âWhat?â he snaps, sharply turning to look at what was suddenly moving in his peripheral visionâoh, theyâre still here? He eases a bit, though still annoyed by the otherâs curiosity. He doesnât want to humor them any more than he has to.
âNothing. Just remembered something.â Yes, itâs something in the newspaper. Where Ori can see, itâs an article detailing a freak accident: some man being discovered having drowned in his own bathroom, and its relation, somehow, to housing and architectureâŠ
   Fifteen leafs through the pages, then, pulling out another insert: the comics section. He folds and hands this over to Ori as well, assuming theyâre a child. They seem innocent enough.
âHere. You can keep all that. But no more questions.â
The light spirit stops in their tracks at his sudden sharp tone, prepared to withdraw ... then, alongside him, they ease a bit. They do still take a peek at the newspaper, though they try to do so discreetly, without getting into his space as much.
... Ori furrows one brow at the article and side-eyes Fifteen. What in the world would he remember upon reading this? ... That heâd chuckle at???
âMm?â comics! Thank you. Ori gives Fifteen a small smile and sits back, knees drawn up to rest them against for easy reading. The first page that their eyes fall on has a little strip about a purple burger-eating feline repeatedly being bothered by a yellow canine. A blink, then a head turn towards the other while they ponder over his deal. âNo more questionsâ - comics or not, theyâre okay with that.
... They donât really like reading, so they just stare at passersby and the scenery, starting to finally catch on that Fifteen doesnât want to be prodded and poked.
âso! the first thing every heroine needs, is a proper familiar! that way you have someone to yell at you when you forget to eat, or forget a test, or when all hope is lost, and you need a handy sacrifice to win the day-â
the lecturer is promptly punched in the face, when the metal fist draws back, theyre smiling past their broken nose.
âalways impatient! i need to perform the summoning rites, if you would just-â
V2 raises their marksman, and rather than the usual bullet, the ring of gunfire or the satisfying ping of a coin, healing mist erupts from the barrel, reversing the damage theyâd just inflicted on this insufferable cretin. they stare at their revolver, check the cylinder for bullets before aiming out the window of the room theyâd woken up in today, and fire. this time the bullet does ring out, shattering the glass into glittery rain that seems to evaporate into the air.
âthanks for that! my nose was getting real stuffy. good idea, letting the wind ventilate the room too.â the old man in a robe nods sagely at the blood filled killing machine, standing in a small bedroom that was decidedly not theirs in the slightest. what sick joke had the stars crafted this time? what or who is this man?? where Are they??
none of these questions are easily posed or demanded without a voice, and the best V2 can manage are harmonically pleasing notes. a few more attempts at killing off this old man are met with failure, the universe itself bending over backwards to paint itâs actions as âhelpfulâ as possible while also keeping it in the bedroom. finally, it pauses in itâs attempts long enough for the old man to play out a kind of summoning sequence, he draws a circle in the floor, and in a flashy display telling the viewer exactly where the budget went in this show, a shape takes form in the middle.
@lightbursted finds themselves in a small cute bedroom suddenly, with two figures, one familiar and one a painfully generic caricature of a ruminating wizard looming over them. unlike their previous meetings, V2 doesnt point at them.
âah, what a fine shape your familiar has taken, one of light and purity. im sure you are destined for great-â
V2 slaps him away, scrutinising the new arrival. strangely, they only have a threat profile of this creature, although they do not recall meeting it before.. they make no move, waiting to see what it does first.
âBuh-- !â
What is-- they have to rub their face and pause for a sneeze in order to finally clear out their nose and throat. Shimmers of iridescent slowly reveal their hovering form, eyes blinking to try and see past the mist of colour. V2 and the wizardâs forms begin to clear, and Ori blinks, eyes looking from one figure to the other. Theyâre about to wave an awkward hello when--
â... ??!â
Hey! Ori stumbles forward, a pair of newly-donned fairy wings trying to disrupt their trotting by picking them up into the air. The light spirit stretches to stand their full height, still nowhere near matching V2. Still, theyâve positioned themselves between them and the wizard.
âVitu.â a single name. Unhappy eyes stare up at V2âČs single golden optic - their face communicates a simple request to not do what they did again. At least it was a simple slap, and not a railcannon explosion.
