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Alexandra let out a breathy sigh, deflating slightly at The Hat's words. "Yes, yes. Vait until the end of the orientation to ask questions," she retorted, rolling her eyes. "You can't blame a girl for trying." She glanced up and over at him with a smile on her face as she brushed past him to enter the kitchen house. The Dice woman's words hit her ears just as the smell of food similarly wafted to her nose. Her eyes widened a bit and her mouth watered at the sight and smell of food. She loved food, and right now, she realized that she was absolutely starving. She hadn't eaten since--damn, she hadn't eaten since the early 1800s!!

"You don't have to tell me tvice," she piped up in response to Eve saying to help yourself. She rushed/bounced over to the table laid out with a decent enough array of food and drinks. She went to grab a plate but once again realized she was still holding her shoes in her hand. She frowned slightly, looking down at the ridiculous heels. She looked up again and glanced around. She wanted to just chunk them across the room, or maybe into the trash, or toss them across the room into the trash. No no, that would be seen as rude. Instead she just opted to hide them under the table. There. Out of sight and out of mind. Now for more important matters. Food.

She grabbed a plate and napkin and then began making one hell of a sandwich. It had a bit of everything. One would most certainly do a double take and immediately wonder where all that food went. I mean look at her. She's so skinny. Maybe using sarcasm is the secret to a fast metabolism. Who knows. Once Alexandra had stockpiled food onto her plate and grabbed herself a glass of whatever was offered, she plopped herself down at the nearest seat. She wasted no time wolfing down her food as she listened to The Dice resume the orientation.

However, she paused her food inhalation as Eve's voice grew noticeably dire. She looked over at the woman, watching as the Emendator's once stoic façade broke to show the true raw emotions that were just below the surface. Loss. Alexandra knew all to well about loss. Her parents had been murdered by a couple of Yagababa, leaving her an orphan in an ever dangerous Soulless infested world. She swallowed the food in her mouth. Her lips thinned as she watched Eve dredge through the painful memories to continue the lesson. She felt she understood the woman better now. Loss could change a person. Yet the woman also held such strength in the face of adversary, and Alexandra respected her more for it.

She placed her plate with her nearly finished meal aside to listen wholeheartedly to The Dice. A wide range of thoughts and emotions could be read plainly on her face as she listened with her head tilted slightly to the side. There was intrigue, confusion, surprise, anticipation, and more. It all seemed to spin and churn within her in a crude mixture. Yet, in the end, one feeling could be felt above the rest. She felt a sense of purpose. She felt herself sitting up straighter, her eyes lit up with anticipation.

Alexandra nodded her head in understanding as Eve wrapped up this part of the orientation. A devilish smirk came to her features when she was told who she would be paired with. Oh, sweet father of giants, you better prepare yourself. She stood up, grabbing her plate to throw it away. She walked past Gilbert along her way, a smirk still plastered to her face. "It looks like you are stuck vith me nov," she teased, wagging her brows at him. She then let out a small chuckle as she moved past him.

Just then, a crackle of thunder reverberated through the air, startling her. She let out a gasp, dropping her plate of leftovers on the ground as she whipped around wide eyed. Her gaze went to Eve then Gilbert then Andromeda. Weather manipulator? "Come again?" she stated.

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"That's what being distracted is," Gio corrected her as he made his way across the room. As he walked, he stopped to pick up the caramels he had accidentally assaulted Nancy with and threw them away into one of the waste bins he had tucked away in convenient, but out of the way locations around the room. Once he made it to his desk, he pulled from a draw an index card and jotted down a reminder for the two of them (but mostly Nancy) to tell Eve about the reading she had had about the cat in Justice. The closest thing to a reaction he gave the lightning bolt and thunder was a couple blinks. He probably should go find the Paradoxes before they got too wrapped up in discovering their new lives. But before he left, he walked back over to the bedside where Nancy's garments lay.

Third time's the charm? Gio was resolved to not make such a poor showing twice in a row and leave it at that. Luckily he'd left the clothes open enough so that he could simply reach inside the pocket and fetch another candy. Given that the last two times he'd hit her in the nose, he figured that he would go for a more shallow arc. However, this time when he went for the throw, he underestimated how much force to put into the toss, and it ended up falling short of Nancy's position entirely. He stared at it blankly for a few seconds, and then left the room without a word. Had any other onlookers been there they likely could have and would have mentally inserted any number of emotions in there.

After a bit of searching, he managed to track down where Alicia and some of the Paradoxes seemed to be gathered (notably missing Eve and Gilbert). As he approached, Gio steeled himself for all sorts of tomfoolery, but still did his best to put on a winning smile. No need to introduce himself with antagonism. That would come later.

[color=cca78e]"Salutations, everyone,"[color] he called out with a big wave. "I've no doubts that you all have been given the briefing on your general situation by this point. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Giosue Zino, known as the watch. Gio or "Joe" will do if your tongue can't quite wrap itself around Italian. And who all might you be?" He needed to find Gil and/or Eve, but pleasantries and introductions must be attended to properly. So he was likely stuck here for a bit.

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Faith wasn't about to say no to free good. Given where she came from, food was not easy to come by. Many a night occurred where she would have to not eat or eat what was available. It was horrendous, but what could ya do? Now, she had a feast before her. She wanted to question the reasoning behind them not having reproductive abilities, but still needing to eat. Weren't they dead? Dead didn't eat. Well...the Walking Dead did, but she doubted they were zombies.

Still, she wasn't about to turn it down. So she eagerly helped herself. She ignored the others because, frankly, she didn't give a damn about them. Most, if not all, irritated her in some fashion. She would rather talk about what abilities they had.

Evelina came back and actually answered some of the more burning questions she had. It was hard to digest though (the story, not the food). Still, if you'd ask her before, she wouldn't have believed in Paradoxes or Emendators so anything seemed to be ok in this topsy-turvy world she now inhabited.

