[IC] Skullgirls: Parasite's Paradise

[Canopy]

It was about seven o'clock in the evening in Little Innsmouth, and many of the Dagonians were rushing from work to get home to their families. Gale, though not a Dagonian, was rushing home to Ash simply because she hated crowds and public places. "Excuse me," she would whisper before realizing that the people were certainly not going to move and squeezing through the tightly-packed crowd, occasionally bumping into others. "I can't hear properly in this crowd," she thought silently, trying to put her small hands over her gargantuan bat ears before her thoughts grew more panicked and irritated. "When I can't hear, I can't tell where I am, and when I can't tell where I am, I'm mad." She stopped thinking completely for a second and ceased all activity to try and figure out what exactly she was feeling. Telling what exact emotion she had at a particular moment in time was always a task. "Am I mad? I can't tell," she whispered harshly, keeping her head down as she continued to blindly shuffle through the influx of Dagonians. After stopping to wait for some kids on bikes to pass by, she slowly nodded, "Yes, I'm definitely mad."

After finding herself a good ways away from the crowd, Gale closed her eyes and focused on the sounds of her environment. She wouldn't use echolocation, it'd be too loud. In fact, maybe it'd be too loud at this time of day, even for her standards. As the wind blew in whilst she walked in a northern direction and her bandana nearly flew off her eyes, she quickly clasped it between two of her fingers before it exposed her eyes and tightened the knot. The anger had finally dissipated into simple irritation, but the irritation would not stay long. Typically, when she came home to Ash, she was happy and relaxed around her. It's like sitting in the middle of a field of flowers, but maybe that was because her Gigan roommate always smelled like flowers when she came home. Lost in her thoughts, Gale found herself falling after tripping on the curb of the apartment complex. Her small wings immediately unfolded and caught some of the wind beneath them to slow her fall, allowing her to simply stick her hands out before her face hit the ground. It was always a hassle finding her way home without Ash. Her ability to create a mental map of her surroundings was accurate, but not precise regarding little details.
Like curbs.

Gale found herself on her knees, feeling around for steps or curbs so that she didn't trip again. Whenever little accidents like that happened, she felt as if everyone was looking at her, but that was just her insecurity. No one minded. Gale was a notorious feral within Little Innsmouth for all the wrong reasons, so not many dared think such of her nor tried to help her. That was fine with her. All she had now was Ash, and when she's not around, Gale's perfectly fine fending for herself. She finally found the steps to the second level of the apartment complex and carefully ventured up them before taking a right, starting down for the door marked 267.

"Perfectly fine," she thought bitterly.

[lif]

The door to house 267 swings open once Gale's presence is noticed, and a massive hand reaches through its slim frame, Gale is grasped like a bat shaped squeaky toy and pulled inside. Moving from the stuffy outside and into the comfortable darkness of her house is a bit of a shock, needless to say, but the wave of fragrances coming from inside only impact Gale more as she's catapulted into Ash's iron grip. Ash sits down with a tremendous thud, nearly knocking over one of the many vases within the house. Her arms are already tightly wrapped around Gale, as if to silently reassure her of her presence as the tremendous Gigan gets comfortable on the pile of blankets and pillows in the center of the spacious living room she calls a 'bed'. "Where were you all day?" Ash asks with her usual chipper smile "I was sleeping, yesterday really tuckered me out. I'm hungry." she continues, her train of thought jumping from one subject to the next at the drop of a hat. Whatever dim rays of sunlight dance off the glossy surface of Ash's rifle, which is in eighty separate pieces that make up the inner machinisms of the weapon.

On the five coffee tables, and three couches around Ash's sleeping pile are just endless pots, all of which hold exotic flowers of all kinds, and on the expansive cabinet beneath the window sill at the far end of the house are sun flowers, and lots of them. The tattered cloth barring the pair from the sunlight is draped over the sunflowers, situated by large bronze shell casings that gleam against the window. "I wanted to make some brunch, but the kitchen was messy." Ash explains, motioning to the cramped kitchen, which resides on the left side of the entrance. The tacky white counter which surrounds the tiled flooring of the kitchen is covered in plates, pots, pans, and glasses of all kinds, each of which remain unwashed.

