.:⋮Shifting Odds and Ends⋮:.In the wake of the Christmas party, Kayli had drawn back from the goings on in Penrose. Becoming a mother meant many new responsibilities and things she had to attend to. Still though she felt like she owed a visit to Penny at the Sanctuary. The two had an odd kinship in that they seemed to never stop changing in some way or another. What exactly their relationship was likely was just as if not more complicated. Approaching more or less in the open, Kayli doubted that she would be missed by Penny's surveillance.
And true to that assumption Kayli would find Penny at the door when she reached the Sanctuary. Penny had a smile as she waved towards the thrice blessed girl.
“Hey, long time no see.” She’d greet
“Here for a social call I hope.”The woman would smile and nod.
"Yes, thankfully. I felt like we never properly spoke about, well, everything. I'm sure you probably have at least a few questions for me." She would enter calmly. Penny was tall for a magical girl, so Kayli even as a full grown woman was only a few inches taller.
It was slight, but there was a note of tension in Penny’s frame that faded at that admission.
“Well come on in.” Turning to open the door to the Sanctuary Penny would add
“Monica’s been cooking up a feast as of late, we’re planning on moving soon, but feel free to help yourself to the food. She’s a great cook.”The mention of food was underscored as soon as the door was open and the warm smell of food wafted out. Calling the occasion a feast was perhaps putting on airs for everything. It was far from an opulent meal, closer in truth to just a large scale barbeque, but for the Sanctuary it was a grander affair than most who lived there were accustomed to.
Near everyone who lived at the Sanctuary was out in the main room, the few tables having long been filled. But there was plenty of floor space to take a seat.
“I’m fine parking wherever, but my room is also open if you’d prefer a bit more privacy.”Getting the chance to see the Sanctuary again, and in a much better mood than she'd 'seen' it since before Cindy had last, a smile worked its way over Kayli's face and her eyes lit up for a moment.
"Good to see things are going well despite the circumstances. We'll done." Taking it all in briefly she turned slightly and noted the statue to Cindy still there. Turning back to her friend she gave a light shrug before gesturing to Penny.
"I've nothing to hide. It's up to you and what you might want to discuss. Any roll here I or my predecessors might have had is passed. Consider this as a fresh start." Penny would steer them towards an open corner near the kitchen area, Monica happily cooking away within.
“Not what I mean when offering privacy. Not everyone has the energy for such a large gathering. There are at least a few girls, Sibrex for one example, who are down in their rooms due to everyone being here.”“But, either way. You are always welcome here.” Penny would sit facing the rest of the gathered girls, her presence not really remarked upon. She spent more than enough time up here for the rest of the Sanctuary to be at least comfortable with her being in the area.
“I’m going to miss this place.” She’d say after a moment.
“It’s the longest time I’ve had a home since I joined the Magical world.”Giving a light nod she acknowledged the confusion.
"Ah, my mistake. I would love to join everyone." As they made their way to some seats she wondered aloud.
"Miss this place? Are you going somewhere?" Seemed a bit out of place for Penny. Though this area had been prone to trouble as she understood.
“I mean the building.” Penny would specify
“As I mentioned we are moving. Still staying in Penrose, but hopefully somewhere safer. But it does mean that I’ll likely not be coming back here all that much.” Penny’s eyes drifted across the room but she was only barely paying attention to the girls in front of her. She was back in the past mentally.
“This warehouse has been my home in Penrose from the start. And the longest home I’ve been able to keep since I joined the Community.” She would reiterate.
“I’m going to miss it.”The explanation seemed to assuage Kayli's slight concern on the matter. It made sense.
"I'm glad to hear you've found something you think will be safer. I know things have been hard for those in the Sanctuary. I've been considering if there were any ways I could help either here or Penrose in general." She would comment briefly with a smile.
"I suppose old habits die hard." Certainly seemed like Janet couldn't help but throw herself into a mess even if that girl had become someone else.
