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Sophia stared between Gilbert and Nancy as they said something in some unknown language to her, and simply just shrugged it off it wasn't really her business either. But from what she could see from Nancy's body language she didn't like the name Gilbert gave her, she simply decided to just stick out of it for now. Her attention was back at Nancy as she spoke more a bit about the Crypt family line that it was one of her favorites, during her time when she was live traveling in the walker infested world that she and James came from. Sophia never met anyone of them, well up to now that is. Sophia turned to look at Andromeda as she mentioned her half brother and knew the woman that was before them now.

"It's nice to meet you." Sophia said towards the dark haired pale woman and gave her a slight smile, as she watched Gilbert walking off towards the kitchen house to go grab the woman's drink. She listened in on James and Alexandra as the two of them spoke and gave them a smile. Alexandra to her seemed to be a very energetic kind of person, and very childish at times but she could see getting along with her at some point as well which wasn't a bad thing at all. James she already knew, well not really but the guy seemed to be really likable and he was the first one to greet her after waking up in this strange place as well.

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Faith paid little mind to the others around her. She focused more on the mysterious woman, waiting for her answer. Was she another Emendator? It seemed the others knew of her so if she was one, why was she not staying with them? Was she, perhaps, more powerful than the other Emendators? More powerful than Evelina? That seemed unlikely. So what was she doing here then?

She glanced over at the others. Alexandra and James were going on about the stupid punch like it was some big thing. Sophia was being quiet and the albino girl was talking to the mysterious lady also. She wondered how the other guy was doing: Bart. Probably throwing up some more and embarrassing himself. Faith let out a chuckle at this mental image. She sipped her drink some more (ok, the damn punch was pretty good!) as she waited for the woman to speak, almost chomping at the bit to get answers to her questions.

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Turning slowly, the dark haired woman arched a single brow very deeply. A sultry grin tugged at the corner of her lips as she laced her fingers together at her breasts. It seemed someone wanted to know who she was. There might have been others who were curious, but one seemed to have the gumption to actually ask her directly. This pleased her. While she could be rather quiet and perhaps daunting to some, she was a kind soul. Well as kind as one could be if you enjoyed a good rack session.

"How rude of me. You all must be very new births. I tend to forget that not everyone here is aware of who I am at the start. Allow me to introduce myself," she said in a smooth voice as she extended her hand to the young woman. Her slender fingers were tipped in dark red polish over stiletto nails filed to a sharp point. Her skin touch was as cool and as soft as silk, almost like an embalmed corpse. "I am known here as Belladonna."

Nancy seemed to explain that Belladonna was a Crypt but that would not mean much to those who had not encountered one. "Oh yes, I was there. Was such an eventful time. Truly macabre. And what a pleasure it is to meet you as well. It seems our dear mother has chosen some very interesting new children. My daughter will so adore having some new playmates. A rousing game of Wake The Dead will be in order," she said with a coy look crossing her features.

"I do believe I smelled a fresh grave when I came home this eve," she added as she glanced over mischievously towards Nancy. "That is if Puridaj does not protest it," Belladonna continued in reference to Evelina.

Hearing Gilbert return she took the drink he offered and raised it slightly, giving it a once over before partaking of the liquid. The hollow of her throat moving as she swallowed and let out gentle moan of enjoyment. "Positively deadly," she said as she lowered the glass. "Of course not, we must speak later," she added, returning the wink.

"The pleasure is all mine," she said towards Sophia, making sure to address the woman directly. She wuldn't want to miss anyone that was speaking to her. It was so rare that she was able to come home and while this wasn't under the best circumstances, it was hardy the worst. "Zdorovo vernut'sya domoy," the woman said in an old dialect of Russian as she glanced around. While the Emendators spoke many languages, they didn't speak all of them so it was rare for Belladonna to slip into her native tongue but she would from time to time when was feeling nostalgic. Her eyes darted over towards the others as she took another sip of the drink Gilbert had provided for her.

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Alicia grunted a bit, she didn't want to move just yet but it was time to go. She had seen what she needed to see, George was back safely and hopefully attending to what needed to be to clean up after the mess Peter had left. It was time to move on and face the music. She was sure that Evelina was not going to be happy with her but hey maybe the fact she got injured would calm the wrath she was going to have to face. Granted the fact she got injured would probably just be used as ammunition to why she should have kept her ass at home that night.

Either way, time to walk. Thankfully she had some help from Gio and the new guy Bart. Gio opening the portal was always a sight to her. It was neat, like some special effect from the movies. Very Dr. Strange meets Quantum Leap. Hobbling through the portal she began to feel a bit better, she was still dizzy from the blood loss but the leg was hurting less and less as they moved and a warmth was spreading through her from where Bart was touching her.

Once they were through she stopped and looked over at the kid. "You're a healer? Now that is fucking useful," she said with a slight smirking chuckle. "Holy shit balls, thanks gringo," she exclaimed as she put some more weight on the leg and laughed. This was great. sure she still needed to clean up and put a good bandage on it but it was only a scratch now. Oh yeah, that was an ability that would get a lot of use.

