we're tuning in for your regularly scheduled changeling screaming

[runs]

[Not long after the return to Liminal, in a timeframe better measured in minutes than anything else, Kitty starts broadcasting. It's quiet at first but quickly gets louder as she's clearly working herself into a fit, dropping any ability to filter from the network as she goes.]

sheshouldnotbehereSheShouldNotBeHere

SHE SHOULDNOTBEHEREsheshouldnotbehereSheShouldNotBeHere

SHESHOULDNOTBEHERENOT HERE

NONONONONONODREKDREKDREKDREKTECHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SHESHOULDNOTBEHERESHESHOULDNOTBEHERESHESHOULDNOT[...and so on.

(To those who'd actionspam at her instead of responding on the network, she's just standing rooted to the spot where she arrived, staring at a moose-sized dragon opposite of her, who seems to be rather unsure of how to help her, considering that she dodges every time the dragon tries to get closer, without ever moving away further. Her whole body is tense, her fingers curled, and those who can see through masks will notice that her whole body language resembles that of a thoroughly spooked cat.)]

Comments

[runs]

I DID NOT MEAN FOR HER TO COME HERE I TRIED TO MAKE IT NOT HAPPEN!

[failgoyle]

CAN YOU PUT THAT THING BACK WHERE IT CAME FROM?

[runs]

SHE'S NOT A THING SHE'S A DRAGON BUT NOT A VERY INTELLIGENT ONE BUT A NICE ONE AND SHE SHOULD NOT BE HERE SHE SHOULD BE HOME SHE SHOULD NOT BE CHANGED BECAUSE SHE IS HERE!!!!!

[As much as she's freaking out she has enough presence of mind to not mention that Phillip will help her try putting Cynthia back where she came from. That's not something that should be discussed on the network.]

[failgoyle]

OKAY, OKAY, I WAS MAKING SURE!

[The volume starts to subside as Jules gets a hold of himself.]

DO YOU WANT TO COME TALK WITH SQUEAK? HE ENDED UP HERE WITH ME TOO AFTER A JAUNT.

[runs]

[...]

...How long did it for Squeak to start changing?

[It happens to everyone, including companions, she knows that. It just seems to be slower for those who arrive secondarily, which means that she might have more time to find a way to get Cynthia back...]

[failgoyle]

He's only done it once!

...and I think he actually preferred it to waiting around all by himself in Liminal; it got kind of spooky in here for him this last time.

[runs]

How long after he arrived was that?

[They still have time, this has to mean that they still have time-]

[failgoyle]

Like a month, I guess?

I mean, he handled being a robot in space like a champ.

[runs]

[A month. That means...]

So I need to find a way to bring her home before the next jaunt.

[failgoyle]

You wanna have her at least talk with Squeak?

[He really doesn't want to upset the kid by insisting the dragon can't go home, but...]

[runs]

...Yeah.

[Just in case things don't work out, it will be good to have Cynthia know as many people as she can. In case something happens to Kitty herself.]

Where are you?

[failgoyle]

In my room, here.

[He sends a quick Sensory Livestream of his current location, even going so far to get up and go look out the door. Mostly he's just surrounded by bits of computer stuff, and Squeak is sitting atop a pile of old floppy disks.]

[runs]

Okay.

[->Action]

They show up a moment later, having portalled over. Cynthia will head over to talk to Squeak, while Kitty just comes over to where Jules is and sits down next to him, curling up into herself. She won't be in the way if he's doing anything, she'll just sit here.

[failgoyle]

Hey!

[Jules gives her a wave; he's just working on some bit of code.]

Hi!

[Squeak's little yellow eyes blink a couple of times in greeting as his wire-like tail waves. It's about the most obvious emoting he can do.]

[runs]

"'lo," Kitty mumbles and just find a corner near Jules to curl up in. She's not going to comment on anything any further and will just watch Cynthia unhappily.

The dragon, meanwhile, wanders over towards Squeak and studies the tiny pogemon curiously. Smaller than a hummer, she projects at Kitty, and brings her head a bit closer.

[failgoyle]

"Look, you ever play Oregon Trail?" It's the first kid-friendly game Jules can think of. "They've got one with zombies." And Organ Trail probably invalidates the kid-friendly properties, but it's the closest thing Jules has, and distracting her a bit doesn't seem like a bad idea.

"Can you talk?" Squeak asks Cynthia politely.

[runs]

She shakes her head, not answering aloud. She's not sure if she is interested.

Though... "What's it about?" A bit of curiosity can be found in the greatest sulk.

Cynthia meanwhile respons to Squeak's question with a telempathic response: Images and impressions of that no, she cannot, but she can communicate like this, and she wonders what kind of place Squeak is from.

[failgoyle]

"You basically have to travel across the country during a zombie apocalypse to try to get to safety," Jules explains. "And you've got a party of people, and they might help or hurt you or turn into zombies too, that sort of thing. You want to try to get everyone there in one piece."

"I'm from the Pogemon world!" Squeak can't do the telempathic thing, but he's trying as best he can. "It's got a little bit of everything--I was from a machine factory--but then there was a bunch of fighting and I got lost and then Jules fell out of the sky and landed on me."

He might still be irritated at that last bit.

[runs]

"...So like an egoshooter?"

She wouldn't mind gunning down something right now, even if it's without any kind of proper immersion and in 2D.

Cynthia chuckles. "...While screaming?" Look, she doesn't know that much about Jules, but someone whose response to a child screaming is screaming in sympathy...

[failgoyle]

"A what now?"

Worse than proper immersion, the entire game is done in a retro style with blocky 8-bit graphics. Super primitive.

"Of course he was screaming!" Squeak knows what Jules is about.

"You were screaming, too!" Jules shoots back.

"Because you were falling out of the sky and landing on me!"

[runs]

She means to answer, but the conversation has her cheer up a bit, because it is funny, and Cynthia just looks forth and back between them.

"Do you always scream when something happens then, too?" That's addressed at Squeak.

[failgoyle]

"Yes!" Jules is answering.

"No!" Squeak is protesting for the sake of his dignity--it's very hard to keep one's dignity when one is just a little lump of a computer mouse.

[runs]

"It's okay." She unfolds a bit to get up and reach over to pet Squeak. "That just makes you look like you belong together." She's grinning as she says it, but she is actually semi-serious. ...And has forgotten a good teal of her upset, at least for the moment.

[failgoyle]

"Hmph." At least Squeak seems to appreciate the petting as much as a lump of metal can. His ropy wirelike tail is waving around in appreciation.

[runs]

She'll keep petting the Pogemon and look over at Cynthia, and then at Jules. "...This room looks like something Leo would like."