The light spirit glances the V-Model machine up and down, then the wizard, then their ... wings. Then the bedroom. Oriâs pupils wander back to the machine. Is this their bedroom?
   Stop. Donât look. Donât give them any more of your time, he thinks, then immediately turns to read. Okay, so they could talk, and were literate, and didnât come from a place where the weather was forecast in front of a green screen or on paper. Made sense.
   Fifteenâs brow furrows at this situation heâs found himself in. He feels like heâs in a panel of the comics section of the newspaper, having to explain things as a human adult to a little glowy light spirit.
âItâs not exact. Youâre not holding a prophecy. Youâre looking at averages, and estimations with information thatâs available to the forecasters.â He shakes his newspaper once, forcing the wrinkles smooth.
âIf they are human forecasters, then theyâre inherently flawedâno, biased might be the better word. Lower percentage chances of rain are reported as much higher than they are.â He lapses into silence, and then seems to gently chuckle at something.
Ori remains blissfully unaware of Fifteenâs silent inner suffering, instead too focused on his explanation.Â
âMmm.â they tap their chin in understanding. Averages and estimations made sense - but then, how were those ... maybe, depending on how cold or warm it was between each day the last week ...
His chuckle pauses Oriâs thoughts and cues them to smile along, âWhatâs funny?â Is it something in the newspaper? They sit up to peek.
   Him and his big mouth. Fifteen relents, relaying the next weekâs forecast in a monotone thatâd get him fired if he were on-air for more than five seconds.
âMostly sunny with scattered clouds. Chance of showers Tuesday. Eclipses subject to the whims of the Stars.â
   He sighs, then pulls out the insert of the forecast, folding it in half and holding it out for Ori to take and read for themself. Itâs got a little cartoony weather symbol for each day of the week, and further information about things like air quality and temperature numbers.
   Fifteenâs no meteorologist, but it did feel good to relay a prediction of the future, considering how his lifelong ability of precognition has been sorely missed as of late. Not that heâll admit that out loud.
âHere. See for yourself.â He speaks with an impatient tone.
Now that they have the weather forecast, itâs time to kill this clown. Just kidding.
Oriâs smile turns a little lopsided - this guy probably doesnât like reading, does he? They appreciate his attempt regardless, and listen with care.
The light spirit leans forward to thoroughly check over the forecast section, reading the square for Monday first, then Tuesday, then Wednesday ... nodding each time, and when finished tilt their head, as though going, âhuh!â
They look from the paper to Fifteen and back, then put it down beside them to take out Kuroâs feather, writing:
How do they know what the weather is gonna be a week from now
Can they tell the future?
Ori spends a moment fiddling with Emilâs scarf, until ...
âI like this,â they say, picking up the long end as they stand, wrapping it around their own neck, âI like the clothes you wear! Pretty, and ... swooshy, when you move. So cool. These purples are rare to get dyes of, arenât they?â
The scarf is a bit big on them, but that doesnât stop them from posing with it.
âYou âmayâ do whatever you please,â he replies flatly to this talking two-foot-tall cartoon animal of a creature. Heâs resigned to reality being broken, here.
   Fifteenâs reading over a newspaper on a bench, sitting cross-legged in a way that rests one calf on the other legâs knee. Thereâs still enough room beside him for another person, or two Oris side-by-side. He continues, sarcastically: âWant to know the weekly forecast, while Iâm at it?â
Oh! Well, in that case, Ori immediately hops up and sits next to him, legs sprawled out casually to contrast his proper ... ness.
They lean over just a tad to take a peek at whatâs in the newspaper, then straighten up when he offers to read it to them anyway. They nod and smile at Fifteen, replying to his sarcasm with a very sincere, âYes.â
Ori stretches out to stand reaaal tall, and squints at Zero thoughtfully.