“I know it will be. And you helped” Penny would turn to flash a grin to Kayli.
“We’re moving to the Bastion. The scientist you warned me about helped me smuggle it into the city.” She would explain.
“Half certain she did it to try and get into my good graces and to get a chance to have a better look at the ship as well.”There was the briefest moment of disgust when Penny detailed who assisted with the Bastion. Despite knowing and working in some fringe magic herself, Kayli believed there were rules that should be followed. Some things were not meant to be tampered with.
"She seeks knowledge. And as far as I can tell she will use any she can gleen for her own devices. I worry should she complete her dream of infinite magic for all. It sounds good, but beings are not always responsible with access." The woman was tense for a bit. She considered berating Penny for continuing her habit of dealing with shady and manipulative individuals. Perhaps later and with a different tone.
Taking a seat Kayli had begun to draw some minor attention, primarily because magical woman were rare. Rarer even than magical boys. She also had a motherly air to her. It wasn't something most of those around her noticed, but those that were younger felt a draw to her.
“Aaand that would explain why she is so obsessed with learning about the artifact she mentioned.” Penny would say with a sigh.
“Knew there was a good reason not to fully trust her.” The moment of tension wasn’t lost on Penny but she wasn’t going to push if Kayli didn’t want to bring it up, though Penny could guess.
“I’ll admit that a lot of the reason I’ve been willing to be friendly was that it’s easier to get close to her incase she needs to die. I get the feeling that she’s been a part of the magical world for a lot longer than most people in Penrose have been. Wouldn’t be surprised if she’s gone legitimately crazy.”“Not that that excuses her, but I can sort of understand why when coming from that angle.”Penny also noted the subtle impact that Kayli’s presence was having. Penny knew that outside of a fight she likely came off more as an older sister to the younger girls as despite her tall stature she just didn’t have the sharpness that came with maturity. Adding in the fact that both her and Kayli had similar color schemes and one could almost assume that they were related. It was kind of amusing to be honest.
Looking over at the residents of the Sanctuary, Kayli's gaze would drift down to one of the monster girls that was watching her. As if suddenly caught the girl would look away. With a smile Kayli reached down and rustled the girl's hair.
"It's nice to see you Ellen." The little girl gasped and looked back up.
"Y-You know my name?" "I know many of your names. Penny is a good friend of mine." The woman would lean down.
"Would you like to hear a secret?" The response was a slow nod with an expression of wonder. Kayli would point off toward the statue of Cindy.
"Even though she isn't here right now, she's still watching over you." After a moment of confusion the girl seemed a little skeptical.
"Wha… How do you mean?" Undaunted Kayli sat back up.
"Because Penny shares her vision." She would turn to Penny.
"As do I, despite how different my magic may make me. We keep her here." She points to the girl's heart.
Having someone so clearly uncorrupted speak kindly of Cindy was a bit of a take back. After a moment the girl turned to Penny as if to make sense of the woman.
“I’ve told you not everyone out there agrees with Beacon fundamentalists.” Penny would say with an amused smirk. She didn’t harp on and on about it, but she wasn’t shy about telling people about the fact that there were those out there that didn’t want to abuse them just because they were corrupted.
“I met Kayli a while back” Leaning up against the wall Penny would gesture to the open floor for Ellen if she wanted to sit.
“She’s one of the contacts I have for the bits of purification supplies I’ve been able to bring in for those that need or want them.” She still had a bit of those supplies as well, a few coins and potions. Though most of the White coins had been returned to Beacon by this point. Penny’s status as a Beacon member was being treated as more of an anomaly to the stalwart organization than anything to be expected by the denizens of Sanctuary, so no one wanted to use them. There was simply too much bad blood for Penny to clean by herself.
“She's a good person, and likely knew Cindy better than I did.” Which wasn’t hard admittedly with Penny only having had a chance to talk to the prior Queen a handful of times. But having Cindy’s memories was likely cheating in that regard anyway.
