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A lot of conversations were happening almost simultaneously, and in a way you could say that Alexandra was having a harder time trying to keep up with it all. Her dark brown eyes darted around the room for a moment. She was really only gathering bits and pieces of conversations outside her immediate circle, a circle that now consisted of three what with the reappearance of Gilbert. Nevertheless, she seemed perfectly content simply living in the moment. And at this moment, she found that the giant man's smile was downright infectious. And perhaps swoon worthy. The corners of her lips pulled up into a wide grin, and there was a lively twinkle to her eyes.

Her gaze went back over to Bart as the two men started conversing. While the two seemed to be having a more or less serious conversation, Alexandra was anything but serious. She playfully stuck her tongue out at Bart before a giggle escaped her lips. Yeah, maybe the alcohol was kicking in. Or maybe, maybe she was just happy. Yeah, she was happy. A content smile came to her features before she took another sip of her alcoholic beverage. She winced and gritted her teeth slightly as it burned down her throat. She then glanced back over at Gilbert, giving him a soft smile.

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As Bart knocked back the last of his drink, Alicia pushed forward with the drinking game. He shook his head, binge drinking wasn't at all what he needed right now. A drink could make him feel better, but many would certainly not. He did however, have a light buzz that made his cheeks redden a touch. He laughed along with Alicia, responding, "Okay okay, that was a little silly of a question." He conceded, playfully putting his hands up. He placed his glass down on the counter, considering if one more would be too much. He didn't want to start spiraling, and it was at this point he remembered something he'd heard in his college years. Nobody ever regrets not having one more drink. He felt a lot better now though, and he knew that if there was one thing he couldn't do, it was handle his liquor.

What he was not expecting,w as to get a much more serious answer from The Hat, and his eyes bounced in surprise. He did find it interesting that he described them receiving a purpose. He assumed that was just their way of marketing ... whatever it was they'd be doing for them. He furrowed his brow, unable to remember exactly how they'd described it. He didn't particularly want to focus on it though, and so he didn't. He was a tad surprised at The Hat joining in on the drinking, thinking he might be of the more levelheaded variety, but he supposed the death of somebody close to him was a perfectly good reason to drink. Bart spared a passing glance over to Alexandra when she stuck her tongue out, he giggled with her, sticking his tongue out in kind. She was a crazy one, but seemed pretty interesting too.

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Drinking and death take its toll on everyone. While Evelina is sewing back up the corpse of Peter she sings to herself some, an old tune from England, one she grew fond of during her time in the United Kingdom. Her voice seems to echo as she sings, continuing her work until the fallen Paradox is stitched as well as he can be now that he is no longer in the any land of the living. The song seems to carry on he is dressed, accepting the aid of Andromeda if she is willing.

While this is going on, Alicia regales the tale of Keystone to James and any who would listen. She speaks of how she met the man in London while working for her father and setting up a new branch of Machete Security Services. Describing Keystone as a monster of a man in size, joking that Gilbert there looked like a short twig compared to Keystone. (Which the two were actually close enough in height and weight but Keystone is far more large in size.) How they came together was odd and such but he was a good man even if he did have his own demons, who didn't these days. Especially those in her line of work back in that world. Explaining they were not serious. She cared for him, it wasn't love but it wasn't lust either. It was a line she had used to describe her involvement with Ash during James time at one point.

Evelina makes a small appearance in the kitchen house to request Gilberts help, it is time to move Peter to his final resting place. During this time George helps Gio finish the grave before going back to the mill to construct a simple cross to place as a marker and then returning. It is nothing special but it has meaning, as much as it can right then. Evelina remains in the kitchen house to explain that there has been a death to the new Paradoxes. Their abilities are in check right now, those that have come to light. She invited them to attend but requests they remain respectful if they do, she will not tolerate drunkenness during the burial. With that she turns and leaves, moving swiftly to return to Gilberts side as he would be retrieving Peter for her.

Singing again now she repeats the song, over and over again under her breath as she walks. Alicia decides to stay behind, knowing her ways. She would just say or do something that would anger at least one of the Emendators. As Evelina makes it to the grave with Gilbert, George turns and helps to lower Peters body into the grave. Even though his mask covers half of his face, the part that shows is showing sadness as he does though he is not saying any words. Evelina speaks as they do and as George beings to cover the body with earth.

Telling the tale of his life before he became a Paradox, she tells of his fight in WWI, how he was captured, how they tortured him, how he stayed strong until the very end. That same strength came with him to this world, to this life. Even though he was hindered by the damage on his leg and the mental wounds of his previous life he worked well here and helped to stop several alterations in the time line. She smiles a bit as she speaks about how Peter insisted going to a small village to ensure that a single component to a spell was removed from being able to be purchased. It would have altered confronting a necromancer and could have altered so much more. The item, Salt Peter. It was only fitting he said that he should be the one to do it.

As the last bit of dirt is spread on the grave and George places the cross as a marker, she pulls from her pocket a golden pocket watch. Opening it, it contains a picture. "We never go back," she says as she lays it on the cross before turning and leaving the grave. George opts to remain behind for a bit but it isn't long after that he leaves as well. Changing his clothing and cleaning up. Evelina needs some time to herself and as that decides to fix dinner for the new arrivals. Alicia leaves the kitchen as soon as she shows up ad goes to sit by Peters grave, content to give her last respects alone.

