***

Asmodeus smiles faintly, the thin briefcase under his arm as he delicately peels the ice-cream bar he retained. "Has anything of interest happened since last we spoke, Daughter?"

Bethany peers at her ice cream, gives a mental shrug, and opens it. "Nothing particularly important, my Lord."

He nods, nibbling at his own (chocolate-covered raspberry-vanilla swirl). "You have not noticed any of your sisters about, then."

***

Bethany also remembers, after a moment (and feeling her ice cream start to drip), that she has a cone too, and it is meant to be eaten, not just held as a prop. Right.

<> Bethany = = Not Too Into This Whole 'Human' Thing. Ahem. ^^

***

Delicately, Asmodeus nips off bits of ice cream, the swirl of raspberry looking disturbingly red for a moment.

***

"Very good, Daughter." With a parting nod, Asmodeus walks away, tossing the spent ice-cream stick into a wastebin marked, "Don't Litter." He turns a corner...

...and is gone. The ice cream is very good, really. Even if the raspberry does look a bit disturbingly red from time to time.

Bethany is Game. Disturbing shades of red are only to be expected, really. Particularly in 'gifts' from her Prince.

***

Bethany .oO(Two options. One, this is War-shaking and I'm in a better position to learn about and affect things than any of my Sisters in the Game. Two, this is a test to see whether I end the assignment on trial for Treason, or with a Knighthood.)

<> Demiurge says "Three: it's all false and you're being set up to feed it to the other side. :)"

<> Bethany /knew/ there was supposed to be three options! But blanked on the worst one. ^_~

***

<> Fou-Lu fears Girl Scouts of the Game! :D

<> Bethany snrk! "It's a Lilim thing. They love the *uniforms*." ^_~

Long distance to Bethany: arcangel gives you a Game cookie.

***

<> Bethany says "...okay, I think that's enough information for now. Unless there are any other little surprises in the briefcase? ^^ More detailed amended orders, etc?"

<> arcangel says "Nope. It's all verbal. Welcome to this level of the Game... O:>"

<> Bethany | Bethany finds a note. "Oh, and send a few gallons of Haagen-Daaz raspberry-vanilla swirl to the Game-Tether. - A"

******

Quotes from SSO Game 2: In which a Lilim of the Game interacts with a Girl Scout... er, Malakite... of Stone, lays Geasa, and forgets a certain clause.

***

Keri practices finding a common denominator ad nauseam.

<> arcangel says "All the times you've done this, and you have to have a certain number of mistakes so it doesn't look too suspicious... O;>"

<> Keri actually has a plausibly-human ranged intelligence, but yeah. After the fourth or fifth time through, middle school stops being a challenge.

***

You paged Keri with 'Carrie Davidson? O;>'.

Keri pages: Perfect, albeit obvious. Go for it.

***

You paged Bethany with 'You could always figure out what room she's in, and pitch pebbles and sticks at the window... O;>'.

From afar, Bethany *.../snrk/!* "As long as I don't break the window and hit /her/?" ^_~

You paged Bethany with 'Gentle pebbles. O:>'.

***

<> Liriel posts a pic of her sock into the silence. It's knee-length.:) Sock

<> arcangel admires the sock!

<> Liriel .oO( Well actually it's bal-length, but hey... )

***

<> Keri shrieks! "Matron, there's a woman skulking outside my window! I think she must be some sort of a pervert who gets her jollies spying on orphans."

***

Keri raises an eyebrow. "I don't know what you are talking about, ma'am. But I doubt that a 12-year-old kid is in a position to help anyone."

Keri backs away from the Scary Lady.

***

Bethany's eyebrow actually raises slightly. .oO(Malakite?) She seems to shrug it off, however, and continues. "You know of the Lightning Tether in the area?"

<> Keri says "Do I know of a Lightning tether?"

<> arcangel says "Yup. Noisy. Got to visit it on a scout trip once, too! The electrical plant."

Keri nods reluctantly. "Yes." She perks up visibly. "Want me to take you there?"

<> Keri .oO(If this demon WANTS to go to a Tether...)

***

Keri hisses at Beth. "Run, little Demon. Run far and fast before they find you."

Bethany has disconnected.

<> Keri says "It worked! Yay!"

***

Bethany considers, then produces a notebook and writes down in small, neat handwriting, an e-mail address. "Get a message here. I'll contact you then."

<> arcangel . o O (Lilim666@yahoo.com...)

<> Demiurge | Fiftieth Lilim to ask for that address: "Darn, I thought I'd be the first one to think of it!"

<> Bethany .oO(More like 'queen's-pawn-666@hotmail.com'... ^_~

<> Haru says "Because everyone knows Asmodeus is a queen, darling!"

***

Ms. Gayle frowns and writes down the information. She mutters, "Lightning would be better at background checks... I'll have to call them..."

Keri grins lopsidedly. "I'll have to call them anyway. They're the ones she wanted info on."

Ryukage has disconnected.

Ryukage has connected.

From afar, Ryukage | Bethany .oO(*********)

Ms. Gayle blinks again. "Vapulan, was she?"

******

Quotes from Session 3, in which some Grigori emerge from the shadows.

***

The night is lit by tall poles with glowing globes. Horseless carriages whizz past on extruded-stone roads... It's pretty impressive.

Fou-Lu has spent some time learning how to make use of the human creation named the "car".

***

At your table, arcangel says "Where does Fou-Lu want to start? A bar? Outside?"

At your table, Fou-Lu says "Lurking in the back allies probably. Like BATMAN! XD"

At your table, Demiurge says "Time to terrify those cowardly, superstitious demons!"

***

Fou-Lu whispers the Lord's Prayer to himself over and over while doing so, breathing shallowly.

<> Haru | "Our father, who aren't in heaven... DAMN, I always get that confused..."

<> Fou-Lu says "And if I die before I wake, I pray in Hell my soul won't bake :D"

<> Keri says "Not to worry. If you don't want to bake, Hell has many skilled chefs who can do something else to it. Roast, anyone?"

***

Fou-Lu says "Then you are Grigori I assume. Why do you seek this Outcast Judge?"

The second woman says, "I... I am called Jediael now. We..." She takes a breath. "We come to offer hope."

Haru pages: Return of the Jediael! ... no, no.

***

The first one murmurs a thread of music, celestial speech of hope and new homes and redemption. The second, Jediael, waits for her companion to finish. "We are promised a place, a place to aid humanity as we should have done -- and a home in a realm. A celestial realm, we pray, where we may once again keep our Hearts..."

Jediael smiles faintly. "I don't know if Judgment sanctions it or not. Please, Fou-Lu. If there is hope for a new home for us all -- please at least seek shelter with Lightning? To find out if our hopes are again dashed or if they are uplifted beyond hope..." She looks at the other woman, who is once again singing silently to the unseen stars, and whispers herself, "That we shall hear our sister again..."

******

Quotes from session 4, in which a certain Lilim of the Game drops certain very unsubtle hints to a certain Balseraph of the Media, who is, alas, forced to contact a certain *infamous* other Media Balseraph. God help us all.

***

<> arcangel says "Okay... Courtney, where are you this fine evening?"

<> Courtney is hammering away on her laptop, delivering a preliminary article about an MP doing the nasty in New York.

<> Courtney says "While he should be participating in some meeting or other. Tax payers need to hear about this Moral Outrage!"

***

Courtney pages: Would Liriel have heard any rumours at this point? Will Below have told her anything, asked her to snoop?