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As Belladonna explained who she was, Andromeda found her head swimming with more questions. There had been mentions of missions to correct things - had that been why Belladonna was in Altsoba? Had that been supposed to happen - was it fated? Or had her brother been a puppet of the Destruere? Were they able to control people in such a manner? Her mind then locked onto another thing Belladonna had mentioned - her daughter. It seemed that Belladonna was a Paradox, since she called Evelina her mother and their mother as well, so then Andromeda reasoned her daughter must have been killed at a young age - and remained so forever.

"Will she be joining us too?" Nancy asked, curious. She smirked slightly at Belladonna's suggestion of playing Wake the Dead, though she made a mental note to keep George away from it if it happened. She doubted he'd want to play that game on the day that Peter had died. He was rather sensitive, something that people tended to overlook in Nancy's opinion. "I have missed you and the little demon..." Belladonna was in her top five favorite Paradoxes, after all. If she ever had to return to the Viking Age, she'd definitely ask her to come along with and pose as Hel. It would be great fun.

Andromeda knew that Paradoxes couldn't have children. Had Evelina decided to revive a mother-daughter pair? She supposed that was rather sweet and kind, yet she knew that Evelina wouldn't answer the question if she asked. She had made it rather clear earlier that she would not explain why she had brought any particular person back from the grave. "Why were you in Altsoba?" Andromeda asked. "...Was it really the devil there? Or...what were they called...the Destruere?"

Nancy took a moment to look at the other Paradoxes, noticing that they seemed to be showing their real personalities now. Alexandra was incredibly talkative, whereas James was sweet and kind, if not a little dorky. Sophia was gentle and quiet. Andromeda - dear lord, that one had an inquisitive mind and Nancy was fully going to take advantage of that. She'd have the girl convinced that there was an Emendator called the Balloon before the loop reset five more times. Nancy was certain of it. Bart - well, she hadn't actually seen enough of him to form an opinion quite yet. And Faith, she seemed a bit shallow but proud and determined. She was going to have fun with her.

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It looked very much like the party was moving in the direction of the Oak. Conversations seemed to be pulling Belladonna toward the area and the nearby cart full of goodies where everyone was gathering anyway, and it was no surprise that she was indeed the center of attention. She tended to be. But as it just so happened, Gilbert wanted to pay a little visit to the cart, himself. He took a leisurely walk alongside the slender, extremely popular lady as their individual discussions brought them closer and into the clearing near the monolithic Oak. As they neared James, the oddly cheerful fellow manning refreshments (and his protege for the evening), Gilbert cleared his throat and nonverbally offered to top off Belladonna's tumbler of scotch.

Being as he had a later appointment with the woman, he figured that the other, significantly more recent residents of Ville au Camp could benefit from her confidence and experience. He let a reassuring gaze linger with her before nodding slightly and motioning to the cart, indicating his next intended destination.

Gilbert approached the cart, giving a mind's eye listen to the recent conversations nearby. He did not know exactly how to feel about the implications around "Wake The Dead", considering that the person interred was a friend and fellow warrior, and very recently at that. He was certain that Evelina would handle the situation with grace and tact; it was her specific forte and perhaps her most powerful ability, even over her abilities as an Emendator. It was often his belief that the proper application of mundane abilities were as useful, if not moreso, than the most enigmatic of powers.

But that thought wasn't at the fore of his mind. What was revolved around a set of two smallish logs of sponge cake filled with a light and airy creme that was, until the Second Great War, flavored with bananas. Since the hostilities began and the oblong yellow fruits were rationed among the soldiery, the nigh heavenly gift was instead flavored with vanilla. Gilbert had no preference; so far as that was concerned both were worthwhile endeavors of the human condition. Approaching the cart, James, and everyone else nearby, his content, laid-back smile turned into a childlike grin. He crouched, pulling back the drapery covering the bottom shelf of the wheeled chariot of earthly delights, and stashed his bottle. Simultaneously, he procured a handful of cellophane-wrapped packages and held one out to both James and Alexandra, the two who seemed most interested in the cartbound goodies. "The two of you might or might not be familiar with..." he began, interested in their take on the confection.

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"Holy shit, y'all gots TWINKIES!" exclaimed James, cutting off the taller and painfully more powerful Emendator. He accepted the gift with something akin to reverence. He hadn't seem one of these for a long, long time, and he remembered them damned fondly. He didn't actually see what all Gilbert had loaded into the bottom of the cart, just that it was supposed to be backups for the show pieces and beverages along the top. But Twinkies? He was sitting upon the motherlode of spongy golden deliciousness this entire time and no one had thought to tell him? Of course not... and it was probably good thinking on their part. He might have been tempted to destroy the entirety of their Twinkie stash by means of instantaneous inhalation. James had lived without luxury items of any kind for a very long time (camouflage tuxedo and homemade whiskey notwithstanding), and this, well, was like a little slice of mana of his very own.