Others came in and introduced themselves, but Faith wanted to talk more about her powers. Before she could ask, a crack of thunder was heard. Wasn't time frozen? How could weather suddenly appear? And then it was answered by The Hat who told the pale woman about her power of weather manipulation. "So..what? We have superpowers now?" Faith had to admit she didn't expect that turn of events. By abilities, she assumed they would have greater fighting aptitude, stronger maybe, not the ability to summon lightning. Now she was more excited than ever and quickly stepped outside to meet the others who seemed to come from her world. She was thankful she hadn't met any of them in her journey, or she may have been the one to end their life with a bullet between the eyes.

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Evelina nodded towards Andromeda, she could tell that by the way the girl was acting she hadn't realized that it was her that had caused all of that commotion. Tilting her head to the side she gave her a warm smile, understanding in her eyes. She watched her come outside with her and took a look around the grounds. "Weather Control, that is a very strong ability to present. We have had ones before you that were able to influence the weather a bit but such a strong force as you are presenting with, it is something we will need to get you trained in quickly. I really do not care to have the roof torn off the house. It is such a lovely home," she said as she stepped down and into the grass.

Smiling over to her she continued. "Do not worry though, it is what we are here for. To each you how to control your abilities and how to best use them. Poor Alicia, hers is Send Dream. That was an interesting night when she invaded mine by mistake. I remember my first though, when she originally presented. It was a hard adjustment not only for her but for others. First thing we must do it find a good place for you in your mind. What calms you, what is your go to thought when you are upset. What brings you joy?" she asked as she motioned for Andromeda to come with her.

It hadn't dawned on her that others were out front and needing an explanation. Her focus was on the one that needed her most right then and that was Andromeda. Getting an ability under control for a new Paradox took precedence over curiosity of others any day of the week. Slipping her hands into her pockets she let her thumbs flick on the line of them as she walked. Taking it slow, just in case Andromeda wanted to stop. "Let us head over to water source for the grounds. It is peaceful there this time of the day."

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Alicia smirked a bit as she looked over towards James. "Shit, be glad it wasn't me coming into my own. Poor Dice bitch woke up from a dream I sent and had cuts all over her face. I didn't mean to but damn. That was a night," Alicia said as she stood there. "Granted that shit was hard on her not me. Now when my other ability decided to show up, that shit hit me like a ton of bricks. Suddenly I felt everything that everyone on the grounds was feeling. Like a fucking point of view gun from Hitchhikers Guide was armed at me and wouldn't stop firing it. Was some sick shit," she rambled off. That was hell, especially with the other Paradoxes at the time present. Some of them had issues.

Looking over at Gio as he came over she grinned and waved. "James, Faith - this is Gio. The Watch. He's the damned reason we can stay in this day over and over again. And the one that set up that portal that brought you here. Plus he is damned good at showing some funky assed Shows," she said with a grin. To her few things beat camping out and watching the TV here. That was some fun shit.

Looking over at Faith she nodded. "Yeah, basically. Bitch in there just went all Storm on us. Let's just hope no one goes Dark Phoenix," she said with a laugh. That would be something, an emotionally disturbed split personality. They so didn't need that shit. Granted now that she said that, lord only knew what was going to show up next. It took her a couple of hours to present with her first ability after she showed up. If that was par for the course, then they were about to have a lot of people suddenly going off in ways they never imagined.

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As Sophia finished up eating the rest of her sandwich, she quickly started to get up and followed the others that were from her timeline, to meet up with Alicia. When she got out onto the front steps of the porch to the kitchen house, she noticed a new man there who introduced himself as Giosue, the Watch. "Nice to meet you, Gio, the names Sophia.." She then was cut off, as she started to pick up the scent of blood, and it wasn't subtle at all either. She'd had her fair share of smelling foul stenches back when she was alive, but the metallic smell was way to overbearing for her to handle. Sophia, was doing her best but couldn't help but start gagging, she was trying her best to try and listen to Alicia as she spoke, it all just started to sound like one massive blur to her, when everyone else was speaking.

She leaned forward somewhat as she could hear footsteps, but it sounded more like they was a bunch of jackhammers all around her without the use of ear protection in a large tunnel. Out of all of the times she worked construction she always wore ear protection, but this time she wasn't, and the noises were just overwhelming to her.

"I need to sit down.." Sophia was starting to feel like she was about to pass out now, the sandwich she had just finished eating moments ago she started to have an extremely bitter after taste to it, all the senses she was experiencing were getting way to overwhelming for her and felt like a large sack of bricks just crashed onto her chest. It felt like her head was just going to explode everywhere, a few seconds later Sophia just passed out right then and there on the ground.

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"No, not at all!" Nancy protested. "Distraction is unintentional. I was intentionally focused on something else," she argued. It was better than the last time she tried this argument on Giouse. She had actually lost her train of thought in the middle of it, switching over from the topic of conversation to an idea of a prank they could try out on Gilbert. She wanted to take his hat and replace it with a pair of Micky Mouse Ears from Disneyland in the early Twenty First century. His ability would still work, but it would be infinitely more amusing.

"...I zoned out, didn't I?" Nancy said to an empty room, taking a moment to look at the lone piece of caramel in the center of the floor. She stared at it for a moment, before her eyes flickered over to the door. She was seriously considering eating the candy anyways, as disgusting as Eve and Gio would likely find that choice. She wasn't too certain as to whether or not Alicia and Gil would have agreed with that course of action as well. Instead, she simply let herself fall flat onto the ground, staring up at the ceiling.

