Scions of the Divinity [IC] [Game]

[Chanlin]

Riley - The hotel Lobby

Riley glances at her father sideways and then barks out a full bellied laugh drawing a few odd glances, "Yeah, that it is I suppose." She grins at anyone still staring, but her attention is still fully on the man sitting nearby.

Liam - Talkin' wit' his Mammy

Liam nods and leaves the unspoken name hanging in the air. "Which one of ye sired him?" He asks instead.

[Mytical]

Lupo

There was no hesitation by Lupo. He got in the ring. "I can never resist a challenge or a fight. I am guessing that comes from you." He sizes up his competition, no basic moves here, that would be an insult to the man. Lupo would only use his best moves, leaving the fundamental things for others. No fakeouts, no one/two jab..leaving all he had on the mat. This was a chance of a lifetime, and he never minded loosing.

Of course the fact that Mars could be asleep, blindfolded, hopping on one foot, using one arm..while wearing chains and still beat Lupo with ease was completely beside the point. Mars didn't fight..he invented fighting. He literally could forget more about fighting then Lupo would ever know..

Kiki

If somebody made these two nervous, Kiki never wanted to meet them. Ever. "So..where do we go from here?"

[Jay 2K Winger]

Riley - The hotel Lobby

Her Father nods with a pleased grin. "Good! Then allow Me to give you this." He holds up a hand and lets an iron pendant dangle from his fingers. Small and rectangular, its face bore a stylized Nordic design, looking almost like a serpent coiled around a double-ended hammer. He twirls it by its chain around his finger as He addresses her. "Like all of Our kind, your ultimate goal should be forestalling or outright preventing Ragnarok from taking place, but in the meantime, doing anything you can to foil the Titans' plans should be your primary focus."

He flicks the pendant to her, and smiles. "Oh, and do be sure to win that poker tournament. Wouldn't do for My daughter to lose, eh?" Then He consults a smartphone and sighs. "And now... family calls. Until next time, Riley." With that, someone walks between them, briefly obstructing her view of Him, and then He's gone, as if He'd vanished into thin air.

But she would probably be distracted by the tangible power in the pendant, power which sizzles along her neurons as the focus item attunes itself to her.

Liam - Danu's Glade

Danu nods, pleased to see that he picked up on who She meant. "The Morrígan, who watches over battle, strife, and the dead. He was to be one of our great warriors, to strike terror into the hearts and minds of our enemies. But he became too enamored of the chaos and the death-dealing and the bloodshed, and became corrupted by it. The Morrígan cannot withdraw Her blessing without greatly weakening Her own power, and such a thing would be a devastating blow to Us. Our enemies both far and near would seize upon this weakness and strike fast and hard."

She reaches out and takes his arm, grasping him by the wrist. Though She looks slender and fair, the grip is like steel, and Her eyes take on an ethereal glow. "You are not yet strong enough to be able to challenge him. But there are others who may help you. And to make sure you can grow into your destiny, My son, let Me grant you this."

He would feel power flow into him, sizzling along his neurons, and She would turn his forearm to face up, so he could see knotwork tattooing itself onto his skin, capping on the back of his hand with a design reminiscent of a Celtic cross.

"Listen to the Land, Liam, My son. It shall aid you as long as you protect it."

Lupo - Mars' Gym

The fight that transpired would be one of the most challenging Lupo had ever faced. Mars indeed saw all those best moves coming and either dodged them, or blocked them, or moved with them to hurl Lupo over His shoulder to the mat. He didn't attack, however, just circled him slowly, letting Lupo make all the moves he wants.

Until one maneuver is once again effortlessly evaded, and then Mars strikes with a flurry of quick jabs and then pie-faces him away. "Come on!" Mars shouts. "Don't waste your best moves without knowing your opponent's defenses!" He weaves through another attempt at offense and then hurls Lupo to the mat again. "Don't ever forget the fundamentals. You learn more about your opponent with them than you will just hitting them with your best moves over and over again."