It isn't long until dinner is ready and Evelina is setting up in the dining room. She accepts any help that comes her way but she does not speak. At least she does not speak to any around her. As she sets up dinner she recites The Raven from memory. As she finished the long poem dinner is ready and all that wish to sit and eat may. It is time for her to explain a bit more. Letting those there know there will be guests from the local town showing up soon for the evenings festivities. Most just wish to tour the grounds because of the places history. Kids will run around, asking for candy. She has plenty to hand out, it is in bowls in each of the main room. There will be some games, some scaring going on. All will be gone by 11 pm, if not they will be escorted off the grounds so the place is clear before the reset.

George makes another appearance, at the door of the dining room. Evelina stands and goes over to speak with him. They speak of George returning to Cairo, loose ends must be wrapped up. She agrees. Things needs to be taken care but informs him that Alicia will be going with him. Knowing the Destruere are in Cairo she will not let him face them alone should they make another attack. He gives a grunt but nods and leaves. Evelina turns and returns to her seat. "You're training will begin tomorrow," she informs the Paradoxes who chose to eat dinner now with her. There is a loon on her face before she pulls out the dice from her pocket and lets them fall to the table. There is a look of relief to pass her features as she gathers them back up and returns them to their home.

(This is a test of a new way to move things along. We have had a small time skip. Your update is a summary of what occurred during this time. Pick up at the current time. Think of it like a book or a movie or TV show. Small sections with a little bit of back and forth and then we move on. Let's see how this goes. We have our first now. Make note of your information dump and pick up as needed. Continue posting as per usual.)

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Sophia looked at Gilbert when he took a drink, and heard him answer Bart's question which she listened to when the Hat gave his reply it was something she did agree with. All she remembered was being in an explosion and that was all that she could remember then waking up here, Sophia took a few more sips from her jar of moonshine. Wincing slightly with each sip, but she didn't finish drinking it she wanted to be respectful and didn't want to appear drunk in front of pretty much everyone. That wouldn't make a good impression on anyone either if she decided to get herself piss drunk.

She then decided to simply listen to James and Alicia talking to one another, about her leaving behind a kid and who the father was if she ever did have a kid she couldn't imagine having one with one parent gone or both of them. She got up and set the moonshine that she had back where it was found. Then Sophia turned her head when she saw The Dice coming into the room, requesting The Hat's presence, when Evelina informed them that there was a death that happened with one of the other paradoxes. Luckily as far as she knew it wasn't from anyone in the group she had came with.

Sophia was a tad bit tipsy from her drink, but decided to go anyway even if she didn't know Peter Sophia decided to go anyway and pay her respects. She was quiet and respectful during the entire time, and didn't say anything while anyone else who was there did their own respects as well, while she listened to Evelina give Peter's story and how he was in life he did seem like a good guy and wished she could have gotten to know him.

When everything was said and done, she decided to go back to the kitchen house and helped prep for dinner as well the best she could do anyway. Having one hand was a tad bit hard to do things, she stopped for a moment and thought back to her last day being alive when she and her just started dating girlfriend Niesha were cleaning out a grease trap in the kitchen. Even though the job itself was dirty it was still nice, wiping a slight tear. Once she was finished prepping the dinner for everyone she made herself scarce, and went to her room for a little bit to just think to herself. But when dinner came to Sophia showed herself once again and made her way into the dinning room, and deciding to join whoever else was there.

Sophia ate in silence for awhile before her attention went towards Evelina when she said that they started their training tomorrow, which did get her curious as to what it would entail. She watched Evelina use her dice once more, before putting them away before finally speaking up. "What sort of training does it entail, also what time do we start?" Sophia finally asked, she was eager to start pulling her weight around.

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The Hat wasn't particularly known for having an overabundance of manners. Quite the opposite, in fact. He was literally from a culture that, while considered the beginning of civilization from an anthropological standpoint, was considered barbaric by today's standards. He was a barbarian. These people were lucky that Gilbert didn't fling off his cotton and silk clothing with wild abandon and beat them all to death with a table leg. Nevertheless, he was most certainly sitting down to a wonderful repast, calmly holding a spoon over a shallow bowl of warm and nourishing soup. He was even fully clothed, attired in basically the same clothing as earlier in the day, but of finer quality and with no distressing evident. They were to receive guests, as per usual, and he wanted to look his best even if he didn't feel it.

Though to pay homage to his more barbaric history, Gilbert declined the point of etiquette demanding he extend his pinky.

The news that the Paradoxes would begin their training tomorrow prompted Gilbert to speak. Before he could utter a word, Evelina's roll of the dice drew his attention. Even as she gave a look of relief, Gil breathed a quiet sigh, content in his assumption that no other massive event of death and dismemberment would be taking place somewhere in the multitude of realities this hour. He hoped. He picked up where he had intended to start speaking, "The sooner the better, too. Many of you may have tendencies toward a more combative approach to Paradox-ing." Yes, he used it as a verb. "My role in your training usually involves this, and a practical approach to history to avoid potential anachronisms. Leaving those behind can have massive effects on reality as we know it."

He took a spoonful of soup, careful to only slurp it a little, before finishing with, "Just remember, you aren't really going to know where your tendencies take you. You might find yourself very surprised at what you pick up easily, and what now comes with extreme difficulty."

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"...so, this place a tourist stop?" thought James to himself. He had decided to take supper with the Emendators, leaving Alicia to do what she did by herself. She always did seem to like her privacy when it was requested, or merely taken. At least the incarnation of her that he knew in undead-infested Georgia. But he supposed that the details of a person might be different from timeline to timeline; alternate experiences affecting outcomes and choices made, etc. As if he had seriously considered this line of though EVER. His situation made him think of a great many things that he had not previously delved into. Perhaps he should have joined her, who knows? She had given him a lot to think about, and he was busy with those thoughts all day.