She hummed a bit to herself, clicking her feet together as she waited for Giouse's return. She mentally went through each of her cards in her mind, calling to mind their images and specific meanings. Then, she refreshed herself on the exact accent she'd want to portray Ashley as having, once she managed to pull the wool over the eyes of all the new Paradoxes. By the time she was finished, she was certain that it had been hours and Giouse would be back any second.

Unfortunately, he wasn't present to tell her that it had been less than five minutes. "Gio, make time go faster!" Nancy called out. She waited for a moment, listening to see if he'd appear, but to no avail. She let out a groan before pulling herself up into a seated position - a bit of a difficult feat with the handcuffs. She was already becoming bored with being cooped up in Gio's room. She thought for a moment, before deciding there was no reason why she couldn't roam about the house as she pleased - as long as she didn't run into any Paradoxes or the other two Emendators. She then smiled widely, thinking as to whether or not she had the time or capabilities (handcuffs were a bit of a limitation) to set up a Halloween surprise for Eve and Gil.

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Andromeda wasn't certain if her ability being strong was something desirable or something to be avoided if at all possible. She could easily see an argument being presented for both sides. But unlike the individuals in the life she had left behind, Evelina didn't seem too particularly worried about it. There was no indication that there was anything wrong with her or any philosophical debate to be had, which helped to calm nerves she didn't even know she had. "Right, I'll...I'll try to keep a lid on it," Andromeda said. She still wasn't feeling quite like herself just yet. Everything had taken its toll on her.

She nodded as Evelina explained Alicia's ability. She couldn't help but wonder what the other one was - but she supposed being able to perform Send Dream would make Alicia an ideal welcomer for new Paradoxes. If she imagined abilities as being grouped in bubbles of common themes, it seemed like it would fit in well with ones that dealt with emotions. As Evelina asked her what brought her joy, it took Andromeda a moment to come up with an answer. Questions like these always stumped her, as the answers only ever seemed to be true in that moment. A place that filled her with joy one moment would pale in comparison to another a year later.

"My mother's astronomer and growing up, I spent the school years with her in New Mexico...We used to climb up out onto the roof and she'd tell me stories about the constellations...Taught me how to tell them apart, starting with the one she named me after," Andromeda eventually said, as she walked with Evelina. "I know it seems silly but...That rooftop was always so peaceful...and probably what inspired me to do what I do - what I did. I chased stories and myths all over the world, the stranger the better...There's something beautiful in the things people overlook."

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Gilbert crunched his pickle loudly, but declined to get anything else at that time. He wanted to take a look at the eclectic group left for him to show around. People began to file out, one by one, leaving the kitchen proper empty except for himself and two of the newest Paradoxes. The initial introductory phase of these neophytes was coming to a close, prompting him to interact directly with these people on a more personal level. Though a generally open and friendly guy, Gil had opted to remain conversationally distant, responding to only the most general of inquiries. Well that had officially come to a close, more or less.

The tall Emendator took another bite from his pickle, pretty much destroying it except for a generally unimpressive nub which he tossed unceremoniously in the nearest waste receptacle. The two that remained with him seemed to have an appetite, or did until the sudden crack of thunder and his comment concerning it. Apparently, a demonstration of their potential abilities was suitable to make them take the concept more seriously. It was one thing for him to show something; he was an Emendator. At one point in time, he was considered to be a demigod by the public at large, another era painted him as a demon. These people were fully aware of their own demise, to awaken in a strange place with strange people who had supernatural abilities and spoke with the experience of millennia. He had powers. Big deal. A fellow dead person that made Mother Nature hiccup? That was worthy of notice.

Of course, Gilbert had to decide whether to address the continued attentions of the Russian Regency Era Paradox, this last incident just prior to Andromeda's brush with her newfound abilities. In the end, he decided to stick with a raised eyebrow and a short but quizzical stare in her direction. He held his gaze for a moment before shrugging and returning to his more laid-back demeanor. Not for the first time today, Gil reminded himself that people dealt with dying and returning in different ways. The dark-skinned fellow that left with Alicia seemed to do so by swaying back and forth between humor and despondency. It spoke volumes on who he was before. Meanwhile, this one seemed intent on either trying to mount him or manipulate him, and at a coin toss. Luckily for Gilbert, he was notoriously difficult to manipulate, like the other Emendators. They'd just experienced too much. As for the other, well... she seemed a bit young for him. Not in a sense of physicality, obviously, but she seemed to have a mindset that was too similar to his a few thousand years ago. Immature, impulsive, unyielding. It might develop into something formidable in time, or it could fall away as she began to psychologically adapt to her new existence. Either way, Gilbert had to observe for himself how each of them handled the transition, preferably comparing notes with his fellow Emendators before acting as anything other than a guide or counselor.

The other Paradox asked some fairly basic questions, though Gilbert took a moment before addressing either of them. He wanted to let the moment sink in. Then Gil gave a reassuring smile and addressed the both of them with open confidence. "Bartholomew Rosecliff, Alexandra Andonova." He gave another second or two of silence, looking over them with serious expression. Then his face cracked into a vaguely amused snicker. "First and last name. That's always fun. Makes the new guys think the worst. Okay, where to start? Weather Manipulator! No, it's not normal here; yeah, it's rare. Everyone gets a little something that is both a curse and a blessing. Hers..." he motioned toward the door, indicating the pale Paradox outside, "...is potentially dangerous to herself, others, dogs, cats, birds, mailmen, so on and so forth. Unless she learns control. The same will be true for the two of you, regardless of your upcoming talents. Hers are a little more volatile, is all."

He turned his attention specifically to Bartholomew, addressing the young man's more personal questions. "Being an Emendator has certain perks. I seem to be tied to the concept of civilization, as best as I can tell. I know things. Pretty much everything in human history, great and small, even the stuff I wasn't around for personally. Bart (may I call you Bart?), you're part of that history, too. And you're quite welcome. Little pieces of familiarity, loved or hated, really seem to help with the process."

