kore_logs | only listens to the radio to see who's alive

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only listens to the radio to see who's alive

Who: Fortescue, and you
What: Now that things are slightly less dangerous, she's going to have a better look around. And find the bar. As you do.
When: Day 64, whenever.
Where: Anywhere in town.
Warnings: Nothing yet. Will update if necessary. ~~Shameless flirting.~~

It's been a few days since Fortescue's arrival. Her arm's started to calm down, though the swelling at her wrists is still present. According to the little wristband, people are returning to normal. Which should be promising, of course, except that Fortescue can't help but wonder what's in store for the next time. Her mind has plenty of ideas — she's seen too many laboratories and camps for it to be quiet. So, to help work that off, she slips out of her hidey hole and back into town, determined to at least get her bearings. Now that she's at least half sure that she won't have to defend herself on every corner.

Jazz trots at her heels, the little black cat's eyes alertly taking everything in, as she learns the layout of this peculiar little town. It isn't large. She's not sure what to think about that. But perhaps that means less space to cram more subjects into. A smaller sample pool? Whatever the reason, Fortescue soon uncovers the bar. That, at least, she can be pleased about, if only as a space to escape to when the alcohol runs dry. (A frightening thought, which she tries not to think too much about.)

Her cat jumps to her shoulders as she wanders in to take a look around.

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"Hm? Oh. Right." Fortescue considers a moment how best to answer the unspoken question. "Back in my world there are two sentient races. Humans, and elves. One of the elven Houses has decided to back the Nazi party. They want to go back to the good old days, before the dark ages, when elves hunted humans and used them for slave labor." She smiles sheepishly. "Not really the cheeriest subject. But there you go."

"Politics do make for strange bedfellows, don't they?" He rests his chin on the heel of his hand, thoughtful.

There are fae associated with his own world--not necessarily quite the same thing, but analogous--but as far as he knows they prefer to avoid the issues humanity creates for itself. "I suppose evil elves are easier to swallow than cannibal Nazis. Still, you have my sympathy."

"I've certainly had much more pleasant bedfellows," she notes casually, chuckling as she thinks of all the covering up and red tape that cannibal Nazis would require. "Although now that you mention them... I think I do prefer the elves to the idea of Nazis who eat other people, in the not-fun sense. There are much less elves."

He waggles his eyebrows at her turn of phrase, but chooses not to pursue the topic of pleasant bedfellows for the moment.

"What are they like, then, these elves? Where I come from, they tend to be quite aloof and it's rare for humans to run afoul of them. Most people don't believe they exist, or that they exist any longer."

"There are different Houses, and each of the Houses have a different culture. Most of them look wildly different, from each other and from humans. The Elben Mahr are the House that decided to back the Nazis in the War. They're..."

Fortescue chuckles and pours herself another small drink, shrugging.

"Well, they're bloody stuck up. Nocturnal. Slightly taller than most humans. They live in pocket spaces piggybacked to other objects, like trees, that they call Hollows. ...And they have this odd obsession with birds. Owls, in particular. Killing one in front of a Mahr is like killing a child in front of most people."

"They sound like a fun bunch!" He shakes his head and leans back in his seat, crossing one ankle over the other knee. "What about demons? Any of those in your world? Because there are at least two here; I feel you ought to be warned, although I haven't seen them cause any trouble yet."

Well. No more than anyone else has, anyway.

He's getting fond of Meg, though. He'd prefer she not be attacked by mistake.

The word demon immediately reminds her of old manuscripts and manifestos relating to blood magic — religions zealots calling magi "demons", simply because of how it looked when they used their magic and the damage it caused to them. Fortescue, like all magi, knows that there aren't demons in her world (though some young magi initially thought of the Guides of Shadow as such) and how her world is really put together. It has nothing to do with what the Church of the Empire has written down in their precious bible.

Regardless, she's never sat down and really thought that... demons might actually exist somewhere. Her surprise glints on her face for a moment. She wonders what her parents, staunch atheists, would have to say on the matter.

"Really? Hm, no. No demons in my world." She quirks a grin. "They don't have horns and pitchforks, do they?" she adds, jokingly.

In a place where multiple worlds meet, it's always one surprise after another. Maybe some day they'll get an angel or a god or something dropping in from a universe other than Balthazar's, and he'll be left scratching his head, too.

He chuckles and shakes his head. "No, although where I come from they do occasionally have all-black eyes." Or yellow, or white.

"The ones here...well, I'm relatively certain Meg won't cause gratuitous trouble. Not as sure about Crowley. But back home, they can be vicious. Very dangerous."

"To be honest, I'd be disappointed if you said that your world had demons and that they were peaceable and friendly. Or amused. But mostly disappointed." Fortescue shakes her head a little. "The Church of the Empire likes to call certain... users of magic 'demons', sometimes." Herself, or her discipline, very much included. "But that's all paranoid nonsense where I'm from."

They'd be infinitely horrified to learn that another universe had the beings they talked about so much, as crossing over would, in normal circumstances, require the Angel Gate. And the Angel Gate, despite its name — given, ironically, by scientists — was branded 'unholy'.