So, James sat at the magnificent table in the main house, eating his meal and wondering exactly how one "trains" at being a wild boar. One way or another, he was going to figure it out in the morning, that was for damned sure. What was also for damned sure was the fact that he was vastly out of his depth right then. The same creeping sadness that took him that morning threatened to do so again. It helped no one. He would have to take his own time to grieve, to come to grips with the hard logistics of what it meant to be pulled back from the brink of death and squeezed into a different timeline on a single day set to repeat ad infinitum.

Well, to hell with it. Immerse himself, adapt or die. He'd read Darwin. Well, he read stuff from people who had read Darwin. Ok, no, he'd scrolled through The Darwin Awards online a long time ago. Same thing, right? He needed to get involved. "Aight, Miss Dice. Thank ya much for the meal, I'll try not to put m'elbows on the table or nuthin', and uh... What can I do to help out tonight?"

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Faith sort of stumbled through the drinking game. She lost track of what most of the answers were or who the winner was. She came to a realization though: She couldn't stand most of the people here. She had a feeling that would be the case, but it was even more evident as they talked. Alicia was pretty cool and most of the Emendators were chill, but the other Paradoxes? If she was going to survive here, she would have to grin and bear it and she wasn't sure she had the capacity of doing so.

Did she have to get along with them? She still had many questions as she stumbled her way into the dining room. A grand feast before them and she could safely say she had not eaten anything this nice before. Not having to struggle to find food for you was a plus. And they would be training tomorrow? Even better. Her ability seemed really cool and useful and she knew her way around a weapon. She was pretty confident she was going to kill it tomorrow (pun fully intended).

The one man's words (was his name Gilbert? The Hat or something?) struck her though. So, not only did they have abilities, but things they were good at they might not be anymore and things they sucked at they could be fantastic at now? How did this make any sense? Was she not the same person anymore? Her mind was racing with questions, but she remembered what happened to the annoying, blonde kid when he asked so she kept her mouth shut.

She would have to wait until tomorrow to see.

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Gio didn't really have time to get all dressed up, what with being busy digging up the grave for Peter. So he had to spend the ceremony covered in dirt, slightly disheveled, sweaty and somewhat disgruntled by the fact that he hadn't the chance to make himself as presentable as he'd like. Oh sure, technically he could just step through a portal to some other time and place and get ready there before popping back in when it'd be most convenient, but that would be a gross misuse of his abilities as The Watch.

At the dinner table, despite the grand meal laid out before them, the Emendator didn't eat much. Sitting atop his plate was a single bread roll, with a blob of butter sat conveniently spaced to the side. Previously, he had eaten some greens, but not much more than that. Every once in awhile he would take the roll, tear off a small chunk, then with a butterknife cut off a small piece of the fat before applying it directly onto the bread piece and popping it into his mouth.

"There's more than simply combat and anachronisms as well," Gio spoke up after Gil mentioned his role as the Master of Combat. "You all will be sent on missions to all different times and places, and you'll all need to know how to be invisible. Not in the literal sense of course, but socially. The last thing you want to do is draw attention to yourselves; you never know who or what is watching you. Do the wrong thing at the wrong time and you could put the entire mission or worse: the lives of you, your teammates, and potentially entire timelines in jeopardy. So in the pursuit of becoming invisible, no matter the when or where, you'll need to learn how to act, when to act, and most importantly, when to stay put and remain silent. If you know how to make proper decisions and see them through with deliberation, you'll find your lives much easier. It wouldn't hurt to brush up on your punctuality as well."

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Alexandra was all smiles and giggles as she drank and conversed. A sense of normalcy and comradery washed over this strange new reality, smoothing out all the craziness to something more bearable. Right then she felt content, through and through. And then The Dice came in and dropped a bombshell that metaphorically sent her staggering backwards into an emotional tailspin. Death. They all had just escaped death and already it struck again. Couldn't it just give them a break for one goddamn day?! She didn't know this Peter person, and yet it struck her hard nonethless. She was no stranger to loss after all. No, loss was an old friend.

The smile fell from her face, her lips thinning as the rest of her features dulled. She shook her head slightly and slowly retreated from the group. She couldn't go to the funeral. She just couldn't handle them, not after both her parents were killed in one fell swoop. Besides, she would just say the wrong thing and unintentionally offend someone. She didn't do emotional pain well. She just ended up instinctively resorting to sarcasm to cover up what emotions lied below the surface. She refrained from escaping the now stifling room until the others had left to attend the funeral. She didn't want to appear desperate in front of them, and she was trying to at least be respectful despite the emotions welling up inside her.

Once everyone left the Kitchen House, Alexandra took one last swig of her alcohol before quickly retreating to her room. As she shut her door behind her and she was greeted to the pictures of her loved ones, she couldn't hold herself together any longer. A sob was wrenched from her throat, followed by another and another as she crumpled to the ground. She didn't know how much time had passed before she felt like she had cried herself out. She felt exhausted, both emotionally and physically, and yet she also felt lighter. Apparently, she had just needed a good cry. She finally pulled herself up off the floor, wiping away the remaining tears from her cheeks. She gave a fleeting glance to the photographs before relcutantly leaving the room.

She trudged into the dining room, where she found the others already gathered. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy from crying, and her hair was probably a mess. But, whatever, food would make her feel less crappy. She grabbed a plate and stuffed it full of food, her appetite unhindered by her mood. She then took a seat as The Dice began discussing the beginning of their training. She was quite possibly only half listening to the conversations stirring around her.

