nexus_crossings | Time for a big ol' Nexus Block party

Time for a big ol' Nexus Block party

On a sleepy summer morning a wonderful smell begins to waft throughout the Nexus. For those familiar with this place there can only be one explanation but for those new faces to the nexus this may be a strange thing: seeing so many people flocking toward the sweet and savory scents perfuming the Nexus.

There are a few tables set out this morning in the Plaza in front of a small cafe loaded with several carafes of coffee, a myriad of pastries from more than a few different worlds and cultures, and a large pan of eggs and sausage kept warm over a chafing dish. On either end of the table are disposable plates, cups, and cutlery as well as a few welcome pamphlets in a small container. Along the front of the tables is a hand made banner.

Meet and Greet

Manning the tables is Katsuya Suou, red apron on and a cup of coffee in hand. He looks far too cheerful for how early in the morning it is. It's always satisfying to put one of these on and see the throngs of different people stuck in line together to get their food and find a place to sit among the tables and couches nearby.

"Right then, is anyone hungry? I've got more than enough here for everyone so please mingle among yourselves or feel free to ask me anything you'd like."

((OOC: This thread is ALL ABOUT threadjacking and hopping. I encourage folks to tag on each other's comments and mingle rather than to reply only to me. This is a huge opportunity to have your characters interact with people they wouldn't have talked to before. Branch out! Meet new people! Scheme new schemes! Steal the last chocolate croissant!))

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"I am doing good. Thanks for asking." Hunter grins.

"Thank you. I will." He sits down nearby.

"How are you both?"

Caspar and Adia exchange a look at that question. What exactly is the emotion for having helping to defeat a malevolent god and create an alternate timeline?

"Good," Adia answers lamely. She bites her lip before adding, "A lot of stuff has happened lately, but we're good."

"How about you?" Caspar asks, steering the question back to the artist. "Any new leads on the witch's sister?"

Hunter frowns in concern. He gets the feeling that he missed something major.

And so he will take the redirect to his own situation. "No. Honestly I have not gone out searching for her again."

"Our last meeting was turbulent and a little painful for me."

It's not so much that Adia is unwilling to talk about what happened, she simply doesn't know where to start. So it's a relief that Hunter talks about his situation, even if the news isn't great. "Caspar let me know what happened," she says in concern. "I'm sorry that meeting her was painful. Could you find someone to be a third party to the situation?"

"Like what, a magical conduit?" Caspar asks.

"Yes, or even someone who can act as a liaison for you. It doesn't sound like she has any idea about the magic she's holding."

Meanwhile, the little pig-like creature under the table is getting bored of waiting for Caspar to give her another treat. She pokes her head out from under the table and looks up at Hunter curiously.

"Since I don't know a lot of magic-users... besides Hermione and she is extremely busy right now... I was thinking about Caspar's suggestion to ask the Nexus in general."

Hunter looks at the pig-like creature. "Hey you." He is very used to have Kneazles around, with Hermione and then Jim.

"Who is your friend?" He asks Caspar.

"You told him to ask the Nexus for help?" she says to Caspar in surprise.

"Suggested it," Caspar replies, averting his gaze as if embarrassed. "There are plenty of magic-users around here, surely someone has heard of this problem before."

Adia smiles softly at the Cylon before adding, "I, um, I've read up on some magic. I can look through my notes, see if there's anything that applies."

The piglet comes out from under the table completely. "Tep!" she says cheerfully, wagging her springy tail.

"That's Princess," Caspar says, not bothering to hide the smile on his face. "She's a Tepig, a kind of pokémon. I'm training her on behalf of Professor Madrone. Figured I'd bring her to the Plaza since I'll be working with her later."

"From what Hermione noted, from the time she helped me, the sister has chaotic magic right now. She is not in control of her powers. I don't even know if she knows what she did... or that the magic of her sister has sought her out."

Hunter looks at his bare arm. "If I had something that could prevent her from accidentally hitting me with another spell... I would feel better about seeing her again."

When Princess makes her appearance, Hunter holds out his hand to her. "A pokemon?" He looks up briefly. "She is adorable."