"Can we get brunch?" the childish Gigan asks, giving Gale an opportunity to respond.

[Canopy]

Gale let out a soft screech of surprise before calming down as Ash held her close, intoxicated by the sweet scents of her roommate and the flowers that filled their humble apartment. Her outlandish bat ears flattened slightly as she stood up in the Gigan's hand and hugged the side of her face, staring down at her feet. "How long have we been roommates? Everything seems to blur together," she thought silently, looking to the kitchen and sighing at how dirty everything was. "I should really clean this up for her. I know how much she likes to fill our place with flowers, the scents are so nice..." She raised her head and directed her attention towards Ash through her blindfold only to resume resting her head against her cheek.

Ash had her own bedroom, the living room, and Gale had hers, but this intimidating bat feral had a crippling fear of being alone, especially at night. Often, Gale would simply curl up with Ash. Her roommate's ginormous form curled around her actually felt like a crib at times, or even a barrier that shut all the bad things out. It shut everything out, like the good memories of her family, her crazed thoughts, the voices poking at her in her head.

The murder she committed with her small but able hands.

Sometimes Gale would feel brave and inform Ash that she would sleep on her own, but not twenty or thirty minutes later, Ash would hear her panicked cries and have to wake her from the night terrors that kept her awake. She'd clasp her in her Gigan hands ever-so-gently and wait for her to wake up. When she spreads her fingers to peek inside at the little bat girl, Gale would be staring right back with her eyes as bright as stars.

After pushing aside her thoughts, Gale decided it would probably be best to respond. "I would like to go eat," she replied robotically to Ash, before realizing how cold that sounded and shaking her head. "I...would like to go eat, with you," she repeated in a softer, more child-like tone, covering her entire face with her hands. Within milliseconds, the small feral scrambled up the Gigan's shoulder and sat, listening to the sound of the wind right outside the apartment to create a mental picture of the living room. "It's about seven now, so it's actually supper," she thought to herself before adding, "W-Where do you want to eat? Would you like to go to the little diner nearby or..." She bit her lower lip with one of her sharpest fangs available and tugged at the piercings in her ears, wincing at the slight sting that came with her action before shrugging it off. "...Or, we can go to New Meridian."

New Meridian. Gale hated that corrupted city with every fiber of her being. There was too much that reminded her of not only the Renoirs, but of her employers: the Medici Mafia. It was such a big city, and big cities meant crowds. "Big cities mean crowds, crowds mean cacophony, cacophony means I can't hear," Gale fumed, imagining just exactly how loud it might be. She recalled memories where the sound was so staggeringly loud and the voices were so sharp that it was as if she was hearing dog whistles all around her. "What if I lose Ash and can't find my way home? What if I'm caught without Brandy? What if, what if, what if..."

Despite the discord and chaos running rampant within Gale's mind while the fear encased her heart, she exhaled shakily and let her tense body relax. No, these "what if's" would not rule her life. She would put aside her worry and madness for the happiness of Ash.
Without a smile, or rather, any look that indicated what she might be feeling, Gale simply added, "Anything you want."

[Kafka Komedy]

It was a cool twilight in Little Innsmouth, about 7, to be a little more accurate. People were all hustling and bustling to get where they wanted to go, be it a restaurant, their homes, or something a little more shady. Jane, was a fan of number one. She had just recently gotten out of detention, about an hour or two ago, and boy was she hungry. She decided to stop by this diner she knew of before reaching home, it had absolutely stunning food. She was sure Aunt and Uncle wouldn't mind, she was pretty much always home late, and she was paying with her own money.

As Jane pushed open the door to the diner, her nostrils were graced with the incredible smell of cooking food. She could barely stop herself from drooling all over the slightly dirty tile floor. This was probably one of the main reasons to ever visit Little Innsmouth, the great local food vendors. She wasn't sure if any of it was authentic Dragonian cuisine, but god did it just taste like... a really good metaphor. Honestly all this food was messing with her head.

She quickly sat down and ordered herself something to drink, tea. As the waiter left she put her gloved hand up to her mouth. "I still don't understand why I have to hide you." She whispered to her parasite, Franky. "I've told you, they don't want people having parasites unless they're with the Renoirs." Franky explained, his voice slightly muffled by the fabric covering him.. "Yeah, I know it's just-" She was quickly interrupted by the waiter coming back with her drink. She thanked him before returning to her conversation with Franky. "It's just... I dunno. It's dumb." She said, taking a sip from her tea. "Yeah, it is." He whispered back, not loud enough for her to hear.