“We all wanted to give safety to those that need it, we all just have different thoughts about how to do that.”Some of those nearby listened passively to the conversation. Hearing Penny explain that Kayli provided some of the purification items they eyed the woman with some trepidation. That kind of thing was associated with Beacon and their ilk. A few shifted uneasily.
"Are you here to purify us?" One of the girls would ask, watching carefully.
This reaction wasn't really a surprise. While she wasn't displaying her magic at all, she was noticeably different than a majority of the Sanctuary's inhabitants. Kayli would shake her head in response to the question.
"I am not. I'm just here to visit a friend. It just so happens I get to join in the festivities." She gave them a warm smile. Between that and Penny's casual demeanor that seemed to calm most of them and they relaxed a bit more.
Penny rolled her eyes at the question, though her demeanor was still amused. Seems that her promise to never allow a forceful purification didn’t quite sink in as deep as she hoped. But no reason to harp on about it now.
“You heard about Penrose’s next round of chaos yet?” Penny would ask Kayli. The girls here had already heard about it, mainly because the first attack from Wonderland happened just down the street and Penny wasn’t going to brush that under the rug. But also to explain part of the reason why the move to the EarthBastion was happening so soon.
Seeing as Penny had moved on from the subject, Kayli followed her lead.
"Not with any detail. There were Wendigos that attacked?" Connie and Mia hadn't been part of the larger combat.
“Wendigoes that were summoned.” Penny would correct.
“Seems like we’ve got a rogue magical kingdom aiming to annex the city.” She would explain with a mocking grin.
“They call themselves Wonderland, and they oppose the powers that be and Patrons of all flavors.”Kayli would look up when the name Wonderland was dropped.
"Wonderland?" As best she could recall, Cindy didn't know all that much about the kingdom aside from their size. The Queen of Hearts hadn't done much to draw the monster girl's ire so there hadn't been any need to cross paths. A nation moving to take a single city seemed excessive though.
"Do you know what they are after?"“Only in broad terms” Crossing her arms Penny would become slightly more serious.
“I’m not sure how much you might know of life outside Penrose, but Penrose is an anomaly of a city. Life on the magical end here is exponentially more chaotic compared to anywhere else, and that includes most of the Overcity’s public locations.” Which was saying something when one actually looked at all the data.
“The reason for this, you might also remember reading about. Penrose is, as far as anyone can confirm, the site of a Nexus. A natural wellspring of magic.”“Wonderland wants it. Though I’ve no idea why.” ”As does everyone, it seems. I’m well aware.” Kayli would rub her chin.
”I am fated to the Nexus, to its defense. I have preliminary ideas on a more permanent solution to this problem that plagues Penrose. I had hoped I would have had more time to prepare.” She looked in the direction of the other attendees. They were enjoying themselves. If Wonderland was coming then opposing them in direct conflict would be difficult. What she had in mind though didn’t require that though.
“Beacon wants to protect it at least.” Penny would add in, though she was still sure that messing with it while everything was as chaotic as it was, was simply asking for trouble.
“I’ve got a meeting in a few days with one of the higher ups, it seems no one up the chain of command was taking my status as anything more than a joke until I showed up. Hoping to get some more support for us here, but the politics of it don’t have me expecting much.”Without really knowing what exactly Wonderland intended to do with the Nexus she couldn’t say it was necessarily bad. Regardless though it didn’t really change her plans.
”The Nexus needs to be tempered.” She would state out loud.
“You’ll hear no argument from me.” The thought that the chaos of Penrose could grow even more rampant wasn’t exactly a comforting one to the mechanical queen.
“Though how one would do that is a bit beyond me. Tampering with it at all sounds like a recipe for disaster, though I’ll grant you likely are at a lower risk than most in that regard.” Penny knew that the purifying aspect of the Spark was limited, but figured that Kayli’s unique nature was more protective in that aspect.