You paged Courtney with 'Hmmm.... Nybbas suggested that Scoops might be in the Offing! But, um, he does that just about any time he talks to you.'.

From afar, Courtney thinks Nybbas is more into getting head from her than actual scoops...

***

From afar, Courtney doesn't like him. At all.

Long distance to Courtney: arcangel snickers. Smarmy little kid-Prince!

Courtney pages: And an impudite to boot! The Boss has clearly gone off the deep end!

From afar, Courtney .oO( Baal! Now he had style! Old school. Yep. Even if he's an obsessed maniac with a desperate need to prove he's got a bigger celestial willie than Michael. )

***

Gary adds, "Something about, um, seven or so years back, some guy got shot there. Cornered his ex or something, and she shot him dead. Bloody violent over there... Emptied the thing into him. Are you sure it's safe for you over there, boss-ma'am?"

Courtney hmms. "I think I can manage, Gary. Any hints of activities by the little green sluts there?"

Gary says, "Mmmmm... Might be. They like hanging around places like that, right? It's keeping a low profile. Are you _sure_ you're okay, ma'am? I mean, _guns_..." He sounds sincerely concerned.

<> arcangel . o O (Gary's been looking at the forensics pictures again...)

***

Courtney sighs. "And you really need to do something about that fascination with corpses, Gary. It's most unbecoming for a servant of mine."

<> Courtney will not have a closet Samingan in her service!

<> Saminga comes out of the closet!

<> Hiram says "So, you're coming out then Dread Lord?"

<> Saminga bows to Hiram. "You said it, girlfriend!"

<> Saminga blows a kiss to Hiram.

<> arcangel laughs, and sends Saminga to the table!

Saminga sits down at Table 1.

***

Courtney listens intently and scribble. The key to being a good journalist is to be a good listener. Make then trust you, make them spill the goods. At one point she smiles and nods, remarking that "A posh accent and posh outfit does not prevent one from knowing a thing or two about violence and what it's like on the receiving end of it..." Later on, she asks, "...so what you are doing here then, is helping these women and their children to find Freedom from their abusive partners, fathers and whathaveyous?"

<> Courtney says "Is that smooth enough? :)"

***

Debbie dimples faintly, as though at a private joke. "Basically, yes. We offer counseling for those who seek that path, but really -- what are the chances that an abuser is going to actually, permanently change his ways? We're devoted to breaking the cycle of abuse, and helping women overcome the cultural or personal issues that make them seek abusive relationships."

Haru pages: And we help some women free themselves.... permanently."

Long distance to Haru: arcangel snickers.

From afar, Haru has a halo on a stick. o-:::)

***

<> arcangel says "What is Courtney looking for, in particular? Or is it just, "Anything Interesting?"

<> Courtney doesn't expect to find much, but... Yes. Anything that might look like A Clue. Like hellwriting. Or malakite-porn...

***

<> Demiurge makes choking noises. Courtney is pretending to be from The Sun? _That_ tabloid?

<> Courtney smiles to Demi. "/The/ The Sun, yes."

<> Courtney says "I'm a Nybbite. Had to be The Sun. :)"

<> Demiurge says "An article about women's shelters in the Sun is going to be something like HOW I FOUND NEW HOPE, WEEPS DESPERATE MOTHER MADDIE, with a picture of her clinging to a cute battered child, heart-rending interviews (real or not) with the home's inhabitants, and a demand that Someone Do Something About It."

***

Courtney asks her about her life's story, of course. Where she comes from, how she came to be here, what happened to her arm, etc, etc. She also asks her about the shelter, the other women (so do you become a sort of a sisterhood then?), staff... If she wavers, it's really Perfectly Allright To Tell Courtney, because The Sun protects their sources and Anonymity Is Guaranteed.

<> Bethany snrks at the Balseraph, and decides this prologue should be named something like "Subtle Hints. Really." ^_~

<> Courtney is smooth and deadly. No wait! That's Mallory. Drat. :)

Liz has connected. [Mallory's player. -Ed.]

***

Courtney ponders and assembles facts, hints and clues in her mightyish mind. After some thinking, she starts twiddling her pencil. Hmm. Hmmmmmmmm. Hm. there is one who knows lilim pretty well and who is always willing to talk. If fact, he seems to be rather a lot like Jay of Jay and Silent Bob fame in that he never stops... She decides to try, and dials 1-800-TERRY...

The phone rings three times. Then another three. Then a voice answers. "Oh baby, I was just *thinking* of you!"

***

Terry's voice comes through loud and clear. "Darling, I always . . ." A pause, and a couple of sniffing noises. The voice is brighter now. "I always have time for you! Cutey! Honey-baby! Lirry! Have I ever told you how much I _respect_ you?"

***

Terry replies, brightly, "Of course, baby! Now listen verrry carefully, I shall say this only once." He drops his voice conspiratorially. "Word has it that the Corp's getting kind of hard to hire, you know what I mean? Apparently they're going to be hard to hire for a few months, too. Then -- well, back to the usual grind, I guess. On their backs or on their knees, you know a Lilim's gonna please . . . Hey, that's not bad." He breaks off, and you can hear the sound of notes being entered on a Palm Pilot.

***

Courtney breathes out heavily, after making sure that her phone is utterly dead to the world. "Shit. I need to rinse out my brain..."

******

Quotes from session five, in which Fou-Lu the Grigori finds sanctuary.

***

It's a power-plant, still operational, though clearly no longer new.

Fou-Lu sighs with a bit of relief when he hears the roar, and tries to stay calm as he advances to it.

Fou-Lu also can't help but smile to himself, much like a person off to visit a dear friends house for the first time in many years.

***

Fou-Lu swallows, and stands for an extra minute or two staring at the Tether, old reflexive fears freezing him for a moment.

Fou-Lu . o O (They promised... but so many promises have been broken... please God, please let this be true.)

Fou-Lu resolutely begins to climb up the steps, whispering his prayers with increased fervour.

***

Fou-Lu says "Give me... one moment, please. It's been a very long time. I have to adjust... to the noise, the feel."

She walks over to a laptop computer, on a simple bench at the side of the room, saying, "Sanctuary, Bezkiri, he asked for sanctuary. He said two women sent him, relatives. Sanctuary!"

Fou-Lu bites back an urge to cry a little, the call of Heaven is so close, -so- close...

A pair of eyes, slightly slanted and framed with stylized, flowing anime hair, appears on the computer's screen. A voice comes from it, "Sanctuary. Sanctuary is granted to those who ask with sincerity, Fou-Lu."

***

Fou-Lu swallows uncomfortably when he finally notices Amy's dismay at his comment. "Ah... I meant no offense. *bows* I am greatful for this offer noble cousins. I am simply... forcing old habits."

Amy says, "Oh, no -- no, it's not you. I'm, er... It's not you."

Bezkiri chuckles. "Amy's rather young. I gather you are... not, Fou-Lu?"

Fou-Lu says "Bezkiri, I am Fou-Lu, Giant of Judgment, and creation of the Lord High Judge. I have wandered for 13,000 years upon this planet, still serving my Word to the best of my ability. I am heavy with many burdens... but I strive, and have become filled with hope and interest at the supposed offer that was set before me earlier. I see now that this offer must be true, and I am much relived."

Amy has her mouth covered and eyes big.

***

From session six, in which The Stonie wanders, the Stonie visits the Gamester, the Gamester visits the Nybbite, and the Nybbite weeps.