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Gilbert motioned with his spoon toward Giosue, signifying agreement with the man's statement even as he swallowed a chunk of something in his soup. The hiccup he surpressed mid-swallow might be considered comical were he to allow more than mild discomfort to show on his features, but he didn't want to take the attention away from his fellow Emendator's point. That, and being as the Heimlich Maneuver wouldn't be invented for some thirty or so years from their current temporal coordinates, and thanks to the wonder of Paradoxical rebirth, if any of these new guys ever had medical training, they didn't now. Yet might be inclined to make things worse by trying. The Hat wasn't completely sure if he could actually die from accidentally choking on a random bit of soup ingredient, but it was fairly uncomfortable. Not so much as an axe to the groin (damned Dark Ages and their extreme wake-up calls), but not the most fun to take part in, given his preferences.

His face was beginning to torn slightly red. The Hat tried to smile for a moment, as a method of putting others at ease lest they attempt to assist, politely waving anyone away that might potentially try. He carefully set his spoon down upon the side of his bowl, blinking away moisture from his eyes, and balled up a mighty fist. His smile turned into a determined look despite the lack of oxygen, followed by the sharp descent of his fist toward his abdomen. It connected with a tough smacking sound, as a hammer colliding with a thick slab of nickel steak, prompting the immediate expulsion of something from his esophagus; a vaguely spherical grey-brown mass that hurtled over the table.

With the speed and surety of a striking snake, Gilbert's other hand snapped forward, plucking the offending food nugget from the air before it got much farther than his own place setting. His breathing started to regulate itself one huff at a time, during which he brought the thing which almost laid him low close for inspection. It was a small but whole mushroom. He nodded to Evelina, asking a quick, "Is this from the grounds?" before thinking better about initiating the conversation, waving her off from answering (unless she insisted of course, it's not like he could stop her). He popped it back into his mouth, took two or three solid chews on the near-fatal fungus, and jumped back to the conversation at hand. "Yes! Yes, Gio is correct. Perhaps more important than firing a gun or swinging a sword. Those details will mean the difference between success or failure, when failure has devastating consequences."

He glanced around the table to see if his impromptu game of catch with his supper was foremost on anyone's mind, continuing with, "I recall one such incident that involved putting a coin in a parking meter at a specific place and time meant the difference between life and death for a great many people. It's usually something small like that, if out of place, that pulls the linchpin out of an otherwise stable timeline. But the tricky part was staying among the locals, undetected, until it could be located."

Gilbert gave a quick, nonchalant nod and returned to his soup.

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Not for the first time, James found himself wondering if he was better off in a hole somewhere in central Georgia, dead from extreme cranial trauma, than with this gaggle of misfits and assholes. He definitely counted himself among the number of assholes, this was for sure, but the effect was brought again to light by the display of martial prowess executed against his most recent enemy: A cooked mushroom in heavy broth. He continued to look at Gilbert as if he had just seen a spider crawl out of his nose, fart "God Save The King", and return to its nasal sanctuary. It wasn't until The Hat returned to his soup that he allowed himself to begin his meal.

He had to remind himself that this was his life now, such as it was. The concept of Life was turned a little on its head, granted, but he wasn't about to let that stop him. He existed, when he had no reason to exist. Despite being a decent guy, he had done very bad things and was exiled for it. His death occurred shortly thereafter, and though it was random as hell, he felt that he deserved it. If dealing with these strange people in their strange place while transforming into a pig was his Purgatory, then he was willing to go along with it. At least he got his Troublemaker back. Changed somewhat, but it wasn't like he was exactly the same person anymore, either. No no, Mr. James Mandingo Grady, Sir, was just going to hang back, enjoy his meal and in fact every moment that came to him as best he was able, and wait to see if he can be of any assistance to the Dice lady, who he assumed was in charge of these eclectic immortals, as he had mentioned before Gio offered his advice and Gil spat up a mushroom.

With one exception. "Hey dawg, real talk - Did that just come out yo'nose? You can tell me."

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Sitting there and watching the water break on the edge of the grass, Alicia let out a slow breath as she swirled a half empty mason jar of Holloways best. Not expecting Peters death to really have any affect on her, she found herself a bit more down than she would have liked. Not that anyone's death was ever easy and perhaps that was a good thing. For death to still hit her hard. What happened when a death no longer mattered? What was left to fight for then? Why fight? Other than out of habit, there really wasn't much reason when it no longer mattered. So this was a good in, in a very odd way.

Death was no stranger to Lady Lucas. It was like an ex lover that kept coming back, someone you never wanted to see again but knew you would. That you would open the door and let them in every time they came knocking. You knew it would hurt but maybe there was some beauty in the pain, maybe there wasn't. From the look on the womans face one could not tell. Evelina seemed to remain as cool on the inside as her nails were painted on the out. Every so often there was a twinkle of emotion in her eyes but it was quickly chased away by the dark cobalt swirl within her iris.

Glancing over towards James turned her attention his way instead of whatever thoughts had been going through her mind. "We would most certainly welcome help from you all this evening. It may seem odd, as one might believe that we wish you to tell them nothing but we find that gossip fuels legends and ghost stories. Things that get swept under the rug. Long run, being in the open helps us hide in plain sight. If any of you can weave a tale well, do entertain the children when they arrive or the tourists. They always seem up to hearing a tale of woe," she said as she sat there and gently pushed her plate back. Pulling out her pipe she knocked it a few times before lighting it and puffing to get it started once again.