Bringing the subject back to the present, "For right now, I'd like to give it a wait for the other groups to pick a direction before we leave. We don't want to rush them, and they will want a little space for their own private conversations. Especially the Undead Georgia group, I would lay money on."

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A strange look come over James as Alicia spoke. The description of her abilities kicked off a memory from his last lifetime, specifically the last night of sleep he had before Taking the Big Dirtnap in a world filled with upright, mobile corpses and heartbreak. Something was becoming clear, like cracks working their way out of a pane of glass so that he might glimpse the scenery beyond. He raised his finger, mouth open as if to make a point of order when another Emendator approached, introducing himself. Alicia's introduction swiftly followed. It served to break his concentration briefly, though not so much as to get him off of his train of thought.

"How'd'ya do there, Mr. Gio, sir?" he spoke in an overly cheerful, possibly ulterior motivated voice."Why, It's just a feather duster to my short n' curlies to meet you, man, but I gotta have me a moment with my girl here. Just one sec, huh?"

The memory of his last bit of natural sleep became more vivid with concentration, even through the haze his brain seemed to put around his recollection. James took a step or two toward Alicia, and continued with hushed voice, "Aight, be straight with me, 'k? Night before I died, I saw you. Like, in a dream saw you. You told me stuff, like warnin' me. I gotta know, was that you you?"

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Faith listened as Alicia spoke and confirmed her question. They had powers? How awesome was that?!? She paid the other guy, the older gentleman, little mind as he spoke and made introductions. Her thoughts ran around in her head. She looked at the others with her in the Georgia group. So they were all part of "her world"? Were they in the same state as her?

Though it seemed she was being talked to and that snapped her back to reality. The man had finished speaking about his name or whatever and asked who they were. "Name's Faith. Sup?" she asked with a head nod. Well, that was fun! "Ok now that that's done, about these powers? Which ones do I have? You can't just lay that on a person and not expect them to he immensely curious. Come on!"

That was when Faith saw the other girl with her daze around a bit. Had she been drinking before this? Could they get drunk? What the fuck were the rules here anymore?!? As she asked, the poor girl fainted then and there. Faith stifled a chuckle, aware that it may not be the best to laugh at her at this point. Instead, she walked over to her to check her out and see if she was still breathing. Wait, could they breathe? She seemed fine, but..."Umm...chick here may need some help."

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"Veather manipulation?" Alexandra stated with slight exsperation. "Come again?" She had heard of a lot of unique, and at times outlandish, abilities in her time, but weather manipulation was a new one for her. How did that even work? Did it just effect the chunk of sky in your immediate vicinity, or did it effect a much broader scope of the atmosphere, like the weather for a whole town or country? Her eyes widened further at the notion. She just stood there for a moment, wide eyed, staring at nothing or no one in particular, and with her food still planted on the dirty floor where she had accidentally dropped it. Her brain was just too busy contemplating the possibilities of such a power, and better yet what her own abilities could be. Once again, it was a lot to take in, so much so that everyone, including herself, might as well have an ERROR signal written plainly on their faces.

She was pulled out of her haze by Gilbert's voice. "Hmmm," she mumbled, her dark eyed gaze drifting to his. She simply arched a brow at his words, due to her current inability to find some words of her own. She glanced over at the other paradox, Bartholomew, then back over at Gilbert, and finally down at her food that was still on the floor. She let out a small sigh and bent down to pick it up, before moving to throw it away in the nearest waste bin. She listened in on what else The Hat had to say, despite the fact that it seemed to be more addressed towards the other paradox. Nevertheless, she was intrigued. He knew everything about human history, even that pertaining to their personal history?

Her mind went back to pictures in her new room, the pictures of her dearly departed birth parents and her still alive adoptive parents. He knew about that part of her history? And he had gotten those pictures of them for her? A gust off air exited her parted lips, and her heart clenched within her chest. A part of her felt touched by his actions, and yet another part of her felt that her privacy had been violated. She didn't want to be known as the little girl who had lost her parents anymore by anyone. Did he think of her as weak because of it? She bit her lip and looked over her shoulder to eye Gilbert from where she stood. Who was she kidding? Look at him. Of course she was puny and weak in comparison. Well, she would just have to prove him wrong. She brushed her melancholy aside, lifted her chin, and then strode back over to the two men.

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Bart locked eyes with Gil as he said his name and paused for a few seconds. While he'd liked to say he didn't feel intimidated by Gil, he also didn't like to lie. The tension was broken a moment later, when Gilbert broke out into laughter. Bart sighed in relief at this, and almost missed Gilbert's response as his mind settled itself. His ears perked up a bit at the mention of powers having downsides, reminding him a bit of the idea of a karmic balance. "So she's basically Storm." Bart said, a look of disbelief and consideration on his face. "That's... astounding." He remarked, not really having words for how to react. He was simply amazed, sure, he'd seen The Hat transform earlier, and he knew something like this would happen to each of them according to Eve, but it felt unreal.

He took a breath, and resumed listening to Gilbert explain that he had a a kind of omniscience about humanity. The hairs on the back of Bart's neck rose at that. That meant he, and nobody, really had any secrets here. It also meant he could probably ask Gilbert might have answers to the great mysteries of mankind. "So... You know who really build the pyramids?" Bart asked jokingly. He'd have to get to know Gil better, finding himself fundamentally interested in what he might have to say. Bart nodded at The Hat, and returned to his seat, more than willing to wait and take some time to ask a few more questions. Bart helped himself to another slice of bread, and looked over at Alexandra. He heard more than a touch of what he assumed was Russian in her voice. "So Alexandra right? Where about's are you from? I'm from California myself." He said.