It was even enough to take his mind off of the overabundance of particularly witchy women in his immediate surroundings. That was not to say that, after ingesting - no, savoring - the amazing little prepackaged treat, he would not fall back into old habits. Just that right now, priorities shifted from the concept that he likely wouldn't embrace (and probably shouldn't pursue) to the idea of a moment's sugary bliss. Yes, bliss. The rest could understandably wait.

Remembering his manners finally, "Why, thank you kindly there, Mr. Hat, sir! You just trade up fo' a Coke and a smile now, y'hear?" He popped the top off of the bottle he was holding just a moment prior and handed it over to Gilbert, then paid close scrutiny to the package in his hands. "Now, Miss Alex? If you ain't never had no twanky before, you are in for a real good time. Mmm hmm, mmm hmm..."

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And like that, they had stepped out from Cairo and back into Ville Au Camp right in front of the door that he and Bart and left through merely minutes beforehand. The door behind them was still open, but it only lead into a mostly empty garage. Without looking, Gio reached behind him and shut it. It was something he had grown accustomed to doing after taking people out for the first time. It was just easier to deal with, and in cases of going to/from a hub like Ville Au Camp, meant that there were fewer doors left open at any given time. He hated when he walked into a room or hallway and there were doors just haphazardly open everywhere. It was so untidy.

That aside, it appeared as if Bart had finally stumbled upon his Paradox power, and it was one that could be quite the lifesaver. Even better, it didn't seem like a kind of healing that didn't carry with it some kind of nasty side effect or hidden cost. For instance, he remembered one Paradox whose healing abilities operated by accelerating the body's natural ability to heal, but if it was abused, the growth would spiral out of control into a hyper-reactive form of cancer. It wasn't pretty.

"Seeing as you've recovered," Gio interjected, as he removed himself from Alicia's side, a great smile spreading across his face from ear to ear, "you are in perfect condition to be reminded once again about how you are to conduct yourself while in Ville Au Camp."

"Bartholomew, you're free to leave. The festivities should still be in progress, if winding down. Go on, enjoy yourself before you can tire of the loop. You don't want to listen to this anyways."

"Now Signorina, you know better than this. I know you know. And you know I know you know exactly what you shouldn't be doing while you're the guide of the Camp. Not only did you recklessly run off simply to satisfy your own curiosities, but you didn't even have anyone with you and foolishly gotten yourself injured. What of the Destruere still lurked around the area and killed you too? Or if your injury drew unwanted attention to yourself, and you ended up on the wrong side of a knife or worse?"

"As the senior Paradox, you are supposed to be an example to the new arrivals on how they are supposed to compose themselves, but on the first day you go and break some of the most important rules. Rules that I might add are there to help protect both you and the timeline. What are the other Paradoxes supposed to gather from behavior like that? Furthermore, I might add..." And he went on like that for 10 minutes, 23 seconds longer. "Now Signorina Gonzalez, that'll be enough from me tonight, but I believe Evelina would still like a word with you." All tuckered out from the death, funeral, pranking and scolding that had gone one today, Gio stretched a few times before making his way back to his room. Tonight he would pass on his usual role in the night. He'd rather sleep. Lord knows he'd need the energy to deal with training a new batch of Paradoxes.

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Sophia looked towards Belladonna as she finally gave her name and smiled towards her and nodded, as she listened in and Belladonna referred to Evelina as a mother. She came to the conclusion that she was actually a Paradox at least that's what she thought anyway, and it sounded like she also had a daughter maybe, by the way that they spoke. Sophia rubbed her am slightly as she thought for a moment as to what to actually say next. Belladonna certainly did have an interesting way of wording things which to her did come off as a bit dark her attention turned towards James, Alexandra and Gilbert as he went towards the cart and knelt down and pulled out a small wrapped container and then stared at James.

They were Twinkies which she had not had in years, she grew up always eating them and then looked at James and smiled. "I'd like some to I haven't had any in years, I cant remember the last time I've actually had one of them." Sophia finally spoke up, as she eyed the kids there as well seeing them all eating and drinking enjoying the sweets that were prepared. Sophia turned to look at Andromeda as she started to ask more questions about wherever she did come from. She looked among the others and then raised an eyebrow slightly when Belladonna mentioned a game called Wake the Dead, which to her didn't sound all that entertaining.

"I think James and I dealt with enough of the walking dead all around us." Sophia said towards him and gave him a slight smile before turning her attention back towards Belladonna. She was still really curious and just decided to ask and be sure that she thought that she was a Paradox or not. "So are you a Paradox like us as well?" Sophia finally asked.

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Alexandra let out a deep, contented sigh as she continued to eat through the more or less stockpile of sweets she had at her disposal. And by disposal I mean it will go straight down the hatch. Needless to say, she had finally found her happy place. Good food and good company could certainly do a woman good. She glanced back over at James and gave him an awkward smile, awkward in that her cheeks were practically full much like a chipmunk storing nuts. Yet if she thought she was in paradise now, it was about to get ten times better when a certain someone finally graced them with his presence again. For a moment she looked like a deer caught in headlights, or rather a chipmunk caught in headlights, as she stood there wide-eyed and full cheeked. However, once she finally swallowed her food, she pulled herself out of her momentary daze enough to return his infectious smile.

