"Yeah," she told him, he had said that before. She didn't mind, though. When he mentioned weapons, she blinked and looked around. "Oi... could maybe run back an' get 'em?" she offered, but then he said it didn't matter, that they were nearly to Uthar.

"Wot really?" She trotted after him, eyes bright with excitement.

A city of cats! As a cat, that was too cool to pass up!

She pushed herself and ran ahead of him a little, to childishly try to see it first.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Bear shook his head, then sighed and took a deep breath to pull himself together.

"Some places I've gone, I'd be hunted down just for being alone in a room with you," he admitted with a quiet huff. "I'd just rather that not happen with a Councilman present..."

He shook his head. "Regardless, it's safest for you not to be alone right now."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Wariness touched at every part of her body, and her eyes narrowed at the empty room after such a strange hallway.

When Arthur said 'there they are' she barely resisted decking him.

"Does it normally smell like a slaughterhouse down here?" she asked suddenly, not moving.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"Bear is probably with her... and probably praying for an interruption," Seela murmured. "I'll get going, now."

She offered a brief smile to Eve. "Let me know how much Bear blushes when you get there. Sometimes he looks like Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer."

With that, she started towards the bathroom, ready to depart the way she came, only to pause. "Oh... right. Door..." With that, she turned around and headed towards Eve's closet, mistakenly assuming it was the door out.

Without being able to submerse herself entirely, she couldn't turn to water easily.
 
As they followed the path south to Ulthar along the east side of the River Skai, Simon trailed behind as best as he could on his shorter legs, which gave him cause to ignore every single splashing noise that came from the river that rushed steadily beside them. They soon came across an immense bridge thousands of years old, whose foundations were of weathered and vine-ridden rock, and whose deck was lain with well-worn cobblestones, between which small, among which small and tenacious plants flourished. At either end were two marble arches, and at the center of the bridge where it was tallest, the top of a bizarrely-shaped tower could be seen peeking over the horizon. Simon was quick to rush to this spot, and, standing on his toes, he looked to the distance and pointed the structure out.
“That over there! That's the tallest building in Ulthar! The Temple of the Elder Ones!”

He grinned, beckoned, and pointed again, pausing for a second before adding:
"The um... Elder Things are benevolent... or, at the very least they opposed Cthulhu for millions of years... they're all dead now, at least in our solar system."

---

“Hmm.”
She said. His explanation made sense to her, not every place has the same culture.
“Don't worry big guy, if at any point you were going to be chased down by an angry mob, it was was when you and your buddies broke in here with no warning and brought a Byakhee through with you. I don't think staying here to tend to little ol’ me is going to get you in any trouble."


She lightly bumped his elbow upper arm with her fist.
"Also..."
She yawned.
"You wouldn't happen to know where they took that head do you? That thing gave me this cut I want it's head over my TV!"

She exclaimed.

---

No sooner than she had she finished her sentence, Eliza became aware of a distant feeling of fright, followed by momentary confusion, a sudden rising determination, and then, anticipation.

Arthur sniffed the air heavily a few times, and cast a concerned glance at Eliza.
“...what?”

The gore-smell shifted to that of only dogs and horses as the alien scent shifted to an almost chokingly strong bleach smell, followed by the peculiar distant sensations of further confusion, frustration, and finally resignation as Arthur suddenly collapsed, and the blood-scent faded, thought the unidentified scent still lingered, it had become far more subtle. As Arthur he curled up where he fell, he shuddered violently, so much so that his glasses fell from his nose, revealing pale green that were immensely dilated and entirely unfocused.
“W-we apologize…. f-for the inconvenience.”

He slurred as he slowly raised an open palm with a shaking arm.
“P-please… remain calm… w-we are- experiencing… unidentified... issues…”

--

“...um… over here.”
She said softly as she strode to the proper door and opened it, stepping outside and holding it open for Seela.

She blinked several times, and as she looked around, seemingly nervously, she turned to Seela and said, quietly.
“...I’m really freaking out right now Seela…”
Oh wait that's obvious, her mind instantly retorted...
 