He helps Lupo to his feet, and now goes on the attack himself, but with just the most fundamental of moves. He's taking it easy on Lupo. Lupo knows He's taking it easy on him. But that doesn't make it any easier to stop Him. Lupo spends the first flurry or two getting pummeled, before... he learns. The occasional lucky block becomes more frequent. Then more consistent. Until finally he's not letting his Father get a single shot through his defenses.

Which, of course, is when Mars changes it up. Now He's throwing in more complicated maneuvers which have Lupo scrambling to keep up again. Once more, Lupo is on the defensive, barely able to keep up with the God of War's assault--

--until Lupo ducks under a powerful right cross and comes up with an uppercut right to Mars' jaw. This does drive Mars back a step, and He smiles. "Good. I think you get the idea now."

He flicks His wrist, and the gold chain is back in His hand, offering it out to Lupo.

Kiki - Outside Room 510

"We have to track down the harpy nest nearby," Art replies. "There's always a full-fledged flock. You should stay here at the hotel and keep your eyes open. If MacBride's in town, there's gonna be more Titanspawn around, and they'll be disguised. They'll be up to something, and we need to know what they're planning."

Anna nods. "You're not meant to be a fighter in all of this," she explains. "You're the spy, the scout. Art and I, we're hunters, and other people are warriors. But if you see MacBride, you'll know it, because the man is absolutely terrifying. And if you see him, you should run."

[Mytical]

Lupo

He takes the item, and grins. "Anytime you are up to show me more, you know how to find me." He wasn't too upset about being beat..it came with the territory, and he had learned a great deal.

Kiki

Kiki just nods. "Believe me, I know I am not a fighter..I will avoid danger, not confront it."

[Chanlin]

(OOC: Gonna take a bit of dramatic license with Liam's departure from the glade)

Liam - The "not a park"
Liam stares entranced as the tattoo literally etches itself into his skin. Danu's words echo in his mind and he suddenly finds himself standing in the middle of Cantwell park, which is really less of a park and more of a stand of trees and a playground for kids.

The sudden sharp sound of children laughing and playing snaps him back to reality. He could not remember detouring this far off the road on his way back to the hotel. That fact alone leaves him slightly unsettled at the sway his mother holds over him.

With that thought in mind he continues his walk back to the hotel.

Riley - Still watching TV

Riley stares at the pendant for a moment and then closes her eyes and tries to will it into hammer-space. When that doesn't work she shrugs to herself and slips it around her neck and hides it under her shirt. She then resumes watching TV as if she hadn't just had a conversation with a man who appeared and disappeared from and to nowhere.

[Jay 2K Winger]

GM NOTES: Dramatic license is good. The GM approves. You are safe. For now.

Lupo - Mars' Gym

When Lupo takes the gold chain, he can feel the power in it sizzle along his neurons and into his very being. Mars smirks, nodding to him, as the overhead lights flicker, as they might do at any rundown city gym, until they go out for a moment before coming back on--

--and Lupo finds himself in the hotel gym. Much smaller than the one he'd just been occupying, with far less equipment, and devoid of any sign of life. In addition, any aches and pains or bruises he might have acquired during his sparring session with his Father are gone.

His cell phone buzzes to indicate a new text message. New rm. set up for you. Talk to the desk. It's from Paul Brighton. A trip to the front desk would get Lupo set up in room 408.

While in the lobby, a voice shouts out, "Hey, there he is! The Wolfman, yeah?" The voice is coming from Lupo's boxing opponent, Mark "The Meat" Cleaver, who is surrounded by a small entourage of his coach, cutman, and a couple of hangers-on. The hangers-on look big and thick (both in size and intelligence), wearing some bling. Cleaver smirks. "Hey, Loopy, tell me, how fast you want me to knock you out? Want it over quick, or should I give the people a show?"

Typical boastful behavior that Lupo's probably seen dozens of times.