As Gilbert's smile turned into a grin, she couldn't help but grin too. Her brown eyes followed him as he crouched down and rifled through the bottom shelf of the cart that was piled with savory goodness. She leaned over slightly, curious as to what he was looking for. After a few moments, he finally stood back up and handed her and James--another dessert? What did he do, hide the really good stuff down there? Not cool man, not cool. She looked back up at him and arched a brow in an almost sassy manner. She opened her mouth and was about to make some kind of sarcastic jab when James's exclamation rang out. She jumped and turned wide-eyed to look at him. Her brows furrowed slightly when his words finally registered with her. "Vhat on God's earth is a Twinkie?" she inquired, but nevertheless appreciatively took the foreign dessert that was offered to her.

She rolled it over a few times in her hands before opening it up. The smell of it wafted to her nose and made her mouth water. She glanced back up and over at James at his next statement. She gave him a small smile and raised her twinkie to him like it was a glass of alochol. "Bottoms up then," she exlaimed before taking a big bite of the dessert. Her eyes immediately widened as the sweet taste of it filled her mouth. "Mmmmm mhm mhm mhmmmhmm," she moaned. She did a little jig as she polished it off in the next two bites. She then turned to face Gilbert, pointing at him. "Mark my vords hat man, I vill raid your stash of Twinkies," she declared.

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Bart looked at Alicia in surprise, seeing the degree to which Alicia's leg had healed, and his face lit up. "You mean, that's not normal for Paradoxes?" He said, excitement in his voice. Of all the powers he could of gotten, he was really thankful it wasn't some kind of head exploding or some kind of touch of death. This was something he could live with, being essentially a white mage. He could genuinely help people with this, though he never wanted to be a doctor, this way he could heal people without needing years of study and practice. That of course, didn't mean he wasn't going to scour the library for as many books on medicine and human biology as possible, but it was certainly still a perk. He wondered if knowing anything about medicine would improve his ability at all, but as is, it seemed to be pretty strong. He took another glance at the wound, impressed by his own work.

He looked back at Gio as he was dismissed, and shrugged. He didn't need to listen to Gio reprimand Alicia. He had literally all the time in the world to bombard Emendators with questions, and Gio either was not in the mood to be bothered by Bart's questions, or was entirely not the person to be questioned. He can't say he hadn't met that type before, he didn't particularly like people like that, but he could understand the very basic tenet of "Don't piss of the leaders of the people you're stuck living with." To Gio, Bart was undoubtedly just a prattling child, which, in all fairness, he practically was compared to him. He gave a happy smile and nod to Alicia, sure that anything Gio could say to her wouldn't particularly phase her. She didn't at all seem the type to get scared easy. He did scratch his head for a second, making a mental note to ask her what exactly had happened in Cairo.

Stepping away from the Garage, he could see several other Paradoxes congregated near the Oak Tree, and headed near them, along with a couple of Emendators, and a woman he didn't recognize. He slowly approached, seeing Alexandra and finding his place near her. He had a certain familiarity with her more than the other Paradoxes at this point, and figured she'd be easiest to talk to, and quickly recognized the pastry that had been handed out as Alexandra demolished her. Twinkies! He'd practically grown up on those, junk food more than commonplace in his childhood home. The were certainly a soft spot for him, still being one of his favorite comfort foods. He gave a look between The Hat and the new woman, and waved, "I don't think we've met yet Miss, I'm Bart." He said, figuring she might be another Emendator, or at least a Paradox like himself. His eyes rested on her, clearly curious about who she might be.

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This woman, Belladonna she said her name was, intrigued her to no end. Had this been any other day in another life, she would wish to be this woman. Her tone, her words, they were like meth to her. Faith was desperate to know more about her. The Emendators all knew her, and seemed to respect her and wish to include her, and Belladonna herself had an air of mystery to her that Faith was desperate to break.

However, the others all seemed like her and pestered the woman with questions. Annoyingly, she didn't wish to pester the woman any more than she was already (a new avenue for her). "Perhaps I can pick your brain later, Belladonna, if you are still around, that is. I wouldn't wish to annoy you with persistent questions when you may very well be busy." She directed this line to those around her, continuing to talk.

And talk they did, about Twinkies! Faith knew the yellow pastry (if one could call it that). She hadn't eaten one in a while and, tempted, she picked one up and bit into it. She let the flavor linger in her mouth a bit. It had been a good long while that she enjoyed dessert of any sort, other than the occasional chocolate bar. This was a treat.

"You'll have to go through me if you want any more of these. And I fight dirty." She directed that towards Alexandra, who, it seemed, had never had a Twinkie before. Given her dialect, it made sense. Did Russia have Twinkies? Did she care? Not really.

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Alicia shook her head. "Fuck no, I mean we heal but not like this. You're gonna be fucking useful!" she said with a bit of lilt in her voice before Bart walked off. Taking a deep breath she turned and looked at Gio. Her smile faded and she braced herself for what was too come. And it came. Oh boy did it come. He laid into her for a good ten minutes before he stopped. Normally she would argue that was just how she was, but not tonight. She knew damn good and well she shouldn't have gone, she knew she broke the rules, it was better to take her ass reaming now and get it over with. Anything she said would only make the speech keep going. She waited for him to stop before she said a word.