Poppy hurried to him and looked, eager to see what excited him so much. She liked when he grinned like that, almost childlike, and at his explanation, she nodded quickly. "Whoa... 'At's so ace! Oi wannteh see et up close!"

Her bright expression offered no doubts that she really was interested in all this stuff, though she did pause to ask, "Refresh me memory a bit, what's the bounds of a solah system propeh? Ohbits one stah, yeah?"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

That was a relief, that if there would have been a witch hunt it would have been much sooner. His shoulders eased slightly, and he smiled as the yellow woman punched his arm.

"Heh. No idea where it went. Maybe later, after you've rested I could help you find and stuff it, after we get the stink out." He wrinkled his nose.

She was fun, and it seemed like a productive way to offer friendship that the Councilman would permit during down-time.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

The scent burned her nose, and she coughed, waving a hand in front of her face at the strength of it, only to jerk her attention to Arthur as he collapsed.

The unknown scent remained, though.

As she watched the downed man shudder and lose his glasses, she picked them up and folded them for him, then moved them aside as she held Arthur's shoulder to keep him on his side, so that if something happened, he wouldn't drown in his own saliva or something else like that.

While she did this, she looked around the room.

To her, it seemed like the unseen Professors were using Arthur as a means of communication with her, which didn't seem like a pleasant experience for the man in the slightest.

"I would appreciate an explanation as soon as it is possible," she said finally, taking care to keep her tone patient, and to keep her nerves out of it.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Seela followed, grateful. "Thank you," she murmured, then looked back at Eve as the taller woman admitted she was freaking out. Seela could smell it, it was pretty obvious. She offered a hand to Eve.

"I'll walk with you to Hecate's room," she offered. "I know my way around a little better from there, anyway."

She hoped her words would offer some relief for Eve.

"Would you like a hug?" she asked after a moment.
 
Simon paused, and took a moment to think...
“Well… two solar systems if you count this dimension… there’s Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and perhaps Pluto. Each planet in The Daylands has a counterpart in The Dreamlands and astral projection can be used as a method for interplanetary travel across both dimensions… unfortunately, the experiences are terribly difficult to remember in detail without repeated projections over the course of a long time…”
He paused there, his lips straightening and his brow furrowing, he stared at the top of the tower for a few seconds. His mouth slowly curled into a tiny smile and he looked back at Pearl
“Anyway, we shouldn't have to walk much longer…”
He said began to walk back down the bridge, slow enough for her to keep near him.

---

“If I don't get that head, you're gonna have to kill me somethin’ else and get me it's ugly head. That's the... tax for messing up my room!”
She said with might have been a sarcastic chuckle, but also a chuckle laced with weariness as she suddenly teetered on the edge of losing consciousness.

“...oh..shit..."
She said slowly through a heavy yawn as she caught herself.

---

“As is our intention…”
“Arthur” spoke again as he grew still, his eyes blankly staring up at Eliza.
“We assure you this is not regular procedure.”
He began to move his head about.
“Arthur's consciousness has been safely transferred and will safely be returned to this body at the conclusion of our meeting.”

He sat up.
“We discovered that our illusionary projections did not work on you, and had to resort to drastic measures. I represent the Race of Yith. I am Three-Two-Five-Two-Seven. A... Field-Scientist...”

He stood, his expression blank except for a squint, and his eyes still dilated… He held his hand out for “his” glasses…
“This is our primary research facility for this era. I regret to inform you that your actions have been… disruptive…”

He paused, and frowned, bending over and reaching down to put the glasses back on, as his eyes slowly began to return to normal.

---

Eve paused, biting her lip, and nodded, bending over slightly to wrap her long arms around the Hunter, squeezing with a grip that could make a person the size of Simon wheeze. She was as full strength for about a second as she breathed heavily, before easing up and waiting until her breathing calmed down. When she stood fully back up, her eyes were wet, but she wiped them with her sleeve, blinking heavy and nodding.
“Let's go see Heck.”
She said softly.
 