Well, with enough time I believe it can be done safely. However, between Nykannis, Wonderland, and who knows what else could turn their attention toward Penrose I’m beginning to doubt we have the luxury.” She drummed her fingers against the table.
”I can be sure I will not become corrupted when dealing with the Nexus. You say you will be talking with Beacon about something?” “No one seems to want to give Penrose the time it needs to stabilize.” Penny would agree with a huff.
“And that’s what I assumed. Still be careful, that amount of magic might just kill you outright instead of corrupting you. That which doesn’t bend, breaks.” She would warn.
“But yeah, Beacon’s upper echelon is going to be ‘verifying’ me” She’d explain with air quotes.
“Making sure I’m not a living affront to their goals or something to that effect.” A shrug.
“Not sure how it’s going to go, but if things pan out well I’ll be seeing about getting all of us some more support. Again, politics means I doubt that I’ll get much, but I’m not going to simply sit around and do nothing.”A slight chuckle escaped Kayli’s lips.
”Well if Janet is any metric then I should be quite flexible. Thankfully I think I understand enough to avoid significant harm. And I wouldn’t put myself at undue risk if it meant I wouldn’t be able to be there for Connie.” And to some extent she was counting on the contract to keep her grounded.
“Well if there is anyone who would know how to temper it carefully I would believe it to be you.” The mix of knowledge and skills that Kayli had on hand wasn’t to be underestimated.
“If I can help, let me know though. I’d rather you be over prepared than under prepared.””Not sure there’s much anyone else can do to assist right now. We know more about the effects of a Nexus than what it is or how it behaves. I get the feeling we only see glimmers of what it can do which is concerning. I’m going to have to rely on my connection to get me there more than any technique or instrument.” The subject seemed like it might have reached an end. They didn’t exactly have concrete things to work off of at this time.
Penny gave a huff
"That sounds annoyingly on brand for Penrose." Nothing in this city liked going smoothly. Though that was also part of its charm.
"Oh, I've got a newspaper now." She'd say, changing the topic as there wasn’t anything more to be said on the Nexus for now.
"Eden left behind theirs when they vanished. Figured I'd be able to turn it around and make something of it to help out the Sanctuary.""The Penrose Independent?" She would chuckle a bit. An interesting turn of events.
"Not something I expected you to take interest in. How would it help?""It'll be the Sanctuary Inquirer when we relaunch." Came the correction but it was easy to see Penny was in a good mood talking about it.
"And the benefits are a few things. First it gives everyone here a common goal to work towards. Survival is all well and good, but that being the sole focus isn't.""It's something inherently non violent so it's something to further prove we are more than what others have painted us as." She would further expand leaning forward a bit in her enthusiasm. She wasn’t very animated with it, but it was clear that she had high hopes for this project.
"And, once it gets settled, it's a source of income for the Sanctuary and the girls living here. We are reaching the point where we need that or we are going to have to start requiring donations or start turning people away." Something that Penny was all too sure Wonderland was going to exacerbate with their invasion.
“This way we can support them and us better.”Kayli would nod after hearing the plan.
”Sounds like a good idea. At least not let the resources go to waste.” Listening to the explanation that they might eventually run into housing trouble the woman considered something for a moment.
”If you do run into issues finding places for people to stay I can house quite a few. As usual the wish was more potent than I anticipated and aside from my age it came with fairly sizable provision for my small family.”“It’s not the space that is the issue.” Penny would say after a moment.
“I will absolutely keep you in mind if that does end up ever being an issue, but the actual problem is supplies.” She would let out a sigh as she rested her head against the wall behind her.
“Food and other specialties are what we need. A few of the other girls don’t need much, but there are also some that have specific dietary needs. And with our limited ability to move around in the mundane world getting such things is difficult.”“Monica” Penny would gesture towards the minotaur girl contentedly cooking away in the kitchen
“Has been a godsend, almost literally as a matter of fact, her Patron is goddess of hearth and home so she’s directly responsible for a fair portion of our food here. But there is a limit to how much she can supply.” She’d explain.