***

<> Carrie says "Anything interesting on the dock?"

<> arcangel says "Not really. Very tidy and neat."

<> Carrie says "What, no Incriminating Grigori Footprints & Bloodstains? Darn."

***

Carrie steps inside, and looks behind the door to see who opened it.

There's no one there.

Carrie figures it's a Lightning-gadget then, or possibly a Kyrio wearing a Lightning-gadget.

***

<> Arcangel rolls the d666 and gets 6 6 CHECK: 5.

<> arcangel EYES the dice.

***

Carrie blinks. "Oh, right. You have SCANNERS. Darn, I only needed to write that out once! Nope, I have no secrets from Bezkiri."

Amy looks abashed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I should have told you, I guess. I'm sorry you did all that... handwriting." She looks as if handwriting is some kind of horrible fate.

Carrie discreetly massages the cramps out of her writing fingers.

***

<> arcangel says "The papers seem to be in the form of a FAQ about Heaven. Things like, "Q: Are all Lilim kept in cages? A: No, of course not. Lilim have an innate resonance with Freedom, and would never consent to be caged like that." Etc."

<> Carrie snickers. Heaven for Dummies!

<> Demiurge | "Absolutely. We use collars which deliver electric shocks if they misbehave."

***

<> Liriel | Jean stops polishing his head and frowns minimalistically at Demiurge.

<> arcangel says "This is BalProp Jean, clearly."

<> arcangel . o O (Though after the frictionless honey incident...)

***

<> Demiurge recommends keeping notes.

<> arcangel thinks she has everyone. They're fuzzy.

<> Carrie is fuzzy!

<> Liriel is sleek!

<> Bethany is green.

<> Fou-Lu is... Discordant ^^;

***

Carrie looks up at Ms. Gayle. "Want to ask Lightning to wire me for sound?"

<> Bethany /snrk/!

<> Carrie has already asked to be Inquisited. You should no longer be surprised.

***

Ms. Gayle says, "Bezkiri can spare a Force or two." And smirks.

<> arcangel does the cackle of KYRIOTATE OF LIGHTNING! Ahem.

***

BezCanary flutters over to the bag and peers inside. It hops in, and starts pecking eyeholes.

<> Fou-Lu is going to die from cuteness. To think this was the anime hair image from yesterday :D

<> Bezkiri says, "I am a Kyriotate of many talents!"

***

Carrie arrives on time, and looks for Bethany. She has a grocery bag with some groceries, a canary, and a brochure in it.

***

Carrie reaches into the bag and pulls out a brochure. "I asked the Lightning Tether if they had any information for Lilim, and they kindly printed this out." She offers the brochure to Beth.

<> arcangel says "The brochure is titled "What Lilim Should Know About Heaven And Were Lied To About." It has the same in stylized Hellglyphs beneath the English."

Bethany's eyebrow arches higher at the brochure, though she doesn't read it (yet). .oO(What /did/ she tell them I was?)

***

<> Fou-Lu sees that the plot thickens, like Haagenti's stomach lining.

***

You paged Demiurge with 'Bezkiri is in the phone. Muwhahah!'.

You paged Demiurge with 'Kyriotates of Lightning are EVIL! I love them.'.

***

Courtney picks up the phone after the fourth signal. It's kinda neat the way it vibrates in her pocket... "Courtney Rhys-Jones, how may I help you?" she murmurs.

<> Chad (Freakazoid) "Sorry. I have my pager set to 'vibrate my buttocks'."

***

<> Fou-Lu reiterates -- all GM's take training time as a Soldier of Cruelty -_-;;

<> arcangel smiles. Benignly.

<> Hiram worries

***

<> Bethany realizes the /Game/ just got a demon dissonant. Heh. ^^ Demon's own /fault/, but... ^_~

<> Courtney will have to amend this soon! :) .oO( Thank Lucifer she can only give me one note! )

From afar, Bethany isn't really /upset/ at all by that, but, you know, she's Game. Supposed to get them / not/ to do that to us. Right?

Courtney flinches as the Hurt slams into her and snarls wordlessly at the cellphone. As if it's the cellphone's fault!

***

Courtney .oO( Bloody Hell! How am I supposed to Investigate a divine Tether?!)

<> arcangel says "Walk in?"

***

Terry hesitates, a moment. "Well, baby, there _have_ been a few enquiries after you -- but don't worry, I'm doing my best to keep them off your tail. It's such a cute tail, after all..."

***

Terry whistles between his teeth. "Is there, now. Thanks, honey. I'll see what I can do with that. You're an angel, you know that?"

Courtney glares and it's and Audible glare. "Terry! You're being /rude/, you know?"

Terry says, "Oh, _honey_. I meant it in the nicest possible way, you know that? Not _that_ way. In the way, you know, like the guy with the money who makes the curtains come up and the performance hit the boards. You're like that, baby. You're my very personal informatician. You just glow, you know that? I want to see you out there with the big scoop, I want to hear you telling the news, I want to see you televised across all Perdition with your face on the billboards breaking the Big Story. I want to hear your voice on the radio waves, baby. I want to see you getting the Oscar from the Prince. It'll be cool, honey."

********

Quotes from Session seven, in which the Creationers show up and end up lost in time... and lost in space... and mea~ea~ning. (Mea~ea~ning.)

***

Caleb drives Hiram and Chad over to the Tree, then.

Chad wonders what's wrong with HIS car?

Hiram points out that in a car with two Malakim in it, the Ofanite isn't going to get to drive!

<> arcangel says "You're making the Ofanite... sit in the back seat?"

<> Chad will drive everyone mad. ^_~

<> arcangel watches Chad bounce all over the car.

Caleb asked, Chad, nicely, to drive? ^_^

***

Chad drove like a madman, including, as this IS Texas, an obligatory "YEEHAW."

<> arcangel snrks. "Austin is only _half_ redneck!"

<> Chad says "But Chad doesn't know that! ^^"

***

Chad heads up!

Hiram nods. "I was going to tell Chad to go first, but he's gone..."

Caleb says "That's an Ofanim for you. Welp, your turn."

***

Hiram says "You first Caleb. Youth and so forth.."

Hiram winks at Caleb.

Caleb laughs. "Hey, whatever, man. See you at the top."

***

Long distance to Chad: arcangel reminds to you to stick with buddies? O;> Or not! O:D

Chad pages: Sometimes Chad needs to be reminded to slow down. And by sometimes, I mean a lot.

***

Hiram's Heart is tucked in its bookshelf, next to another brightly glowing star of a Heart. They seem to cuddle.

<> Ryukage awwwwwwww...

<> Chadril will remember in about two minutes that RIGHT. He's supposed to be WATCHING AFTER Caleb. And go back. ....Awwwwwwwwwwww.

***

The Ladies' room has a couple of chattering young women in it, who seem disposed to put their make up on and gossip for the next decade...

Moonshadow stifles a sigh, then makes her way toward whichever stall looks most convenient.

The stalls, thankfully, are mostly empty -- the one nearest the door seems to have someone in it.

Moonshadow shuts herself into a regular stall, locks it (that'll teach 'em to make this more complicated than it needed to be,) then takes a deep breath and heads Upwards.

***

Chadril rushes ahead. Then comes back. Then rushes ahead. Then comes back.

Hiram says "You trying to tell me something Chad?"

***

Hiram looks at Caleb and Chad. "You guys going to come along to have a look?

Chadril says "Look? ...At Dominic?"