So, she must have been right, a solar system meant stuff orbiting one star. They had the same planets as she did back home, too. That was cool!

She got a bit lost as he went on, though, but soon enough, he smiled and began across the bridge again with the reassurance they wouldn't be walking too much longer.

"Ye! Let's go!"

She hopped into step beside him, eyes bright. She couldn't keep a bit of bounce from her stride in her excitement to see a city of cats.

Better yet, talking cats!

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Bear chuckled at her declaration, but cut off as she started showing signs of near-unconsciousness.

He watched her a moment, then walked over and tucked her in. "Get rest," he urged.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Seela hugged her back, having no trouble with the other woman's grip—she even returned it in kind.

When Eve pulled away, Seela didn't stop her, and at the agreement to go to Hecate's room, the Hunter nodded.

"Yeah," she agreed as she offered a hand to the other woman, then looked around. "... Which way?"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth watched him and rose once he had the glasses in place again, eyes on him and attentive as she processed what she learned.

"Disruptive?" she asked after a moment, one brow raised. She remained wary, even as she tilted her head. "I imagine so, to a degree."

She did show up out of nowhere, after all.

"This... era, you say?" That implied time travel, which to her knowledge was impossible. The idea of it put her hair on end, and she absently flexed her fingers.
 
Simon kept a smile on his face for the majority of the walk to Ulthar. It was less than a minute before the top of the temple came into view. Next was the myriad chimney-tops jutting from sagging red-tiled roofs of tall pink buildings raised in a style of architecture replete with overhanging stories and novel shapes.

As they approached the city, Pearl could see that it was only sparsely walled, mostly being surrounded by elegant metal gates that a cat could surely squeeze through, and within these gates were fields of farmland in scattered green cottages with smoking chimneys and busy people. As they drew closer still, shapes became clearer and Pearl could see myriad groups of cats scattered throughout the field and on cottage roofs and taller buildings, window sills and the branches of trees. The people wore clothes that vaguely resembled that of European peasants, though bizarre symbols and patterns were woven in. They seemed busy, but content. Eventually, they came to a gate between two painted wooden towers, with two human guards armed with mancatchers on either side. On of of the guard's shoulder was a Sphynx cat wearing a tiny grey coat and a red bandana.

---

Eve blinked some of the lingering moisture away from her eyes and looked right, then left, and pointed.

“It's a short walk.”
She said, and began heading in that direction.

---

There was a knock on Hecate's door.

“Oh snap!”
Hecate said sleepily.
“Go get the door, I think that's Eve.”

Immediately after that, there was a buzz from a cellphone on a nightstand just out of Hecate's reach.
“Oh, and can you get that for me too? Thanks, doc~”
She mumbled.

---

“Indeed, this era. My superiors and I inhabit… or, inhabited an era roughly… one hundred and sixty-seven million years ago.”
The Yithian raised Arthur's eyebrow.

“It is odd that, under the circumstances, a simple procedure to transfer minds through time and space is what perturbs you…”
 
Poppy couldn't help but speed her pace as they grew closer. Smile wide and vibrating tail held high with excitement, she looked around happily with a trill every now and then. She slowed at the sight of the guards, and her tail lowered slightly, the tip flicking with uncertainty. She glanced back towards Simon, then to the guards again. "Ello," she greeted as she slowed to a stop.

Part of her naively wondered why a cat city needed guards at all.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Bear nodded and headed toward the door, then paused as she also asked him to answer the phone. "Sure," he said after a moment, then picked up the phone and answered while he made his way to the door and cracked it open to look out first.

"Hello?" he asked, both into the phone and the cracked door.

"Bear," Seela greeted, and he opened the door for the two.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Eliza flushed at the comment about how time-based shenanigans were what disturbed her, but she simply adjusted her hair.

She spoke slowly, taking care in her words to try to project the meaning she intended. "Across most of the multiverse, any time travel going backwards is impossible, so to my current knowledge of the workings of time, you have trapped your mind here."
 