[GreenGoat]

"Well well... That bat doesn't seem to be ordinary."

Juno Bernstein swung her legs in a carefree way on her seat, seemingly oblivious that a wrong move would topple her off her rooftop seat and down to the pavement below. The reddish steel gauntlet on her left hand stood out rather conspicuously against her quality suit, complete with a real hand-tied tie tucked carefully in the jacket; none of that clip on thing for her. She wondered briefly if she should have brought a telescope instead of a binocular instead, as her left eye was naught but an empty socket.

"HOW CAN YOU TELL?"

She took off the binocular, and looked at her left hand, the green eye on the back of the gauntlet staring at her as she did the same. "The way she moves, what she wears, and how she carries herself. Everyone has many different tells. Thats how I can see which one's worth filching off."

"YOU ARE SMART. NOW WE'RE HUNGRY. WE EAT."

"Yeah, yeah, stave it off with this. We'll get some food after we get a good mark," She shoved a snack bar into her left palm, watching as a maw suddenly appeared and started crunching on the bar. As the taste of chocolate flooded her mouth, she resumed her vigil on top of the roof. Juno knows where the bat lives, and it would be a simple matter to find which floor and number as well. The lost relative trick always works. But she would need her tools for that sort of heist, and today she was looking for a simple mark, a target to swipe money off and run.

It was a bit tight this month, the mafia was cracking down on rivals now, and while normally that wouldn't concern someone who stuck to doing small crime, one of the local bosses was getting a bit overzealous. The shadows were getting a bit hotter too now that there was apparently some hotshot cuffers looking to jump badges. How's an honest thief going to make it through the month without starving with all these happening?

Just then she spotted a couple, a very well to do looking couple moving to where she knows was an alley, a shortcut out of the crowd. Which also means those two weren't average joes, since civilians don't usually go through that shortcut.
"I'm thinking that's a bodyguard and someone's rich wife. Marionette?"

"I'M THINKING OF STEAK."

"That's the spirit." Swiftly wrapping up her left hand in bandages, Juno moved silently through the rooftops to intercept them. Should be easy money for dinner.

[Canopy]

Morgann Lacroix, dressed in her usual show attire minus the mask, strolled down the dark streets of New Meridian, the light from the nearby street lamps causing her tall form to project a massive shadow of her figure. At this time of day, everyone had already hurried home, so Morgann never worried about someone asking for her signature or some other typical request. Almost every night for the past few weeks, she would grab dinner at Mad Man's Cafe, and nobody bothered her while she did so. Eating with the carnies at Cartes was okay, but it got on her nerves. The voices of her co-workers were jarring, and not only that, they never shut up. Dinner would last for about two hours, so the magician would find herself in bed with a raging headache.

"A star like me shouldn't even have to associate with such peasants anyhow," she snarled, approaching the dimly-lit cafe. Morgann likes to think she's the best magician in the kingdom, and while she is quite good at working with magic, she was nowhere near the best. Perhaps she is somewhere in the middle of the scale, but that was it for the moment. She clearly feels that she needs to be just as good as her father, but that might take at least fifty more years. A magician of his caliber was, and still is, quite rare.

As soon as she walked in, she slid into a booth without a word, slowly sliding downwards into the seat to the point where her shoulders were hunched forward and the brim of her purple top hat covered her eyes. "It's been a long day," she breathed softly, looking around the vacant room. There was a single man at the register who glanced in her direction before coming over to take her order. She promptly replied she'd just like a coffee if possible, and the worker hurried away. "Bus boy better make it quick," she growled before looking out the window and up at the starry sky, sighing quietly. "I kinda wish I was back at the circus now, to be honest," she murmured.

And in that very moment, Morgann realized how lonely she was.

Right before dismissing it and assuming she might be sick.

