Fox

"Was a very strange night," Mara wryly agreed, shaking her head. "Santa Claus, superhero elves, peppermint technology...wouldn't even mention it if Erik and Ellie weren't here." She gestured at them with her free hand, shrugging. "The kind of story that makes people think you're crazy." She paused, and tilted her head. "Crazier," she corrected, the corner of her mouth twitching. "But no. Really happened. Still have the gift - sack of infinite burgers and fries. Actually very good, but wouldn't want to eat it every day."

Tarrant hid his chuckle behind one hand, the still-freestanding portal ring dissolving into a flow of soil, which itself recollected as a broad, rough rock for the elemental to hop onto. The anchor stone, without anything to support it, fell back down to the grass. He took Stesha and himself up into the air at a pretty leisurely pace, happy to just enjoy the day and the company. Happy, too, to let Bay-bee fly or ride along at her whim - he wasn't sure how fast giant baby bees could fly, but he'd have felt pretty bad if he'd left the poor thing - Poor girl? 'Thing' is probably pretty impolite. Sorry, Bay-bee. - behind just for the sake of getting somewhere a few minutes faster. Besides, even a slow pace makes pretty good time when you're flying through the air and in short order (and under Stesha's directions) their goal was in sight.

Dragonfly leaned back against a wall, pulling her gauntlets on and latching them closed with whatever unseen mechanism she used to keep the things on. They'd been designed for dexterity, sure, but all the design in the world couldn't make them as good as bare hands for working with small wires. Which, really, gave her some ideas...albeit ones she had to file away for later. "Best to try to get an idea of how well the system utilizes memory, anyway," she added, nodding as light flowed down the seams and glasswork of her gauntlets. system test - okay - okay - okay - within limits - but check later - okay - okay... "Always unpredictable edge cases. Small steps makes problem diagnosis, correction easier." She glanced at Sharl, and blinked. "Not...expecting any, of course. Problems, I mean. But best to plan just in case."

"Not that thin," Mara defended, recovering a bit. She was still a little red and she gave Ellie's hand a thankful squeeze, but otherwise the familiar ground of her questionable health habits brought her back to some level of comfort. "Don't miss that many meals. Just...sometimes. Too distracted or...used to have head hurt too much. Not a problem lately. Less stress, Ellie's help. Still." She snorted, defiantly eating a bite of tamale, and clearly not quite as put out as she was pretending. "Treated like I never eat at all. Half the Lab thinks I starve myself. Robot keeps sneaking meals into my office...don't know how. He's not allowed that high in the building. Santa Claus gave me an infinite burger," she added, gesturing helplessly.

"Not at all!" Tarrant grinned, giving Stesha a short bow as the earth - very carefully! - split apart to let stone and dirt through, almost seamlessly closing back up to leave only slightly-disturbed grass behind as the raw material spun itself into a solid chair attached to a platform of heavy-looking rock. It wasn't majestic or grand, but was remarkably throne-like, with details here and there resembling ivy, roots, or flowers. "Because," Tarrant said with a great deal of amusement in his voice, "no pregnant woman should have to walk anywhere if she doesn't have to. The seat's just dirt, I'm afraid - it's certainly better than granite, but you might want to fill it with grass or something to save yourself the discomfort."

Dragonfly tapped a finger on her leg, pondering, but nodded. "Good plan. City has lasted this long. Few hours is unlikely to change things." It didn't give her much to do in the meantime, though. She was the least familiar with the system of the four people present, and had a sneaking suspicion that she'd only be getting in the way unless asked for. Instead, she quietly made her way over to Sharl. "When I was very young," she offered, putting her hands in her jacket pockets, "was much better at...putting my mind in computers. Not just using them, but actually...being there. Seeing in and through them. Found a satellite one day - don't know how I got through firewalls. Shoddy security. But found a camera feed - civilian-level orbital surveyor. Earth was...." She closed her eyes, remembering. "...so...small. Tiny. Felt like I could reach out and pick it up. Was everything I'd ever known, an invisible spot on a little blue sphere in empty space. Profound, but...unsettling. Guess important things aren't...size, or visual impressiveness. More quality, and memory, and personal significance."

Mara choked, having frozen solid in the middle of drinking from her water; she coughed into her hand, putting the glass down before she spilled more than a couple of drops. More than anything else she looked like a deer caught in the headlights, dark blue eyes glancing between the assembled Espadas members like she really didn't know what to think about being welcomed by a family. Which she didn't. 'family'? - barely know what that means - don't - what - what - odd urge to - cry? - don't do that Instead, she ducked her head so low one had to wonder that it was a small wonder she didn't sprain her neck, self-consciously pulling some hair back behind one ear. "I...mmh. That...thank...thank you?"

Mara shook her head, finishing off a bite of food. "Didn't mean to apply pressure. But have faith in her. I do, I mean. Too smart to fail," she added, with a hint of...almost pride. "Clever. And say that as a very smart person. Am certain that she'll succeed at anything she wants to." There wasn't really encouragement in her voice so much as pure, honest faith and mostly-objective assessment. "Probably doesn't need my support, but promised to help however I could. Not really the...school type. Myself. But enjoy helping others succeed."