"I'm sure she does, but thanks for giving a shit," she said. The man meant well in her book. She figured he was only saying all this because he cared. Whether it was about her she wasn't sure but at least he cared over all. Gio and her didn't have the best relationship, granted they didn't have the worst either.

"Yes I do indeed, Miss Gonzales, if you would come with me. We need to have a chat," Evelina said as she came into view. Alicia spun around and swallowed. She had just spent the last ten minutes getting reamed.

"Can't I at least get fucking cleaned up first?" she asked in a terse breath.

"We an do both at once, it will be more efficient that way. Come now, I'll escort you to your quarters," the Lady said as she placed her pipe in her mouth and motioned with a single slender finger towards the house. Alicia grunted but started walking, trudging towards the main house with Evelina close on her heels.

Belladonna looked over to Nancy and shook her head. "Not this evening, I do believe she has the most gruesome of tasks this evening. I believe she is attending a festivity of celebration, there was something about and I am paraphrasing here, watching a bunch of neanderthals trying to do their best impression of holding back Niagara falls with their mouths. I think a keg was involved," Bella said with a cool voice. Pre-graduation rituals were a mystery to the woman.

Turning her attention she glanced towards Andromeda and shook her head. "Oh Luci was just having a play date, it was nothing too taxing though I am still terribly vexed that I had to clean out so much black tar from my home. The undead can leave such a mess. Not to mention the decapitation of my daring Javier. Yet his body is still just so virile even without that stunning visage attached," she added fanning her chest a few times. Having a dismembered husband did have its advantages in the bedroom.

Sophia broke Belladonnas attention on a certain memory and the woman had a small smile tug at the corner of her blood colored lips. "Oh yes, our dear mother birthed me some many many centuries ago. I was the first after her dear Aeneas. It was a much more bloody time, at least in some ways. Death was so much more personal, up close, bloody. Oh it was a wonderful time. Especially in the Carpathians," she said wistfully thinking back on memory.

It seemed there were even more to meet as Bart came up and introduced himself. Holing out her cool hand to him in greeting she gave the man a nod. "Another? My mother has been busy this evening. It is a dark pleasure to meet you, I am known as Belladonna," she said introducing herself. Faiths words got her attention and she gave a sly grin. "I would more than welcome such, yet in the meantime I do suggest the scotch with a fig newton. A plebeian combination but the mix of peats taste of death with the sweetness of a dried fig is truly lavishing on the tongue." It was an odd combination but one she did enjoy when she craved something sweet.

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Seeing two women become territorial, even borderline savage, over something as simple and cheery as a Twinkie gave him a sense of disappointment. Oh sure, he could understand the draw. They were a particularly amazing cultural contribution that humanity gave to itself; sweet, golden, and delicious, made up of stuff that persons of a less advanced culture would consider godly, or at the least a deeply moving religious experience. But would he kill someone over a Twinkie? Hard to say.

On the one hand, there was a woman raised among the Russian Circus from a time long past. She would be able to recognize the thing for what it was, a wonderful confectionary delight that she had yet to experience. And on the other hand, another woman had already experienced The Twinkie, only to have it yanked mercilessly away from her by the coming of an undead apocalypse. He could sympathize. Now that Alexandra was introduced to the magnificence thereof, and Faith re-acquainted, there was cause for a little emotion. But Gilbert didn't like where this was headed.

"Ladies, please remember yourselves. These goodies are primarily for the children, and we have to set an example." He squatted for a second or two, gathering an armload of the sugary treats. He began tossing them to any of the remaining youth in the area with a free hand, all the while continuing his little monologue. "There's no reason that we can't sample some of the sweets for ourselves. Let us be honest with each other, if we may: It's these little moments that make living worthwhile. The rainbows in otherwise gloomy days, the tiny thrills of personal victory, first kisses, sunlight cresting over the horizon of a new adventure; it's the chocolate chip cookies of the world that make it amazing. The broad sweeps of empires, even the lasting impressions of religious thought are just footnotes in history books for people to read about centuries from now, if at all, and debate their significance among one another." His voice was casual yet prominent, each syllable requesting both respect and attention but seemingly indifferent as to whether he received either. A smile, infectious and wistful, returned to his face as he held the last two packages out to Alexandra and Faith. "But something more pragmatic to consider? We have cases of these things. Couple of different kinds, too. And they reset with Ville au Camp." He punctuated his smile with a playful wink, and directed his attention back to the people around them. "This little ritual is one of those things. It's why I'm glad we chose this night for the loop."

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"Well then, Miss Sophia, I'm expectin' nobody'll gonna think the less of you if'n you dig in." James ripped open his own package, pausing a bit to fill a couple of waxed paper cups with the interesting, gingerbread flavored punch. He held a single creme-filled chub of puffy, machine-processed pastry up before his face, regarding it as if it were a thing of wonder and beauty before deftly biting off one rounded end. "Hmm, and now it's Jewish..." he joked, giving a quick chuckle before glancing around with a just a hair of self-consciousness.