[lif]

Ash smiles gayly "We don't have to go to Meridian, we can just go to that campy little cafe down the road," she assures Gale, making sure that the clothes the Gigan is wearing look nice, and smell nice enough for her to wear in public. She puts Gale down atop a couch to her right, wedged in between a pair of vases that look much too large, and much too heavy for a normal person to lift. She stands up, hunched over in the suffocating closeness of her room, and begins to piece together her rifle, attaching springs and other key components to its ornate base, and screwing the lengthy barrel on. This go on for ten minutes, until Ash situates the rifle's leather straps with a satisfying 'click', and slings it over her shoulder, the tip of the gun scraping against the ceiling. The large Gigan then bends over, and picks up Gale "Would you like to ride on my gun?" she asks, motioning to the chromatic barrel.

[Canopy]

Gale looked up at the barrel that, compared to her, was gigantic. Without a word, she swiftly hopped from Ash's hand to the top of the barrel, flapping her tiny wings to steady herself. "Alright. I'm happy to go there," Gale replied quietly, crossing her legs and sitting flat on her butt, making sure the bandana around her eyes was tightly knotted. "Thank Goddess she did not want to go to Meridian," Gale thought, flattening her ears against her head. What a rude thing to think. This was Ash's choice, and had she picked New Meridian, Gale would have had to live with it. She should stop being so selfish.

Gale hopped from the barrel to the nape of Ash's neck and crawled up so that she could sit right on top of her head, perking her bat ears up as a way of preparation for the sound of the night once they left the apartment. "Oh, I forgot..." she murmured, jumping off of her head and landing on the ground with her wings spread to slow the fall. She dashed off to the hallway near the kitchen and hooked a right, throwing open her white bedroom door. She didn't need echolocation to find Brandy Station. She already knew where he was.

Her room was empty and, quite honestly, depressing, with walls of white and a plain brown carpet floor. The only furniture within the room was a twin-sized bed, a mahogany desk with a charming portrait of her menacing family members, a tall wardrobe, and on the wall sat the rack that held her sword up for the world to see. Without a second thought, she leaped up and snatched the sword from its hooks, landing right on her feet. "Time to go, Brandy," she whispered to its black sheath, wincing as the case rattled in an excited manner. She could feel its chilling connection bonding with her body and its resources as she slung the weapon over her back before slamming the door shut and dashing back to Ash. She quickly scrambled up the Gigan's leg and found her way back to Ash's unruly blonde hair, sitting with her legs crossed just like earlier.

"Lead the way," she murmured quietly, adjusting the tall collar of her black down vest.

[RoflsMazoy]

"Dontores my boy, do you have any idea where we are?"

A teenage boy sat on the roof of a building he didn't know, in a city he wasn't familiar with. He looked into the distance, eyes half-closed, fist under his chin, taking in the scenery.

"Does it even matter?" He said.

A thick steel-bound tome laying besides him suddenly floated up in front of him.

"Culture my boy! Culture!" The book said, a voice coming out from its pages, "How would you expect to blend in if you don't know culture?"

The book danced along to its own words, a familiar and tiresome dance. The teenager didn't see a point in it, but then again, he hardly ever saw the point of anything.

"You know as well as I do," The boy said in a tired tone, "That it's your fault that I can't blend in anywhere, right?"

The book turned its cover to him, it had no expression but he could easily imagine its grin.

"You're the one who gave half your body to me, my boy." It said,

"And you're the one who decided to take my clothes with it." He retorted.

His body was half covered by a thick, wispy shadow that only left one glowing eye visible on the left side of his body. Whatever clothes he put on, the shadows would cover it making disguise impossible. Perhaps if the Grimoire wasn't illegal, it wouldn't have been a problem.

"I will admit that this city is quite new to me," he was gloating now. "The world has changed much since I was last released."

The book turned towards the horizon and stood still, as if enjoying a sudden breeze.

"Well, you shouldn't get to used to the city just yet." It said, "Change is on the winds, and it comes on swift wings."

"Nuul," The boy said, turning towards the book, "How many times have I told you that I don't care?"

"And how many times have I told you," Nuul said, shadows radiating from his pages, a dark fist emerging from its depths. "That my name is Grimoire Nuul!

