Framing A Moose

Harry Potter and the Alchemist's Quest - Discontinued

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Location: The Knight Bus - Bottom Back
Skills:

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"Oh, don't mention it. It was really my pleasure," Fae replied, giving Penny a grinning nod that made it look like she was trying to be dignified, but not in any way succeeding. Instead, she looked like an overly excited child on Christmas, or the eighth night of Hanukkah. Part of Fae wanted to stay on the bottom deck with Penny, Beatrice, and Chiara, but she had told her friends she'd meet them once she was on board. It'd be a dick move to ditch them to hang out with a pretty girl, even if it was Penny Haywood. When Penny mentioned the possibility of classes together, Fae swore she could feel her heart skip a beat. "A girl can hope," she replied, mentally cursing herself for her open cringe-worthiness. She quickly gathered her things, preparing to head up the stairs to search for Madalyne or Elizabeth, when the booming voice of Hagrid caught her attention. The name he spoke was familiar to her, an acquaintance she knew through Mary and Apollo, but at first she didn't believe it would be the same person, as she hadn't noticed Winthrop or the twins among those on the bottom deck. But when she looked, down near the back, she saw the blonde girl clear as day, not looking particularly cheerful. It struck Fae as odd that she was alone, save for the patronus of a golden retriever dancing around her. Fae hesitated for a moment, glancing back over at the stairs. She was sure her friends would understand if she didn't show up because she was helping a friend of a friend. So with that final thought, she began to walk down the aisle towards Georgina.

"Locke?" she called as she made her way to the girl. Concern was present on her face as she closed in. "Everything alright? I'd have expected you to be up with Mary and the Twins, wherever they-" she began, but before she could finish, without any warning, the bus lurched into action. Fae managed to stay on her feet, though there was a notable change to her presence. The sympathy her face had held moments before was replaced by a massive grin. She let out a hearty laugh, following it with a loud, "WOOOO-HOOOO!" Dickhead the Owl didn't seem to be enjoying it nearly as much as Fae, however. Once the driving had gotten slightly less erratic, Fae flopped down onto a seat next to Georgina. "Riding the Knight Bus was a bloody brilliant idea! Why don't we do this every year?!" Fae exclaimed, her gaze finally turning back to Georgina. Her face showed a twinge of guilt, the excitement of the ride having distracted her from the reason she'd stayed on the bottom deck to begin with. She glanced down at the luggage that had banged against Georgina's, and her lips curved into a frown. "That looks like it hurt. How bad is it? Do you want me to go find Mary so she can do her cool little healing thing?"

Ω Heroes of Olympus: The Next Age of Heroes Ω

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Leandra Lovelace

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Location: New Rome - The Senate House
Skills:

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Leandra felt a twinge of annoyance when Madalyne voiced her distaste for agreeing with her, though she didn't show it, instead keeping the smile she put on for the sake of the Greeks plastered on her lips. She had hoped that the praetors, or at least Madalyne, the more reasonable of the two, would put aside their less-than-friendly relationships with her in order to present the Greeks with a united front. But by the looks of it, that was going to be out of the cards. Leandra was less surprised by Nancy's continued outburst, though just as annoyed. Her smile sat stagnant on her face, right up to when Nancy mentioned the praetorship, at which point it dimmed to a small, tight-lipped smile. That one did sting ever so slightly, though it was in no way a killing blow that ended their little conversational combat. She began to feel the familiar tightness in her chest of her own, more well-contained anger, both at Nancy and her reminder of the bigotry still existent in New Rome.

"If you'd like to discuss the discrimination towards the descendants of minor gods and our unclimbable social structure kept in place by the cohort system that both led to your election, I'd be perfectly happy to do so...during our free time. But that is not a matter that is to be discussed at a senate meeting, much less in the presence of possible future allies," she said in a scolding tone, nodding her head towards the Iris Message. She turned her head ever so slightly, as if preparing to speak to the Greeks, before twitching it back towards Nancy. "Also, if you must know, I wasn't planning to review finances until after we were done discussing what is to be done about your vision, a fact you'd have all too quickly discovered had you stayed professional rather than leaping at the opportunity to attack me on the basis of a passing comment."