“I’ve managed to keep away from outright theft, mainly because I’m probably toeing a line or two as it is with Beacon, but something needed to change before it got untenable without crime.””I see. Well perhaps let me know if you have anything specifically that you need. Some of it may be harder to find, but sometimes I’m able to more easily get things as an adult.” Without knowing specifics it might be a bit harder to know for sure. Time out tell on that front.
“Before Shane donated a staff of wood magic our biggest hurdle would have been fresh greens.” Penny would start obviously just running down a checklist in her head.
“I know that it’s possible to live on nothing but a vegetarian diet, but not for some of us here. Now our biggest challenge is fresh meat. There are three girls who can’t eat canned or processed meat without getting sick. One of whom has difficulties eating it if it isn’t literally a fresh kill.” Feral cats and dogs throughout Penrose had learned to be wary of this district. Then again so had monsters.
“One girl needs blood, which I found at a butcher that sells it, so it’s not a drastic problem, but we don’t have anywhere to store it. The fridges here don’t get cold enough to properly keep it fresh.”“Fresh water is another difficulty. We can’t tap into the water main out here, not without a risk of flooding the lower levels, so we have to boil what we can gather out of the harbor. Storing it for the long term is the biggest pain as we don’t have many jugs for it.” Granted some of the Water and Fire specs that lived here made it easier, it was that simply relying on them bothered Penny a little.
“Bedding is another constant struggle, we have no way of easily washing any of it so it has got a limited life span. Tearing apart the old blankets is a good standby for those with destructive urges, but we also have plenty of scrap for those that need to build or tear down.” All in all the issues the Sanctuary was facing weren’t dire, they had enough coming in before the newspaper was taken into account that they were making it. But they had nearly reached a critical limit and needed more in some capacity if they wanted to keep on keeping on.
Listening carefully, Kayli would eventually take out a notepad and begin sketching. As power wasn’t an issue the science teacher quickly drew up plans for a simple water filtration and sterilization system that should really only take things one could source from a hardware store.
”This should be easier and faster than boiling the water. The sand and charcoal will clear out the larger particles. The device produces ozone to kill any viruses or bacteria in the water as it drips. Save you from having to source chlorine or other chemicals. Just have to make sure it vents properly. I should be able to get a hold of some good containers to store the water.” Pondering the other things, those would be a bit harder in the short term. Chickens were the first things that came to mind, but one would need a sizable space to have a flock big enough to sustain itself over an extended period. The eggs would be good though.
”Once you have the funds you could probably source from a farm. In the meantime maybe see if you can track down some Nutria for those with more specific needs. They’re an invasive species here in the states so no one would miss them. They live in and around rivers and streams so it might be easier to have some Water specs swim out to get them without being seen. I’ve never had them myself, but people do hunt and eat them so…”Penny paid rapt attention to Kayli’s advice even as she already went through the catalog of what supplies were already available to build the purification unit.
“Thank you.” She would say entirely earnestly,
“The water containers alone will be a great help.” Especially if she could find a way to integrate the system into their new home. Water would no longer be an issue if that was the case.
“I’ll keep the farm’s in mind as well, it’s one of the reasons I’m happy to be getting a cash flow for the Sanctuary. Money helps open so many doors. Never heard of the Nutria before, but Google helps, I’ve got a few scouts I can head out to try and see how many we’ve got in Penrose.” “Once again, let me know if I can help. With anything really, We are in your debt at this point”Simply returning a smile the woman spoke.
"I'm a magical mom now. It's what I do." She would lean a bit closer to whisper.
"I have to stop myself sometimes though, otherwise I'd adopt everybody." She would chuckle. Her maternal instincts were certainly skewed on the high end.