[lif]

Ash waits patiently as Gale retrieves Brandy Station, slumped over by the front door, and once Gale is situated on Ash's head, the Gigan clumsily opens the door to their house, and manages to squeeze through. Once Ash is out in the open, she stands at her full height with a relieved sigh, looking down at the crowd; who begins to part to let Ash through. She walks with a surprisingly brisk pace, taking into account all the obstacles of Little Innsmouth, properly gaging all her ducks, and side steps to compensate for the bat feral on her head. "It's busy out today, how did you manage to find your way home?" Ash questions as she approaches the door to a local diner, the wonderful smell of cooked food flooding her senses. "Something smells yummy," she comments, lifting Gale off of her head, and guiding her to the door. With her index finger, and her thumb, Ash grips the handle to the glass portal.

She opens it slowly, letting the tacky silver bell ring, and giving Gale a light push inside, following after her with a light grunt, forcing herself through the human sized frame of the door. Ash's knee slides across the dirtied tile floor, followed by its opposite, and once Ash manages to slide her gun past the door, she stands up; hanging her head low. "Dagonian cuisine . . ." Ash mumbles with a content smile, clasping her hands together "You have money, right Gale?"

[Canopy]

"Um..." Gale reached down and shoved her hand into her white motorcycle boots, shuffling around for her wallet. "These boots have carried tons of stuff over the years," she thought silently, whipping out the wallet with one quick movement. "I have money," she said, pulling a few dollar bills out of the wallet's main pocket. She counted at least twenty dollars out for herself and then proceed to distribute twenty more to Ash. While working for the mafia was a tiring job with constant death threats and way too much blood, it definitely paid good money. "I guess it's not that bad," Gale thought, blowing a strand of her purple hair out of her face.

Gale quickly scurried up to Ash and whispered into her ear, "H-Hey, I'm going to find us a table. Please take my order for me..?" After deciding what she was going to do, she shoved her split of the money into Ash's hand. "Here, just...order for me," she squeaked before scuttling off towards a booth in the back of the restaurant, curling up in the seat. She could never order for herself. Though most did not mess or even come near Gale, she absolutely did not appreciate the piercing looks she would receive. Between her family history and the crime she committed, things would never be normal for her.

-

Morgann, with a heavy sigh, turned her head from the window before stopping immediately. "Hold the phone," she murmured, immediately turning her attention back to the sky. "Is that...a person?" she questioned, staring at what appeared to be an average height silhouette on top of a building. "There's some sort of light, but it's so faint..."

[Lord Santa]

Nikolai pored over his papers, analysing their contents. He took a pen from the nearby clear desk, twirled it into a comfortable position in his hand and wrote some corrections onto a particular sheet and moved on. Nikolai's irritation grew a little, but it wasn't because of what he saw. His research was flawless as always, and the results had been expected. What annoyed him was the fact that he had to modify his lab so that his hands, bigger than they used to be and each with only semi-retractable claws, could navigate the same workspace he’d been using for most of his life without flicking everything on the table onto the floor every time he tried to grab a pen. It had bothered him for a while now, and he debated finding a way to fix it.

Certainly, it was only his own fault that his bestial body had gotten even worse. But he couldn’t exactly attain approval for live subjects. It’d worked on rats relatively well, and he had little reason to assume that it’d go so horribly wrong for him. After a few weeks of accidents, he’d discovered that his potion had done the intended effect. It drew on the potential of the body and put it under a heavy strain, causing accelerated growth and adaption as the subject’s body tears itself apart. Theoretically, it decayed the muscles and replaced them with stronger ones. Unfortunately for Nikolai, he’d included a mutagen which would’ve helped accelerate growth.

For Nikolai, it had made him grow even more lizard-like. He’d grown powerful muscles and sharp claws, and he’d noticed that the claws were long and curved. He’d looked downright prehistoric, and his behaviour at the time matched that. Another unfortunate side-effect was that the potion had awakened his predatory instincts, dulled as they were under the oppressive routine of society. He sighed as he remembered the moment. Around a year of research lost in minutes of primal rage. He’d managed to get it under control, of course. The technological augmentations helped quite a lot.

Of course, he’d appreciate his old form again, but he’d gotten used to his more ‘predatory’ form. Besides, it would be a waste of all the effort he’d put into his lab to make it workable. And if his parasite weapon was to be believed, he might need his new form, beast-like as it was.