Hiram says "Yep! Not like seeing the Lord High Cloaked Guy will cause your Forces to unravel..."

***

With a flare of black, like wings, a MUCH BIGGER Judge appears in front of the Hall's gates. Boomingly, he intones, "ELI! WHAT ARE YOU _DOING?_"

<> Chadril fully expects Eli to answer "STUFF!"

A cheerful, _familiar,_ laughing voice comes down from the high balcony. "Hey, Dom! How's it going?"

<> Hiram says "Would have gone for "PARTYING!" myself..."

***

Caleb takes a look at the sketch and just GRINS before blinking. "Hey, ain't that Kathriel?"

Dominic states, "Kathriel. Angel of Sculpting. WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

Hiram doesn't look up from his cartooning but grins. "Guess Judge Dom just answered you Cal, don't you feel honoured?"

Caleb says "Oh, yes, why, Hiram, doesn't -every- angel -yearn- to have the Inquisition answer their questions instead of vice versa?"

***

Hiram scraps that drawing! And works to draw the arrival of Dominic, looking to see if he's turned any particular colour apart from black!

<> Hiram rolls the d666 and gets 2 1 CHECK: 6.

Hiram tries to toss his cartoon sketch to Kath!

<> Hiram rolls the d666 and gets 1 1 CHECK: 6.

The paper airplane zwoops and zums and stalls out _just_ in front of Kathriel's nose. Blinking, she snags it out of the air, and unfolds it curiously.

Cheerfully, she turns it so that Dominic can see it and says, "Hey, nice one!!"

<> Ryukage | Dominic says "Wow, that /is/ nice...HEY!"

***

Dominic makes a sound rather like the sound of steam boilers before they start exploding. In a hiss that shouldn't carry, but does, he demands again, "What is Eli doing?!"

Kathriel says, "Um, well, STUFF!"

This does not seem to sit well with Judgment.

***

Dominic snarls something. Kathriel waves her hands around in innocent helplessness. "They've got free will! What can I say?"

<> Chadril | Dominic says "You have the free will to remain silent. Anything you say..."

***

Caleb listens. Just... listens... Letting the Word roll over him, letting the whole thing carry him away like listening to the Ultimate Jam.

***

Chadril is glad he's clinging to someone!

<> Demiurge | That's not my wrist, Chad...

***

Hiram says "We're not in Kansas anymore Caleb..."

Caleb says "Woof, woof, man."

***

Eli takes the pictures and examines them, reaching out a hand to scritchie Chadril.

Caleb was about to start his Jeopardy themesong, but just... stares at Eli in awe. A bit of him is still a Reliever- he's only been in the Throne a few years- and he wants to say "Daddy!" but he's too shy.

Chadril cuddles close, mumbling, "Love you, Eli.... glad, GLAD you're here..."

Eli tells Hiram, "Nice work!" Then he hands the papers back to snug Chadril a bit better, and clap Caleb on the shoulder. He also grins at Moonshadow, and winks.

Caleb shyly- and swiftly- hugs Eli tightly as he gets patted. "Thanks, man" he says in a whisper. "You rock!"

***

Eli continues, "The Symphony's a little quieter here, and it's a little darker... See, it's like this. I've been busy, and Jean's been busy. Yup, Lightning! He's been psychoanalyzing the Princess of Freedom and what with one thing and a lot of others... they're eloping! Here! LILITH'S LEFT HELL! She told off the Lightbringer in front of me and Jean!"

<> Ledenyca cue heart attacks.

***

Eli adds, "I mean, I'll _miss_ anyone who heads back, but..."

<> Ryukage says "Guilt trip! Duuuuuuuuude!"

<> Ledenyca says "It's the Creationer way XD"

***

Eli replies, "If they ask -- fair game! Tell 'em anything you can till they say shaddup! But they have to ask first. Lilith's big on the free will thing, and seems to think some people can redeem demons just by talking to 'em!"

<> Ryukage eyes the Elohim.

<> Ledenyca also eyes the -slimy- space aliens.

<> Liriel polishes shiny elohim!

***

Hiram says "Well, we could always do what we always do..."

Caleb says "Party?"

Hiram says "Got it in one Caleb! PAAAARTYYY!!!"

***

<> arcangel says "Hiram can probably notice the Guildhall of Free Lilim."

Caleb turns back towards the Cathedral. "YO! GUYS! WE NEED A WELCOME PARTY, STAT!"

<> Chadril says "I get this mental image here of a bunch of Lilim tentatively emerging to encounter Really Hot Malakim waiting to welcome them. ^^ ...Really Hot Malakiim of Creation, even."

<> Hiram thinks a bunch of Malakim in Leather Jackets and sunglasses, just radiating Coolness would make a good Welcoming Committee!

Chadril goes to help Hiram pick the hottest Malakim. Yep.

******

From Session 8, in which there is lot of repetition and emailing between the Gamester and the Girl Scout.

***

<> At your table, arcangel says "You're never gonna let me play a Kyrio in your games, are you? O:>"

<> At your table, Demiurge mutters something about not giving a trained chocolate chef the keys to the candy cupboard. ;)

***

Carrie says "Okay, talk to you later!"

Bezkiri trills, "Yup! May the Force be with you!"

Carrie giggles. "The Electromagnetic Force, that would be?"

Bezkiri rings off in a gale of giggles like synthesized bells.

<> Bezkiri . o O (I like her!)

***

<> Haru says "'RESPECT MAH AUTHORITAH!' still works for a Gamester."

<> Bethany snickers. "But this Bethany wouldn't /say/ that at /all/!" ^^

<> Haru finds herself thinking of Cartman, Calabite of the Game and must be killed for the good of all humanity.

***

<> Bethany eyes the dice.

<> Bezkiri smiles.

<> Bethany eyes the /Kyrio/.

***

Carrie starts finding interesting images online to include in the next round of forwards, 'cuz relaying is boring.

***

Bezkiri replies: "Seraph attendant, but she's been having a bad day and is moping about being no more helpful than a reliever."

***

Carrie forwards to Beth "Lightning sez: 'Seraph attendant, but she's been having a bad day and is moping about being no more helpful than a reliever. Geas phrasing... We pledge that we shall offer no hostility above what is offered to us, and allow you to go freely provided you have acquired no information which will seriously compromise us. If that has become the case, we will discuss alternate methods of mutually agreeable solutions, such as Memory Pearls. We will require no further Geases, but reserve the right to offer bargains. Here's a phone-number for the Tether. (XXX-XXXX) As Seneschal, I will vouch for my Tether- staff's behavior.' Also, take a look at this url: [URL] Can I come with? Love, your favorite Stonie"

<> Carrie exposes the Lilim to good Stonie websites!

<> Carrie loves the statue. Kinda "David-with-pants" aesthetic.

***

Carrie emails Bez: "Beth says: 'I'd prefer /non/-Seraphic, though it's not an /absolute/ requirement. The Seneschal's Choir is? || 'Geas-phrasing is acceptable, as is the right to offer bargains. So long as the Geas on the Seneschal includes a verification of the behavior control.' || ...hm. Perhaps. -B' And could you embed this MIDI of the John Henry song in your next response to her? I don't know how to do that. Thanks, Carrie"

Carrie attaches file with John Henry song.

***

Bezkiri replies, "Oh, I'll be a mouse or something. My assistant has the usual Seraph vessel, with glasses. So look for a woman with a mouse in her pocket."

*********

Session 9: In which the Motley Crew end up in the same Divine Tether at the same time, and things literally start to... move.