He listened carefully to what Gilbert had to say on the matter of life's little pleasures. Fleeting thing, really. Tiny bits of happy floated around for a second before they shattered like so much glass or crystalline eggshell. Happy was fleeting, but misery tended to stick around for a while. The words of Belladonna reached his ears with some positivity, too. Not the part about and Headless Husband, nor the waking of the Dead. He agreed with Sophia's assessment about dead people walking with a wide-eyed, affirming, "Mmm hmm, girl. That's some bid'ness I can do without."

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Sophia turned her head when she heard a familiar voice coming up, and saw that it was Bart coming back from his little adventure which did actually get her interested. He was new like herself and the others that had just came earlier in the day, and got to actually head out of the loop which got her interested actually. She was about to ask how it went when Belladonna spoke up to answer her question and turned to face the woman. She was actually right and smiled slightly, she was a Paradox just like the others were as well and it seemed like that she was pretty old as well to. Then of course mentioning death was up close and personal, which she didn't really like the idea of that at least her death was quick.

"I'm sure you have a lot of interesting stories to tell." Sophia said, as she watched Faith and Alexandra enjoying their Twinkies she would certainly fight dirty as well to get a nice and tasty treat where she had came from. Sophia gave James a smile and nodded as she moved over and quickly snatched one up for herself, she awkwardly held onto the packaging with one hand and started to unwrap it. Sophia then quickly took a bite into it and closed her eyes letting out a content sigh as she enjoyed it. Sophia while she ate her Twinkie listened in on what Gilbert was saying and nodded.

At least they would have a never ending supply of Twinkies which was good, the treats were made for the kids after all as well she was content on having one for now. She listened to him on his speech and gave the Emendator a nod as she looked around for a moment Sophia set the wrapper down. She gave James a smile and nod, there was one perk that they wouldn't have to deal with the dead anymore, or at least for now. Though she started to then think about all of those that she had left behind and Niesha once more, she certainly was going to miss them before turning her attention towards Nancy. "So should we do our thing shortly?" Sophia asked to get the woman's attention.

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That wasn't the reaction he had expected from Alicia. Normally she would protest her innocence, offer some sort of argument about how her infraction for that particular day was actually justified, or something. But actually going so far as to thank him? Who was this woman, and what had she done to Ms. Gonzalez? Or did Bartholomew's healing have the unintended side effect of reversing the recipient's personality? It would be a bit out there even as far as Paradox abilities went, but he couldn't entirely remove that from the question.

Still, this reaction was almost enough for him to ask Evelina to take it a bit easy on her. He had certainly just laid into her awhile and she seemed to be displaying some remorse over the ordeal. However, she had knowingly broken the rules and gotten herself injured. There was no way Alicia didn't know what she was going to be in for, even if she had managed to leave and return without needing to be picked up by Gio and Bart. No, he'd leave her to her fate; although knowing Evelina, he had the distinct impression that their talk wouldn't actually be further admonishments for her disappearing act.

The "solid" he would do for Alicia is not letting the Dice know about her little accident while in Cairo. At least not immediately. Sneaking off was bad enough, but getting injured while alone was a very precarious position to find one in, and if Evelina knew about it now, the tone of the coming conversation would be made only more unpleasant for Ms. Gonzalez. So that would be his little token of gratitude for the young Paradox.

Gio stifled a yawn as he left the area and made his way back to his room. Today had been busy, busy, busy and it wasn't about to let up any time soon. He just hoped that there wouldn't nearly be so many surprises in the coming days. The camp likely wouldn't be able to handle more tragedy on such short notice. As he stepped into his room, he suddenly stopped. The house was empty. Why not take advantage of this little fact? One quick game of eenie meenie minie moe later, he had a target set out. He didn't want to push his luck, so he'd only set up one little prank for the night.

From his chest of prank items, Gio produced a banana peel, a fake one of course. There was no way he was going to keep a rotting fruit skin in his quarters to attract flies and mold. No, this was man-made, but it was designed to keep the slippery, slidey nature of the original. Now properly armed, he made his way to the room of the fine gentleman, Gilbert. He opened the door just enough so he could drop the synthetic prank item inside. Just far enough in so that the door wouldn't accidentally push it out of the way, but close enough so that he probably wouldn't be able to see it coming in. Once the trap was set, The Watch shut the door and returned to his room.

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Andromeda's nostrils flared slightly as she heard Faith's not so subtle jab. The others were conversing about Twinkies - and Belladonna hadn't made any indication that she was busy. From what Andromeda could tell, this had been a social visit. And while she supposed she could have tried to hold back her questions, in her timeline, the world had nearly been destroyed by the devil - and Belladonna knew her half-brother. She knew Walter during the darkest period of his life, but also when he began to redeem himself. However, she knew she needed to keep her emotions in check, just in case a bolt of lightning decided to come down and show Faith her irritation. She took a calming breath.