By the time she was done speaking to Nancy, she felt like a blood vessel was about to pop. Her teeth were clenched behind her forced smile, and the slightest bit of anger was beginning to shine through her. And then Niah spoke, and all of that faded away. Her tense shoulders relaxed, and she let all the annoyance at Nancy drain out her nostrils in a light huff. It rose Leandra's spirits for Niah to make such a threat without any ground to stand on. After all, she'd simply been defending herself. It offered her some control that dealing with their chaotic praetor did not often come with. Her smile became less stressed and more genuine as she nodded.

"Of course, Madame Oath Binder. It'd be my pleasure to help guide you through the process." The edge was gone from her voice, replaced by calm civility. She then turned back to the Greeks, the pleasant smile still on her face. "I can't apologize enough for the behavior of my colleague here. Miss Parker is a very...passionate individual. It's a wonderful trait to have on the battle field, but she's yet to learn how to keep it in check when needed," she said, having the audacity to use a tone one might use when teasing an old friend, ending it with a small chuckle. Her next statement was directed at the Greeks, but her eyes flicked towards the other senators. "I do believe it would be best to discuss this matter here, in the privacy the Senate House rather than an open field outside of New Rome. As such, I'd like to volunteer to go down with a few of my Legionnaires and escort the Greeks' representatives here myself, as a show of good faith."

Forgotten Space

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Location: Altrium -> Galley
Skills:

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After her attempts at calming the girl, Cal had assumed the girl would either settle down, or continue with her freak out. She definitely hadn't expected that it would bring out anger in the girl. When Vinnie began to firmly push back against her attempts of calming her, Cal flinched back, a look of confusion slowly climbing onto her face as the other girl spoke. On the upside, it seemed to be taking the girl's mind off of everything else, so there was that. Once it seemed like Vinnie was done speaking, Cal gave a slow nod of her head, lips jutting outward in a pout of uncertainty. "Er...right then. Sorry about my...misogynistic meditation attempts then, mate. My mistake." Her eyes glided over to the others in the room as he quietly muttered, "Can't say I didn't try," before looking to Sophia as she asked where they should perform their pragmatic self-harm.

"Galley. Nothin' to really cut ourselves with in here. Plus the Galley's got drinks," she elected. When Raynor suggested they use the jaw to cut themselves, Cal got a disgusted look on her face, quickly shaking her head. "As a person who's 75% sure she's a medical professional, I think that's a horrible idea." Truth be told, that was a bit of an exaggeration. She was probably closer to 39% sure. As she spoke, she also noticed that something about her being the rational one felt wrong. She had a feeling she wasn't the mom friend back home, wherever home was. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but let out an annoyed, disappointed sigh when she turned her head and saw Zarina had already cut herself. "Aaaand, she's bleeding. Lovely. She's covered in robot blood, and she's got an open wound," she groaned as she lowered her head into the palm of her hand, shaking it slowly. "Alright, you lot go ahead and keep slicing yourselves up if you so desire. I'm going to go check to see if our friendly neighborhood sci-fi vending machine has anything we can use to clean the wounds, before she, or any of you, for that matter, get some sort of wacky space infection." With that, she slunk out back into the hallway, walking across into the Galley.

The Gifted - Concluded

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Waverley Watts - Feedback

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Location: Old Mutant Underground HQ - Outside in an Obvious Trap
Skills: Radio Wave Interpretation, Sound Wave Manipulation (emotionally induced), Bat/Mallet/Pipe/Stick Combat

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The entire ride to the old Mutant Underground base, Waverley's hands were gripping tightly to the rebar in her lap. She was anxious, and not just because she knew when they were there, she'd have to see Max again. In fact, that knowledge made her more angry than anxious. No, what caused her anxiety to rise was the knowledge that their van was cloaked. As cool as driving around in an invisible car might initially sound, it seemed like a bad idea in practice. She understood it was important that they weren't followed, but getting into a car crash because their fellow drivers couldn't see them didn't sound like a good alternative. Waverley didn't voice these fears, however. Luckily they managed to get to their destination safely.