Penny would snicker alongside Kayli at that confession. She was tempted to let it leak out, Monica had a similar issue, even if it was for vastly different reasons, and it would likely do a lot to help some of the girls here at the Sanctuary. But it wasn’t her secret to give.
“So we’ve talked a lot about my end, but what have you been up to? Other than taking care of Connie.”Had they? Guess the overlap didn’t count.
”Mostly research and teaching. I’ve had to take up a normal job to take care of my girls. I might be able to help some here get into classes if they’re interested. I should be able to temper those with more problematic afflictions.”“Normal school is a risk even without the afflictions.” Penny would say though she was still obviously intrigued by the idea, she had just started workshopping ideas about the Overcity collage as a matter of fact.
“Back in my one point oh iteration I could hold a sealed state for six hours at best, before I would forcibly revert and then I’d need two or three hours rest before I’d be able to seal up again. No idea how that stacks up to normal, but I’d wager that rather few of us could make it a full school day””Right Would probably have to set something up ourselves. There’s already quite a list, but it would be something more normal for them that they don’t have right now.” Sadly she wasn’t made of money to start something like that right now.
“Or see if the Overcity college would be willing to assist.” Penny would toss out.
“No idea how or what at the moment we’d need to do, but setting up something with them might also work.” "That would be good. And maybe it being outside Penrose would be good as well. People in the Overcity wouldn’t bat an eye at anyone attending." “That was the hope, though we do have a reputation in the Overcity.” Penny would shrug with a small smile,
“Seems that everyone else is also aware of our chaotic city’s nature.” Considering that for a moment it wasn’t that surprising to hear. Penrose had gone from an ordinary city to the focal point of several incursions and rumors of more to come. Letting out a sigh Kayli would nod.
”Yes, I can see why. With any luck we can try and get ahead of that before something truly awful occurs.”“Agreed. Now we just need to find the time to head to the college to ask around I suppose.” Penny would offer up tilting her head to the side as she pondered that particular challenge. “I guess we could ask Finn, Oliver, or Mariette about when good times to do that would be. Possibly others as well, I just know that those three are actually attending classes.”
”Sounds like a good place to start.” She would agree.
Penny would nodd, but before she could say anything else there was a psychic wave that rippled out from the kitchen. It was a simple thing, just a thought propagated across the warehouse.
‘Food’s ready!’“Seems like Monica’s ready to allow people in her domain at last” Would be what the queen said instead.
“Shall we?” She would ask as she moved to stand.
Responding to the call, Kayli stood up as well.
"We shall." Even though she was a visitor the woman insisted she wait her turn and stood in line like everyone else. In the meantime she mingled and answered questions posed to her. Once everyone had been served, Monica joined Penny and Kayli. Unsurprisingly the two motherly figures took to each other almost instantly. They shared stories about the little ones and traded tips and tricks of varying sorts. Talk of trying to set up some play dates and maybe have a few of the Sanctuary members come visit Connie and Mia. The momentum of course barely had the chance to consider what Penny or anyone else might have to say as the two fed off each other's mom energy.
For all that Penny’s friendliness with Kayli kept things calm it was Monica’s enthusiasm that brought the woman acceptance within the Sanctuary. Not long after they started bouncing off of each other just reveling in finding another like mind, a few of the younger girls would gravitate towards them. Simply to bask in the feeling of home that was being given off by the two as they ate and talked.
The only person that was worried was Ashlyn, though she didn’t voice anything, there was simply a warriness to her whenever she looked at Monica. Which was rather often as the guard captain had taken a seat right next to Monica shortly after Monica had joined Kayli and Penny.
Penny, for her part, was quietly amused. The groundwork of the outreach that was being talked about between the two was something that she was more than happy to see. That and she could tell that it helped Monica as well to find someone who understood. Perhaps not for the same reason, but nevertheless.
All in all it was a good night for the Sanctuary, and with luck simply the first of many to come.
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