***

A few doors have names on them, or faded number sequences, and there's the Restrooms, and there's the Authorized Personnel Only door...

<> Keri says "Looking for something labeled "Bez", are we?"

Liriel is authorized, isn't she?

***

No alarms seem to go off.

<> Haru says "I love the word 'seem' when the GM uses it."

<> Liriel was having the same thought. :)

***

Another turbine room. It seems empty, save for the giant machinery, and a table to one side, with a chair and a laptop there. The crackle of the Tether-locus seems like even mundanes should be able to hear it.

Nothing moves.

Liriel winces as the noice assaults her delicate senses. Then she makes her way over to the laptop. "Hello there. My name is Courtney Rhys-Jones, and I'm a journalist with The Sun. Do you have a moment?" She smiles charmingly as if this is the most natural thing in the world.

***

<> Keri says "I can't believe it. She's resonated herself into interviewing a Lightning Seneschal. In the Tether-room."

<> Ryukage says "It could be worse...the Seneschal could be a Malakite, and the Tether could be the Sword. ^_^"

<> Keri snickers. Balseraphs do the craziest things.

<> arcangel begins to just love the little snakes. O:)

***

"Of course, of course. Now, I know you must be /awfully/ busy, so I shall cut straight to the chase: I have been lead to believe that your organization has made a bid for rather a big chunk of the workforce in my home country. Now, what the public is asking themselves is of course -- why? Could you maybe tell me a little bit about this new project of yours that requires such many extra employers?"

The eyes blink. Then again. They tilt to one side. They tilt to the other. They blink. "Excuse me?"

***

There is a drop of something red next to her shoe. Careful -- you don't want something staining those!

Liriel raises her eyebrows at the laptop and is about to answer, but then her eyes get pulles downward to the red drop. She eyes it and takes a careful and elegant step away from it. Her shoes are expensive, Good shoes! "Oh dear," she mutters.

The eyes on the laptop also flick down. "Terribly sorry, Ms. Rhys-Jones. I'll have my assistant clean it up later."

<> Keri says "Yay! Suspicious Grig Discordy Bits!"

<> Demiurge | Tell the Malakim to be more thorough in cleaning up the remains of butchered Lilim next time.

***

<> Haru | Bethany says "/.../"

<> Ryukage grins at Haru.

<> Haru knows you. And goes to make dinner.

***

<> At your table, MasonK | Bez says "I just love Bals."

<> At your table, arcangel snickers. | Bez says, "They make such wonderful Seraphim..."

***

Liriel smiles wanly and folds her hands in her lap, holding her ReporterKit. "As I have stated, my affiliation is that of a journalist. I investigate cases that are of public interest and bring them to light via the newspapers. My nature is somewhat....shall we say....on the sleek and sinuous side."

The eyes crinkle cheerfully again. "Indeed. I'm sure your vessel does not do your true form justice."

***

From afar, Liriel eyes the locus. .oO( They had better not be armed with Banishment Songs... )

Long distance to Liriel: arcangel smiles innocently.

<> At your table, arcangel says "Why do I imagine a bunch of Lightning Servitors at the top of the Tether, rolling around and flapping their wings with laughter?"

***

Those eyes crinkle again. "Stuck there? Surely you are not geased to that service. I had understood that those of your country valued free will very highly. It saddens me to think that you are stuck in a job you don't fully enjoy."

<> Bezkiri says "Our company offers free access to an extensive database of Archangelic jpegs."

<> Ryukage looks at www.hallsofprogress.s-l/images/judgement/ ...

<> Hiram says "As well as access to lot of talented artists with fully rendered pictures of Dominic.."

<> Ryukage .oO( www.hallsofprogress.s-l.net/images/judgement/tail/ ?)

***

Liriel smiles gently to the laptop. "Ah, but a career does not make itself. We must all work our way to, ah, the right shelf, idiom. I fully expect to advance from the mere tabloids and into the more serious part of the newspaper industry within a few years."

<> Demiurge | Indeed, I hope to be publishing my new bestseller shortly. Sex, the Stock Market, and Satanism; a thrilling indictment of the Bush administration with attached expose of presidential perversions.

***

From afar, Ryukage cannot /wait/ for her part. *giggles a /lot/* Poor Betharan... ^^ || Betharan .oO(Note to self: never play dominos. ...or Jenga.)

You paged Ryukage with 'It's all about to come crashing down?'.

From afar, Ryukage | Betharan deadpans, "Exactly."

***

Liriel leans slightly forward, back still straight as a ruler. There is a glitter of excitement in her eyes. She focuses her mind and narrows her eyes somewhat, obviously thinking hard. Slowly she says, "You know... I think there is a definite possibility in that. I myself is quite curious about this informant, who seems to know much about things that aren't generally known."

<> Keri says "Yes! Backstab the Gamester! (In a non-fatal way, of course. Just showing her the error of her ways...)"

***

<> At your table, MasonK will be most amused if Liriel actually uses the network access offered.

<> At your table, arcangel looks innocent. "Perhaps she'll just websurf and start a few flamewars somewhere?"

<> At your table, MasonK says "Yes, I think I'll check my e-mail while in a Lightning Tether." :)"

<> At your table, arcangel looks innocent, INNOCENT!

<> At your table, MasonK says "You do innocent about as well as I do. ;)"

<> At your table, arcangel darns. O:)

***

Liriel rises and stands, carefully so she doesn't step on any blood or other goo from butchered celestials.

***

Liriel sits down and start making sense of her notes, after having looked over the room. She smiles at the screen and decides to play around with the computer after having arranged her notes. On her pad. There will be no emailing NybbasNet from within the Tether. Really. (Even if the temptation to lead them to Terry is great....)

***

The coffeeshop appears to be innocuous and calm. No screaming Malakim, no lurking Princes, no butchered Lilim.

<> Bethany is Game. They do the butchering, remember?)

***

Bethany nods to Carrie and murmurs, "Any word from them?" (And resonance-pings, unless Carrie /finally/ remembered her sunglasses? ^_~)

Carrie failed Avoiding Demonic Resonances 101. Luckily, her Unarmed Combat grades pulled up her Celestial GPA.

***

<> arcangel says "No small talk?"

<> Carrie says "Not unless she starts it."

<> Bethany .oO("Small talk"? What is this "small talk" you speak of?)

***

Amy checks carefully to see if the waitress is back, then puts her purse on the table and opens the flap a little. A small mouse peeks out, twitching its nose. It winks.

<> Haru dies of cute.

***

<> Bethany asks politely if she can ping the mouse, too? ^^

The mouse covers both its eyes with its paws and turns away as if embarrassed for a moment.

<> Bethany rolls the d666 and gets 1 1 CHECK: 2.

<> arcangel tells the dice, "THAT CLOSE!"

From afar, Bethany rolls a 1 1 CHECK: 1. Jean steps inside the coffee shop, with Lilith on his arm.

Long distance to Bethany: arcangel howls! YES!

***

Carrie sneakily offers Bez a taste of vanilla malt.

Bezmouse tastes it and chirrups happily. Carrie says "Dammit, if I'm being 11 I'm going to enjoy it!"

<> arcangel says "Yeah!"

***

Carrie says "Hey Beth! Isn't he /cute/!"

Bethany ...blinks.

From afar, Bethany .oO("Cute"? What is "cute"?)

***

Bethany blinks, and looks /highly/ doubtful. "...an /angel/ went to /Hades/ to rescue a /Lilim/?"