Tarrant shoved his hands in his coat, giving the sky a critical gaze - a gaze with eyes whose irises shifted to a golden brown for a moment as he sunk his senses down as well, somehow compelled as he always was to see how the ground was feeling. "Yeah," he answered, smiling. "Yeah, I think I will. I might not be able to get everything done today - some of what I need will take some digging, heh. I can't make everything out of rock, much as I'd like to. But I can make some pretty good progress before I have to head back, if I put my mind to it."

Dragonfly gave that one a lot of thought, taking the question far more seriously than it probably warranted. For nearly a minute - an age, at the speeds the people in the plane could think - she tapped her finger against her armrest and cycled through name after name, soundlessly muttering to herself. "....Ema," she finally supplied, snapping out of her thoughtful ponderings as quickly as she'd fallen into them. "And a good cover story, yes. Simple, plausible, easily related. One less thing to worry about."

He laughed, pulling his goggles down around his neck to rest on the red mouth cloth he hadn't even bothered to pull up into place before arriving. "Tarrant, then, please. And I certainly hope it'll turn out well - it'll be a bit more complicated than putting together the beehive was. But it should be very interesting, at the very least, and...well. I admit it's a little self-indulgent, but who doesn't want to own a castle?" He grinned. "It seemed appropriately thematic, and should offer a decent amount of spare room if anyone ever needs it."

"Ah. Rocks," Gaian Knight answered with a tone of regret. He held out a hand, a couple small and shiny - though worthless - stones lifting up to slowly spin in mid-air. "Sorry, miss. I don't really have much of a green thumb...no flowers. All I have is dirt, and rocks, and more dirt - if you want flowerzz - ah, flowers - you should talk to nice Mrs. Fleur." Speaking of which. He turned back to the plant-grower in question, and nodded. "That could work. Honestly, I'll probably park whatever I make in mid-air. That way I can just move it later, if I need to - I'll certainly keep it from floating over anything that can't survive having it fall, though. A floating castle over empty land or water is neat, and useful. A floating castle over plants or homes is one big hazard waiting to happen."

Mara raised an eyebrow at Erik over the edge of her glass of water. She wasn't entirely sure where that sentence had been going, but most of the things she could think of weren't anything she'd mention around her mother. in theory - hard to tell - wouldn't mention it around close friends anyway - mmh - still need to talk to Ellie about - later "Has to get used to that," she pointed out. With Ellie headed off to college soon she'd been doing some research to fill in the gaps in her school-related knowledge. "Will need to do well in her classes to be successful. Ruining your bell curve is practice for later ones."

Mara blushed, shifting in her seat as Ellie brushed her leg. "Have to earn my keep somehow," she agreed, sounding a little pleased. "Still. Will try not to tease you too much, Erik. Would offer advice if I had any. Suppose not getting killed is a good start; the rest...not sure." don't know what to look for in a man - don't want to think about it She reached out for her glass of water, raising an eyebrow. "Think the normal...cliché?...would be to set you up with a friend. But know very few people. Miss Americana, maybe." She snorted, the corner of her mouth threatening to break her deadpan. Something about that idea was apparently very funny, for some reason.

Mara blushed, ducking her head down. "Child would require...a lot of science. Not really my field. Wouldn't be surprised if someone somewhere was working on it, though. Would be a major breakthrough." mental note - do research - see who is working on what "Not sure you have good excuses," she pointed out, straightening a bit as she teased Erik. Being someone with a relatively full life was a novel experience and she was apparently determined to enjoy it. "Not without my...redeeming features, but am a socially maladjusted 'freaky techno genius type'. Somehow found a wonderful girlfriend. Can't be that hard."

Mara raised her eyebrows, glancing from Erik to her remaining tamales and back again. "They're good," she complimented, nodding. "Cook a little, myself. Sort of learn when you live alone - not many restaurants near my home. Don't always want to deliver out there, either. Still," she dryly noted, "depressing to know someone spends less time on hobbies than me. Very sad." She glanced at Gina, gesturing at her son with a fork. "Should get him an instrument or something. Girlfriend maybe. Or boyfriend. Not in a position to judge."

Yeah, I'd be all for winding down or fading to black as they continue to play. A good thread, but at some point the disparity between current and thread time just gets crazy.

Mara paused, blinking at the assorted reactions. Her past wasn't easy on her by any means, but she hadn't meant that much by the comment - it was certainly an unhappy memory, but she'd been focusing more on what it had left her with, and not the thing itself. stupid - mental note - don't bring that up - happier topics? "Important to learn...responsibility if nothing else. Don't think most technology is bad, just misused or mishandled or misunderstood. People are...shortsighted and unpredictable. Not always. But too often." She coughed lightly, and tried to change the subject. "Don't know much about you, Erik. Occupation? Hobbies? Curious."

