[ What day, what time? ] [ Well, we know that the time is morning. Why? Because as Kat opens her eyes from the bleariness of sleep, the morning sun is streaming in the windows of her bedroom. The chrono in the corner says it's 7:33 am, apparently, and this young woman has the whole day ahead of her. What will she do with this shining opportunity? ] [ Hopefully, she'll get out of bed. ] * Katherine mms as she looks up at the ceiling, before sighing and getting up. Her hair's cut short, at her jawline, but still red. And she's lacking her scars, too, in the short t-shirt she's wearing. She slides her legs out of bed and gets out, padding over towards her kitchen area. * Katherine 's apartment layout has actually changed slightly... there's a lot less open space, and a lot more bookshelving. Although she's got an exercise machine over in the corner. * Katherine runs her hand over her hair, no wolf ears evident, as she gets a mug of coffee and goes towards her couch. "TV, news, mail, draft of Twilight Shadows." (... Sane!Kat writes ... Twilight expanded universe novels?) [ Another fine Red New York City morning. The sound of a cat meowing welcomes Kat from the kitchen, perhaps. The TVNet flashes the morning news and Kat's email... requests from her employer for progress requests on her current project. The news is mostly fluff. The mail is typical stuff, and one slightly strange thing: an inviation to lunch at the local Pragmatic Grille. Unsigned. ] (ON THE MOONS OF RIADORF.) (No.) (Also I win at reading Mecha's mind.) (It wasn't hard to guess!) * Katherine does have Echidna, but she comments sideways at her, "Gimme a moment, unless you want coffee." (Can she respond to the mystery e-mail?) (Sure. There's a reply address but it's very... packersfan88@hotmail.com) * Katherine frowns slightly at the mystery message, but then mms and rubs her head, sitting back and sipping coffee as she lets the news wash over her, eyes twitching as she accesses headputer space. She then reaches to the table in front of her, hooks her pad to her jack, and sends the composed reply to her TV. The wonders of technology. She then disconnects and says, "Alright, sick girl, food and meds for both of us, and then I've got work to do." [ The cat mews happily when fed and/or medicated? Apparently. The work goes smoothly! The apartment is temperature-controlled. Everything seems more or less hunky-dory... if, perhaps, a little dull. After a few hours of that, there is a knock at the door! ] (What was Kat's reply to the lunch email?) (Yeah, she'll go.) * Katherine is basically wandering around the apartment, talking to herself, pad beaming the writing to the TV, which she checks from time to time. She's managed to work her way into a pair of loose jeans to go with a green t-shirt over those hours, too, and even take a shower. When the door knocks she walks over to the TV and says, "Show me who's outside." [ It obliges, for Kat is master of her domain. Standing outside is a man of average height and build, wearing a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved dark green suede button-down. He has high cheekbones, freckles, with green eyes and dark red hair. It's not anyone Kat knows. ] (WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE A SURVEY) (WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE GEORGE WENDT FIGHTING RED BEAN?) (.... yes, actually) (Norm striker!) * Katherine frowns and goes towards the door, pushing the closet open slightly as she grabs a nightstick, of all things, off a hook just inside it, carrying it... well, like she knows how to use it, down at one side. She half-cracks the door, keeping the stick behind it. "Yeah?" [ Whatever it was the man at the door was expecting, a nightstick very obviously did not figure into it... the expression of brief surprise explains that much. However, he recovers adroitly enough, and smiles. It's a nice smile, as smiles go. "Good morning," he starts. "Is this the residence of..." He stops, reaches into his pocket, and retrieves an envelope, "Katrina Hunter?" ] (It's behind the door!) (He can't see it!) (SO YOU THINK) (True enough.) * Katherine nods slightly, smiling back slightly. "Yeah, I'm Katrina. What's this?" [ :)! The envelope is offered. "Here... a