Riley - Also in the lobby

Indeed, the focus items seem to be resistant to 'hammer-space' storage, but given that it can hardly be called a weapon, it's pretty unnecessary to try to store it away. Riley's conversation indeed passed unnoticed by anyone. After her Father had left, one person actually goes as if to sit in her seat-- almost in her lap before apologizing and moving to the next chair over, promptly ignoring Riley as they grab the remote to try to change the channel on the TV.

Riley's odds-calculating abilities seemed to be much stronger. As she looked around the busy evening-time lobby, she could see dozens of potential events unfolding in front of her, before seeming to crystallize into the actual sequence that takes place.

Then she'd probably hear the same outburst from a toned, brash young man toward a man of similar muscle-tone, the latter of which was standing at the front desk, while the former is flanked by a small squadron of an entourage.

Kiki - Outside Room 510

Art nods. "Good. You should go downstairs and finish checking in, if you haven't done so already, and then keep an eye out. There's probably other Titanspawn arriving soon, and we still need to find out what MacBride is doing in Branson. Keep your eyes and ears peeled." He handed her a slip of paper with a phone number on it. "Send any intel you get to that number-- that's Selene Hoffman, our side's IT specialist and organizer of a lot of our intel."

Anna pats her on the shoulder. "And if she hasn't already, she'll send you a one-touch app to your smartphone. Press it and it'll flag you on her systems as being in distress and she'll ring up the nearest person from our side to get you out of there."

And that seems to be that for the time being. By the time Kiki returns to the lobby-- likely after sending the all-clear to her contacts-- she'll arrive just in time to likewise overhear one boxer's prideful boast to another.

Liam - Cantwell Park

Perhaps it's just the fading rush of his new tattoo's power tingling on his neurons, but Liam almost fancies he can hear a sort of whispering on the vague periphery of his perception. Listen to the Land, his Mother had said.

[Chanlin]

Riley - The Lobby

Riley isn't 100% certain why, but looking on at the man and his hangers on she feels as if there will be trouble. Though it could just be her suddenly heightened awareness of the way things could happen. Either way she gets up out of her seat and backs up to a wall so she can see more of the room.

Liam - Cantwell Park

Liam opens his mouth about to say, Listen How? but suddenly is overcome by something... instinct maybe and kneels placing the palm of his newly tattooed arm down flat on the grass and dirt of the park.

[Mytical]

Lupo
In a flash Lupo was gone, and "The Wolf" was there. "Hey its the Meat. Don't worry about it, I'll make sure to pay your hospital bill when we get done. It will be the least I can do after humiliating you in the ring." He flashes a big smile. He knows how to put on a show. Though he prefers just to fight, got to give the fans a good smack talk session. "What's wrong? Your grandfather not let you out without a leash? He had to come with you to make sure you didn't get lost?" Indicating the other guys coach. "See he brought his other pups along too." His chin points in the direction of the tough looking guys behind Mark.

Kiki

Kiki thought to herself Men. Still she was a bit on edge about what just happened, and was a bit cautious. She blends into the background, watching. Better make sure nobody here saw me..she takes out her lens and looks around for any of those 'Titanspawns'.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Riley, Lupo, Kiki - The Lobby

The Wolf's return boast gets Cleaver's entourage grumbling, but the other boxer just holds up his hands placatingly, the smirk on his face never fading. Like Lupo, Cleaver understands the need to put on a show, to try to gain just that slightest psychological edge over the other person before even stepping into the ring with him. A few of the mortals around the lobby are turning to watch what's transpiring. Cleaver keeps his cool, but when Lupo starts in on the coach-- who, as Lupo would know is actually Mark Cleaver's uncle-- his smile fades, and when he insults the posse, they all start to square up, clearly ready to throw down.