Gaian Knight nodded. "I think so. I actually took a day or two off and did some sightseeing for ideas and a little research into the finer points of structure. I can cheat and all, but I figured it might be good to know how it was properly done, just in case, and it doesn't get much better than real, old structures in Europe. I'm just glad I remembered to put a portal anchor thing at home - I can move pretty fast underground, but you don't really appreciate how big the Atlantic is until you spend half a day underneath it." He paused, and chuckled. "Well. Maybe more than half a day. I really need to find a way to navigate down there - the lithosphere's not big on landmarks."

Looking awfully amused, Gaian Knight bowed - formally, at the waist - to the 'little' bee. "'Bay-bee' - of course she is. A pleasure to meet you, Bay-bee. I hope you and your siblings aren't filling up that hive too quickly - it's fun to build, but I wouldn't want to make all the bees vacate their home for renovations too often!" "And speaking of babies," he added, gesturing easily at Fleur, "how are you doing? I'm sure you're getting sick of hearing that question, but you have to be getting pretty close to delivery."

"Mmh. Some of it just...mmh." Mara took another bite of tamale, partly because it was delicious and partly to buy her time while she tried to phrase things. "Not...only bugs. Don't mean to imply that it isn't safe, though. For...given values of safe. Don't needlessly endanger myself or others -" - she glanced at Ellie, mostly out of reflex - "- outside of testing. But just...some of what I build could be misused. On purpose or by accident. Could try to prevent it, but someone would find a way, and...risk is too high. Could spend all my time building for safety and someone would still - don't know. Gut a teleporter for the engine, use it to turn a building inside out." She shrugged, frowning. "Better to keep them where I can see them, and use them properly." She gathered another forkful of food, pausing thoughtfully halfway to her mouth. "And don't usually want to sell my own work, anyway. Not entirely rational - was...exploited, for my brain. When I was younger. It...phrase. 'Left a bad taste in my mouth.'"

Gaian Knight reached up to pull his hood back and run a hand through his short brown hair, glancing back at the dirt ring that was clearly inactive, but seemed perfectly happy to defy common sense and continue to hold its shape. "I'm...really not sure," he admitted. "Most of what I do feels...very natural. Which is great until I realize that I'm lifting two tons of granite or making portals to other dimensions, and then I'm kinda freaked out by not being freaked out. Er, if that makes any sense at all. It's a weird thing."

"Fifty-" Dragonfly raised an eyebrow at Sharl, trying to make sure she'd heard that right. Not to mention making sure she'd done the math right - she had pretty good faith in her basic arithmetic skills, but the implication was just mind-boggling. "That's...1.2 people per hundred square feet," she pointed out, glancing at Miss Americana and Daedalus. "Give or take. Rounding. One point one nine five six six....sorry. Precision not important. Still. That's...." She shivered. "Think I'm claustrophobic just thinking about it. Even building up...."

April 24th, 3:02pm "Alright, let's try this again." Gaian Knight stood in his basement, surrounded by the usual assortment of rocks and dirt he used for practice. He was pretty sure what he'd done to the foundation of this house violated some zoning law or another, but it wasn't like he hadn't reinforced the groundwork every time he punched a new hole in it. Really, by now, his house probably had the most solid, anchored, earthquake-resistant foundation in most of the city. Well. I guess those Hanover types probably have something fancy for their big sciencey buildings. Best foundation in this part of the city, then. He hadn't really known what the anchor stones were, at first, when he started making them - they just seemed right, and important, which honestly bothered him more than if they'd been weird and useless. Goodness knows they didn't look like much: just a worn, shaped rock with a weird symbol on it. And then one day some punk from the future trapped him and some civilians in a room with a fancy time bomb, and.... He shook his head, planting his feet and concentrating. Nearby rock and dirt pulled together into a tall, wide circle, the middle filling in with the same soft brown-gold glow his hands and eyes were giving off as he worked. ------------------ Somewhere on Sanctuary, between Fleur's plant home and the massive beehive, a smooth rock pulled itself up out of the ground. The dirt it trailed as it raised into the air fell not down, but out, framing a ring identical in size and shape to the one a long distance and a dimension away in Gaian Knight's basement; he took a deep breath as a muddy image of grass and stone formed on his end as the link was made and stepped through the portal, trying very hard not to think about how completely normal and intuitive it felt to do so.

Hmm. It occured to me that I'd discounted Shapeshift on the basis of not having 'enough points to make it worthwhile'. But even the 10pp it'd offer would offer a lot, it seems; not everything, of course, but it's an interesting idea. For comparison: Wraith, right now. Redone for Shapeshift: The change would offer a decent amount, including the metal-corroding ability I didn't think I'd be able to afford until much later, plus it offers a much better, more solid Morph than assuming her human form would be covered by token Morph + Insubstantial fluff mechanics. On the other hand, the amount of things she can have at once is more restricted - she'd have fewer powers simultaneously, and if she wants to, say, go from grappling to straight-up damage she'd have to take a move action to redistribute herself for the task. Each individual attack or grapple would be better, though. She'd also free up...what, like five power points to be spent elsewhere? Could put that into skills or feats or stats or some Impervious on that Protection. Hmmmm.