The paper Nikolai had in front of him was on the subject of the peculiar being, often called ‘parasite weapons’. It was on his own parasite weapon, Oculus, and its effect on Nikolai whom implanted it in place of his other eye. He’d stored his other eye elsewhere, in case he needed it for later. For now, the living eye seemingly made out of glass was a subject of focus for his research.

Before he implanted Oculus, it’d been in his possession for quite some time. He’d managed to get it somehow, and it was in his lab for quite a time. Despite its reputation as a parasite, it was capable of living without a host. It was less of a parasite and more of a symbiotic lifeform. After he implanted it, it functioned something like an extra organ. It required nutrients, which were absorbed directly from Nikolai, the host body. But it required little for what it gave, and what it gave to Nikolai was insight. It analysed things he saw with it, told him their composition. Uses. Weak points. Its secondary function, a laser, was useful for cutting and exploited their weak points. And thankfully, Oculus never says anything unnecessary. Sharp and efficient, just how Nikolai liked.

“Oculus.” Nikolai said.
“Yes?” It said in his mind.
“What can you tell me about your brethren?” Nikolai asked.
“Nothing that you do not already know.” Oculus said.
Nikolai had figured as much. He had already analysed oculus the best he could, and he’d analysed the effects that Oculus had on his body. There was nothing more to be gleaned from studying it. That meant that to further his knowledge of parasite weapons, he’d have to look further.

Nikolai thought about that prospect and glanced at his door. His lab, in which he’d spent most of his life, was on the outskirts of Little Innsmouth. There was nothing more to be gleaned from analysing Oculus, meaning he needed to find more parasite weapons. That meant that there was a possibility that he would meet people who wielded parasite weapons.

Nikolai sighed. He’d have to find people with parasite weapons to study them further. The problem was, he hated people. He and they had a kind of agreement. He stayed away from them, they wouldn’t bother him. His situation was eerily reminiscent of old witch folk tales, where a witch lives in the forest who eats children that try to trespass into her house. In Nikolai’s case, he didn’t eat children; they tasted terrible. But the characteristics were the same: Outcast shunned by society living on the outskirts of a town. But there were a few differences between Nikolai and a witch. One, Nikolai was a scientist, and two, Nikolai was a predator. He had an intrinsic knowledge of stealth and tracking. This would make the job easier, somewhat, but there was only so much one could glean from observation. But it’s not like he had a choice…

Thinking a little more, Nikolai spoke to Oculus.
“Oculus. Can you identify your brethren?” He asked.
”Yes.” Oculus replied.
Nikolai sighed again and got out of his seat. He’d have to hunt, then. Hunting for parasite weapons. He could search at a distance, relying on Oculus’s boons to find his targets. It may be a long time before he came back to his lab, but his memory was good so it would be fine. Coming to a decision, he opened the door to the world outside. It was evening now, but that would only make his job easier.
“Let’s go, Oculus.” He said.
“Yes.” Oculus replied.
Nikolai stood and sniffed the air, isolating which direction to go towards. He smiled a little predatory smile, his instincts enflamed by the anticipation of the hunt. The lizard scientist stalked into the evening woods, making his way to Little Innsmouth.

[lif]

Ash walks up the crimson bar, setting a twenty down on its chipped wooden surface--next to a woman with bandaged hands "Are you okay?" Ash asks her with a concerned frown, before she's interrupted by a waitress. "Oh, sorry," Ash responds to the woman behind the counter, before listing off her order "May I have five baskets of chicken tenders, and uh..." Ash pauses "An extra rare hamburger? With a basket of fries? Pretty please?" she asks, finishing her order. The Dagonian waitress takes Ash's money, crumpling it, and shoving it into her apron, she then rummages around in the same pocket she had put the twenty in, pulling out a five. Ash takes her change, and manages to situate her Gigan rear on a seat, a seat away from the strange woman. 'What's wrong with her hands? does she have a parasite?' she asks herself, to which a rather silent voice in her head responds '...maybe...' before it disperses all together, fading away into the milky cauldron of her mind.

Ash looks at the strange woman, then back to Gale, running her fingers through her hair with a worried frown, until her order is set down behind her. "Goody!" she exclaims, scooping up the food in her palms, carrying it over to Gale with a giddy smile. "I got the food!" she says, handing Gale her burger.