gift certificate good at any restaurant in the city." He waits expectantly for her to take it. ] * Katherine looks oddly at him as she takes it from him slowly, in non-clawed fingers. She gives the man a strange non-smiley look. "This doesn't seem like a coincidence." [ :) becomes ._.?, headtilted, as he lets go of the envelope. "Well, it's not, exactly," he explains. "I'm with a movement called the Church of Europa," he explains. Inside the envelope is the certificate -- paper, real paper, in fact -- and... a folded sheet of 8x11" paper beside it. ] [ "We've been reading your work," he says, shifting back to :). "We thought you might be amenable to our ideals and wanted to meet you." The Church of Europa does not sound familiar to Kat at all, in fact. ] (... it doesn't? Wow. O-kay...) (Nope.) * Katherine looks in the envelope, then back to the guy. "Uh, I'm glad to meet fans, really, but I'm not the churchgoing sort." [ That causes him to laugh. "Well, 'church' is just a word. Just... well, look at the sheet. You'll understand. The free food is just incentive, I guess." He has the look of someone who, having delivered his message, would like to leave. ] (Let the mormon go!) * Katherine looks at the sheet a bit, sliding it out with one hand. She then glances at him and asks, "You look... done." (Oh, for FUCK'S SAKE, Donatos) (Sorry. They get lost coming here all the time.) [ That gets a laugh. "Done? Well, I did what I came to do, I guess. Enjoy your meal." With that, he turns to go. The sheet, though... ] * Katherine lets him go, closing the door so she can put the stick down and use both hands. (Omg fastar) [ The art is very stylized, with a bubbly sort of Alphonse Mucha quality. It shows six individuals. In the background, a sort of... lizard-y creature rears up, wearing ceremonial armor. The rest are humans. A handsome young man with blond hair, holding engineering tools. A nervous-looking man at a computer. A stoic man holding a rifle. A black-haired woman holding a sword. ] [ And last, but not least, a... 'handsome' and hard-looking woman holding a pair of guns. None of them look familiar, but there is... something. In the back of Kat's head, nonetheless. A feeling like recognition without the actual knowledge. ] * Katherine sucks in her upper lip as she looks at it for a long moment, then shakes her head and murmurs, "You've been in your apartment too long, Tabby Kat." [ The apartment is silent. Your headputer reminds you it's near lunchtime. ] * Katherine steps away from the door, slapping the certificate on the counter as she goes to the closet to switch to something a bit more 'out and meeting someone weird.' Which can probably be faded to Prag Grille or whatnot! [ The city! It's full of life, vibrant and happy. The weather is perfect. And the trip to Pragmatic Grille is short and sweet. As with all restaurants in the chain, a sign out front shows the happy, cartoonish face of the fat, dark-skinned chef who created the place, wanting to make "Simple, pragmatic food for the new Martian." ] [ Since it's nice out, many people are seated outdoors at cafe tables. ] [ Inside, the girl behind the counter smiles. "Welcome to Pragmatic Grille!" she chirps. "How many in your party today?" ] * Katherine arrives wearing a pair of black slacks and a blue blouse, a large black purse hanging off her shoulder. She looks to the girl and says, "Two, but I'm meeting someone... and I don't know what they look like." [ That... gets a confused expression. "Well... how about I seat you and you can have a drink while you wait?" A couple parties have entered behind you, laughing... they look to be corp types heading for lunchination. ] * Katherine chuckles and says, "What, have you never met someone blind before? Yeah, that'll work." [ A few awkward moments of ._., but then Chirpy Service Industry Smile returns. "Alright then, right this way." She gestures for Kat to follow! As the two walk through the restaurant, however, Kat might notice something... startling. ] [ Sitting at the bar, which is a square in the center of the seating area, is sitting... well. Someone remarkably like the woman with the two guns in the poster. ] * Katherine looks slightly surprised, then says, "Hey..." at the