"I agree, those two are completely ridiculous with sweets," Nancy mused, as she took some more caramel chews out of her pocket and started to eat them. The caramel practically glued her mouth shut and she relished in the hypocrisy of what she said. Of course, there was a reason she always carried candy on her - she adored sweets and kept her own personal supply, always updating what she kept in her pockets depending on the time period the loop was set in. "Andthatsoundslikeahorribletask," Nancy added, finally managing to swallow her caramel goodness a moment later. She had spaced out slightly and forgotten to respond to Belladonna with the news that her darling little girl was off drinking herself to death - or second death, Nancy supposed.

"Oh? Yes! Right!" Nancy exclaimed, remembering their task. She nodded and grabbed Sophia by the hand. "But I think we might need to modify it - maybe a simple game of tug of war where you lose your arm?" Nancy suggested with a snicker. It'd be short and sweet - and she knew the kids still hanging around would inevitably lose interest and move on shortly. "Come on, let's do it!" Nancy cheered, before she dragged Sophia over to the nearest group of kids.

"Thank you, Belladonna," Andromeda said with a smile. She had managed to mostly get her annoyance with Faith under control, but she did think it'd be rude to not thank Belladonna for the information she had given her. She did have more questions - such as how someone would survive and be just fine after being decapitated, but maybe Javier was just a Paradox as well? Were they just a small family of Paradoxes? And of course, the entire thing about the devil just having a playdate...Was the devil still alive, then?

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"Bring it," Alexandra replied sassily to Faith's comment with a slight overdramatic wag of her head. Her earlier grin turned into more of a smirk, and yet there was still a lighthearted glint to her dark brown eyes that distinguished her exclamation as sarcasm rather than an actual invitation for a brawl. She took on a more laidback stance from there, rocking back on her heels with one arm rested on her hip and the other relaxed by her side. Her gaze slowly took in the others gathered around her with an expression that seemed one part inquisitive and one part bored.

She turned her attention back to Gilbert as he spoke up. Her head tilted a bit to the side, and her brows furrowed at his initial words. As she soon realized that he was in fact admonishing them, albeit in a quite eloquently spoken format, her brows shot up. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand as the corners of her lips began to pull up into an amused grin. She trained her expression into something that at the least made it seem like she was taking him seriously. Once she managed to retain a straight face, she let her hand fall back down to her side. She nodded her head in seeming understanding and took the packaged Twinkie from him. Her gaze then came up to meet Gilbert's. "Vov, for a minute there I actually thought you vere going to burst into song," she stated as seriously as she could manage, before her façade finally cracked altogether and she began chuckling. "Ve veren't being serious. It's called sarcasm, Gilbert. You vould think a man as old as you vould have heard of it." She punctuated her sarcastic jab with a playful wink.

Alexandra turned around to face the refreshments table again, smiling softly at Bart and the newcomer Belladonna as she did so. However, as she looked down at the Twinkie nestled in her hands and the other desserts laid out before her, her smile faded and a slight tension came to her brows. She couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what it was, but the realization, this nagging sensation if you will, that something just felt off with her hit her all of a sudden. Whatever it was, it didn't really make her feel like eating anymore. She let out a sigh and turned to face the crowd again as she fiddled with the Twinkie in her hands.

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Even though Faith couldn't stand the Russian doormat, she could still appreciate the snide comments and the sarcasm. "Yeah, duh! I wouldn't fight for anything like a Twinkie, even if it tasted as good as this one. Now, a Louis Vuitton bag or Coco Chanel? I would skin a bitch alive for those." She wondered if anyone here would appreciate that call back to her time, but she didn't much care.

Faith wasn't here to make friends. She wasn't here by choice, of course, but since arriving here, she had already came to terms with the wacky shennanigans sure to unfold. Belladonna was an interesting addition and Faith yearned to pick her brain about all the things she has seen. Another time, perhaps. "So now that we got all loaded up on carbs and sugar, what's next? Do we continue the tours and story time with the kiddos or is there an actual thing to do?" Faith, of course, didn't want to lug the kids with her all day, but she had to admit she didn't hate it as much as she thought she would. Of course, she would rather be training her ability or practicing combat or exploring. That would have to wait though.

And that reminded her. Where was Evelina? Where was Alicia?

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Her... mother? Bart raised an eyebrow surprised as he shook her hand. This confused Bartholomew for a moment, as he reflected on her words. He knew Lady Eve was the one who brought them back to "life", so maybe she was referring to her? He didn't take Evelina as the motherly type, but quickly processed it. She was a Paradox like them, if he understood her meaning properly. He didn't know how to take the whole "mother" metaphor, he certainly wouldn't be thinking of Evelina as such, but to each their own, he supposed. He gave an uncertain smile as Belladonna responded to Faith, and released his hand. "Likewise..." He said, his words hanging for a second, before folding his hands neatly behind his back. She seemed to be an odd one to say the least. He was a little bemused by the hats insistence on saving treats for the kids, noting mentally that he, by far, seemed to be the kindest of the Emendators he's yet been acquainted with.

