cykeout | 1st Turnabout - [Action/Voice]

[ Action; Locked ]

[ There are few things more startling than waking up in a strange place with no idea of how you got there. But Athena manages to not fall off the branch she's resting on when she wakes up, though it creaks rather ominously. Quickly deciding that there is a time for thinking and that is not when you're 30 feet up a tree, she starts climbing down. All was going well until...

Crack

Anyone walking through the woods nearby can easily hear a loud shriek as she falls down the tree, barely catching herself before she does any serious damage. ]

T-too close!

Y... you said it, Widget...

[ Ugh, it felt like her heart was going to pound out of her chest. ]

[ Action ]

[ By the time Athena's gotten the details of Luceti squared out with Simon she'll be taking the time to explore it on her own and see what it's all about. How does a place even work without a law system anyways? So don't mind the young lady with the bright yellow wings exploring and gawking like a tourist at the sights. In fact that she's distracted enough to accidentally bump into more than one person. ]

Ah! Lo siento! I wasn't paying attention!

[ Accidental Voice; ]

[ Athena had been flipping through the journal curiously, trying to figure out just exactly how to work the strange little book that worked almost like a computer. There's a quiet shifting sound of pages being turned before she comments out loud to no in particular. ]

It's an interesting interface but it still doesn't have anything on Widget's systems... I wonder if I could figure out a way to connect you to it.

[ An artificial voice chirps up now ]

No comparison at all!

Heh, I'll have to experiment with it. It isn't like I'll have much to do since there won't be any cases to defend- Gah! I think it's recording! [ There's some fumbling before the feed gets cut off. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Luceti has become one gigantic mess these days. The spirits (if indeed the spirits are responsible) are causing more and more damage around the enclosure. Or rather, what would be the enclosure if the barrier were in place. He's seen quite a few startling things and while one might argue it'd be safer inside his apartment... It isn't. Walls won't keep the spirits out. He isn't one to hide in the face of danger either way.

Taka is the first to notice something is off. All in all, that isn't too strange. Taka has been on edge for days now, so to see the hawk tense and cast a curious gaze around fails to get Simon's attention. Not until there's a distant shriek and Taka takes off from his shoulder does he become alarmed. He chases his feathery friend deeper into the forest, but what he finds is not exactly to his liking.

Why her? Why now?!

Taka is already circling Athena and the tree. As for Simon, he'll take his time with approaching.]

[ Athena climbs the rest of the way down with a lot more caution, no way is she going to repeat that particular near death experience. She makes it to the ground more or less in one piece, though her interface glove is pretty scuffed up and her bare hand is bleeding from a deep scrape on her palm. Not to mention the rather unfortunate run in her stockings. Her poor clothes did not fare well in her arrival.

Wait that bird-

She starts as she recognizes Simon's constant companion and then looks around and spots and approaching prosecutor. Once he's a bit closer she goes to meet him. ]

Prosecutor Blackquill? What are you doing out here? [ Please, oh please don't let this be a jailbreak... And of course Widget picks up on that. ]

Jailbreak?!

Ack!

[Taka circles Athena a few more times after she hits the ground, then returns to his owner's shoulder. Simon rewards him with a quick, affectionate scritch. Good bird. Best friend.

Sure enough, Athena's running up to him and she looks... exactly like he left her back home. The possibility of different points in time had him wondering what would happen if someone from his own world were to arrive here- how many years there were be to cause such a difference, and yet... Well, her words certainly narrow it down to the last nine months.

He'll pretend he didn't just hear Widget's remark.]

Cykes-dono. Perhaps it would be best to reverse the question. Are you, as of yet, aware of what brought you here?

[ Oh, right. She still has no idea why she woke up in a tree and almost died. ]

...Not really. [ And now that she's looking around it's easy to tell that this forest isn't at all familiar to anything she's seen since moving back to the states. LA definitely didn't have this many trees anywhere nearby. ]

I was a bit distracted trying not to break my neck after waking up in a tree.

[Geez Athena, don't say things like that. It'll just make Simon worried. In fact, his gaze sweeps across her body to check for injuries and wouldn't you know it? Her hand is bleeding. This will not do.]

Hmph. Perhaps it would have been wiser for you to remain in the tree until help arrived.

[He won't ask for permission- He'll simply reach out to take hold of Athena's wrist in hopes of getting a closer look at that scratch. Whether she'll allow it is a whole other matter, of course.]

[ For a moment the move doesn't shock her. Simon tending to her had been a common enough theme all those years ago. There had been countless scraped knees and elbows that had been tended by him. It's almost nostalgic before reality hits her again and she gently tugs her hand back, forcing a big smile. She doesn't notice that Widget gives her away by flashing a sad face on its display. ]

It's just a scratch! And if I'd stayed on the branch I woke up on I would have really gotten hurt.

[ She tucks her hand behind her back and leans forward slightly. ] So where exactly are we? This really doesn't look like California.

[Reality, huh? Simon would be the last person to deny the reality of the situation. Or the reality that he wanted people to accept for the last seven years. In essence, it's the same thing. He failed to protect Dr. Cykes, but he refuses to fail her daughter. If only he'd properly mastered the healing magic that these spirits could provide.]

That would be because we are nowhere near California. It's a very long, vexing tale. [Which is exactly why his gaze is sweeping the ground near the tree, hoping to find Athena's journal.]

... I can only assume you haven't chanced a gander over your shoulder yet.

[If she had, she'd most likely be freaking out over her wings. That's the real kicker to explain.]

[ Over her shoulder...? Athena looks behind her, wondering if there's some kind of "You just got punk'd!" sign behind her. But instead all she can see are feathers. ]

What the heck...?

[ She turns to get a better look and ends up doing a few rotations before it hits her why she can't get a good look at the feathers. They're attached to her. ]

Why do I have wings?!

[There we go. Simon can't stop himself from smirking. It's a mean, almost bitter smirk. Much as the wings suit her, he'd rather have spared Athena from such a fate. Luceti is not a pleasant place to be, especially not for those who still have a full life to live back home. People like Simon- well, it's from one cage to another. He can cope.]

Charming, aren't they? Not even the most cheerful of angels could sprout wings of such vivid colors. However, I must disappoint you; you cannot take to the skies with those. We are still but mere humans.

[And when he says "we", he means... Well, everyone here, himself included. To illustrate his point, he turns around and lifts his shaggy ponytail to reveal a pair of black wings protruding through his coat.]

1st Turnabout - [Action/Voice]

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