[Canopy]

Gale stared down at her burger and tilted her head, flicking her ears. "I can just eat the bun," she thought silently, tearing open the burger's wrapper and snatching the buns away from the meat. Pressing the two slices together, she opened her mouth wide to reveal insanely sharp bat fangs before devouring the bread whole, swallowing. She pushed the meat over to Ash before shuffling in her boots for some extra money. "I'm going to try and order for myself," she explained to Ash, "Meat makes me feel sick to my stomach. I'll be back in a few." With that last comment, she scurried off to go order.

The waitress, who Gale could sense was simply staring at her with curiosity, put a menu in front of her, but she pushed it back with her index finger. "O-Oh, sorry, I...I know what I want, rice?" she requested, putting her hands behind her back. "What? Speak up, little one, you're awfully quiet," the woman said. The comment about her size irritated Gale, but she swallowed her pride and firmly repeated. "I. Would like. Rice." Oblivious to her irritation, the waitress turned to retrieve a small bowl of rice before sliding it over to Gale. "Thank you," she whispered, and without even turning to acknowledge the girl with bandaged hands, she scampered back to the table and began to dig into the rice with the hunger of a savage wolf.

[Kafka Komedy]

Jane's attention was shifted from her tea to the door as the stupid silver bell rang. "Oh hey, more people. We should go talk to them!" Jane said, eyeing the two new people with interest. A Gigan and a Feral, both carrying weapons. An odd duo to say the least. For some reason her first thought was that they were lovers, but it was probably at least a little more innocent than that. Probably. She sipped on her tea silently as the two girls conversed. The small bat gal gave the gentle giant some cash and went to find the both of them a seat. Way in the back, of course. It seemed she didn't wan't to converse. Luckily, the more social of the two returned, food in hand.

"We should go talk to them. They seem interesting." Jane said, polishing off her tea. "By the way, you likin' this drink?" "The tea's fine, I guess. A little bitter, anyways, can we maybe not talk to whoever you're talking about?" Franky replied, obviously not a fan of talking. "Oh c'mon, you don't even have to speak!" She whined, getting up and placing some money on the table. Franky sighed in annoyance and submission, before saying "Can we at least get some grub first? "Sure, we can eat it while we talk to them."

A minute or two later the girl made her way to the only other occupied table in that diner with noodles of some kind, along with more tea. "Hi. Hope I'm not interrupting, but may I join you two? You're kinda the only two people to talk to that's not one of the staff." She said, taking Franky's advice and not drawing attention to her parasite. She noticed the bat girl had a different order than before, some rice, and was tearing into it vigorously.

[lif]

Ash shrugs "Sorry about the burger, I thought it would be funny," she mutters, lightly patting Gale on the head, before she starts to consume the chicken tenders she ordered. "What do you want to do after this?" Ash asks Gale with a pleasant smile, looking down at her batty companion, while she tenderly chews on a mouth full of fried chicken. "We could go anywhere you want, I was thinking about going into New Meridian and buying flowers, but you don't like that place. . ."

Ash stops when the strange woman approaches the table, giving her a slight glance "You can sit here, sure!" she responds, looking down at the lady's hands. "But first, what's your name?" she questions with a jubilant smile, which appears to be a recurring theme with the strange character.

[Canopy]

"We may go into New Meridian," Gale answered solemnly, nibbling on a few of the grains and crushing them between her fangs with ease. "Flowers are her favorite thing, I'm not going to restrict her from going there just because I don't like it," she thought, scolding herself for her selfishness. She raised the bowl to her face and licked the rest of the rice out of it. She definitely lacked proper dinner etiquette.

"Oh," Gale squeaked, looking up at the new girl. Sensing she wasn't quite as dangerous as some of the residents in Little Innsmouth, she nodded in a timid manner. "Y-You can join us," she finally replied, scooting over as close as possible to Ash. "There, you can sit properly and not feel squished," she added, burying her face in the Gigan's sleeve.