"Out of control magic... okay. I'll start there." She can't help but feel some sympathy for this woman, buzzing with magic and not knowing what to do with it. "That's not too far off from what I was experiencing after Halloween... oh, but that's a good thing. It means I might have some literature that will help."

"You can't shield yourself somehow? A set of wards or something?" Caspar remembers the work put into Hunter's apartment. "Maybe if you spoke to her remotely, like a video chat, she wouldn't be able to accidentally zap you."

Princess sniffs at Hunter's hand, taking in all the novel smells. Her snout is warm, warmer than a typical animal's, but not unbearable. Caspar grins at the compliment, clearly proud of his companion. "Isn't she? Far cuter than she has any right to be."

"Maybe if someone else besides me approaches her, she would be willing to talk. I think my presence made her extra jumpy."

Hunter shakes his head at Caspar's question. "If I shielded myself, then I would be shielding the part of the magic that is mine and it would never come back."

He pets the nose of the Tepig with a smile. He sometimes misses having an animal (or other company like Faris) being around all the time. "Does she have any special abilities?"

"If she's discharging a spell, she probably feels it, too." Adia worries her lower lip before adding, "If you're able to track her down again, I could try talking to her? I mean, if you didn't already have someone else in mind."

Caspar grimaces. "Forget I suggested it, then. Sounds like you need to avoid her until you have a plan in place."

Anyway, it's not like Hunter is falling apart at the seams without his magic and typical appearance. He has to admire the man's resilience, but humans have a way of persevering that even Cylons couldn't anticipate. At the man's question, he can't help but grin. "She sure does. Princess, do a flame charge -- but stop short of hitting anything. This is for show."

Princess grunts in acknowledgement. Backing away from Hunter, she begins stamping at the ground furiously, bringing up a cloud of dust. At the moment she is obscured completely, she bursts out of the smokescreen, her entire body aflame, but rather than slam into an imaginary opponent, she simply shakes herself until the flames die down to smolders.

"I will let you know, Adia." Hunter promises.

Hunter watches Princess as she demonstrates the flame charge. "Wow. And that doesn't hurt her?"

Adia smiles, relieved that he wasn't put off by her offer to help. "Okay." She'll look through the notes she took while researching her moon rune, anyway. Something in all that magical reading might prove useful.

"Nope. She's a fire type, she can handle it." The last of the heat dissipates off the piglet's back, and she trots over to Caspar. He dutifully feeds her another bite of egg. "She acts like a pig, otherwise. Her type determines what special moves she uses, and what she's vulnerable against. Fire is pretty obvious, though. Water puts her out easily."

"Can I feed her a little bit?" Hunter asks hopefully.

"That is pretty amazing. You know a lot about Pokemon?"

"Sure," Caspar replies, pushing the plate of egg over. See? He's more than happy to let someone else feed Princess, so long as they at least ask first.

Princess plops down on her haunches and looks up at Hunter, tail wagging. Egg, please!

As for the question, Caspar shakes his head. "I got into this because of Adia, she's the real expert. She even received a blessing from a pokémon deity."

"Caspar," Adia complains, embarrassed. That sounds too much like bragging to her ears. "I started reading up on them when I was busy taking care of Steve's pokémon," she adds, to Hunter. "They're fascinating, but I'd need years to even scratch the surface. Most of what I know, I learned from Professor Madrone."

Hunter grins as he picks up an egg for Princess, and presents it to her.

"She did?" Hunter looks up at that statement.

"Who is Professor Madrone?"

Princess is surprisingly delicate when she takes the treat from Hunter's fingers, although there is some sloppy chewing when she finally has the egg in her mouth. Mmm, delicious!

"Only because I needed his blessing to save the Nexus from a god of Chaos," Adia replies, before letting out an aggrieved huff. "Ugh, sorry. That makes me sound way too special."