They point to their own eyes after a moment, corners crinkling happily. They point to Zero, âTheyâre really brown and pretty. Makes me think of ...â words are difficult ... âWhen you lay ... on a forest floor, and itâs soft, and warm, from the sun. Warm like summer.â
[ đȘ ] does your muse have a special talent or hobby they devote themselves to? why is this talent or hobby important to them?
hmmm ... they've really taken an eye to some secret parkour events held across the city and its branches! secret because i assume they run through some off-limits/private properties idk.
since they've been stripped of their abilities it's fun to have to start over from square one and have to make-do with what they currently have unlocked. also keeps their senses + muscles in top shape. they love to feel free!! they love to feel capable and put in some good sweat and blood into something. they love to be able to Explore and stuff.
they've been thinking about home and the situation they were ripped out of a lot recently. doing something physical is helping them keep their mind off it.
[ đ ] does your muse like to prank others? do they do so often?
ori's Really not the pranking type tbh! the most they've ever done is like, use a feather to tickle a close family member awake. if someone wants to do a harmless prank on someone else they'll likely just watch, but will help out if asked and giggle along a little when it's pulled off :)
Without their little light spirit of a Crew Captain ( @lightbursted ), the Victoria and its loyal crewmates would certainly be lost.
   The second-in-command, the one who spoke, was a stout woman, kneeling over Oriâs hypersleep pod. She pushed her glasses up after ensuring they were awake, nodding once in determination, then taking a quick glance around.
âSitrep ready-to-issue from Executive Officer Doe, Captain. And let me know if Iâm going too fast. The hypersleep sickness was mild for me, but I canât say the othersââ (cue a scripted groan from a fellow crewmate nearby)Â ââHave had it as easy as me.â
âAMELIA, our caretaker program (as you know), seems to have taken us all out of hypersleep prematurely, on account of a distress signal. Weâve triangulated the source of the signal, and it seems to have emanated from nearby planet UK-666, for an unspecified amount of time.â
   Doe pauses, hesitating, then hastily adds in a quieter tone, âSome have voiced their hesitance in investigating the source, but I just⊠I donât think itâs right to leave it totally uninvestigated.â
The woman pushes her glasses up again, then clears her throat.
âBut, of course, weâll honor every command you have to issue. Whether or not weâre going to make contact, though, AMELIA has already logged the signal, and⊠Iâm sure the crew would like to stretch their legs. Save some lives. Whatâll it be, Capâ?â
Ori has so many questions, all of them completely lucid in nature, the opposite of what this situation feels like. They know some -- weird -- stuff is going on this week, where everything feels like a theater play, but this is just one of those vivid dreams one has in the middle of a hot summer. They rub the bleariness out of their eyes as they sit up, ears pricked to pick up every word of -- their Executive Officer, if theyâre the Captain.
(Is hypersleep like a bear hibernating ...?)
Their mind sharpens when Doe mentions a distress signal, visible by the way they turn to face her, eyes wide, brows slowly furrowing. Hesitation is understandable - who knows what the reason for that distress is and how long itâs been broadcasting, but if thereâs survivors still waiting for rescue ...
They give Doe a ready smile. How could they not check it out?
To say that the view theyâre met with from the cockpit is magnificent would be an understatement. A sea of starry black with an enormous purple orb in the middle of it, accented with bright magenta clouds swirling throughout.
âUK-666. Used to have a flourishing population until it was wiped clean by Gabryle Corp to make way for research and mining facilites. Atmosphere should be okay to breathe in despite the smog.â
A small shuttle breaches said smog moments later, a view of a still-lit city revealing itself after a rocky ride through the howling storm. The origin of the distress signal is revealed to be from a research facility held high above the city ...
Ori clutches their rifle as they exit the shuttle with their squad, a gust of cold wind welcoming them into the clearing. Despite the planet report earlier, nothing on it looks âwipedâ. It looks as though people should still be living here, and yet ... the cold winds are the only thing filling the silence.
Letâs look for survivors. Stay in threes, okay? And ... keep in contact with each other.
They hope theyâre doing this right as they sign those orders. Theyâve never ... worked in a team before. Ori motions for Doe and rookie Blue to follow them to the west wing once theyâre past the -- unlocked, entrance door. Theyâve never had an armored space suit on, either. Or a gun.
They hope they donât need to use it.
Ori slows to a stop, holding a hand for Doe and Blue to do the same behind them ... then peek into a room as the doors automatically slide open.
Luz was still lost, with everything going on, but at least this time there was a camera crew to look at and give her context. She beamed at Ori when they called out her name, and she crouched down to be on level with both Ori and the little owl perched on their arm.
