocused; she looks like someone has just delivered her a death notice for a loved one. A couple of tears join the beads of sweat clinging to her face.

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