And there is was again, a mention of "walking dead" He gave a look over towards Sophia. "I'm sorry, about that..." He said, "What exactly is going on with all that? I've heard your timeline described as... What were Lady Eve's words? "Undead infested?"" He said,trying to remember the exact words, and giving Sophia a sideways look, "That's some kind of metaphor right?" He asked, confusion in his eyes. He'd believe if it wasn't at this point, but he wasn't going to start completely throwing away everything he knew about the world in some Descartes-esque fit of madness. He refused to simply roll with the punches to that degree. If they were being serious, as bad as things had sometimes gotten where he came from, nothing was quite as bad as that, so he'd honestly have felt a little relieved to have lived through a time where undead weren't a concern.

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The comment about bursting into song was rather interesting. Yes, he had a tendency to wax philosophic from time to time. It was in sharp contrast to how he began his life. Commanding, forceful, insistent of his own superiority. Arrogant. The man in complete control over the whole of the civilized world. Having bouts of being wordy about complex, positive feelings was a definite step away from being a total walking stereotype (possibly the guy who invented the stereotype and set the male of the species down an interesting path for the next few thousand years). And yet despite his overtly nonsensical ramblings, one point of note came to the fore of is mind as a song was mentioned. "It has always been amusing to me..." began Gilbert, a wistful look taking his eye, "...that I have been a part of a lot of different cultures - most of them militant, each one with their own little chants and hymns - and I have yet to pick up a talent for music. In the least." It never stopped him from singing along with everybody else, though. Inexpert and joyous, most of the time.

"Well, I am highly relieved to know that no one will be engaging in physical combat over the Twinkie issue." continued Gilbert with a slight lilt to his speech. "Please understand, my existence predates the concept of sarcasm, ladies." He allowed a broad smile to decorate his features, "I do have such problems with the concept." Gil arched an eyebrow and continued, attempting to keep with the flow of conversation. "This is what we do. It might seem like a chore right now, but over time you will come to rely upon this event to center yourself with humanity. That is important. Highly important. Carbs and sugar and storytime with children are important reminders of where we come from and what we're supposed to be protecting. Try to enjoy yourself."

He did take note of the sudden change in Alexandra's mood. Something manifesting? He would have to wait and see. It would be a shame if something untoward occurred in front of the kids.

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James was pretty sure that Gilbert had stashed a bottle of really good scotch under the refreshments cart. Though he did not see it happen personally, he did take note that the Emendator crouched with a mostly full bottle, and when he came back up, he had none. He had other things, but that bottle of fine hooch? Gone. He had to give this further research. The punch was good and all, and the Twinkie business was a particularly spiffy bit of home comfort, but right then he could have used a drink of something brown and flammable, kids around or not.

The backwoods were-pig blackneck made a showing of dropping his now empty cup to the ground, even so far as to cap it off with a faux covering of his mouth and muttering the words, "Oopsie! Imma get that..." A furtive glance around, and James began sinking behind the cart, his big cowboy hat bobbing from he left to the right. Yes, this was him sneaking (but not sneaking). He sunk to his knees and jostled open the curtains just a bit, going for the big bowl of ice where he was pretty sure it was left last. His eyes settled upon something completely unexpected. James's eyes shot open boldly and hands grabbed plastic packaging. His head poked back up over the refreshments cart with a wild look upon his face, including a rictus grin of accomplishment and discovery.

Hands shot up, grasping bags full of multicolored triangular corn shapes. "CANDY CORN! They gots Candy Corn, muthafuc... Ooh, kiddies. Sorry."

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Evelina was away and having a rather stern word with Alicia in the privacy of her room right then. It was a tense situation to say the least. At least for them. For Belladonna however it was not. She was have a marvelous time reconnecting with those she had known for centuries and she did so adore meeting new Paradoxes. It was not often that she returned home. She was one of a few that were allowed such a privileged but it was well earned. Hundred of years of training and following the code earned one an amount of trust and in that trust one earned a freedom. As long as certain lines were not crossed. She did have to wonder how Evelina would take to her latest endeavor. She would find out soon enough.

Puling out a small breast watch from her cleavage she checked the time. Evelina was always about being on time, she figured it was because of the amount of time spent around Gio. "I would suggest that someone start leading the guests out, reset will be occurring in a little less than one hour," she said as her voice carried to Gilbert. She tapped the glass of the watch a few times before slipping back between her breasts.

Her eyes drifted over to Alexandra and her brow quirked. Her head tilting to the side slightly. "It has been wonderful meeting you all, those that wish I will be here for two resets, I hope I can get to know the rest of you tomorrow but for now I do have something to attend to," she said in a cool voice as she glided over to Alexandra. "Doar puțin știu felul tău, ceva e oprit. să-mi arătați locurile voastre și vom vorbi. Cred că s-ar putea să fi mai mult ca mine, decât să îmi duc aptitudinile în viața ta." Bella was not speaking a language that any there would know, in fact, few even in a certain time did. She wondered if this woman would understand her but the way she spoke and carried herself had given her an idea that she might.

(2 more rounds and we will close out day and start training cases - so wrap up quickly.)