Pushing herself off the group, Alicia dusted off her rear end and what was left of the moonshine. Anymore thinking on this and she would end up shit faced. That wasn't a good idea, anytime. There was a glance of someone walking off in the distance so she decided to take a look. Maybe everyone was done with food and it was time to start getting ready for the guests to arrive. This time of the evening seemed to be enjoyable but she wondered if this was a night to do this. They had shut down the camp some nights, when things were bad or too many were off on missions. It wasn't like those around here would find it odd. Those outside the grounds knew this place was different. There were whispers, all were wrong, but there was enough of an air of mystery to keep them from poking too much. At least in this day an age with such a sparse population in the area. Folk lore kept them safe. For now.

Listening to Gio and Gilbert explain things to the Paradoxes, Evelina kept quiet. They had a handle on things for now. Training would start in the morning. And that training couldn't come fast enough. Several had already exhibited their new abilities, and it seemed one more was joining the awakened, for as Evelina looked over towards Alexandra she blinked out of existence in her chair and in the parlor in one of the cushioned seats. Pushing her chair back Evelina rose and stepped through the open double doors. "Yes, we must begin early before this one ends up appearing in a very bad situation," she said in a cool voice as she sat down next to the girl. 'It's never easy, but it does get easier to deal with over time."

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"Mmmm, shouldn't have come with me," George said as he looked around the dark and empty alleyway in the heart of Cairo. The air was much cooler than it had been but there was still heat in the air. Even though the hour was much later, there was still life on the street. And in the alleyway as Alicia leaned back against the wall.

"Yeah, yeah, get over it buttercup. I want to see the scene. Now the sooner you show me, the sooner I can get my happy ass back home. So fucking move it," she said as she tucked her hair back in a weathered tan silk shawl and pulled it across her face to cover her features. "Anyways, better to travel in groups than alone."

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Bartholomew was happy to casually converse with the other paradoxes, though keeping away from the liquor. Drunkenness didn't suit him, and what everybody was drinking wasn't exactly the best tasting. Soon enough, Lady Lucas came and informed them all of what he already knew. He could only meet her words with a solemn look, almost apologetic. Death was hard, and not something he was used to dealing with or being around, so he kept his mouth shut for once in his life. This did worry him though, they mentioned that death was a possibility in their role here, but nevertheless, somebody actually dying brought a level of realness to that, and that terrified him.

On a normal day, Bart would have gone for a run to clear his head and try to sort out what was going on, but he felt that that could be disrespectful to the funeral proceedings going on. Instead, in the ensuing hours, he retreated to his room, and grabbed the copy of the Great Gatsby he found in his room earlier. He then laid back on his bed, and tried to clear his thoughts best that he could. He felt like he could cry again if he wanted to, but he knew he wouldn't survive long if every prolonged interaction with these people resulted in sobbing. He gripped his book, and started to read. In a way, this was his way of transplanting himself away from the world he was currently in, giving him the reprieve he needed.

He eventually left the room, his stomach crying out for food. It'd be easier to stay up here, hidden away in his room, but that wouldn't be healthy. He forced himself to take care of himself, and made note of his page number, lacking a bookmark and not wanted to dog ear a classic. He rested the book on his bed, and went downstairs to the kitchen, coming in on Evelina explaining that people from town would be coming in later tonight. It surprised him that they were fine with interacting with, for lack of a better word, mundane people. He thought there'd be some temporal risk in some way, but hey, they'd been doing this much longer than he had. The idea of making themselves into an urban legend was honestly a bit surreal, and he didn't know if he'd have a hand in that or not.

Quickly taking his seat, he listened in when they discussed starting combat training, and was quite intrigued when The Hat professed they they all might have combative abilities. Bart doubted this, specifically as far as his own capacities went. But even still, he didn't know what abilities he'd been gifted with yet. For all he knew, he could shoot lasers out of his eyes, or explode people'd heads with his mind, which, in all fairness, would make him a decent physical threat. He was, however, fairly confident he'd get a handle of hiding in plain sight. He felt that soft skills like that, which had always been his bread and butter, could easily continue into this new life.

He was briefly concerned when The Hat began choking, and almost got up to see if he could help in any way, not knowing the Heimlich himself. He was relieved, and slightly grossed out, when he dislodged the bit of food stuck in there. He continued to become more concerned, however, when Alexandra straight up stopped existing. A look of shock came across his face, hoping whatever just happened could be chalked up as an ability manifesting, "Um. Alexandra?" He called out concern ringing through his voice, unsure if she'd just come invisible, or if something horrible had happened. He gave a worried look between the Emendators, hoping they'd take charge and explain what had happened.

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Sophia would occasionally take a bite out of her meal as she leaned back in her seat looking over towards Gilbert and Giosue as the two Emendators told them what they will be doing. Sophia turned her head when Alexandra came into the room, seeing the woman's eyes were a bit red and her hair was a bit of a mess, Sophia could tell that she had been crying. She'd go and see how she was doing but she was more interested as she listened too at the other the Emendators while looking at the others. So they will be traveling around in time or different places, for whatever their missions would be to her it sounded like they would be more like time traveling spies. Which did sound pretty cool, and she was going to be very eager to see what everything would be like.

"So do we have a fancy time traveling phone booth on grounds to?" Sophia asked, laughing slightly at her little Doctor Who joke though she had only seen a small few episodes before the outbreak and way before she ended up dying. Sophia turned her attention towards Gilbert when it looked like the giant of a man was going to be choking on whatever it is that he was eating on. She watched Gilbert cough what looked like a mushroom out and caught it in his hand, smirking slightly towards James.