Kiki would see something through the lens, all right. Cleaver himself looks utterly mundane, nothing significant about him. His entourage, on the other hand... the hangers-on shimmered slightly as she focused on them through her lens, and she would see that their faces looked strange. Their noses were either squashed-looking and flat or bulbous and pronounced, their jaws lumpy and jutting, with what looked like slight tusks protruding from their mouths. As the shimmer of the lens flickered and faded (she's still getting the hang of using it), she would see that to the mortals around the lobby, the tusks aren't visible, instead just the blinged-out grills common to this kind of person. But the most noticeable difference in the hangers-on actual appearance would be the fact that they possessed just a single bulging eye each. Cyclopi, fairly common Titanspawn.

Riley might not be able to see that the hangers-on are Titanspawn, but her recently-boosted odds-calculating power is already paying dividends. Odds are swiftly changing, the likelihood of a brawl starting to become more and more likely, and she can also tell that it will be a lot more destructive than one might expect. More mortals are starting to pay attention as the hangers-on start shouting back at Lupo, while Cleaver, his coach/uncle, and his manager all start working to try to calm them down. It isn't really working...

Liam - Cantwell Park

Liam opens his mouth about to say, Listen How? but suddenly is overcome by something... instinct maybe and kneels placing the palm of his newly tattooed arm down flat on the grass and dirt of the park.[/QUOTE]

When Liam places his hand on the ground like that, it's as though his awareness spreads out in a pulse around him. He can feel most of the beings in the park, both the mortals and... other things. Spirits of the trees and plants, the slumbering old spirits of the earth, even the rocks and insects. He feels a thrumming in his arm, and then a deep throb in his very core, which he comes to realize is literally the heartbeat of the World. Slow and ancient.

Then his attention is caught by a little voice down by his shoe. "Oi, bigjob, yer main be th' Mammy Queen's loon! Braw av ye tae finally notice us!" A glance would reveal a small group of little people, none bigger than his finger, rangy of build for the most part. Their skin is brown and hair green, and they wear approximations of kilts, full on kit, of woven grass. That accent of theirs seems to take qualities of most Celtic types, Scots and Irish and Welsh and Manx.

They're fairies, Liam would realize. They may not have wings, but they're of that same world. The littlest ones that tend after the greenlands.

"So, what's de Ma Queen's fella nade from de pixie fowk?" This seems to be from a different one, until a third speaks up: "She was talkin' tae heem abit MacBride!" Which prompts outbursts from the whole little pac:, "T'e Morrígan's Babby!" "The Crowson!" "He's gollier scary langer, in'ee?"

The little one in the front turns an interesting shade of reddish brown as he flushes, then whirls around and shouts: "OI! SHUT IT! AH'M TALKIN' TAE HIM!" The other 'Pictsies' fall silent, looking at the ground, and then the leader turns back to Liam. "Sorry abit 'at, MacQueen, they jist hae naw manners, ye ken. Ah'm in charge o' this lot. Ye kin call me 'Cantwell.' So yer Mammy--"

"T'e Queen!" a pixie pipes up, but is instantly shushed by the rest.

"Aye, the Queen," Cantwell glowers at the one who spoke up for a moment before turning back to Liam, "Yer Mammy wanted ye tae gonnae-no th' Crowson? We'll fin' heem fur ye!"

"Cannae hide frae th' pixie fowk!" one of the others declared, to general cheers.

GM NOTES

Yes, I'm blatantly ripping off the Nac Mac Feegle, after a fashion, with the 'Pictsies' of Cantwell Park.

[Mytical]

Lupo

Mike smiled inwardly, he tasted blood in the water. He was inside the guys head now. "What? You going to give these folks a free show, when you can be paid instead?" Part of him WANTED there to be trouble, and was itching for a fight. The saner part knew that four on one would be a bit much..even for him.

Kiki

The hair on the back of her head was standing up. This was not going to go good. Couldn't that idiot tell he was pushing the other guys buttons? Men she thought as she got ready to bolt if there was a fight.