Waverley, who'd taken a seat near the back to keep an eye out behind them, didn't get a good look at the scene until she was out of the vehicle. As she stepped onto the asphalt, her eyes shot out in front of her, and immediately she saw a familiar effeminate frame and head of blonde hair. She only saw him for a moment before Callie obscured them all with a thick fog, making it difficult to see the details of the boy's appearance. But the split second of clear vision was enough for Waverley to tell: it was him. Just seeing him caused her heart to begin pounding, in part due to her brain replaying the footage of her mother's death, and in part out of pure rage. She exhaled the hatred from her nose, keeping herself from bursting out of control long enough to reach out with her mind, feeling for radio waves the boy might've been emitting. It was a little difficult, with the distraction of her heartbeat pounding against the inside of her chest, but she managed. She was surprised when she felt nothing.

"He's clean," she called out, her voice coming out somewhat croaky. She noticed only then that her mouth had become dry. "They'd only let him out without a tracker if they really trusted him. He's obviously setting us up for an ambush." She shot a glance at Veil, entangled in an embrace with a man in the only other car around. She had expected Veil to march right up to Max and let him have it, but Waverley couldn't blame her for stopping to hug her brother. The side of the phone call that she had heard sounded intense. So it seemed the rest of them would have to take point. When Max claimed that everything was alright, Waverley felt her heart pound even harder against her ribs, as if trying to get out so it could punch the boy in the nose itself.

"The hell it is!" she snarled, lip curved into a frown that could only accurately have been described as royally pissed off. She began to walk towards Max, her heart rate accelerating with every step. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears. This wasn't strange; she often heard hear heartbeat in her ears when she was having a panic attack, or when she was stressed or terrified. This was different though. Unbeknownst to her, those around her could hear it as well. It radiated out of her like she was a speaker, the loud thrumming in the unmistakable rhythmm of a heartbeat. It was louder than a heartbeat should ever be. She passed Spark Plug, eventually stopping right in front of the basket on the ground, filled with snacks and drinks, courtesy of their enemy. "We set up a meeting with a murderer, and not only did he not show up with the innocent we're looking to protect, he had the audacity to try and give us a FUCKING GOODIE BASKET!" As if to emphasize her point, she brought up her rebar, and, eyes glued on Max, she jabbed it down into the care package. She felt the satisfying crunch of olive branches being crushed, feeling a splash of liquid land on the legs of her jeans. She didn't care. She huffed like a bull about to charge. When Glimpse spoke, Waverley glanced over at her, shaking her head.

"We shouldn't call him by his supervillain name. It'll just give him some sick sense of validation," she said, before looking back to Veil. Both her hands were gripping tightly to her rebar, and while she wasn't in a fighting stance, it looked like she was prepared to be in one if the need suddenly arose. "Obviously he's lying. So are we leaving, or are we teaching him a lesson? Whatever we do, we should do it before the rest of his fellow goons arrive."

X-Men: Cosmic Crusades 👽

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Iris Rivers

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Location: Stark Tower - The Roof
Skills:

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"Oh thank whatever deity slash deities that may or may not exist," Iris groaned, letting out a large huff of relief as she watched the massive face in the sky and the much smaller, unconscious silver face (and body) on the roof disappear from sight. She leaned over, hands on her knees, breathing heavily for a few moments. "If I died in New York City, I'd fucking kill myself." When she raised her head back up, a grin was spread wide across her lips. They'd done it! And everyone survived! At least, she thought everyone did. Her eyes scanned the crowd, counting heads, eventually stopping at Neil and Sara. Their little show of affection reminded Iris that, with the threat gone, she had time to kiss her own true love.

The blonde girl stepped out of her beat up metal suit, shaking out her lengthy limbs, letting her body breathe in the not-so-fresh air of the city. She then dug her hands under her skirt, into the pockets of her leggings, pulling out a joint and her lighter. Tucking one end between her lips and lighting the other, she took a deep inhale, holding the smoke in her lungs for a few seconds, before letting it float out of her lips. The gray cloud that formed in front of her face was accompanied by a hum of enjoyment. When Sara spoke, Iris took one more quick puff before responding.

"If by R and R she means 'reefers and respiration,' I couldn't agree more," Iris said, flicking away the bit of ash that had gathered on the tip. "Let's wait to ponder our moral obligations as heroes until sometime we're not walking around with cracked ribs and concussions." She reached behind her head, touching her injury and cringing slightly. Her hair, along with her flower crown, were stained bright red from the wound. "Do we by any chance have a personal doctor on hand? I don't wanna be that asshole who goes to a hospital after an alien attack because of minor head trauma."