<> MasonK watches Bethany's brains explode.

***

<> Carrie hums "The Times, They Are A-Changin'"

<> arcangel points at the iPod -- "A whole new world" from Aladdin

<> Haru beats you all.

<> Haru points at Winamp, "History is Made by Stupid People"

***

The scene shifts, to a gleaming room that radiates Efficient and Advanced. The Lilim appears, green and Geased, her eyes glazing and her form smoking slightly. She falls to her knees on the white floor, hands clenched, then clearly forces herself to look up. Her eyes focus on infinity, and she begins to keen out a theme, a song, the vocal impression of a personal symphony. ***

Bethany ...leans back in her chair, eyes rather wide, watching. .oO(Hm. Yes, /quite/ interesting...)

<> Haru | Bethany .oO(Sir? Please reprogram me.)

*** Bezkiri chuckles at Carrie's question. "I think so -- her and the Elohite and the Seraph there, they tend to hang around together. I don't know so much, though. Boss transfered the Elohite to Destiny, for mucking around with Jeantech stuff and letting his trojan get 'captured' by the Game."

Carrie gapes. "Lightning has high-tech condoms??"

***

Carrie pages: I look for the email or IM app.

You paged Carrie with 'It's easily findable, down in the applications dock.'.

Carrie pages: I look for Jean's username in the friends list.

Long distance to Carrie: arcangel falls over herself laughing. "Jean@lighting.heaven.net"

Carrie pages: Dear Archangel of Lightning. There's this Lilim sister of mine whose really weirded out by what Bezkiri showed her. Could you stop by and help as long as you promise not to hurt her? Thanks, Bathkerioth Virtue of Stone.

***

You paged Carrie with 'An email answer pops back up. "Bezkiri is stalling her sufficiently. Fear not. --J"'.

Carrie pages: Relieved, Carrie idly looks for MikePr0n. Girlish crush, you know.

Long distance to Carrie: Yup, Mikepr0n can be found, too, but more of it is drawing rather than photos.

Carrie pages: Perfect. I hit the print button for the best MikeBeefcake I find.

******

From session 10, in which the Halls of Progress move to Shangri-La and the Tether-bound Motley Crew are inclined to visit.

***

Bezkiri says, "Some maintenance issues -- the upper locus is being shifted slightly, and the Symphonic effects may be noisy."

<>Keri snrks. 'slightly'...

<>Bezkiri polishes his halo. Routine. Really. Shift Tether-loci around all the time.

***

From afar, Courtney's player is idly wondering what Jean has preliminarily diagnosed Courtney with? :)

You paged Courtney with 'Curiosity and Chutzpah!'.

***

Bezkiri says, "The Tether-maintenance issues suggest that it would be better to have all 'loose ends' here. Don't worry. We don't want things to escalate."

<>Demiurge | In the background, the Tether makes Symphonic noises that resemble James Bond's Aston-Martin ramping up for a chase scene.

***

Bethany ...frowns, but...nods, a bit reluctantly. "Do they know who - or what - /I/ am?"

Bezkiri says, "To my knowledge, neither of them have seen you before."

<>Haru says "...Nice one, Bez! :D"

<>Bethany /eyes/ the Kyriotate. .oO(Why must the angels loophole-hunt like Gamesters?)

<>Fou-Lu says "Slimy little Kyrio ^_~"

<>Fou-Lu says "Just like their Archangel!"

***

<> Bethany rolls the d666 and gets 6 6 CHECK: 6.

<>Bethany ...O_O

<>Fou-Lu says "AAHHH!!!"

<>Haru says "IN A DIVINE TETHER! :D"

<>Bethany says "...dear /God/. Er, Lucifer. O_O"

<>Fou-Lu KICKS the dice! BAD DICE! BAD!

<>Haru KICKS Lucifer! BAD lord of the pit, angel of darkness, prince of lies! BAD!

<>Bethany must tell you all that that was resonating Fou-Lu...

<>Fou-Lu FUCK. >_<

***

<>Fou-Lu runs off and cries into Dominic's cloak. They all -hate- me daddy!

<>Haru | Asmodeus pushes his hood back and says "There there. Daddy'll make it all better."

<>Fou-Lu ;_____;

***

Fou-Lu says "Domination, you know that my duty as a Judge, a Grigori -- an angel of the Host... Judgment has not yet sanctioned this?"

<>Haru | Bezkiri stalls "Well, how do you define 'sanction'?"

***

And then in front of Lilith, a tall, lean man. Hair of palest redgold, eyes of crystal, clad in white robes.

<>Keri says "Is he cute?"

<>arcangel says "Very."

Keri wolf whistles.

Bethany's eyes widen. She murmurs to Keri, almost absently, "You /don't/ want to do that," eyes /locked/ on the holo now.

***

Bezkiri says, "Try going celestial. If it hurts you, come back and I'll heal you. You can bind me to that, if you want."

Bethany ...eyes him, considering.

Fou-Lu snerks at how mistrustful Bethany is.

From afar, Bethany /knows/ what she's wearing in celestial form, after all...the /pawn/-sigil.

Bezkiri's eyes are wide and guilless.

***

<>Keri thinks about Terry, and about DGC, and decides that Hell is your co-workers.

***

<>Demiurge says "Trapped! Trapped like a rat in a trap!"

<>Fou-Lu says "...or a lab rat in a well-defended Lightning test maze ;D"

***

From afar, Keri considers swearing a new oath "I will not demand sexual favors from Courtney" but decides Courtney wouldn't believe it anyway.

***

Bezkiri says, to Courtney, "Same as in Heaven -- or Hell, I guess -- as far as I know. Nice scales, by the way." . o O (Pity about the wings...)

Courtney eyes the laptop with all of her six orbs. "Are you /flirting/ with me, Bezkiri?"

Bezkiri giggles musically. "Only if you want me to." . o O (Darn shame about the wings.)

***

The Malakim and Kyriotate gawp, silently.

Courtney narrows her eyes against the light, then stiffens as she sees the malakim. Oopsie! Bother! Grief! She looks nervous. "Uh, Amana? Those chained ones over there.... Erm..?"

Amana says, "I told 'em that potential, um, fellow citizens were coming up." They're going to be good. She levels a Seraphic stare at the Malakim. "RIGHT?"

***

The man nods to Fou-Lu, then regards Courtney calmly. "Greetings. I trust you will not abuse my hospitality in my Halls, Liriel?"

<>Haru says "The best part is that there's only one right answer to that."

***

<>Keri awws. He remembers her name!

<>arcangel says "And even if he didn't, he's got access to Mercurian resonance."

<>Jean cheats.

<>Haru says "Jean's an ELOHITE. Of course he cheats. It's efficient."

<>Jean Elosmiles at Haru. Exactly.

***

Bezkiri says, "About the worst thing you could be, from my point of view, is Vapulan. And I've already said that we can handle that. So. Your choice, I guess. I gather that's partly what all this is about - Choice."

Bethany pages: Choice? Free will? You mean that thing Bethany's never really managed to figure out yet? ^_~

You paged Bethany with 'Yeah, well, Bezkiri doesn't know she's a Weird Lilim...'.

<>Haru says "Unfortunately, Bethany has about as much of a concept of Freedom as your average snail."

***

Bethany considers a brief moment before bowing, respectfully. Respect, after all, costs nothing. "Archangel."

<>Demiurge | Jean replies, politely, "Bitch from Hell."