"They'd like you to think they're peaceable and friendly, I suppose." He smiles and shakes his head. "But I've had to fight them before; I'm a touch biased."

He's also an angel, but he's still deciding whether that's a wise thing to admit to. "Oh, is magic widely used in your world? Witchcraft seems to be frequently tied to demons where I'm from, but there are other types in practice."

"In a fashion," she replies, thoughtful. "Everyone knows about it. Only a small percentage have the ability. Most technology is at least somewhat enhanced by magic; that's as far as most people get. The knowledge was a gift from the elves, after a little war between us in the dark ages."

'Little' was putting it mildly, perhaps.

"Sounds like your world has an damned interesting history." He chuckles and goes for a refill. "The vast majority of humanity where I come is unaware of the supernatural, whether it be magic or beings with abilities they don't understand. So, how do you distinguish between magic and technology, if you use a blend of both?"

"Well, there are different types of magic. Rune, Seid, Ridnar, Fury, and Blood."

Fortescue considers the wisdom of telling someone from another world so much — Imperium has rules and regulations for this kind of thing. But this is an unplanned trip, and there are no specific rules for kidnapped void travelers. No precedent exists that she's aware of, and she has one of the highest clearances in the Empire. So, to the Gate with their rules. She doesn't exactly play things by the book anyway, and has given Darby plenty of small bureaucratic heart attacks.

"'Nautex' is technology that's been enhanced by Rune magic. Guns with less kickback, more stable digital connections... all kinds of things."

The latest big deal is a gun turret on airships that, according to specific Runic parameters, can fire itself during a battle. She's not sure how she feels about that, yet.

Now she's crossed over into territory that's utterly foreign to him. He things he'd need an elementary lesson on her world before quite understanding this, but he does understand now what she means by magic and technology, blended.

It's exactly the sort of thing he worked on for his own garrison. Repairing it, anyway. He would never have been given clearance to make something new; his rank was too low. That, and nothing much new was made after the 19th century. "I've done repairs on weapons like that," he admits thoughtfully.

"They malfunction. Like anything else. ...sometimes spectacularly." She runs her index finger, idly, around the lip of her glass, glancing down at the cat asleep in her lap. "So your world has them, too?"

"Not precisely the same thing. I have no understanding of the varying types of magic you're talking about. But my garrison kept an assortment of objects of power and enchanted weapons. They were very rarely used."

He sighs, then adds brightly, "Of course, then I stole most of them."

"I really doubt your world wants some of them." Fortescue looks back up at Balthazar, with an amused grin and a raised eyebrow, when he mentions his theft. "Really? And how did that go?"

"Not bad, actually, at least at first. In retrospect I wish I had destroyed more of them than I did. I don't have them any longer."

He makes a mild grimace. "Er...do me a favor and don't mention that around town? There are one or two people I don't want hearing about it."

She doesn't ask what prompted the theft — he'd mentioned being a soldier, and not being a soldier anymore — as it seems slightly rude for a first conversation. But it's not the sort of thing she judges, either. There are a record number of defectors and spies in the War back home, mostly due to the usage of technology. Some find it undesirable. Fortescue, on the other hand, feels jealous of that choice — the choice of defection, or the choice of staying.

It's not something she can do; if she defects, she doesn't trust what they might do to her little sister. She owes Mirabelle a chance at a good future. It's what a big sister should do, she thinks. And after everything she's been through, would taking up a stand do anything? Most likely not. She doesn't even know who her real superiors are, and they would be the linchpin.

"Don't worry. I won't. Can't imagine how it would come up, anyway," Fortescue reassures, grin tapering into a smile. "Shame about not having them. This place seems a bit desolate, as far as tools for breaking out go."

"Yes, and I'm sure that's deliberate." He frowns distantly in thought, wondering what the horn that smashed the walls of Jericho could do to this little down. Probably for the best that it's not available.

"Mind you, I'm not in a hurry to go. If they would just let us be rather than playing with our heads, I'd be content to settle for a while. I like the ocean."

"Shame that it doesn't come with the standard tropical drink and umbrella," she jokes. "I suppose we get empty houses and experimentation instead." A thought occurs to her, then, about her arrangement to meet Ruby and see about a place to stay. Having an actual bed to sleep in sounds particularly grand. And being tipsy might not be the best first — second? — impression. For someone else, at least.

"Not that I'm not enjoying our conversation, but I need to go meet someone about one of those houses," she adds. "I'm partial to a roof over my head."

"Hmh. I suppose it could still be worse." He shakes his head slightly, smiling, then stands politely to bid her farewell.

"Understood, completely! I hope I'll see you around, though? I'm in House 11 if you get bored."

Fortescue gathers Jazz up in her arms; he makes a sleepy, grumpy mewl as a result, but doesn't attempt to squirm away. He's too comfortable, and simply offers a long-suffering expression about being moved.

"Of course." She grins. "You'd all have to work very hard to be rid of me. And I hope you feel better soon. I'll be in House 15, unless I manage to make a terrible impression."

"I'm not a very hard worker, so I suppose I'm stuck with you." He smiles, waving farewell as she departs.

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only listens to the radio to see who's alive

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((haha, pretend my last reply made sense, okay?))

<3

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