[META 4 START] Sunday

[Melancholies]

Did you say something?

There's no voice, only silence, only void, only stars, only warmth. If this is death then it's more comforting than he thought. There's nothing here, but then there's everything too; there's an entire string of galaxies and there's Jamie wrapped up with one of his arms and then there's—

—Oliver, too. Oliver? Oliver. He was there, hand outstretched, and then he was hooked under his other arm, the three of them lazily floating downwards in a group-hug free fall. It's awkward (yet not), because he doesn't know what to say to his twin after all this time, but it's not like any of them can talk either. Despite that, it's personal here, it's private. Others had jumped in, but for Shiloh there's just the two most important people in the world crammed into his chest. He smells rosemary. He smiles.

At least I'm not alone keeps echoing in his head, but the voice isn't his. It isn't his but he agrees with the sentiment regardless. He doesn't catch Jamie's gaze because his eyes are closed and he looks so inexplicably blissful, like this is all he's ever wanted. He never was scared of death; only what came after, but this wasn't bad. This was salvation. I have Shiloh— (that thought, that's definitely not his thought, he can't have himself)—and he loosely squeezes his arm around Jamie, and then the other one around Oliver.

Oliver doesn't really react.

His head was pounding under the sheer pressure of Sunny, and now there's just... nothing. Peace. If he didn't believe in magic before, he sure did now; either that, or he believed in the fact that he was going ******** crazy, but it was hard to bait himself into self loathing when he was so... completely swallowed by space. Jamie didn't falter. Shiloh sure as ******** didn't falter either; but that didn't mean he was without reservations or fear.

But it's sort of like old times too, where he'd get into all sorts of mischief with his twin, except... it decidedly wasn't life threatening like this was. Stupid, sure, but not this.

And because he's the only one paying attention (see: eyes not closed, eyes not oogling his brother) he notices the ground coming upon them first. There's a rush but he doesn't... he's scared but it can't be worst than the free fall. They're drifting through space and of all the things that has happened tonight, smashing into hard ground somehow makes the least amount of sense to him. Turns out he's right.

Falling head first, except now their feet are all touching something solid. His legs give out, but he's still clinging to his brother and Shiloh's still holding onto him in turn; he doesn't falter. Shiloh stands strong. He's made a strange peace with himself; he's gone through hell already. Melany did him well in that regard; there's nothing that could best her training. His eyes are still closed, looking poetic and serene, ultimate zen achieved. Beneath them is a faint cloud of clover, the loam flourishing tentatively at the threesome's feet.

"A-Anyone want to— whoa—" Oliver spoke, and then startled at the ability to speak, "A-Anyway, I, uh— what the ********? What the ********> he looked up to Shiloh who offered nothing past his impenetrable tranquility (read: possible disassociation) and then to Jamie, the one who had always provided him answers in the past. Suddenly there's books all around them, and he can see others that had jumped in before, faces all otherwise unfamiliar. He still doesn't let go of Shiloh, and he doubts Jamie will either.

"What is going on." he whined to anyone who was willing to listen. Fix the void? Magic books? Magic books—some old guy getting really excited over the magic books like a nerd. ********, that was probably going to be him in forty years, not cool, not cool. He shook his head, turned his attention back to Jamie and his twin, and spat "You guys are ******** stupid!"

saedusk

throws a baby fit

hi guys

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Preacher ducked and twisted just before a hand landed on her shoulder. "Don't touch me," she hissed, turning to look up at Ashton. She'd become, over the years, pretty good at ducking away from people. A skill born of necessity. "Time, place, occasion, whatever. Wasn't talkin' to you, anyway."

Daekie

sorry! plans for pack touch later; not here!

 

[azuredreams]

There is an angry puff that is making cute grumbling peeps on Jeremiah's shoulder, tucked between the collar of his shirt and his neck.

It has been, very judgingly, peering at everyone but it is hard to be too grumbly once Mister Bitterberry spies America.

Jeremiah gets a soft peck and then he is off and flying towards America.

Who gives the young woman a smile and shakes his head. Later, he mouths.

Which is to say later he'll tell her why Alg and himself were there now. Not why they were making out, that was fairly obvious.

lizbot

 

[Blade Kuroda]

As the others began to land, Shun glanced about, pausing as he caught sight of two pairs of couples kissing as they touched down. Slowly, he just sort of tilted his head at this. He wasn't really sure what to make of that.

He was a little surprised to see Jeremiah down here now. Just before he had jumped, it had sounded as though the older man was staying behind. That said, he was a bit relieved to see that wasn't actually the case. They could use as many competent hands on this as they could get. Most likely.

The detective just gave him, Alg, and America a curt nod before he turned his attention elsewhere for now.

Azuredreams

iloveyoudie

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

She winked back at Shun and then startled a little as Mr. Bitterberry landed on her shoulder in a flurry of brilliant feathers and complaints.

You don't feed mate when fall!

You don't feed mate when danger!!

The redhead grinned at the bird, a little worried to have him here but assured all the same by his tiny, gurgling rants.

azuredreams

shunkuroda

 

[Grey Dragon]

Kaleb had his eyes shut hard as they approached their landing, his hand clutching Nathaniel's wrist too tightly. The expected pain never arrived, whatever gravity pulled them down set him gently on shaky legs that only barely seemed to hold his weight. They were not broken or even damaged in the fall, but fear had certainly turned them to jello.