server, before she nods at the woman. "Is she waiting for someone too?" [ Chirpy Serving Girl blinks, but doesn't slow down. "I don't believe so. Do you know her?" ] * Katherine bites her lip, then says, "No... well, I'm waiting at the bar anyway, right? If someone shows up for a Miss Hunter, let me know." (She was showing you to a table.) (Oh, right. Lemme rephrase.) * Chamelaeon is now known as Chako * Katherine bites her lip, then says, "No. But... I think I'll wait at the bar anyway. Can get a drink either place, yeah?" She chuckles to herself, then adds, "If someone shows up for a Miss Hunter, let me know, alright?" [ That gets a blink, but frankly, no skin off the girl's nose. "Of course," she says, gesturing toward the bar. "Have a pragmatic lunch." That phrase is clearly company-supplied because it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. She turns and walks away! Bars are self-service seating even in the future on Mars, apparently. ] * Chako glances at a datapad lying on the bar, and shakes her head. She then tosses back a shot of something, neatly stacking the glass upside down next to the others, completing the second tier of what looks like an evolving pyramid. (Ha.) (Then she bowls a dinner roll through them.) * Katherine walks over to the bar and the heavy drinking woman, sitting next to her. She looks over at the hard drinking woman, then to the bartender. "Scotch, whatever, however." [ "Sure thing," the bartender says... an unremarkable-looking man. He busies himself with prepping Kat's drink. ] * Katherine leans on the counter a moment, still looking over slightly at the not-recognizable recognized woman. Casual but not, because this is weird. [ A scotch is produced! The bartender hands Kat a pad to thumb. ] (Todd, msg?) * Katherine thumbs it and shakes her head, taking a sip, murmuring, "Crazy." * Chako adjusts the line of the pyramid slightly, but doesn't look up . "Took you long enough to get here. Enjoying the life mundane?" * Katherine looks over at Chako oddly, drink in hand. "Excuse me?" The boring life. Averagehood. Having fun with it? * Katherine frowns and says back, "Look, I... don't know who you are, but just because some of your crazies and you are trying to start a church doesn't give you license to mock me." * Chako snorts, a sound that is both derisive... and familiar somehow. "Those loonies? Don't blame me, kid, this is your deal." She picks up another full shotglass and gestures around her, clearly indicating at least the restaurant, if not everything else as well. * Katherine keeps frowning. "I--what? Aren't you the one that invited me here?" * Chako downs the shot and shakes her head. "*You* invited you here." She stacks the glass, starting the next tier. "Probably because you've got some things to tell yourself." * Katherine takes a drink, then crosses her arms and faces her fully. "I'm the one who woke up to an e-mail. I haven't been drinking nearly hard enough to have drunk-mailed a random woman I've never met." (Oh, we have no dice... hn.) (Make a soul check, kat.) (Actually, not soul.) (Psyche.) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Katherine (2d6) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 6. (Make by 0.) * Hida_Juzo is now known as Oglesby [ Wait a sec. Pragmatic Grille isn't run by a fat dark-skinned man. It's run by a semi-sentient ping pong ball. Isn't it? ] See? Things are already starting to shake loose. * Katherine 's eyes pinch and she mutters, "I took the pills this morning..." and then she looks at her. "What are you, a telepath?" * Chako motions to the bartender, points to her last full shot, and then holds up ten fingers to the bartender. She smirks at Kat. "Ha. No. I just know a lot about you." * Katherine replies, managing a slight smirk, "You're not a very good stalker." * Chako looks at Kat, no smile on her face. "I'm an _excellent_ predator. But that's beside the point. Right now you're in a fuckin' world of hurt, kid. What is it you do? Write novels?" [ The bartender returns. He has dark red hair and freckles, and green eyes, and he hands Chako her next drink, then leans on the bar. "How's she doing?" ] * Katherine looks at the man, slightly surprised, then back at Chako. "Yeah, I write novels. Good ones. How do you know me if you don't know that?" * Chako looks at the bartender. "Not so good. She might need something stronger, really." Then she looks back at Kat. "Are you _sure_ you write novels? Let me in on the details. What was the first one? What was it about?" (Is this supposed to be doable?) (Make a psyche check, actually. -2 bonus.) 