Sophia then turned towards Evelina as she told them that there will be some people coming to the grounds later tonight, biting her lip for a moment, she did just want to have a little bit of time to herself for the evening, but she'd be willing to do her part. "I don't mind helping." Sophia said, she could push out a few made up stories out of her head if she could for sure.

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Faith rolled her eyes as the brunette woman (what was her name? Alexandra?) entered. Her eyes were red and puffy and it looked as if she had been bawling her eyes out. Whatever for, she had no clue. However, she seemed fine moments ago. Did it just hit her where they were at? Or was she grieving for the dead guy they found? She can't imagine why.

As far as she was concerned, she had no one she missed from her past life. However, it could be said that the others with her did. Still, they were "alive" in a sense. And having found out about all of this, they would forever be alive. And dead. Alive, but dead. God this hurt her head to think about.

Either way, it was weakness. And if they were about this new life, weakness had to be combated. If she couldn't cut it, then she would have to go away. Wasn't that something she learned during her time alive? The weak were dropped. Survival had to be maintained. If the girl couldn't handle her emotions, then she was useless.

However, she would let Evelina handle that. She was apparently tasked with helping out with visitors. She didn't understand this world yet, but the promise of training appeased her. She would play the "good hostess" for the evening. "I can lie with the best of them. I'll do my part."

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During the process leading up to the burial and the small funeral itself, Nancy had remained by George's side. She knew that her friend was hurting and she figured it was the best way that she could show him support. Maybe in a day or so, she'd insist that he assist her with trying to ride her bicycle on the roof of the main house and do a few tricks up there. Her mind had become distracted with various ways to cheer him up, and when it was decided at dinner that Alicia would return with him to Cairo, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. In her opinion, it had been far too long since she had gotten a chance to stretch her legs and leave the loop. She was starting to feel a bit caged in.

Andromeda had remained a quiet shadow to Lady Luck, helping her as needed and listening attentively to the story of Peter's life, happiness, and woes. As a lover of history, it was fascinating. But as someone who had just dealt with great loss, Andromeda couldn't help but understand how raw and painful these wounds would be. Her father had died over a month ago, from her perspective, and she still mourned him.

By dinner time, Nancy had changed out of the prison garb and into her normal clothing. She was nibbling on a caramel chew, having a sweet tooth and not really caring if she spoiled her appetite for the evening meal. Nancy couldn't help but smirk a bit at the thought of all of the locals coming. They always really did make her 'birthday' enjoyable. She couldn't help but wonder what tale she'd tell them this time. Or perhaps she and Giouse could come up with some way to frighten a few of them. Her mischievous smile as she pushed around her food with a fork made it all too clear why she had been called Loki. Nancy wasn't even quite certain if she had stolen Loki's identity or if the belief in Loki had been based off of her all along. It was a bit of a murky line.

Nancy continued to play with her food a bit, letting Giouse and Gilbert tell the Paradoxes everything they'd need to know. On the topic of punctuality, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. She was a gifted actress herself which helped with blending in, but it was a nightmare trying to get Nancy to stick to anything that even vaguely resembled a schedule. Andromeda was listening carefully, a bit excited at the prospect of learning more about how to blend in with different eras. And when it came to telling stories to visitors, she doubted she'd have any trouble. It was what she had done in her life, working as a museum curator - she told stories to visitors about the strange things she had found in her travels.

"Oh, that's fun," Nancy observed, glancing up as Alexandra teleported. "And if any of you get bored listening to rules and stuff all day...Well, just let me know. There is such a thing as being too prepared - it's better to just sort of work things out in the moment," she said with a shrug.

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Gio looked upon all the odd happenings at the table with what could only be described as distanced interest. He took things in, and appeared to react and be entertained, but didn't seem to be really be actively engaged with the rest of the table. Whether it was Gilbert's little choking episode (he was pretty sure both Eve and himself had in times past gotten onto him about chewing his food properly. If they lost another one of their number to poor eating habits of all things...) or Andromeda's disappearing act, he only had the minimal reactions to display.

"No, we don't have to do anything so out of the way," Gio said, replying to Sophia's question about time traveling phone booths. He was pretty sure she was half joking, but he still answered it with a straight response. "I can open up portals to any point and place in time, and you only need to step through it in order to end up at the desired location. But if what you're looking for is some sort of time manipulation artifact, we do have a television that acts as a time portal, that you can adjust to view any time and place you set it to. A television is a device with a built in surface that can be used to receive and broadcast images and sounds from other places." Perhaps not the best explanation of televisions, but he didn't know the context from which all of the Paradoxes had come from, and that was probably the best he'd be able to come up with off the top of his head without knowing more about these people.

"And I'd like to point out that there's also such a thing as being caught with your pants down because you refused to plan at all," he said as a direct counterpoint to Nancy. The last thing this group needed right now was to charge ahead without any guidance, thinking they can just rely on their gut. Or even worse, under the leadership of Nancy. He loved her, but she was not the person in charge for a reason. "Need I remind you of September 1st, 1661?"

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Gil couldn't help but smirk, if just a little bit at the disappearance of Alexandra. He did a quick mental check on the location, establishing a timeline of recent events. When everything congealed in his mind, his smirk turned into a calm smile. "The first piece of time for new Paradoxes are so full of interesting things, don't you think?" The words were directed to the Emendators in the room, but he quickly grew quiet. Saying that out loud in the presence of, as he had just mentioned, new Paradoxes. It might appear insulting or, at the least, condescending. He had been called far worse in his life, definitely done far worse, but to be overtly insulting? It just wasn't his style.