Finally he peeked open one eye, visibly surprised to still be in one piece.

kuropeco

 

[endejester]

His thoughts are of Louis Carol as he falls, down the rabbit hole, he wonders if Carol might have experienced some pocket world like Ashdown, if that might have inspired the book and all its complex and strange creatures.

He does for a moment have a surge of fear and regret when he sees the ground approaching, more worried about Temperance as he feels he might have pulled her with him in his moment of drive.

But it doesn’t … and there are books.


Books – of course his attention falls to the books more than the young woman. When she speaks though he has to push his ‘books before people’ inclination.
‘You must be here to fix the veil’.
His jaw might have tightened when Shun asked, but he wasn’t going to be a child about it. It was at least a legitimate question.
He did stifle a small laugh at Preacher and a smile at Alg who was at least as interested in the books as him, the wolf whistle being a good indication.

“Is Sunny tied to the veil? can we fix both?” he asked, hopeful. He didn’t want to loose the person whom he still knew was dangerous, but at the same time, sometimes seemed more, ultimately, human.  

[MoonRazor]

Ves had expected, sometime during that long fall, for Rylan to let her go, but something in her face must have spoken to the deep terror she felt because he hung on to her until their feet touched solid ground again, and even then gave her hand a quiet squeeze before releasing it while they took stock of their current situation.

She turned toward the books and the strange woman while, from Ry's pocket, the dark amber-eyed fluff emerged blinking quizzically. Imp scrambled his way back to Rylan's shoulder and let out a peep.

Friend! Friend!

"No, you, come back, ********," Rylan swore as Imp flitted to Mr. Bitterberry and warbled brilliantly at him while happily pecking America's red hair. "If you do this when something's happening, you're ********. Remember the last time you got lost?"

Imp did not, in fact, remember.

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

Between Bitterberry and the bats that had started appearing around the camper, America was turning into a well trained perch. Eyes crinkling with laughter, she grinned at Rylan, "I'm sure they're doing some important strategist." There's a pause as she listens to the bluejay's side of the conversation.

"Yep, it's super important to brag about all the shiny s**t he's stolen off folks. S'good to see you both here, though, outside of the whole..." She gestures vaguely upward.

moonrazor

 

[MoonRazor]

"Imp thinks the latest victim of his impaling is all the rage," Rylan informed America on the shrike's behalf. Then, turning to the bird, he tutted and said, "This is why you're named after a vampire."

He nodded, drew in a breath as his eyes followed America's gesture, up to where they had been many long moments before. Another world, in almost every sense of the world.

Life had been a lot simpler before all of this magic stuff. Before, well, Imp, he supposed.

"And you as well," Rylan said, bringing his gaze back down. There was no use wishing for easier times. "It's been a while, since Blackfriars. I'm glad to see you two are doing alright."

lizbot

 

[Daekie]

Ashton ducked her head in an apology - Preacher wasn't the type to have her heart melted by a faux-sentimental plead for forgiveness, so she moved away with a shrug, moving towards Eve again because -- pack. Eve was, at the very least, trustworthy. And even with the screaming out of her head, Ashton wasn't feeling particularly up to heavy socializing until she knew precisely what was going on and knew she'd get some semblance of what she desired out of a conversation.

Until then, she'd let other people talk.

The Semblance of Unity

no problem, honestly forgot about that!

cibarium

---
Alexis moved to Zac like a moth to a flame, subtle enough that it wasn't obvious they were beelining but clear enough that they weren't going to leave his presence, probably. Their hands are hidden deep in their jacket pockets (his jacket, really, even though it's theirs right now they'd give it back if he asked), and -- they're not smart. They know they're not smart. So this isn't their place to speak.

endejester

 

[Smerdle]

Rabbit saw the ground coming up fast and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for impact. When he landed without incident, he let out a sigh longer than seemed possible for a person with a normal lung capacity, smiling broadly at the end of it. They weren’t dead. That was a good start. The cigarette he had accidentally dropped into the void followed a few seconds later, bouncing off of his hair and onto the wooden floor. He pressed his foot over it and kept it there, hiding the butt from view.

- - - - -

Following his landing, Chester simply stared, his expression caught between Nathaniel’s and Algernon’s. If he hadn't had to fall into a giant hole to get here, it would have been a lovely place to visit.  

[medigel]

Well, the fall itself wasn't bad at least. The silence was...well, peaceful, Jack supposed, but it wasn't exactly calming to him at the same time. They were, after all, between realities, in a rather impressive library that made him wonder at the back of his numbed, tensed mind.

The obvious questions were asked. The real mystery was whether or not they'd get a straight answer this time.
 

[prolixity]

The fall was long, long enough for the convulsive reflex of fear and adrenaline to smooth out into puzzlement: where were they going, how long was it going to take to reach there, was he mistaking freefall for actual weightlessness? But the end of the fall became visible and Jordan braced himself for an impact, only to be set down impossibly gently.

He gravitated immediately to the books, only to find that they were in some language he couldn't read. A disappointment, but maybe one he should have expected. Belatedly, feeling an edge of guilt, he looked around for the woman he'd been talking to and found her, present and just fine.

He stayed where he was for the moment, feeling some small measure of comfort from the familiarity of the shelves of a library, even if the books were unreadable to him.  

[chiickadee]

Chel was definitely there the whole time, just quiet and unnerved because apparently the after life was a library and that was horrifying.

Chel immediately began to look for an exit while the others talked to the stranger.

shibrogane