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Katherine (2d6-2) and gets a natural 8 for a result of 6. (Make by 0.) (You have no idea what your first book was, or what it was about.) * Katherine frowns and says, "I--it was..." she trails off, then looks at the drink before looking at the bartender. "Did you spike this? I--I'm a writer. I know it!" Well, now, that seems like a notable little detail that ought to be memorable, doesn't it? Come on, kid, think like your fuckin' genes mean something. * Katherine snaps back at her, "Shut up, you don't know me." [ "What did you want to be when you grew up, Kat?" asks the bartender, innocently enough. He's still leaning on the bar, listening. ] (Another psyche roll at?) (-4.) 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Katherine (2d6-4) and gets a natural 5 for a result of 1. (By 5.) (You know what Kat wanted to be when she grew up, 'normally'.) * Katherine glances to the man, eyes tensing, then she replies, "I--I wanted to kill bugs, an--but I--I wanted to write and... space jesus I was sick of..." she trails off. * Chako breaks into a grin. "Sick of what, now? Or who?" (Do I have to roll for that one?) (No.) * Dicesuke was kicked by Todd (Todd) (We won't be needing him anymore, really.) * Katherine grits her teeth and looks back at her. "Y--you. I was sick of you. You were everywhere." She closes her eyes and puts her hand on the bar. * Chako downs a shot. "Well, now we're getting somewhere." [ The bartender stands up. It should now be obvious to Kat that this is Mother Prime, and the bartender is clearly Threnody. ] * Katherine looks over at the bartender and says, "Th--Thren?" She lets out a short laugh. "Well, god knows you were in my head before you..." she trails off and looks at Chako. "Is that what this is?" [ Thren nods, standing up from leaning on the bar. "Sort of." ] That goddamn machine went fuckin' haywire, and everything's shot to shit because of it. You've got to pull yourself together.... in more ways than one. * Katherine closes her eyes. "The... the machine. It felt... felt like people touched by Red Bean." She winces. "Nnh." I knew your mama didn't raise an idiot. * Katherine replies, "Like you raised..." she trails off, then shakes her head. "You didn't mean yourself anyway." It's not like I'm really me anyhow, Kat. You know that. [ Thren looks between both women for a moment, then clears his throat. "It's because... well. You and Xavier are fine, because you have..." He pauses. "Whatever Ferrion did, it's made it so what makes you, 'you' and what makes other people who they are is..." He waves his hand in a wiggly motion. "Weird. But you both had... passengers." ] * Katherine looks at Thren. "Wait... he's still got Thren? You?" [ He nods. "He, uh..." A pause, and then he actually blushes. "Ask him about it after." ] * Katherine looks at the blush, before chuckling and saying, "What, you can't say? Are you just a fragment of me too?" [ Thren shakes his head, then glances at Chako. "We're not fragments. Well... I'm not. I'm still the memory of me, but it was Xavier's power that did all this, so I can... travel. As for her, well..." He shrugs. ] * Katherine replies, quietly, "Passenger." She looks over at Chako, then murmurs, "Boring, huh? S'that what you think of Krissy?" * Chako shrugs as she takes another shot. "I loved your mom, but Jesus, her lifestyle's boring. You can't tell me Sunday crosswords and adoring letters from fans is really what you want." [ Looking around, it's obvious the restaurant and the *city* are now empty, given Kat's realizations. ] (Hm, present tense that love.) (Yeah, I was about to say.) (ALSO KRISSY IS DEAD) (z_z) * Katherine exhales noisily and looks up. "Dammit. I want... I'm just tired of it, Chako. I'm tired of having to let Thren's death be a lie. I'm tired of knowing that Ronnie's around every corner. I'm tired of everything