***

Bethany half-shrugs again and nods, with that same calm/remote expression. "Does it matter? I can't change what my Lord chooses to do."

Jean says, "You can, however, choose your Lord."

<>Fou-Lu says "...Elohite logic. Go figure."

<>Haru adores Elohim. They're so smart. And logical. And cuddly!

<>Haru snuggles an Elohite, demonstrating!

<>Jean suffers himself to be cuddled by Haru.

***

Jean says, "Intriguing."

<>Fou-Lu says "Uh oh... Jean is turning on the Logic Light!"

<>Haru | THE ELOHITE IS IN.

<>Hiram says "Go to red alert, the Elohite is deploying logic!"

<>Fou-Lu says "As soon as you hear the words "Intruiging", "Fascinating", "Interesting", or worst of all, "Curious" -- run like an Ofanite on speed."

<>Hiram says "Are you sure about that Sir? It does mean we will have to change the bulb...."

***

<>Demiurge says "And what sort of proper Lilim even _considers_ breaking boundness?"

<>arcangel says "A Lilim who has a clue that she's going to be turned into a green smear on the floor if she goes back? O:>"

<>Haru | "Would it help to say I'm sorry?"

<>Keri | Asmodeus .oO(Yecch, what did I just step in? Oh, that Lilim.)

***

<>Fou-Lu wishes that there was some indestructable/unbindable/really cute and annoying being in the world of In Nomine, just so she could sic it on Azzy. And watch the hilarity ensue.

<>Haru says "We like to call him Kobal."

***

<>Haru says ""Yes. And Dom. ...o"

<>Haru says "Or he WAS, anyway. (Damn enter.)"

<>Kronos shows up. "Don't mind if I do." He takes Haru's enter key.

<>Haru is reduced to using return instead, like some Mac user.

<>Vapula offers Haru an "any" key.

<>Haru presses the any key! .......OH MY GOD NOoooooooooooooooooo---

<>Bad command or file name. Erase 'Haru.exe' file? Y/Y

***

Haru pages: Jean and Raphael's child or..................? I distinctly recall her saying 'father' in reference to him. ....whoa.

Long distance to Haru: arcangel gives Haru a plotcookie.

From afar, Haru munches happily! Ooh, it's all full of plot!

***

Jean looks at Keri. He sighs. "The Grigori Archangel of Knowledge, apparently." A pause. "It was unexpected."

Keri's jaw drops.

Jean does not take heed of Keri's jaw. Presumably he's gotten past that stage.

***

Bezmouse, on Keri's shoe, skitters up her leg to sit on her shoulder and pat her ear sympathetically.

Keri turns to look at Bezmouse.

Bezmouse pats Keri's nose sympathetically.

***

Jean lifts a bland Elohite eyebrow at Keri, but does not interrupt.

Keri is actually blushing as she says this. "I've, um, got this scrapbook. Back at St. Iggy's."

Jean's eyebrow climbs a bit higher. The other seems inclined to follow.

Keri sort of twists around, and doesn't meet anyone's eyes. Not even Bezkiri's. "It's kind of private."

The other eyebrow _does_ achieve the same lofty heights as the first.

***

You paged Keri with 'Emotional state, Keri?'.

Keri pages: Embarrassed. Nervous. Not guilty, because she knows it's not evil, just juvenile. Incredibly embarrassed that she's asking the AA of Lightning to pick up her AA Beefcake book -- not in the least because he might look and be insulted that he's not in there.

Jean blinks. He looks at Bethany, with both his eyebrows speaking eloquently.

Bethany looks back and shrugs slightly again.

Bethany pages: Translation: I didn't know she had a scrapbook, much less what's in it...

***

Jean's body-language is relaxed, and just maybe a little pleased. Or smug. It's hard to tell with Elohim.

<>Haru says "All of the above, my guess is."

From afar, Bethany | Jean .oO(/My/ weird Game Lilim and Stony Malakite.)

<>arcangel says "Elohite Smugmode, eee!"

***

Keri curtseys again, and heads out with Bezkiri. On their way out, she asks "So, are you driving or are we taking public transit?"

Bezmouse chirrups, "rvng! Hst! ft offs!"

Keri heads for the ft offs so Bezkiri can pick up a Hst to rv.

******

From Session 11, in which Shangri-La gets explored.

***

Jean takes Bethany's hand and draws her up the Tether...

...into a room, white and bright to her eyes. A few couches are around the outside of it, and a pair of Malakim and a Kyriotate sitting on the couch-arms. A computer game on pause is forgotten in one corner. The angels all look up from conversation as the Archangel and Lilim appear.

Jean calmly informs the gawping angels, "We have a new recruit."

They gawp. The Kyriotate applauds politely.

***

Betharan says "Ah" and nods, following. .oO(So they /are/ dealing with that issue.) ...then she blinks at the reliever. "..."

The reliever peeps at her musically.

<> Betharan is faced by Cute. Her response? "..."

***

The reliever peeps again, reaches up to touch one of Betharan's horns, and then flutters off to twitter at its fellow relievers.

Betharan blinks at the touch. "..."

Jean says, "If the relievers bother you, merely ask them to refrain. They are very curious, and desire to be helpful." He pauses. "And are already being shooed from your Mother's bathchamber, I am informed."

***

The Archangel considers a moment, and then blue-gray falcon-banded wings unfurl from his back. He offers Betharan a hand. "I believe this will be faster than untangling the streets at this time."

Betharan blinks at the wings, then nods and takes Jean's hand.

He pulls her gently against him -- quite platonic and matter-of-fact (you smutty-minded people!) -- and beats his wings, so that they're airborne.

***

You paged Moonshadow with 'Look! That winged man again, flying for that... big building over there!'.

***

Ahead is a building that somehow meshes Old Southern Mansions with Greco-roman aesthetics. It has white marble pillars, balconies, bushes and trees and the ever-present candles. There are gardens visible within it, and an impression of... bigger on the inside than the outside.

<> Demiurge says "LARDIS. Lilim And Relative Dimensions In Shangri-La."

***

From afar, Betharan .oO(Oh lord. Ex-Gamester meets ex-Kobalite, film at 11...)

***

Betharan's eyebrow raises higher. She glances at Jean again.

Jean quirks an eyebrow.

<> Jean points at Betharan. "I like her eyebrows."

***

<> Betharan says "...and there's my dinnercall. ^^; Mind pausing?"

<> arcangel says "Sure -- the Malakim may get lost anyhoo."

<> Hiram says "Or pounced upon by a bunch of Lilim...don't know which is worse."

***

<> Hiram says "Plus Hiram has experience with Lilim.. O;)"

<> Hiram says "Granted, most of that experience had been along the lines of "Please don't kill me!"

***

After a few "hms" at the computer, Jean says, "I believe your Daughter here no longer desires to serve the Game." He pauses, and mutters retorically, "Has some Vapulan been playing with this?"

Betharan .oO('Desires'?) She blinks.

<> Betharan .oO(Definition not found. Search alternate dictionary? (Y/N))

***

Betharan's lips quirk, just a bit. "He" *nods to Jean* "made an...interesting...offer. I accepted."

Lilith smiles faintly. "He's _good_ at that, the sneaky little space alien."

***

The Lilim says to Caleb, "Yes, this is Liberty Hall now."

Caleb says "No worries, ma'am. I'd like to wander around, take a look at things- s'a pretty place." He takes a wild stab at Angel-Demon communications, and comes up with, "Kinda like the inhabitants." Guh. Me drummer. Drummer not talk.