"Please accept my apologies. My interesting bump in events just happens to be a very shocking part of your recent existence. Point of view can lead to little acts of insensitivity. Alexandra is fine, by the way. She just joined the club of Paradoxes who expressed a little early. Honestly, I am astounded at your progress. You must be accepting your new lives rather fluidly."

The last of his soup lay before him, not quite enough to get into a spoon with ease and yet too much to simply leave there. He resisted the urge to slurp directly from the bowl, instead tipping it forward slightly to gather the last bit in his concave utensil, just for a second glancing about to see if anyone actually noticed him using what was considered the proper table manners of the time. Ok, so acting all Emily Post wasn't quite the magic trick he had intended. It was a start. For him.

He rolled his eyes a little at Nancy's philosophy on rules. A good part of him agreed, just not in the delivery. "True, one cannot be bound completely by the rules. But remember, The Rules save lives. There are very rare times when you have to roll with the unexpected, though, and when to bend the rules. Don't make a habit out of it. Again, The Rules save lives. Being able to improvise (and knowing when to) doesn't hurt either. Just... we will cover all of this in training. Don't worry about it now."

Now, when Gio began to speak, Gilbert's face lit up. "Yes! It's a little strange at first, but viewing sections of timelines can be absurdly entertaining. Even a little addictive. One of my favorite "shows" involves the continuing adventures of this fuzzy orange cat named..." he let his words die off, and immediately took a sip of clear, white wine. His train of thought was coming dangerously close to talking about something from a timeline, and location, of one of their new Paradoxes. And one of their existing ones, for that matter. Time to be quiet for a bit. "Well, it's really something, once you get used to it."

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James had intended his offer of help to be for the meal, or cleanup, or something of that nature, completely not realizing that he was volunteering to assist with locals in a close and personal manner. Ok, no big deal. He was just thinking that he had to adapt to his new life, and this might be a damn fine way to start. He used to be a people person, once upon a time. Considering what The Hat had said earlier, James was curious as to whether his social skills slipped away in his death, or if that was so rooted in himself that it could not be separated from his soul. He hoped it was the latter. Being a black man in the rural South in the 1940s was going to suck out loud if he was one inappropriate guffaw away from being lynched.

But he did still have his memories, be they like peering through frosted glass sometimes. And his memory was packed full of tales of woe. The public liked those? Well, he had just come from a place that was one part Purgatory and one part Hell, mixed in with tiny spots of something worth fighting for. "Hells yeah, I gots me some stories. Most'em true, too. Ain't a soul gonna believe it here, I ain't thinkin'. But they some good ones, livin' where I was. I'll be happy to be of service, Ma'am."

He looked around the table, just for a second pretty sure that he had just missed something important, or of association to him. He did see an empty seat that had once been occupied by a Russian lady, which he shrugged off. Maybe she needed to use the one bathroom on the whole estate, and would be back soon. "Hey, one o' you say somethin' 'bout a cat? We used to have this cat, hang around us in Newnan... Little asshole, too. Kinda miss him. Came in with a big Russian, name o' Bazhooli. Hmm..." He paused a moment, lost in thought. "Oh hey, someone pass that bread." he abruptly requested, holding a hand out in the general direction of the yeasty rolls.

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The stress of the day, with all its relentless ups and downs, weighed heavily on Alexandra right then. She couldn't quite shake off the melancholy that had reared its ugly head despite her best efforts. Needless to say, she was totally over this day. Like totally. Over. It. Everything else became white noise as she kept her head down and focused on eating her food. It was written all over her demeanor that something was up, but she really didn't care. She was content just then wallowing in her self pity until she could pass out for the night. A part of her still foolishly hoped that this was all just some terrible dream and that she would wake up to find herself back in the Tent City of the Russian Imperial Circus. But, of course, that would just be too easy.

One second she was staring down at her plate of food that was set on the table and then *poof* it was gone. Now she found herself staring down at her bare feet with her hand still poised in midair. She blinked several times in confusion. She slowly looked up to find that the others were all in the other room and she...was not? The hell?! "Avvvv vhat nov?!" she groaned with a pout. She had already had more craziness today than she could take, and now there was apparently more in store for her. She really couldn't get a break, now could she? She looked over at Evelina with a frown on her features as the Emendator came over and sat down next to her.

"Is it that obvious--" she asked before stopping to shake her head. "Never mind, of course it is." She knew herself well enough to know that she was more or less an open book when it came to her emotions. She arched a questioning brow at The Dice lady, silently telling her to do continue whatever explanation she had in store.

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Evelina glanced back into the dining room and her expression was one of no worry. "Just the latest of abilities presenting themselves, it is nothing to be concerned over," she said in an even tone. To her it wasn't. Abilities manifested when they chose to and while they could be troublesome and cause emotions to run high, once focused one could control them with ease. Each person that was here was born for each of these abilities when they were brought back. A gift as it were from the cosmos. If that were really true, Evelina had no idea, yet she accepted it nonetheless. It was as good an explanation as any for why they would suddenly be able to do something they couldn't before. Perhaps it was a trade off. All the skills they once possessed were now gone. What did a mind do when it was left with sudden free space? As with any computer, it found a new use for the space. Apparently these new abilities were what replaced it. Perhaps it was the way the mind coped with the sudden loss. It was better than a mind collapsing in on itself.

"Yes, I am sure you have many tales to tell, I can think of at least one the children might find humerus," Evelina said before looking back over at Faith. The pun she let slip was completely intended, Sophia had learned a strong lesson that day. Never kiss a corpse. (The underlying lesson she hoped was to pay more attention to her surroundings.) "Always keep your cover as close to the truth as possible, it does make it easier to recall. Here I would not worry Telling them you are from the future where the dead roam freely is truth and one they shan't believe. Like so many before them being told the world was round, truth is hard to swallow when it goes against everything you believe. That is why it is better to have an idea than a belief."