I do, everything I want, crashing and burning." She glances to Thren, then says, "Thren won the race to die saving the world, and now I get to sit back and live in it... without living." * Katherine rubs her face. "Some peaceful success would be... something. The world doesn't need me. It's got you." [ "Yes, thank you," Thren says absently, washing a glass. "Still dead, by the way." ] * Katherine mutters, "Trade you. Fuck, if you'd just TOLD me, Thren..." Instead if it being a damn secret between you and Roch. [ There's a squeak as Thren stops washing the glass, then looks at Kat for a moment, then at Chako, then back at Kat. "Are you jealous?" ] (Halfway through typing another statement entirely! Go go gadget improv.) * Chako looks at Thren, then back at Kat, then takes a shot./ * Katherine looks back at Thren. "Sometimes, yeah. A lot, in the last week. Seven days of mourning is not good for the soul, Thren." You didn't really catch me on an up day. Hell, at least Roch'd probably be saner. [ He nods, once, vaguely. Then he looks at Chako and asks, "Was Krissy the jealous type?" ] (Oh my god yes.) * Chako leans back and rubs her chin. "I'm pretty sure that's a big "Fuck yes", there, Threnody." (Well that shoots that plan to hell.) (Ha. You never saw me write that. Krissy was as moody as Kat is when she was younger.) (Without the crazy.) (She mellowed with age, though, clearly.) (If we have to continue this sometime later I can, but I cannot go much longer.) [ He grins a little at that, then shrugs. "Good thing she's got you, then." ] (Uh... well we can actually probably wrap it up soon.) * Katherine looks back at Thren, then sighs. "I try, but she and I haven't really been close since she shot you. Puts a bit of a damper on things." [ "She did what she had to." ] * Katherine grits her teeth and replies, "Dammit, we were a team. You shoulda brought me in." * Chako downs another shot and shrugs. "Long and short of it, Katherine. You can stay here, and forget about this chat, and you'll have your books. Or you can accept me, and the world outside your noggin, and wake the fuck up. But you're not gonna get out of here in two pieces." * Katherine glances to Chako, then manages a sly smirk. "So what. You want a hug?" [ Thren glances at Kat. "Well, you can leave in two pieces. It'll just be... you know. Like how I did." ] * Katherine looks back to Thren, surprised for a moment. She lets out a slow breath, then looks to Chako, then Thren. Her face tightens. "I've got miles to walk yet before I get to lay down." * Chako makes a small smile. "That's the spirit." * Katherine looks back to Thren and says, "If you're not dead, we've got a talk to have yet, ninja boy." [ "It's really not," Thren says exasperatedly, rubbing his temples. "But it'll have to do." He pauses at that, then smiles faintly. "You'll get your chance, I think. But for now..." ] [ The bar vanishes; the three of you are standing in a white room, ala Wolfram and Hart. After a second, Thren disappears. Chako doesn't immediately vanish, but starts to fade away, giving her one last chance to say something to her daughter. ] * Katherine is deprived of anything to look at but Chako, and so she does, ears and scars likely coming back as she stand there, hair lengthening and braiding itself. (If that's valid.) (Yep.) ... I'm proud of you, kid. And I'm sure the real me is too. Take care. [ With that, Chako vanishes. A moment of silence reigns, before Kat's mind is subjected to... well, a feeling of relatively intense pain. It's like the sensation of being physically wrenched but without your body actually moving. Pretend your psyche just got throw off a 200th floor window. ] (z_z) (Night, Cham.) (night) (Do I have a physical reaction in the 'psyche-space'?) (Like flying/flailing? Or just a wrenching gurk?) (No, there's no 'movement', but you might react in this space as if in intense pain/vertigo) * Katherine looks back at her and nods slightly, looking almost peceful a moment before letting out a slight gurk as her hands move to her temples. "Fuck...ss...." [ The white room soon, simply becomes white, period. But when Kat next opens her eyes and has sense, it's not to wake from a dream, as she just did, but rather... ] [ TO BE CONTINUED]