Forgotten Space

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Location: Hallway -> Altrium
Skills: Empathy

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By the time Cal had gotten to the room everyone seemed to be headed towards, her heart had, for the most part, stopped racing, slowing to a steady beat. Once she was in, she immediately noticed two things: the obviously tense mood that hung in the air between its inhabitants, and the blanket of darkness outside. The second one got her attention first, as her gaze turned to look out the massive windows. Outside was almost pure black, with the exception of numerous tiny, twinkling lights far in the distance. There was also an orb floating out there, which Cal immediately labeled as the moon. "Would ya look at that. It's nighttime. Kinda makes you feel silly for eating breakfast, doesn't it?" she said, letting out a hearty chuckle. As she stared at it, though, her small smile that had been put in place by her little laugh slowly faded, turning upside down into a frown. "Wait a minute...that's not the moon, is it?" she mumbled. She was surprised how calm she stayed despite the realization. She'd assumed from her experience in the Galley that she was quick to freak out, but it would appear that seeing robot people die was her breaking point, as she took this new development rather well.

When she dropped her head back down to look at the others, she saw that Vinnie stood cowering behind Kyle, and all of their attention seemed to be on Sophia. It took a moment for Cal to process what was happening, but when she had, she took a step forward, her attention first on Vinnie. Her freaking out seemed, to Cal, like the epicenter of the negativity that filled the room, so she did her best to calm the girl. She raised her hands up in front of her, as though she were calming some sort of horse. "Woah there Vinnie, why don't we just calm down a little bit. I get that there's a lot happening, and a lot to take in, but freaking out isn't going to help anyone. You can be as scared as you want, but the world - or, space hotel, I guess - isn't gonna change because of you're afraid. So instead, let's just...take a deep breath," her voice was calm and melodious, and, as if to demonstrate for Vinnie how to do so, she inhaled through her nostrils. As did so, she was pleasantly surprised by the aromas of the room. It smelt like a real forest. "The air smells so nice in here...let's just breathe it in, and breathe it out." She did it herself for a few moments, savoring the pleasant air, before turning to the others in the room.

"Now then, is cutting her up really the best course of action here? I mean, the only thing we've seen a robot thing do is walk into a room and die. So all the evidence we've got points to them not only being harmless, but also being kind of shittily made. So let's not be too quick rip out each other's throats," she said, before raising an eyebrow. It looked like she had the ability to stay calm under stressful situations, as long as a dead robot wasn't involved. How nifty! Her gaze finally shifted to Zarina, and twisted up in disgust. "Oh, you've got to be shitting me. You took an eye too? Jesus fuck, kid...And no, we're not giving you an autopsy. I'm not even sure if any of us are qualified for that."

Ω Heroes of Olympus: The Next Age of Heroes Ω

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Leandra Lovelace

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Location: New Rome - The Senate House
Skills: Charisma, Bureaucracy

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As soon as Nancy said the word 'mega', Leandra knew it was she who was being addressed. But she didn't look up right away, choosing to continue looking down at her book, scribbling away on the page in blue ink. She hadn't intended to start anything, meaning innocence was on her side. To look up immediately would be, to some degree, an admission of guilt, and thus, a relinquishment of power. So she waited, listening, but acting like she wasn't, until around the moment when Nancy mentioned the dying of demigods. Leandra raised her head at that point, partially because she deemed it a good place to come in, but also because it troubled her. The demigods were her people, and if there was anything she cared about more than herself, it was her people. Still, her worry wasn't enough to push her out of her manipulation mode. Her face morphed into an expression of guiltless confusion, her head ever-so-slightly tilted and her lips in a slightly parted pout that was so precise one might assume it was rehearsed. She used her pen to point to her chest, as if to ask 'do you mean me?' As Nancy finished up, Leandra shifted from confused to a stern, her pout turning to a tight frown. Her eyes flicked to Niah as the girl gave her a glare of warning, and Leandra had to work to keep her frown from turning into a smirk. Did the sweet little Oath Binder think an angry look from her would keep Leandra down? Because it wouldn't. That was an oath she was certain she could keep.