Simon couldn't seem to help smiling at Pearl's peculiar vocalizations. For some reason he couldn't quite describe, the abnormality of it was reassuring. Perhaps she made him feel his own abnormality wasn't something that really mattered. Perhaps he was merely overthinking things. -he wasn't sure. He could certainly be glad she was making it clear she was having a good time. By now, he was certain that her feline behaviors were genuine and not just imitation.
He wondered for a moment if he had any sort of obvious fish-like or amphibian behaviors, before suddenly remembering to blink and shoving the thought from his head as hard as he could.
Pearl's glance towards Simon was returned with a similar expression, and he looked to the guards with a black stare, and they responded.
“Sir, Ma'am.”
The guard with a cat on his shoulder spoke as the cat tilted it's head.
“...Simon whazzit?”
He said to Simon, who nodded twice.
“Welcome back, your name, Miss?”

---

“-Eve!”
Hecate practically shouted as soon as the door was slightly open.
“Hi Heck.”
Eve said softly behind Seela, and there a pause before the person on the other side if the line spoke, the volume a bit loud for its proximity to his ear.
“...uh this is a video call… hand this phone back to Hecate.”
“-Worm!"
Hecate practically shouted.
“Hi, Heck.”

---

The Yithian stared curiously for a second.
Incorrect, at least in these dimensions. Arthur's mind has been sent to my body in the past, and when I consider my work to be complete, our minds will be returned to their proper places and times. Arthur's memories of the experience will have to be wiped, I'm afraid.”
He paused for a second.
“Given what we've come to learn thus far about what you are and how you operate, you may be upset to know that the arrival of your… associate… yielded a similar effect as when you and the hunters entered Hecate's room, but with nobody to close it. Furthermore, we are surely not the only ones to have detected both anomalous events. So far, the rift has been giving off energy signatures at steady pace after just over an hour of erratic behavior.
He gestured calmly as he spoke strangely.
 
"Oi'm Pearl," she introduced, careful to enunciate her name. She hoped they wouldn't realize it wasn't her actual name, but her mom always taught her to never give her real name to just anyone. Then again, they lived in a world where fae could use a person's name to have power over them.

"Hoi," she greeted again, nervous as she fidgeted.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Bear's eyes widened at the volume before he blinked and pushed the phone from his ear to look at it. It... was indeed a video call. Bear couldn't help but blush as he took the phone to Hecate, then cleared his throat. "Uh... here," he managed through his embarrassment.

"Hello," he greeted Eve, Seela, and Worm all at once, ready to withdraw to somewhere out of the way.

"I should find the Councilman now," Seela said, and Bear looked toward her, head tilted, but didn't ask.

She noticed his expression and blinked at him. "Learned something." She waved a dismissive hand.

Bear's curiosity turned to concern. "Do you need help finding her? My nose is—"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"Kind of mind-blowing," Elizabeth murmured, but let the topic go at that.

The next topic was, as predicted, upsetting. Not only did he tell her that her daughter was in danger, but also that the creature and the rift it tried to enter through were the direct result of their arrival. That meant no portals without precautions, and it meant lives were likely in danger: more than just her daughter's.

"Shit," she muttered, brows furrowing. "Is someone handling that, or should I go or...?"

She didn't know how to deal with this, but she wanted to do something to help. She didn't even know how Poppy got to this world, and her arrival was endangering her.
 
The sphynx cat continued to stare curiously at the stranger before looking back to Simon, then back and forth a few times between the two of them, finally speaking in a language of cat vocalizations, Poppy’s feline nature combined with the magicks of the Dreamlands allowing her once more to understand.
“Why does is something weird always following him?”
The cast asked as he looked around, and the guards shrugged, the one on the left of them saying,
“Not a clue. Any problems?”
The cat paused, with a momentary final glance at the two.
“...nah.”
He then turned his attention to Pearl.
“...can you speak cat?”

As this went on, Simon stared with an expression of confusion, having not the slightest clue what was being said on account of rarely having been exposed to the language, and the hairless cat continued speaking. Preemptively assuming she could, he continued in an exasperated tone;
“-please don't tell me you're his apprentice.”