The Dice could only smile slightly in Nancy's direction. It was true, knowing too much could hinder a person from time to time. You could over think things instead of going with your gut yet if she had to chose Evelina would always chose to be over prepared than under. She hated chance, such irony as it was. She preferred facts, things that were set in stone, deduction, reasoning. Why she had been given the dice was beyond her. It was something she had thought about many centuries before but did not bother dwelling on it now. Some answers were never to come to certain questions. Life did not mean a right to knowledge.

"Yes, Schrödinger is a bit of a mystery is he not?" Evelina commented in passing with a slight grin on her features as she gave a sideways glance towards Gilbert. "At least he isn't as troublesome as Mr. Clops." She left it at that and turned her attention back towards Alexandria.

"Only because of experience. That is something you will gain during your time here. This is just the first of two abilities that will present themselves. Everyone has two. The first seems to be the quickest to come along and the most traumatic but that is to be expected. The second could takes weeks, months, even years to present. All we do know is that it will in time. What is will be, we do not know. Yet when it comes you will be better able to handle it than this one at first, and simply because you will have experience. You have a life time now to learn, many of them," she said in a cool voice before glancing out the window. It was growing dark.

"Please do pair up with which ever one of us you all feel most comfortable with and we shall begin. Can someone locate Alicia, it is time for her to greet the people at the edge of the grounds."

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"Yeah, yeah, I'll get back shortly," Alicia said as she knelt down and peered down the alleyway. It was full of local law enforcement. This wasn't boding well for her to get in to investigate and the last thing George needed to do was push his way in. His face was far to memorable.

"Have you cover story yet?" she asked as she ducked back down in the shadows and looked over towards George. He didn't say anything but simply nodded his head. When she asked if would care to share he shook his head no. That was how it was a lot of the time with him. There were very few people he actually spoke with and one of those had just died.

"Why the fuck do you think this happened?"

"Punishment," he said simply. Alicia quirked a brow and wondered just who needed punishing on a level like this. Sure Peter had snuck out and broke the rules but this wasn't a death worthy offense in her eyes. Even if it was, how would the monsters of the night know that? Yet from the look in Georges eye, he wasn't speaking about Peter just then.

"What the fuck did you do?" she asked, a light finally dawning on her.

"Enough."

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Sophia turned her attention towards Giosue as he told them how they would actually be time traveling to different places and timelines, her comment was half joking but she was glad to know how they would actually be traveling. "Thank you, for the info." Sophia said with a soft smile as she started to continue eating, she grabbed herself a roll and started to take a bite out of it she didn't really put butter on them whenever she chose to eat them. There was a TV that they could watch with various timelines in it? That would be actually very interesting to see and made a note to look at it later if they had time to. Both Gilbert and James mentioned an orange cat in Newnan, she didn't really know any animals in Newnan aside from the ones that were out in the agricultural area.

Then the other Emendator finally spoke up, and listened to her advice and nodded slightly to always be prepared for anything that was unexpected. Which to her where she had come from she always had to be prepared to expect anything really whether it be walkers or the living. Though the living were more unpredictable then walkers, you didn't know if they were friendly or not and also you could hear walkers coming from miles away and stay ahead of a herd. Though being over prepared was also a good thing as well to make sure things were done properly.

Sophia already had a story brewing up in her head it was just about her time before being brought to Newnan, and how she lost her hand which was her fault for not paying attention in the first place. And that would always stay with her even now, she listened to Alexandria as she was now in the next room. Her ability seemed to have manifested as well, which was some kind of teleportation which was actually pretty cool as well.

Sophia noticed that it had gotten pretty dark now as well, and the guests would now be coming in pretty shortly as Evelina said to pair up with an Emendator now. She looked at the four of them now, Evelina seemed to be the calm, very smart leader, while Gilbert seemed to be a bit more laxed then Evelina was. Giosue she didn't know to much about the older looking man other being the third Emendator that she met today, before her ability manifested and forced her to pass out. And then there was Nancy who she didn't know anything about aside from seeing her at the funeral for Peter. But she appeared to be the youngest one out of all of them, she decided t try and get to know her more. "I'll go with Nancy then." Sophia said, when Evelina mentioned Alicia she didn't remember seeing her since the funeral which seemed odd to her at least.

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Faith listened to Evelina's words and understood them, but she wasn't happy. Truth be told, those from the past would find it unbelievable that the dead would come back to life and those living would have to struggle daily just to survive. Hell, she lived in that world and even she had trouble believing it from time to time. Still, though, it seemed like an opportunity wasted.

Faith looked around and noticed Alicia was gone. The woman obviously was busy and she wondered if it had something to do with that scary face dude. Either way, she was left with the others and she wasn't too thrilled by that. So far, she hadn't connected with any of the other paradoxes apart from Alicia. James seemed ok, but the others, not so much. Granted, she hadn't talked to the pasty chick yet.

So when Evelina asked them to pick one of them to pair up with, Faith had trouble. The other Emendators were all fascinating to her, but she wasn't exactly close to any of them yet. There was only one she felt comfortable with. "If we have to pick, would it be all right if I asked to join with you?" she asked Evelina. Out of all of them, Faith felt drawn more to this woman than the others. Plus, having dice in your hand that determined fates were fascinating. Plus, she seemed to have all the info.