[Chanlin]

Liam - Cantwell Park

Liam regards what the little folk say for a moment. His reaction is as if speaking to the wee folk is a normal every day thing. After a silent moment, "Alright ye can find him fer me. What do Oi need ta do fer ye?"

Riley - In the Lobby

Seeing as there is about to be a fight and everyone is watching the two men Riley strides across the room to the main desk. Setting her face in a scowl she yells out as loud as she can glaring at the nearest hapless front desk worker, "HEY DAMMIT! The toilet in my room still isn't working! I called down here half an hour ago and no one has come up to see about it yet! You told me it would only be 15 minutes! I WANT A MANAGER NOW!" She punctuates each sentence by slamming the counter as loudly as she can.

[Jay 2K Winger]

The Lobby - Lupo, Kiki, Riley - Well, This is Escalating Quickly

Cleaver looks about ready to say something else when his coach-- his uncle-- puts a hand on his chest and pushes him back, Cleaver's posse moving aside to get him behind them, then squaring back up. Cleaver's uncle gives Lupo a look. "You know my nephew, don't you, Wolfe? Always shooting his mouth off. 'Course, he can back it up, which you'll find out when you square up in the ring tomorrow." He shoves his nephew. "Get on outta here!"

But then, so sotto voce it would have taken supernatural hearing to notice, Cleaver's uncle mutters to the posse, "Don't break him too bad. We don't want a forfeit, just an easier win." (Of course, there are at least three scions in the lobby, two close enough to hear it, and one which can see just how dangerous those four posse members are.)

Kiki would be able to see and sense the posse drawing in some power, but she would also be able to see that the boxer whom they're fixing to menace and/or try to rough up is a scion, as well. Riley went unnoticed by her until Kiki actually looked at her.

Which came right around the time that Riley starts raising a ruckus at the desk. This has the side effect of lowering the tension somewhat as the four disguised cyclopi (Lupo would not be able to detect anything unnatural about them as yet) turn their heads to stare over at the woman at the desk.

This distraction also has the added bonus of Cleaver turning to his uncle and muttering back at him, but too quietly for any ears to notice, particularly with Riley's noise in the way. Cleaver's coach sighs and taps the nearest posse member on the arm. "Come on, don't want to spoil the match tomorrow." He glowers at Lupo, and slowly the situation defuses. Riley's odds-calculating power can see that her interruption has shifted the odds away. Of course, now she's swinging the odds toward her getting banned from the hotel...

Which is when a familiar face saunters up to her. "'Ey, no call for dat kinda ruckus, chere." It's Mattieu Carrefour, the other poker player from the tournament in New Orleans. He flashes that charming grin and then turns to the clerk. "You don' worry none, I take care of Miz Thorsen. You jus' get someone up to her room and get her toilet fixed, no?" Then he turns back to Riley, all smiles. "You a good player, Miz Ry. Ain't never seen someone good as you, till I play my Papa, mind you."

Now that things are calming down, Kiki, if she were to look at Mattieu, would see the signs of another scion, but he seems much more shadowed in appearance through her lens. And for all her distaste for men in general, something in her would recognize that he is a pretty handsome one. Nothing overt, but just barely there. He is a charming one.

Cantwell Park - Liam - Talkin' With The Pictsies

Cantwell, the little fae spokesman, grins widely. "We-ell," he says, tucking his thumbs into the space where lapels would be if he were wearing anything that had lapels, and rocking back and forth on his heels, "we pixie fowk dornt dae anythin' fur yer bigjobs withit gettin' paid, ye ken."

This prompts an outburst of agreement from the others. "Aye!" "Payment!" "Gots ta git paid, ye bugger!" "Paid!" "In food!"

Cantwell silences them with a glance. "Aye, payment in food, ye ken." Then he grins. "An' wot kinna food does the pixie fowk want?"

The entire little group thrust their fists in the air with a shout of "PIZZA!"