[Kafka Komedy]

Jane responds to the outgoing girl's smile with one of her own. It was quite nice of her to allow some stranger to eat with them, Jane probably would have straight up turned her away. The gigan then asked of her name, and she replied with a simple "Jane." without offering her hand, so she could hide Franky. The feral stuttered and made room for Jane to sit, now pressing herself against the other girl, probably out of social anxiety. Yup, definitely making out on the side or something. Anyways, these gals were pretty cool, nothing like the assholes at school. These two would probably be the only two she wouldn't beat the crap out of. Heck she'd probably protect the feral girl, though judging by the size and sharpness of her fangs, she might not need it. The gigan definitely didn't need it though, massive, strong, and proficient in rifles? Hell yeah.

Jane seated herself next to the feral girl and set down her meal, slurping down some deliciously salty noodles. "Mmph." She moaned. "Oh god this stuff is so good." She said in between mouthfuls of noodle. She washed it down with some bitter tea. "I see why you ate all your food in, like, a second." She laughed, playfully elbowing her new friend as gentle as she could, which was a little less then gentle considering her hobbies. "Anyways, seriously, thanks for letting me join you. Is it cool if I ask how you two met?" She asked, before sipping some tea and shifting a little in her seat out of discomfort. She hated being seated for to long, made her butt itch like hell. She wondered how Franky felt cooped up like that all day? She'd probably take her gloves off on the way home, she wouldn't get caught, it'd be cool.

[Canopy]

Gale nodded at her and was surprisingly pleased that the girl had came over to sit. She wasn't Medici scum or anything else that might come off as irritating to Gale, so she definitely already liked her. "The food in Little Innsmouth is kind of amazing," Gale remarked in a soft tone, picking some of the rice out of her gleaming white teeth. Rice was good, but when it was stuck in your teeth, it could prove to be quite irritating.

"Oh, by the by, I'm Gale Nathbakk," she added, relaxing and scooting a few inches away from Ash. "You're not a baby, Gale, don't cling," she thought, annoyed by her bad habits. Ash had protected her for years, and she had done the same for her, but there was no reason to be so tense and protective at the moment. It wasn't like Jane was going to murder them in cold blood.

As Jane popped the question regarding how she and Ash met, Gale's ears flattened and her mouth shifted into a tight, thin line. "Well, my family took her in when we were younger. To be honest, I don't know much about her past, but I do not think one's history matters so long as they are a good person," she explained briefly, making sure to not go any deeper about her family. "In this case, she's actually a good Gigan," she added, tugging on Ash's sleeve.

[Guess Who]

Scott and Liam walked out of one the many buildings that made up the Black Egret HQ, Scott still trying to convince Liam of the "great idea" that he had come up with.

"I'm telling you, think of the benefits if we do this," Scott said.

"You're still going on about that? I told you I'm not getting involved. How did you even get this information, anyway?" Liam replied.

"You know that one chick in Strategic Intelligence? With the red hair and glasses."

"Her? Dude, she's infamous for telling wild stories just to gain attention. How do you know she's telling the truth?"

"'Cause I promised her that we'd go on a date. No way a girl like that would give false information with that kind of a deal. Now I just got to think up an excuse of why I can't go."

"Dude, you're not standing her up. I know you. You're going to go anyway, even if you have a horrible time. You'd never be cold enough to stand a girl up. But we're getting off topic here. Finding the Skull Heart? That's way out of our league."

"Shh, man. We don't want anyone else getting in on this. Anyway, we've dealt with stuff way out of our league before."

The two entered a taxi and had the driver take them Liam's favorite diner, located all the way out in Little Innsmouth.

"Gaining the courage to ask a perfect ten out, is a lot different then taking on a monster, Scott. And for nothing but a promotion?"

"Fine, if you won't do it for the promotion, then do it for the kingdom. How many lives do you think will be lost if we don't find it, Liam? Heck man, if not for the kingdom, then do it for your family."

The two Black Egret troops sat in silence for the rest of the trip. When the car finally stopped at the diner, Liam opened the door, stepped out, stopped, and turned to Scott.

"Alright, I'll do it. What's the first step?" Liam said.

"First things first, Liam," Scott said as he exited the cab as well. "Food!" he shouted, pointing at the entrance of the diner. The two soldiers entered the diner, taking a seat at a table not too far from where three young girls; a human, a feral, and a gigan; were sitting. For the most part, Liam and Scott were still in uniform, minus their helmets which were strapped to their belts, so anyone could take one look at them and know who they worked for.