There was one last burning question in him, besides of course the nature of whatever his upcoming abilities may be. He'd heard, several times now, the other group referred to as the "Undead Georgia Group". He briefly turned away from Alexandra, and looked back towards the porch, wondering what that could ever mean. He'd add that to the ever growing list of questions to ask. He turned his attention back to Alexandra, and flashed a smile, "Gotta say, it's a much different place than 1940's Louisiana. God, I'm gonna miss the internet. And cell phones. And just about everything." He gave a nervous laugh, trying to play his actual anxiety about no longer having the wonderful amenity's of his home time off as a kind of lighthearted thing.

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Gio was about to respond to everyone's introductions and questions, when a certain lady decided to up and pass out on everyone. Now The Watch was an Emendator of many skills and talents, but medicine was not one of them. However, she was a new Paradox so she might have just accidentally discovered a new power she wasn't ready to handle yet. Or at least if she ended up dying again because she happened to suffer a heart attack or stroke, that would be the first time he'd seen something like that happen. So she was probably fine, but he wasn't going to leave her lying there. That would just be unnecessarily cold-hearted of him.

Gio stepped over to Sophia's body and gently picked her up, trying his best to keep her supported and not flop around everywhere. He carried her over to the kitchen house proper and managed to put her in a mostly seated position leaning against the building wall. That would be good enough for now. At the very least when she woke up she wouldn't be staring at the sky or ground wondering where she is. She'd still probably be wondering where she was again, though. Hopefully he wouldn't have to explain to her again that she was dead and in a different time and place from where she had died.

"Now onto business," he proclaimed as he turned to face the main group once again now that he had performed his decent act towards humanity for the day. "It's a pleasure to meet you all, and I'm sure it will be wonderful getting acquainted with you all in the future. Unfortunately for the more curious among you all," Gio looked at Faith, "I will not be accepting any questions about the nature of being a Paradox or anything related to your home time periods at the moment." He was certain at this point Evelina had given them the entire monologue and the offer for one question, and he had no intention of undercutting that whole process. Not to mention she'd probably kill him if he did, but the principle of the whole thing was the driving force behind that action, not underlying threats of pain. Unrelated to all that, the main person he wanted to speak to was in a conversation with the overly jovial black man at the moment, so he'd have to wait for that to resolve before continuing.

"However, if you have any other topics or questions to discuss, I'd probably be able to be of assistance to you."

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We have rules and we have them for a reason yet some always believe that the rules do not apply to them. That they are special and deserve a different chance than the rest of those that have come before them. It is foolish. It is ego. It brings about more ends than perhaps anything outside of religion on this planet. It is sad but it is true. There is a price to pay and it is a heavy one. Now don't look at me. I wasn't the one that broke the rules and I wasn't the one that dealt the punishment. The world did that. The balance was thrown off and balance must be restored. It has been restored. How? Well, let's see.

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Alicia perked a brow, she wasn't expecting that. The way the girl just dropped the way she did, it was like someone had just taken her out. Sniper style. Yet she knew that wasn't it. Alicia might not have been the most verbally supportive person on the planet but she did have something that most didn't. Empathy. True empathy. She could read people like a book on their emotions. She knew how they were feeling better than they did. She didn't have any of those mental filters a person had when they were trying to deny what they were feeling. When Alicia used her Empathy she felt their emotions in their truest form.

And Sophia was overwhelmed. Completely and totally overwhelmed. "Well shit, bitch just got hit by a lot," Alicia said as she looked down at her. Thankfully Gio was picking her up and not just leaving her there. Glancing over towards James she pointed back into the Kitchen house. "Under the sink is a jar of cotton. Grab it would ya? Shove it in her ears and nose." she asked of him before answering his question. She didn't say anything but she did nod her head in confirmation. "Sense overlord, smells, tastes, that's what knocked her out." Alicia was quick to explain to Gio but then she stopped.

She wanted to say something more.but because she had opened herself up fully with her Empathy to make sure that Sophia would be okay she got hit by something else suddenly. It was sadness, complete and utter sadness. And pain. Turning her head snapped and turned, looking North towards the Barn and the edge of the property. "Dios mío," she said under her breath. "They're back..." she said before she tore off the front porch of the kitchen house, down the road that connected the Kitchen House with the Servants Quarters. She was running as if a life depended on it.

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Evelina walked with purpose but made sure not to tread too quickly as she listened to what Andromeda had to say. It made sense to her but then again so did many things. Many of which she wished she didn't understand. Ignorance was truly bliss in some circumstances. Nodding she held out her pipe in case the new Paradox wished to have a puff. Some found it relaxing, she did after all these years and it wasn't like she had to worry about lung cancer.

"That is a good memory, a good feeling. Make that your anchor. If you feel things bubbling to the surface, focus on that. For now, we need to get it under control and then we can teach you how to harness it. There will be times when there is nothing you can do and it will just erupt but for the most part this seems to be an ability that you will have much greater control over than say I do with my dice. Like Alicia and her dreams I hope. Something that is mostly under control. It would make your life here far easier."

Taking a deep breath Evelina looked up and felt a tug in her mind. It wasn't a tug for the dice but there was something else, as if new memories were trying to make their way in to her mind. This happened from time to time with all Emendators. They had a download of all of human history. It was like with a computer, all the files were there but they had to know where to locate the file or have a reason to open it to realize what just happened. The easiest way for this to happen was to be asked, or to know someone involved with what was happening just at that moment.

Evelina froze where she was and for the briefest moment a look of terror came across her features. The same look had come to her face when Drem had been taken. Shaking her head she refused to believe what she had just seen and her feet quickened. Turning slightly and walking towards the road again. Coming out of the woods onto the dirt road as Alicia came to a sliding halt, kicking dust up as she gasped.