---

Worm stared intensely at the screen of his computer for a second, wondering for a moment what the hell was up with Hecate, but he elected to ignore her peculiar condition for now in light of more pressing matters to attend to.
“Yeah uh…”
He paused as Eve walked into view of the screen, and the two exchanged a "hello" before Worm abruptly continued.
“...wait was that one of the Hunters? Oh shit, turn the screen toward them.”
He asked, then spoke.
“Somebody got away with a few of the worse pages of The Miskatonic University Necronomicon.”

Eve put a hand over her mouth. Hecate jumped up from her comfortable position.
“Holy. Shit!”
Hecate's voice cracked as she just about shouted, and Eve's eyes opened shockingly wide.

---

“My superiors do not possess sufficient data to efficiently plan a resolution to the issue at this time...”
He said.

"Considering this, we are requesting that we attempt another portal be opened by your organization in a controlled environment so that we may compare observable effects with the previous two distortions, as well as observe the behavior of the resulting rift.
He blinked, and tilted his head.
“Have you observed any peculiar phenomena on the other side as well?”
 
Last edited:
"No," she chirped, "Oi'm 'is kidnappeh. 'E's givin' me a tour 'ere, and 'en Oi'm takin' 'im 'ome wiv me."

If nothing else, she was honest, though her nerves had her blurting out the first thing that came to mind instead of something rational or normal.

A moment after the statement left her, her face grew red as she realized how outright bonkers she sounded.

"Or... somefing like 'at," she added, sounding lame even to herself as her tail drooped and she began to quickly adjust her clothes.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

With the phone turned towards him and Seela, Worm could see both of them present. Seela waved, and Bear gave a nod of greeting before...

'Necronomicon' and 'worst pages'. That was... cheerful. Bear frowned, brows furrowing. "Any clues so far?" he asked promptly.

Seela looked toward him. If anyone was finding anything, he'd be better at it, with his bear-nose, so she kept quiet, at least for now.

Bear looked between Hecate and the screen for a moment before he spoke again. "Hecate needs to rest, but Seela and I can help find them," Bear offered.

"I need to find the Councilman and report something," Seela objected, though she at least knew that both tasks were important.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Yes, these were definitely the scientific sort, based on that request. "I can arrange for another portal wherever it is needed. If the portals themselves are causing these problems, perhaps it would be wise to call in more Hunters at the same time?"

She was going to need more than just the two, for certain. She'd have to, whoever she called in, ensure that her daughter was not found out about.

"As for the other side, to my knowledge there has never been any incident like this there. Typically, the Multiverse herself keeps watch over portal travel to prevent such things." Her thoughtful scowl came accompanied by tapping her chin with a finger.

"Perhaps I could convince my organization to part with a few portal mages for further study of portals on both ends?" she offered. They might even be able to help close rifts on this side.

Unfortunately, they weren't like the Hunters. Most had never even gone through a portal before, they lacked the strength and regeneration of true Hunters, though they also lacked the reactions to silver.
 
“Reeaally now? Brilliant!”
The sphinx cat said.
“That's exponentially better!”
He said with a tone of amusement, batting the helmet of the guard he sat upon with a hairless pink paw.
“That's all I need to know, let 'em through.”
The guard looked to the cat, then to the other guard as they took a step to either side.
“Everything checks out, go on ahead.”
The guard said to Simon, who nodded silently, and moved. He kept ahead Pearl, beckoning as he passed through the gate.

---

“It happened just under five days ago.”
Hecate shifted audibly in her spot on the bed.
“Somebody used magic to bypass every single one of our security measures. We don't know how but the wards apparently didn't do jack shit against it. We're going to have to report that to the professors as well by the looks of it. They think only a Dreamer with a lot of knowledge about the wards we used could have pulled it off.”

Hecate began to rise, but was stopped by Eve.
“Heck, please rest…”
She said softly, giving Hecate a look of concern that coerced the witch hesitantly into cooperation.
“They have it from here… you gotta rest...”