"That's because you are special," Caspar insists. Adia blushes, but he doesn't look away from her. "I'm serious. Madrone said himself that legendary pokémon only show themselves to the pure of heart." This must be a conversation that they've had before, because he turns to Hunter before she can offer up a counter argument. "He's a pokémon professor who lives in a lab in the Wilds. He's been studying how pokémon are affected living in a Nexus habitat."

"I do agree with the Pure of Heart sentiment." Hunter smiles kindly at Adia. He thinks highly of her. And there is no teasing or flirtatious tone, as others might take. Hunter just appreciates Adia for the kind spirit she is.

"Are a lot of pokemon living in the Nexus now?" He half wonders if he would find a blessing that he needs, to make sense of his life right now.

Hunter's words don't lessen her blush, but his smile is impossible not to return. She thinks highly of him, too. The fact that he remains the kind-hearted person he is despite his "curse" being broken says a lot about his character.

"Oh, sure, when he says it, you believe it," Caspar mutters over a sip of coffee, but there's no animosity behind it. Adia turns her smile towards him and tenderly adjusts his shirt cuff the way he likes it.

"I believe you, but you are a little biased." She looks back to Hunter, switching gears to his question. "There was an influx of pokémon to the Nexus a couple of years ago. I wasn't around for it, but many of them decided to stick around. I'd estimate at least a few hundred by this point, but you should ask Professor Madrone if you meet him. He has all the data."

"I will definitely look him up." Hunter is interested in learning more about Pokemon.

"What was it like? Being blessed?" He asks Adia.

"Good. You'll like him, he's very nice. He's always looking for more people to help him with his research."

"Be careful," Caspar adds, "Or he'll talk you into training a pokémon, too." Not that the Cylon minds. Not now, anyway.

Adia blinks at the question. What was it like? No one has asked her before. Not even Caspar, letting her share her experience in her own time instead. "It's... comforting. But intimidating, too. A being like that, a -- a deity, or a powerful consciousness -- it can see inside of you, what lies within your heart. It's unnerving."

"Would that not be a honor? To train a Pokemon? Or should I turn him down?" Hunter questions Caspar, honestly curious.

Hunter listens to Adia's description. He nods slightly. "I always felt like that around Kendra. That she knew what was inside of me the whole time. When I learned about her nature -- that she was The Seven Sisters -- I realized that her power was a lot more than what I thought."

"And now her sister... is a little unnerving."

Caspar would normally quip off a sarcastic response, but Hunter's question is too genuine. That, and the fact that Princess is looking up at him, equally curious, have his stomach twisting a little with guilt. "Of course it's an honor. Princess didn't want to be trained by just anyone." The little pig snorts in agreement. "But it's a lot of work, and if you're like me and don't live in the Nexus, then it can be hard to make time to come here and train every day."

He takes a sip of coffee, ignoring the way Adia smiles at him. "So it isn't just the coffee and the dry cleaning," she teases.

"No," he mutters. "But it'd be easier if she lived with us."

"It would," Adia agrees wistfully.

She looks at Hunter and nods, knowing exactly how he feels. "Curses and blessings... they have a lot in common, don't they? I wish I could say you get used to how it feels, being around someone like that. Maybe it does, after enough time passes."

"I do have a place in the Nexus. Where I am staying a lot these days..." He can't really be around people familiar with him in New York, and that includes his apartment and the art studio. They wouldn't understand that his appearance had changed.

"I thought what Kendra did to me was a curse at first. But it was truly a blessing."

"Maybe whatever is going on with her sister right now... will be a blessing too."

He doesn't have to explain why he's staying in the Nexus to Adia. A full head of hair is one thing, but disappearing tattoos and piercings? And with Jim on his mission, he can't exactly stay on the Enterprise. She gives him a sympathetic look. "Maybe you could, then. If you found one that you connected with."

"No one looks twice at one here," Caspar adds.

As for this reversal of fortune turning into a blessing, Adia smiles encouragingly. "I'm sure it can be. It sounds like she needs your help as much as you need hers."

"Guess that means I should talk to that Professor Madrone first." Hunter chuckles.

"And you are always welcome to use my place to bond with Princess." He tells Caspar.

"I guess time will tell if she accepts that help. Or not."

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