"Mmm... couldn't stop it... Only could get him back..." George said as he stumbled down the road and fell to his knees. Peter was in his arms, his face and chest were sliced open, looking like he had been mauled to pieces by a ravenous beast. Peters blue eyes flashed as he dropped his cane and blood splattered out of his mouth. Then his body went limp.

Evelinas lips thinned. She hadn't rolled for this, the dice didn't speak to her and ask her to. Yet not every death was in her hands. There were powers even greater than her out there, greater than all of them. "Destruere..." she said from behind her tense lips. It wasn't a question. Now that she knew the scene flooded to her mind. All the Emendators would know. The attack happened in an Alleyway of Cairo, the Destruere had shown themselves and claimed another of their own.

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Sophia's eyes slowly started to flutter open, letting out a low groan as she could still feel her head ringing very badly she reached up and tried to cup her ears shut from the loud noises and smells still bombarding with her. She found herself sitting in a chair inside the kitchen once more, she winced slightly as she did her best to try and continue to ignore it all bombarding her. It felt like she was having a really bad hangover that just wouldn't go away.

Sophia slowly stumbled up to her feet, as she started to search around the kitchen groaning loudly as her eyes scanned the room trying to find what would be able to block the smells and sounds that kept bombarding her. The food that was left on the table wasn't making things easier either. Sophia was picking up the smells from them as well, when she couldn't find anything that would easily fit into her ears or nose she quickly moved towards the cabinets and drawers searching around like she had lost something that was important to her

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Nancy made her way to the door of Gio's room, slowly opening it and sticking her head out. The coast seemed to be clear - which was good. She was as annoyed with staying put in one place as she was already becoming with these handcuffs. Even the small task of peering around a slightly opened door had become troublesome - if she wanted to open the door any further, she had to move her entire body forward a bit to get her hand more leverage. She gave the door a good push and let it swing all of the way open before exiting, then using her foot to close the door behind her.

Her eyes then widened as she stilled for a moment as new memories began to fall into her head. In some ways, it was exactly like her readings of the future - and in others, it was an entirely different feeling and process. She let out a gasp as she fell forward, and unable to come to her balance with her cuffs, she collapsed onto the floor, banging her nose in the process. "Sorry, Gio...Prank will have to wait for another time," Nancy muttered. She struggled to get back up to her feet, using the wall slightly to help with the process. She regretted letting Giouse take the key to the cuffs.

But while there was little she could do for Peter - and truthfully, she had always fond him a bit boring and stuffy - she was fond of George. There were some paradoxes that Nancy took to and others that she couldn't wait to see leave. For whatever reason, George had been one of the former. She held her hands out in front of her, figuring it'd be easier to run like that, and she then dashed down the stairs and out the house. She cut through the trees before coming out onto the road, a few seconds behind Alicia.

Nancy kept on sprinting down the road, glad that her trick with her hands seemed to work - and that no one had tried to stop her and ask what was going on. She was dressed in prisoner's garb, handcuffed, and running as fast as she possibly could - someone was bound to ask questions. Nancy slowed down in her run as the others came into view, skidding to a halt much as Alicia had. If it had been less serious, she would have ridden a bike on over, showing off various tricks on the way. "George!" Even though the scene came into her mind and she knew what had happened - that Peter and George had been attacked in Cairo - she still wanted to visually confirm her friend's safety.

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"Oh, no thank you. I don't smoke," Andromeda said kindly. Even though she didn't have to worry about lung cancer or disease, she never enjoyed the taste of tobacco. It was far more bitter than coffee in her experience - though she had only tried it once in college. But she nodded, focusing on the memory as Lady Luck had instructed her to. She could take herself back to the rooftop stargazing with her mother - it was an easy enough feat to do. She could just only hope that truly helped and managed to get them under control - just because her ability hadn't gone off in the few minutes since she calmed down didn't mean that was the secret to managing it.

She missed the look of terror on Evelina's face, having been looking at the plant life on the grounds. She couldn't help but try to take in each little bit of her surroundings. She didn't realize anything was quite wrong until they made it to what Andromeda had to assume was a crime scene. Her eyes widened with a mixture of shock and terror at the gruesome sight. The blood and the gore dredged up painful memories for her - her father's autopsy, Sera's murder, so much blood and death...Her knees felt a bit weak and it was all she could do to look away.

"Bloody hell..." Nancy cursed, feeling a wind whip up as an EF1 Tornado began to form over the road. Andromeda then looked in the direction of the fourth Emendator, blinking slightly - had she gone insane? Why was she handcuffed and wearing prisoner's garb? She then shook her head, stealing another peak at Peter and George. It was like an accident that she just couldn't look away from.

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"Weather Manipulation," began Gilbert, addressing Alexandra's two word query, "is just one of the things we call it. Weather Control, Power Over The Atmosphere, whatever. I suppose someone with a more poetic soul would find a prettier name for it, but..." he shrugged, "I'm afraid I'm really more of a glorified historian."

Gilbert did crack another smile at the mention of Storm. He was vaguely aware of the concept of Storm, the superpowered hero that was raised in a place where her people thought her a demigod because of her abilities. But as she learned more about herself and the world at large, that notion changed. Much like Gilbert. As his mind was poring over the details of his own early history, he barely noticed that the conversation was going on without him.

"Why yes, I do know who really built the pyramids." he said, his mind's eye going back millennia. No the imparted memories of human history, but his things glimpsed with his own eyes. He was present for much of it, in a couple of different guises. Gilbert was just about to go into greater detail about it when his face began to contort, flashing through stages of emotion quickly. Something was wrong. His voice came out in a harsh whisper, "Egypt. Damn... they're here." The sudden rush of information hit him especially fast this time, as he was already pulling up personal memories from the location, be the time frame a little off.