[Mytical]

Lupo

Lupo just smiles and lets things calm down. He just nods to the Uncle, and relaxes a bit. Like he said to Cleaver...why do for free what he can get paid to do. He doesn't say anything further, instead just heads toward his own room.

Kiki

Kiki makes a mental note on who is what, and then slips into the shadows until she arrives back at her room. She wasn't the type of person to just go up and say 'hey! Your a scion right?'. After she reaches her room, she stops..and thinks. Might be a good idea to let the two others that she had already met know about the almost throw down between a scion and the cyclopi. So she heads toward their room, keeping to the shadows as much as possible until she gets there.

[Chanlin]

Riley - In the Lobby

Riley let's her scowl deflate when Mattieu finishes talking. Gives one last glare at the front desk person and then stalks away assuming Mattieu will follow. "I'm looking forward to the next match myself." She gives him a slight smile, "Especially because I have this sneaking suspicion that you threw away that last hand and let me win."

Liam - Trying not to Laugh

Liam coughs to rather unsuccessfully cover up a chuckle, "Pizza." He grins, "Roight, so all t'e trimmins? Or do ye want just plain cheese?"

After they reply he'll use his phone to call a pizza delivery in for Cantwell park. Once the Pizza arrives he will sit down at a bench take a slice for himself and set the box on the ground where the others can get at it. "Consider t'is payment ta start looking and once ye locate him Oi'll get ye anot'er." After considering for a moment he adds, "And don't go gettin' too close. MacBride is a dangerous man by all accounts."

Afterward he will set out for the hotel for what seems like the 100th time today.

[Jay 2K Winger]

The Hotel - Heading Back to Their Rooms - Lupo & Kiki

For all that she's sticking to the shadows and trying to be unobserved, Fate apparently decrees that the warrior and the spy end up in the same elevator car as they head back to their respective rooms. He knows she's in the car, though her natural tendency to just blend in means she's juuust sliding out of his perception. Kiki, meanwhile, can't not pay attention to Lupo. Partly because she knows he's a scion, and partly because his divine heritage manifests in that Presence, which tends to make all eyes turn to him.

Kiki's cell phone, even if she had muted it, suddenly makes the "alert" sound, and she'll find she's got a new text message. It's from the same phone number that Art and Anna gave her, for the scions' "intel specialist." The message reads Tell Wolfe about the Titanspawn in the lobby. Evidently said specialist wants the two of them to be aware of each other.

The Hotel - Walking About the Lobby - Riley & Mattieu

Mattieu just smiles that same lazy smile. "I don' throw nothin' away, chere. I's play for keeps, me. Luck o' the draw jus' go your way. We see how things go dis next time, no?"

It's funny, but it almost seems like her odds-calculating power gets a bit wonky around him, like he's screwing up the odds just by walking through the room, and not merely in the way a new variable should. Interesting thing to note.

Cantwell Park and later the Hotel - Pictsie Pizza Party - Liam

When the pizza arrives (extra cheese), the pixies dig into it with gusto, cheering and devouring it in mere seconds, a few scuffles breaking out over who gets the eat the melted cheese that stuck to the box. Cantwell gets a bit more than the others, as the spokesman, and he sits back, rubbing a tummy which looks slightly distended.

"Aye, dinna fash yerself, MacQueen," the pixie declares. "We pixie fowk ken wotta monster yon Crowson is. We'll find 'im." He looks and sees that the other pixies have fallen into fighting one another, so he jumps to his feet, belches a bit, which seems to restore his body shape to normal, then stomps his feet a few times before putting two fingers in his mouth and whistling sharply. The pixies turn to him. "Oi, you lot, let's go! Find t'e Crowson and then tell MacQueen where he be!"

There's a chorus of agreement, and then the pixies are just gone, leaving Liam with an empty pizza box. After he disposes of it and walks back to the hotel, he'll feel that slow pulse that he'd felt-- the heartbeat of the World-- fading as he leaves the greener areas for urban development, where its 'voice' is muted.