Eve looked to the Hunters.
“Thank you, both of you. I'll stay with Heck.”
She said, a soft smile on her face.

---

The Yithian frowned, saying nothing for a while until, with a slight tilt of the head, they stated.
“Describe to me this Multiverse entity. Could it be analogous to the entity Azathoth, the progenitor of the Outer Gods at the center of all creation, whose fitful dreaming sustained only by the infernal music of extradimensional demons allows the continuation of existence as we know it across every dimension we have encountered thus far?”
He asked, adjusting his glasses after saying that mouthful.
 
Poppy wasn't sure if Simon had heard her side of the conversation, since he clearly couldn't understand the cats themselves. "Fenks!" she chirped, tail rising with a shiver of excitement.

They were being let in! Even though she just said she was going to kidnap Simon!

"Wheh we goin' fihst?" She couldn't keep her tail from shivering with excitement.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Five days ago? Did nobody notice it before then? Then again, they bypassed multiple security measures.

He looked up as Eve scolded Hecate, and nodded. "Eve, can you keep watch over her? Call for help if she gets too weird." He paused. "Don't worry about the yellow. It's just a dye I injected temporarily. It doesn't last long in the body before it's filtered out into the urine."

That said, he didn't quite understand what dreamers or professors had to do with this.

"Worm, was it?" he asked as he looked toward the phone. "Is there somewhere we can meet up to discuss this?"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth blinked. She hadn't expected this route of questioning, but she didn't let it agitate her. She knew the answer.

"No. The Multiverse is, for one, awake. She is a crystal golem named Beryl, after the materials she is made of." She paused. "Well... Actually, Beryl is technically the _host_ of the Multiverse, whose consciousness lives inside of her as an anchor to slow the eventual heat death of reality."
 
Simon thought for a moment, then shrugged.
"It's probably best we head to my warlock lair first and get some more money."
He said with a kind of nervous chuckle, realizing that joking description of his own home in Ulthar was actually entirely accurate… He paused for a second as he glanced around. They were upon a well beaten dirt path scattered with sunken pebbles and determined weeds weaving between dainty houses overlooking patches of crops both mundane and unfamiliar. As would have been expected, cats were scattered about the place, a large number of them sunbathing on a large grey boulder. Simon continued speaking.
“...um... I have a lot of money at my house, so if we're going to buy anything expensive we'd best head there first…”
He blinked once heavily, running a hand through his hair with a look of focus on his face, before continuing again.
“It's a little run-down and has been where I've practiced most of my rituals over the years so... if you think it's creepy in there I apologize in advance...”

As he spoke, a hay wagon pulled by a peculiar Zebra with stripeless legs, a tannish neck, and grey haunches emerged from around a corner, startling Simon, who jumped as a brown-robed driver waved his hand to beckon them to the side, saying only:
“...oi…”

Simon quickly darted to the side as the equine creature seemed to bark or squeak at him in a short, high-pitched vocalization, it's ears flicking as it puffed air through it's nostrils. It turned it's heavy head toward Poppy, and sniffed curiously at her.

---

“Yeah.”
Worm said.
“We're going to need you at the library. Some uh… Wizards are heading over to lead you there, they should be at your location in about a minute…”
Worm hesitated to say something else…
“Uh… Heck, Eve… they're going into lockdown in about a minute… you should get alerts, you know the rules. Full mobilization, everyone who hasn't just fought something is on patrol.”
Eve nodded, and Hecate groaned tiredly. Worm didn't know if Heck knew about today's casualties… he elected not to tell her, at least not until she was rested.
“Anyway, they-”
Worm pause with a scowl of supreme discontent as there was more knocks at his door. He sighed, baring a mouthful of sharp teeth and mumbling.
“One moment-”
He slid back up from his seat and turned his attention to an adjacent corner of the screen, slowly getting up and shuffling to the door with a groan.