His eyes snapped up, going from one to the other of his Paradox charges. He made for the door immediately, just in time to see Alicia sprinting down the road headed toward the servant's quarters. She knew something, too. "Destruere. Damn you, Peter." he whispered, grief tinting his voice. He stepped outside of the Kitchen House proper, and before he knew it his feet were put one in front of the other, faster and faster, until he was catching up with his Paradox friend Alicia running down the road.

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It seemed that James was perpetually two blocks behind the Party Bus, as it were. In tending to his own questions, he turned around and totally missed the collapse of his friend from back home, Sophia. Well, maybe friend was a little bit of a stretch; they didn't know each other all that well before her passing, but in this place their familiarity was more than enough to draw James to consider Sophia a friend now. At any rate, he completely missed his friend going into some sort of fit and falling to the ground overwhelmed. James broke off his conversation with Alicia, not like he had much of a choice when she began tearing off down the road, and stood indecisively as he struggled to make a decision: Does he go and try to lend support to his friend Sophia, or does he back up his friend Alicia, despite his utter lack of training presently?

As long as he was asking questions, why in the hell was the wind still kicking up so badly? He thought this was fixed. Or patched, at the very least. Then he remembered what Alicia had just told him. Sensory overload. Cabinet under the sink. He nodded, decision made. James was going to go where he could be of use. While others ran toward whatever the disturbance was north of them, James jogged determinedly into the Kitchen House. As promised, just under the sink there was a glass jar packed to the brim with cotton balls, not unlike one his grandma used to have. He popped the top and got out a handful, immediately moving to help Sophia afterward.

"Hey hey, baby girl..." he said in a quiet voice, approaching Sophia carefully, "This might ought help you out, just be careful we can pull'em back out after, huh?"

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Faith didn't know what to do with the girl so she was glad when Alica allocated that task to the other dude with her. As it so happened, she had more important things to do. Like...making sure her nails were clean. And breathing. It seemed as if things would be ok. So she had a sense overload? That was her power? What a ripoff! How the hell could that ever be useful in what they were tasked to do?

Before Faith could get the answer to her burning questions, something was off. Alica went from her kind of cool persona to something else. She seemed worried. Alica immediately ran away from them. Faith was a bit concerned, having been left alone. "Hey, wait for me! Don't leave me alone with this lot!" Faith followed on foot, able to keep up fairly well with Alicia. She chalked that up to cardio.

Once Faith arrived at the scene, she saw what she was in for. She wasn't expecting the scene unfolding in front of her. Two men were there, left in what could arguably be described as a bad state of affairs. However, Faith wasn't upset or terrified. Having dealt with corpses that walked around and tried to eat you, she saw her fair share of dead bodies. Still, this was intense. Like something out of a horror movie.

Speaking of horror movies, the other man. He was...Faith couldn't put into words what he was. It was like looking at a doll. One of those older dolls that your grandma would have in a room for no fucking reason other than to be a creepy ass old lady and terrify the neighborhood children. That's the feeling she got when looking at him. Faith's stomach churned when she saw him. It was bad. The whole thing made her feel uneasy. "What happened?" This was no time to crack jokes. Even she had to admit that.

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Alexandra walked back over to the couple of others, her little makeshift group, who were still gathered in the confines of the Kitchen House. She put on a somewhat forced smile, faking that her sanity was not cracking more and more with every new revelation. She was unsure though who she was trying to fool more, Gilbert, or herself? You could say that sarcasm was the glue that held her together by threads. Cut that, and who knows what would spill out from the dark depths of herself. She didn't want to know. So, fake it until you make it might as well be her new slogan right about now.

She walked up alongside the chair that Bart was sitting in. She glanced down at him and arched a brow when he addressed her. Her brows then furrowed slightly at his words. "Callliifooorniaaa," she repeated, drawing the word out in an exaggerated manner. She thought the word sounded familiar, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint where from. She mentally shrugged. Who knows.

"I am from the Soulless infested early 1800s Russia. I vas in England traveling with the Russian Imperial Circus vhen I vas untimely beheaded," she finally addressed his question about where she was from. She decided to add the little tidbit about when she was from, seeing as most everyone came from a different time, place, and timeline. At least that's what The Dice had said. She let out a small sigh and shook her head. "Don't ask," she added in reference to the bit about her being beheaded.

Alexandra stared off absentmindedly at the wall for a moment before glancing back down at Bart. She once more arched a brow. It was kind of a habit of hers. "Internet? Cell phones? I don't knov vhat any of that is I'm afraid. Are you sure you are not speaking a foreign language?" she replied, throwing a little sarcasm into the mix as usual.

She looked up and over at the door when she heard someone enter. In came a stumbling, almost drunken like Sophia. Her brows furrowed. "Vhat happened to you?" she asked. She finally rushed over, worried the girl was about to fall on her ass given the way she was scrambling around. "Voah voah voah, slov your roll," she stated. "Vhat are you even looking for in such a hurry?" She threw a questioning look at the newcomer who rushed in soon after. She was too preoccupied by all this to note the sudden absence of the giant hat man.

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Bart gave Gil a look of surprise when he seemed to imply that humans might not have built the pyramids, and gave a surprised laugh, not exactly having words to respond. He would have pressured The Hat a bit more, if Miss Andonova hadn't started speaking. His head started to spin when she said she was from the 1800's, and was apparently beheaded. Yikes. This wasn't the most extraordinary thing he'd heard today, but it was up there. He heard the confusion in her voice at his mention of his modern amenities, and inhaled as he considered how he should respond. It seemed, ever so briefly, that the tables had turned, and he was in the position of having information somebody didn't have. He would have explained in any other situation, but she mentioned something he didn't have any idea about. "What do you mean by Soulless infested?" He asked confused. His knowledge of Russian History wasn't the best, but he'd never even heard of anything like that. He also tacked on, "And um, Early 2000's by the way, All those things I mentioned are from my time period."