"Nancy Parker, how very unprofessional," she said with the tone of voice a mother might use to chastise a child. Her hands delicately closed her book in her lap, and her thumb gliding over the top of her pen to click it, retracting the inky point back into darkness. "I do believe you are the first praetor in all of history to use time during a senate meeting to slut-shame a senator," her voice rose in pitch slightly, sounding almost as amused as she was annoyed as she went on. "And with the stereotyping too! Just because I am the daughter of a love god does not mean that I'm some romance-obsessed bimbo who goes around rating relationships. That's not how it works. After all, your father's the god of knowledge, and you don't know shit." She couldn't help but let a small smile creep up to her face as she finished speaking. So she hadn't been as restrained as she might've preferred, and her fellow senators appeared to remain neutral despite her words, but it felt good. She straightened up, letting her tense shoulders relax as her smile fell, her expression once again becoming serious.

"I don't doubt that whatever you saw in your daydream was important, Madame Praetor," she said, though, as was the case every other time she spoke the title, it seemed disingenuous, almost venomous. "But we can't just drop everything at the drop of a hat. If we allow these daily problems we deal with get away from us, then once we're all finished saving the world, we won't have a home to come back to." Once she finished, their bickering was interrupted by the shimmering image that appeared before the senate. An attractive pair appeared before them in the air like a magic Zoom meeting, a blonde girl and a ginger girl. Leandra raised her eyebrow in interest as they spoke. The development, while it would likely complicate paperwork, was interesting nonetheless. Something big must've been brewing to bring the two peoples together. The Greeks, from what she read and knew of them, were chaotic in nature. Even so, she saw no reason to burn a bridge before it was made. So, putting a pleasant smile on, she looked to the Iris Message.

"I'll make sure to get all the paperwork done and squared away," she said, half to the two Greeks and half to Niah. "This is unorthodox to be certain, but we'll make do." Leandra opened her book back up, before looking back to the Greeks, adding as an afterthought, "Oh, and we'd appreciate it if you landed outside of our territory. Last time a Greek ship tried landing in New Rome it...didn't exactly end well."

Harry Potter and the Alchemist's Quest - Discontinued

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Location: Compartment 15 -> Wherever Her Royal Highness Leads
Skills:

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"That'd be Flame here. Engorgement charm gone wrong," Fae answered Madalyne, jutting a thumb at the raven-haired Slytherin beside her. She was still grinning like a madwoman, but she'd managed to compose herself enough to speak in coherent sentences. When the booming voice filled the train, somehow, though it might've seemed impossible, Fae appeared to become even more excited. She looked out the window, as if to confirm the disembodied voice was telling the truth. Sure enough, outside the train sat the tall, purple bus. "No way. We get to ride the rest of the way to Hogsmeade in the Knight Bus? That is so rad!" she exclaimed. Her gaze shifted from out the window to Penny as she asked for help, and Fae responded with a nod so fast one would think it might've given her whiplash.

"Oh, yes, of course, I'd be more than happy to," Fae said with an eagerness to serve that would rival even the most enthusiastic of house elves. She quickly realized, though, that she'd need her own bags as well, which were still in the compartment Fae and Elizabeth had occupied previously. "Uh, you guys go, I'll catch up. I just need to-" as she spoke, so too did Elizabeth, lifting her wand up and reciting the summoning charm. Within seconds, all her things were in front of her, including an absolutely terrified-looking Dickhead the Owl. She knew better than to put her finger in to try and comfort him. Last time she tried that, it almost got bitten off. So instead she hoisted him and the rest of her things up with such ease that one might think she was competing with Barnaby to see who could pick up their belongings with the least trouble. She gave Elizabeth a grateful nod, before amending her statement. "Never mind, I've got everything." As she followed Penny, Beatrice, and Chiara out, she looked at Maddy and Flame. "Once I help these ladies get situated, I'll look around for you two," she said, the joy audible in her voice.

The Gifted - Concluded

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Waverley Watts - Feedback

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Location: Mutant Underground HQ - Training Room -> Above Ground
Skills:

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Waverley's frown deepened in response to Veil's answer. She didn't know much about Max, other than the obvious: he was a monster. She didn't know what kind, or what he was capable of. She'd assumed it was just some sort of conjuration ability, but, according to Veil, they seemed to be so much more than that. She shifted uncomfortably on her feet. She was about to voice her distaste for this new development, and try to use it to convince the others that the threat of Max needed to be dealt with as fast as possible, but before she could, a rustling from the bag in her hand pulled her attention away from the topic. She looked over to see Sunshine pulling a handful of Cheez-Its out and shoving them into her mouth. It caused her expression, cold and aggressive from the topic of Max, to soften. Sunshine was always hungry, so she didn't buy the story Sunshine gave for her tears. But this wasn't the time to confront her about it. So instead, as Sunshine ate, Waverley took a few small steps closer.