***

Caleb blinks a bit. "Were we going h- oh, yes, front office. There'd be a computer here, right? Hey, do you guys install games on your computers? I hear that that bastard Vapula was responsible for Master of Orion 3."

From under the desk, a Mercurian in a blue-gray jumpsuit pokes his halo up. "No games here yet, and we're still looking for Vapulan influence on MoO3."

Caleb says "Oh -maaaaaan- you've got no idea. MOO2 and MOO1- both major time rockadelic. This new one? It's got the potential, man, but it's got more bugs and less docs than early win95. Anyway, hi!"

***

Hiram gives the Lilim a typical Malakite-about-to-smite-demon look. "Boo!" Then Grins.

The Lilim secretary squeaks and jumps, then composes herself and give Hiram a half-dirty, half-freaked look.

Caleb rolls his eyes and pokes Hiram. "You, man, are like a boy band doing a benefit at a cheerleader camp. Just askin' for it."

***

Hiram reaches behind himself and removes a feather before offering it to the secretary as a peace offering. "Sorry."

The Lilim secretary's eyes get wide, and she hesitantly reaches out to take the feather. "Um. Thanks. Um. No problem."

Hiram smiles. "You're welcome. It won't bite, and neither do I. Well, I don't unless asked. Anyway, think of the bragging rights you've now got with your sisters...."

The Lilim secretary grins at Hiram's feather, clearly thinking of bragging rights. "Oh, point," she breathes. "Thaaaaanks."

***

Urichislon says to Caleb, "The consequences of making myself detestable to your Choir -- well, I think you know them."

Caleb says "From 0 to Trauma in 6 seconds? Yeah."

Hiram deadpans. "6 seconds Caleb? Honestly."

Hiram grins and winks at Caleb. "You're slipping. My record is 2 seconds."

Caleb says "Dude, you're like, millenia old. I gotta take each new smiting as a learning experiment, y'know?"

***

Caleb salutes Jean. "Yo, Sir."

Jean looks at Caleb. Deadpan, he replies, "Yo."

Caleb grins at Jean and gives him thumbs up. "Dude." He then waves over at Betharan. "Yo, ma'am."

Hiram gives Jean a salute. "Sir."

Jean nods to Hiram, and, still deadpan, says, "Yo."

Betharan raises an eyebrow at Caleb and deadpans, "Yo."

***

Jean says, "PDA, computer, and weapons that you're trained in, at a minimum. Whatever equipment, within reason, that you will require to be efficient."

Caleb says "Mmm. Drumsticks of death."

Moonshadow says "Paintbrushes are fun to use, too."

Hiram nods. "Yep, they are. Pencils too."

Caleb says "And tea saucers make for deadly chakrams."

Moonshadow says "And blackboard erasers."

Hiram says "And cigarettes are bad for your health. Even more so if wielded by one of us."

***

Moonshadow turns toward Uri. "You should see what these guys can do with a package of Velveeta Slices."

Caleb says "Velveeta has no honor!"

***

<> Moonshadow says "We've secretly replaced Jean's coffee with Vapula's Crystals. Let's see if anyone notices..."

<> "EUGRECH!!"

<> MasonK | The Ofanim start exploding randomly.

***

A white room, with the Tether-locus in sheets of lightning behind you. Some couches and an ignored computer game. A couple of Malakim, three Kyriotates, and a few Ofanim (hard to count!) are gossiping intently at the top.

Keri bounces over to join in the gossip!

They all pause to stare at Keri, and look as if they expect something else besides a commonplace Malakite to appear.

***

Keri says "Hi! What's up?"

One of the Kyriotate says, breathlessly, "A Balseraph and a Grigori came up! And then the Boss and a green Lilim with a Game-symbol on her clothes!

Keri says "Well, yeah. I meant other than that."

***

The Kyriotate stares. One of the Malakim eyes Keri. "Ah, are you one of the Creationers?"

Keri .oO(I'm /naked/. How slow are they??)

***

Keri bounces a bit, just to confound their stereotypes about Stonies. See it jiggle...

One of the Kyriotates wolf-whistles at Keri.

<> Sirea is laughing very hard XD ...do Malakim of Stone even have bounciness? o.o

<> Moonshadow says "Depends on how much they're jumping up and down, I would guess."

<> Betharan imagines David bouncing. Runs off to stick her head in the Volcano's caldera. Mmmm. Cleansing fire.

***

A couple of Ofanim, tossing a buff, naked Malakite between them, are zooming up.

<> Sirea says "...that was just so dirty ;D"

***

Keri asks on the way "So... What /do/ you like to do for fun, anyway?"

Betharan ...blinks. Peers at Keri. .oO(Fun?)

<> Fou-Lu says "Uh oh. You asked a question that's not in her vocab :D"

<> Betharan nods! ^^ || Betharan says, "...I hunt Renegades?"

***

A couple of tangoing Cherubim are outside one back-door, apparently "on guard"...

The Cherubim -- a very large badger and a tiger -- break off the dancing long enough to laughingly ask, "Who goes there!"

Keri answers back "Us!"

<> Keri says "It's about as informative as STUFF!"

***

Caleb says "You're the ones who were with the big guy, right? The new transfer ba-er, lilim, an' one of ours? An' one of the sisters. Neat. Y'all want in? Singers and dancers and players all welcome. Have some fun!"

Betharan blinks. ...nods. And deadpans, after a moment, "I don't do any of the above."

<> Betharan watches the Creationers gasp in horror.

***

Caleb says "And if she -does- show up- and if it's prophecy, she probably will- do we want her to be at home, or out of place?"

Caleb says "I'm just sayin', if there /is/ prophecy involved, yo, and the Flame of Prophecy shows up- guest houses a plus, yeah?"

Kathriel hmmms. Carefully, she sticks a thumb-print down on some mountains off to the sides, fairly far back. "How's that for some volcanos?"

***

Keri watches Kathriel work. "Mmn, yes. And some sinking further down, into the roots of the mountains. As long as we're talking about potential guest housing."

Kathriel snickers. "If you invoke your boss without clearing it with Lady Lilith, there will be Trouble, you know."

Keri raises an eyebrow. "Who's to say that he mightn't stop by on his own? You are working on something central to his Word, after all."

Kathriel barks out laughter. "Don't tell Grandmother! She'll have a fit!"

Keri .oO(Need/1: Induce fit in Lilith...)

***

<> arcangel has a feeling that until she throws plot at you, you're not going to coalesce much anyway.

<> MasonK says "Plots are dangerous things to throw."

***

<> Valefor switches Betharan's Notebook with Keri's Scrapbook! Let's see how long it takes for them to notice...

<> Betharan ICly goes to take notes on Lightning procedures. Finds herself writing on Michael's bare chest. Her response? "..."

<> Keri ICly looks at her book and yelps! What happened to my -- hey, that one's /cute/! *rips out page with pic of cute celform*

***

<> Keri eats Caleb to get more RP time. And eats arcangel's copy of Night Music, just to be safe.

<> Keri is not a servitor of Gluttony; we're just good friends.

***

<>Harukami says "One in the hand, one in the belt. Ahem."

<>Harukami says "Because a, er, sword of light in the hand is worth two in the bush."

<>Moonshadow will take a moment to digress back to this, however: | YHVH: "And now Gabriel will continue to deliver prophesy, while I drink this glass of water!"
Regarding the Free Voice Radio and other media...