God that felt weird, he'd never even considered what it would be like to add his home time to an introduction. That was the type of thing he'd think a time traveler would need to do, which, he supposed, he technically was now. He pondered this thought, as an incapacitated Sophia was carried in by a man he hadn't yet met. "Hey hey hey." He said standing up quickly, and heading over to her. "The heck happened to you?" He asked quietly, mostly to himself, as Sophia started to stand and start tearing the room apart. "Woah, hey. Hey there, slow your roll a little, okay?." He said, grabbing her hand gently, and giving her a little tug. "You look like you should sit and reorient yourself. Let us get you anything you need." He said, giving an expectant look over at Alexandra, hoping she'd agree to help.

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Well today was just a bundle of grand happenstances that threw out just about every single plan he had had for the day. One moment Alicia's explaining that the girl had been knocked out by sensory overload (made sense, that kind of power could hit the brain like a hammer from what he was told by past Paradoxes). Then suddenly he's hit with the knowledge that Peter had been killed by the Destruere in Egypt and that George had returned his his body.

This information gave him a complicated set of emotions. On one hand he had quite liked Peter, as a person and it was a tragedy that he had expired. But Peter had also broken the cardinal rule of being a Paradox, and meeting such a grisly end couldn't help but feel like Karmic Punishment, if such a thing even existed. Or rather, even that his death was a direct result of his own refusal to let go of his past an focus on his current situation. All that said, he was by no means overwhelmed with grief, quite the opposite in fact. There definitely was grief, but it was in the background. where it wouldn't distract him from figuring out more important matters at hand like What should we do about this?

Perhaps the most annoying aspect about this whole situation was how everyone had just run off in one direction or the other without so much as a word on where they were going, leaving him alone in front of the kitchen house. Gil ran straight past him without even looking at him. Even the passed out girl came too and stumbled off elsewhere. Well, he might as well make his way over to the scene as well.

Unlike the other Emendators and Paradoxes, he didn't sprint over towards the event, but contented himself with walking at a brisk pace. The clothes he was wearing now were quite nice, and he didn't want to ruin them by sweating all in them. Sure, they would be pristine again come morning, but he would have to spend the rest of the day in them. More importantly, now was not a time that required him to move with unnecessary haste. When he got there, Peter would still be dead. Working himself up to see it with his own eyes wouldn't resolve anything. As Gio walked, a thought occurred to him, Was this the true meaning behind Nancy's first reading today?

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Alicia stood there just looking at the body of Peter laying there in Georges arms. She didn't know exactly what had happened. The woman, like the other Paradoxes, didn't have the knowledge of history as it occurred like the Emendators did. This was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because she would never be weighed down with every last detail of an event when it transpired. A curse because she always had to get the information second hand and hope they had given her enough to go on. Yet as she heard Evelina let slip a single word, she knew she was on the blessed end of the scale right then. That was not a death she wanted a lot of information on. It would have been brutal from what she knew.

Her head turned slightly as Nancy came up, in cuffs no less. She wasn't about to ask just what the hell she had been up to. Gio had just recently made his presence known and she hadn't seen either of them before the last ten minutes. Her best guess was that they had been up to something, most likely a prank knowing those two. She had to bite her tongue to stop from asking a very inappropriate question - Alicia wasn't the most tactful person when it came to her speaking but even she knew not to ask what was with the love cuffs right then.

The wind began to kicked up and Alicia found herself having to grab ahold of her hair and keep it back out of her face. The sky was getting darker and as she looked up she spotted why. Her eyes widening some before glancing around and finally taking note that the pale Paradox that Evelina had taken for a walk earlier was there. "Bitch breath and calm that shit," she said as she took a step back. Last thing she wanted was to get shot in the ass by a lightning bolt right then.

Alicia had nearly forgotten Faith until she heard the womans voice. Her head turning as she kept trying to keep her hair back. "Them things, Destruere, that you were warned about. They did this shit..." she said as she stood there and then looked back over to Peters body. "Nasty fuckers, why we stay in pairs outside of the grounds..."

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This was not how she wanted to start this day off with the new Paradoxes but there was nothing to be done of it so far. It hurt to see Peter the way he was, laying there lifeless after she had given him a second chance at life. Yet they had rules for a reason, this was one of them. When you went back things happened. Yet this death was not because he had gone back, it was because he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or was it? They knew so little of their adversary, even less now without Drem about, it made it difficult to know. All she did know right then is that if he had stayed on the property he wouldn't have been killed in Egypt.

Evelina stepped forward and knelt down slowly as Nancy came over. "It is not your fault," she said in a steady voice as she reached out and pulled Peter from Georges grasp. The man did not let go right away but he did eventually release his friend and stand up as Evelina pulled Peter into her arms. Standing up Georges one eye looked over to Nancy as he let out a shaky breath. "That blood, it is not yours is it?" she asked as she cradled Peter against her. e knew it wasn't but she wanted others to hear it as they did not have the scene playing though her mind as she did right then.

"Mmmm, no, not mine," he confirmed as he started to walk over towards Nancy, his eyes down and his shoulders hunched forward as he did. He noticed the wind picking up but he only raised his hand enough to make sure his mask didn't fly off.

Evelina turned slightly as she held Peter and locked eyes with Andromeda. "Do remember what we were speaking about. Think of your moment, breath, in and out, calm yourself." Her voice was as calm as she could make it. It seemed that no matter what was occurring Eve wasn't bothered by it. At least it seemed that way as she sat there.

Spotting Gilbert coming up the road Evelina motioned with a single blood stained hand. "Do give me a hand to take him to the house." She wasn't going to attempt to carry the body to the house alone. Gilbert was more than capable to but she was not. Strength was not on her top ten attributes. Gio was coming up and she had to wonder if it was time to close the gates for a while. Perhaps it would be safer for the time being.