"Here, why don't you take these," Waverley said, the edge in her voice replaced by soothing gentleness. She tenderly scooped the bag into the blonde's hand, before giving her shoulder a soft squeeze. "Have as many as you want. I'll try to talk Veil into grabbing McDonald's on our way back. And if you do wanna talk about what's...making you hungry, tell me when I get back. I'm all ears." With that, Waverley stepped back from Sunshine, her expression hardening again as she pulled her rebar up, leaning it against her shoulder. She looked to Casper with a smile, though this smile seemed less lighthearted than her usual dorky grin.

"I've got all the iron we need to ward against him right here," she said, bouncing the rebar against her shoulder. Did that sound as badass as it felt? Because it felt badass. She'd have to ask Cayden later, or maybe Veil. It'd be insensitive to ask Sunshine, given her emotional state. After a few seconds, she realized her dramatic exit was getting less and less dramatic the more she thought about whether it was badass or not, and so she quickly spun around and exited the Underground hideout.

Forgotten Space

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Location: The Galley -> The Hallway
Skills: Drug Knowledge

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As Zarina continued to poke and prod the woman - or, apparently, robot - in her invasive investigation, Cal began to slowly inch towards her. She was still filled with horror, her eyebrows furrowed, her lips parted and in a small frown, and her heart hammering away inside her chest. As she moved, she did her best to keep her gaze away from the green, gooey humanoid figure on the ground. But as she finally arrived behind Zarina, she shot a glance down at the scene and immediately regretted it. Emerald sludge everywhere; on the girl's hands, all over the robot's body, on the ground around them both. Cal felt herself gag once again, but luckily she was distracted by Tessa's words.

"Bloody brilliant idea, mate," she exclaimed, quickly walking over to the machine, pushing in front of Tessa once she was done. Her fingers, visibly shaking, glided across the touch screen. As she made her way to her destination, the alcohol section, she paused, instead clicking for a moment on the medicinal drugs section. She looked at it for a moment, gazing at all the different kinds, a number of which she recognized. She wasn't sure exactly what brought her to this section, but her distinct lack of a desire to take any of the drugs relieved her. It didn't appear as though she was an addict, so that meant a point for the part of her arguing that she was a pharmacist. It wasn't enough to calm her, however. For that, she'd need alcohol.

She backed out of the drug section, proceeding to the alcohol section. Once there, she tapped the first drink she saw, absinthe. Once it was dispensed, she pulled it out, readying herself to slam it back. But before she could, she looked inside, and the green liquid inside brought the image of the green blood back to the front of her mind, and queasiness back into her stomach. She shook her head, reaching over to put it on the table. She couldn't bring herself to drink it. So instead, she tapped on the next icon, bourbon. As soon as it plopped out, she chugged it down, the tingling warmth spreading throughout her chest, soothing her beating heart. She let out a sigh. It wasn't long after that that Kyle came in, suggesting they follow him. Many did, but Cal didn't, not at first. As others left the room, she dispensed another cup of bourbon, downing the bitter drink as quickly as she had the first. She dropped both cups to the floor, looking back over at Zarina, who'd just asked a question.

"Dunno, but it defo cannot be more horrifying than Barbie Terminator here," she said, gesturing towards the metal woman, before finally beginning towards the exit, grabbing up Vincent the Pill Bottle as she passed. She remembered Terminator being a movie about a robot, though that was all; she didn't remember what it was about, or who was in it. She steered clear of Zarina and her android lady. She'd need more than a couple of drinks to want to get close to that grizzly scene. As she passed them, though, Cal caught a glance of the jaw in Zarina's hand. Her face contorted into a disgusted expression. "You're not actually keeping that, are you? It's a jaw. What do you plan on doin' with a jaw?" she asked, though it seemed to be rhetorical, as she exited the room immediately after asking, following after the others.