âYeah! An owl! UhâŠâ She glanced over at the camera crew, then back to the owl. Although she lived with a woman known as âThe Owl Ladyâ, who had an owl palisman named Owlbert⊠she didnât know all that much about real owls. So, in a split-second decision, Luz began to do the only thing she could think of.
She improvised.
âSo, what weâve got here is a cute little, uh⊠burrowing owl! You can tell because his home seems to be right over there, in that liâl hole!â She was pretty confident that was the case, anyway. âTheyâre this big and a liâl bit chonky. Their eyes are BIG, and you know they like you when they make unbroken eye-contact with you.â As a show of this, she turned to the owl and met its eyes, making her own very wide as she stared it down.
The light spirit follows Luzâs gaze towards the camera crew and back, still stuck in that dramatic pose of theirs, until she begins improvising - unbeknownst to Ori. As far as they were concerned, these were facts(they live in the ground?!). Ori stands straight, head tilted her way to listen, âBurrowing owl ...!â they say under their breath in a hushed tone, accented by a shimmy of their free hand around the animal.
... The staring means they like you? The faux shock is quickly replaced by genuine interest, however, as Luz continues, and slowly they begin to relax.
The owlâs piercing yellow eyes meet Luzâs, and so it initiates a staring contest, unblinking and beginning to wiggle its head around. Ori strains themselves from jumping in excitement- that movement!! They know what-- !!
âThey do that wobble to see better!â they say softly, giving Luz a bright grin, âTo figure out distance between them and their target.â
And when that distance is figured out, the owl takes off from Oriâs arm right towards the face of their target.
Ori nods their head, stretching up a little more to place their hands upon the old manâs and hold them tightly within theirs - yes, they silently say, their brows furrowed and little moons gleaming right at him. They barely know the many strategies that were involved in the cooking process, the techniques, the magics of it all - but they could give it their all despite that, couldnât they?
The old man pauses for a moment, staring at the floor in disbelief ... but the cogs in his brain are ticking. âYouâd need some sharp skills and fast hands to make it work. And weâd need someone to collect orders and deliver them- I could fill that role, what with my trusty old rollerskates ...â
Ori steps back as he stands, chest puffed up and tail tip curling. They give him a determined nod - they would make it work.
âYeah. Yeah ...! Maybe, we can pull this off! Er-â the old man places a wrinkly hand upon his neck, giving an apprehensive look up past Oriâs shoulder, âA-Assuming youâre both giving me a hand, here ...?â
A blink. âBothâ ...?
They turn their head, met with a darkness that they quickly recognize - there wasnât anyone else made of a starry void in Spirale, after all. Wide moons blink again at the Nightmare Knightâs entrance. The last time theyâve met, heâd torn an entire train car off the tracks as a present to them. It was ... chaotic, for sure, but ... they felt that the gesture wasnât rooted in malice.
So as the sunlight showers over the both of them, Ori stares up at Nightmare Knight with both their hands curled into fists, eyes and smile shining with encouragement. Four hands are better than two ...!
Back and forth, back and forth, until another guard joins him and they stop to talk. Oriâs ears lower upon discovering the conversation is about tonightâs menu, of all things, but the mental map of the guardâs patrolling habits is tucked to the side in their thoughts.
... Now, if only Emil would wake up ... the light spirit glances to him with a frown, laid across the floor. They hop down from the lackluster, stained mattress provided in the cell to join him on the concrete, kneeling beside his head. Theyâd checked him earlier, and they were sure he wasnât injured, but still they canât help but worry. They gather up bunches of his dark purple scarf and tuck it a little further under his head, hoping heâs at least comfortable while unconscious ... their shoulders shake as a heavy sigh leaves their lungs.
Ori stares at his face a little longer, then reaches out to pat pat pat his cheeks. âEmil.â they whisper - if only so the guard doesnât hear them, âEmil!â
Something about the way people are âchosenâ and escorted out of their cells makes their gut twist, and they wouldnât get very far with an unconscious friend on their hands, regardless of their skills. Emil needs to wake up and they need to get out of here before-
âEmil!â their mouth opens in a smile when they see his eyes open at last. Immediately they stand and look him over like a worried older sibling, silently asking if heâs okay.