---

“...Interesting.”
He said, raising an eyebrow.
“That can mean one of three things. Either the entity Azathoth is contained within the Multiverse entity, the Multiverse entity is contained within the creations of Azathoth, or the portals that have been created thus-far represent a point of contact between two entirely separate entities…”

The Yithian brought a hand to his chin.
“That will have to be determined first, if we have the capacity.“
 
Last edited:
"Wahlock laih!" Poppy zipped around in front of him, eyes wide and beaming with excitement. "Doezzat mean ye get ye magic from a demon or sommat?" Even as she asked, she turned from him so she could look around at the beautiful city of Ulthar. Cats sunbathed, crops grew in fields. Little houses looked straight out of a storybook!

Her tail vibrated with excited happiness, and it only paused as he apologized if his home was creepy. She tilted her head and looked at him, blinking with those wide yellow eyes.

"Oi'll jes 'ide be'ind ye if Oi get scehd!" she promised, and then returned to her earlier sightseeing, only to blink at the strange equine-like animal pulling the approaching wagon.

She chirped and moved aside, turning to watch it as it went by, and she offered a hand to let it sniff her. "Ello, pretty fing," she purred, eyes narrowing in a feline smile.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

That excluded Eve and Hecate, Bear assumed. Hecate fought that... Byakhee, he thought it was called? And Eve helped in the ritual room. Besides that, Eve didn't smell like a fighter, and Hecate needed rest.

He simply listened until Worm was distracted by a knock at his door, then glanced toward Seela. "Seela, is your report time-sensitive?"

She thought a moment before she wiggled her hand for him, sort of.

"Then until we know where she is, help with this."

Seela nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. That was reasonable, and if the whole place was mobilizing, they'd need the extra bodies to help.

"And Hecate and Eve will stay here, since Hecate just fought the... Byakhee? And Eve fought during that ritual..." He said it more to make sure that was the case, and cast a worried gaze towards the two girls. They'd correct him if he was wrong, he assumed.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

The idea of multiple multiverses seemed... entirely insane and mind-boggling to Elizabeth. The first option, that Azathoth was contained within the Multiverse, seemed most likely to her, but they weren't here to make assumptions. Science-geared minds liked to know based on observable evidence.

"If I felt secure asking the Multiverse's Host to come and answer without getting hurt or causing more troubles, I would, but I worry it would not be safe for her. The Host, if slain, would lead to the end of the Multiverse. While it would answer the question, it would not be a positive outcome in the slightest."
 
With the utterance of the word “Demon”, the small amount of people within earshot around them paused, then made a strange series of hand-gesture, before returning to their tasks as if nothing had happened. Simon smiled nervously and looked around idly, then watched on as the driver wiggled the reigns, and the zebra returned it’s attention to the road. He took another small step back from the creature as it's ears wiggled, muttering something to himself beneath the creak of the rolling wagon-wheels. He turned his attention back to Pearl.
“Yeah, they uh... use Zebras as horses here…”
He said. Personally, he found the increased size of the "draft zebras" as they were called, made them all the more intimidating, and their recent rise in popularity has given him a fair share of what he would describe as "close-calls."
---

“I better be done for today- I think I finally saved all our asses-”
Hecate said with an amused tone as she sank backward back into the bed, and Eve spoke as well.
“I’ll keep an eye on Hecate and make sure she’s okay…”
A few moments later, there was a softly, simultaneous buzz from Eve and Hecate's phones as an alert reached them, an automated text-message that stated: “Lockdown and patrol in progress. All movement within The Ark will be monitored and the unauthorized preparation of magic is strictly forbidden. Your current lockdown status is: REMAIN STATIONARY.”

Out of view of the screen, Worm hadn't yet returned to the view of the camera, nor could any conversation be heard.

---

The Yithian sighed, then spoke softly.
“It's a shame isn't it? It seems there's always some sort of end-of-the-world scenario a little too close for comfort...”
He said, then raised an eyebrow.
“My superiors had to learn that bitter lesson through experience.”

His expression blank, he asked.
“When will your associates next be able to prepare another portal to this dimension? We have already ordered the preparation of a secure environment, and it will be completed within roughly twenty-four minutes.”
 
Last edited:
Bear nodded to the two girls, then waited for Worm to appear on the phone again for a few moments before he handed the phone over to its proper owner. "Keep something nearby to defend yourselves," he urged with a nod as he started toward the door.

Worm said wizards would come to escort him and Seela, and he didn't want to keep them waiting.

As for Seela, she simply idled, fingers twined together as she rolled her thumbs over each other to try to rid herself of some of her tension, though it wasn't working all too well. She gave a little wave, then said "I'll wait outside the door."

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"They can do it fairly quickly, with very little down time. They keep the spells readied, and need only to supply them with direction and energy." She tilted her head. "I'll warn them to have some extra Hunters on hand just in case something happens on their end, after the ones I select come through."

She hoped she wouldn't reveal her secret daughter to the Hunters she planned to call, but... her duty to the protection of humans and to the Multiverse _had_ to come first. She might get lenience, as long as she kept her duty as priority, which would help to ensure her daughter's safety. "I'll just need a bit of time to alert the rest of the Council of what is happening. You are welcome to listen in on the phone call, if you so desire."
 
There was a knock on the door as Eve and hecate watched the screen.
“I think that’s the Wizards-”
Said Hecate.

Outside the door were six figures in dull-colored robes. The shortest of them was the same size as the smaller non-humans running around, and carried a tiny trace of distinctly inhuman lineage. The rest smelled perfectly human. Up and down the halls walked armed and armoured Coven members, armed with whatever old or new guns they could get their hands on.

---

“Very well.”
Said The Yithian.
“If we could only schedule this a few million years sooner, things would be more convenient on my side, but I was chosen to represent the interests of my superiors for a reason, so it they see fit to discuss matters with me, they may.”
The alien paused.
"I suspect my superiors will be highly pleased with the current situation."
 
Bear nodded and headed to the door, passing Seela, then opened it and looked out. With his size and bulk and coat, he almost completely blocked the view of the room itself as he stared at the six people.

Seela stared at his back, then huffed through her nose in a half-assed laugh before she shook her head, then looked back. "Stay safe," she urged, then followed as Bear stepped out of the room.

He held the door for Seela, then closed it behind her before he looked again at the figures.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Elizabeth nodded. "So, where should the receiving end of the portal be? It's best if I'm present at that location, because it's easier for them to track it by my location than by other methods."

Well, her phone's location, at least. She'd long-since forgotten that she was in the habit of stepping out of the way of the portal forming—it was something she just didn't notice anymore, much like a person might not notice the manner in which they sat down or their hand's position when they slipped something into their pocket.
 
The shortest of the six pulled down their hood and squinted at the two hunters. She was a peculiar looking woman, whose hairless head had an unnaturally red skin tone. Thin, sharp eyes darted between the two hunters bearing an expression that was almost a glare. Upon her forehead was painted another Elder Sign, and around her eyes were dark rings that betrayed her sleeplessness. She stared silently for a moment more before H\er expression softened, though only slightly, and she spoke.
“We’re taking you and your leader to the ritual room of the library to oversee another one of your portals… Your leader seems to think she needs more of you and my leaders seem to think you’re trustworthy.”
She turned, beckoned, and began to walk, leading down the hall as the other figures took positions around the two hunters. She continued to speak.
“It sounds like your organization intends to work with us…”
She said quietly.
“I don’t recommend you stay here very long.”

---

“We will be utilizing the ritual room in our library. With a secure location and several prepared sorcerers, we should be more than able to compensate for the hypothetical increase of intensity of the portal’s anomalous aftermath. In the meantime, you can contact your organization here or, if privacy is not essential, you can speak with them while we make our way to the library. We've taken the liberty of directing your... underlings... there as well, in case a hostile organism attempts to enter the vicinity through the weakened veil."
He paused for a moment, then added.
“Preparations on our side will be complete in roughly twenty-three minutes.”