004. Voice | April 4, very early morning

[pmsgargoyle]

I'm sorry to take you away from the fun of this amazing Carnival, but I would like a word with you, Qilby. [ and it won't be filled with sarcasm like this post]

By the way, it's a shame that you didn't participate on the Beauty Pageant. I'm quite sure you would have won.

Comments

[dissenter]

[not much surprises him anymore, but that certainly does. it shocks the scathing tone right out of his voice, actually.]

Leaving the city? But what--

[a beat.] ... Very well. Give me a few minutes.

[pmsgargoyle]

Don't bring much, we won't be staying away for that long. I just need to show you something. [and she sounds quite pleased about it]

[and with that Demona turns off the video. She will be waiting patiently there for Qilby]

[dissenter]

[talk about cryptic. he's not sure if he likes that, or loathes it. but there's nothing for it but to go along; his curiosity's never failed to get the better of him.

true to his word, it takes him a matter of minutes to get from where he is to the top of the steps at shibusen (despite his age and his inability to cheat using big wings!) his bag's with him, slung over one shoulder, but there doesn't appear to be much inside.

demona's not hard to pick out, especially this early in the morning with no one about. he approaches, speaking quietly.] Choosing to meet in the shadow of Shibusen, I see. Very daring.

[pmsgargoyle]

[Demona is waiting there for the other, actually quite patiently. She wants to take the chance the city is sleeping and thinking of a Carnival instead of paying too much attention to a Gargoyle and her "friend" taking a night stroll through the desert to "enjoy the peaceful times".

Actually, she wants to show Qilby her (and Barricade's) findings. The witch factor.]

Good night.

[she comes closer, a smirk on her lips.] What can I say, I'm a daring person by nature.

And I am very capable as well. There is something I have to show you, out in the desert.

[dissenter]

[a raised brow. he tries not to act too interested.] Of course you do.

[by now he's guessed that this means she and barricade already went off to do their scouting, and that they must have found something. exactly what, he can't even begin to imagine. sand? more scorpions? another beauty pageant?

needless to say, he's keeping his expectations cautiously low. but who knows? perhaps they'll surprise him.] How exciting can it be if it'll only take you ten minutes to impress me?

[pmsgargoyle]

Oh, I will leave that to you. [Demona reaches out her hand] I will take you there. [ through air. yep ]

[dissenter]

Ah. [yes, his least-favourite part.] I don't suppose there's any way of getting there by foot...

[he knows the answer to that one, so he doesn't wait for a reply before taking her proffered hand with a resigned sigh.]

[pmsgargoyle]

[ He knows and she won't answer. Demona makes Qilby wrap his arm around her neck and with the other hand the gargoyle holds him against herself and lifts the Eliatrope up. The gargoyle spreads her wings and climbs few steps, enough so she will have enough impulse during the fall.

The fall isn't as scary as the other ones Qilby might feel; thank the good mood.

In a couple of moments, the gargoyle is up in the skies, gliding through the air and holding Qilby so he won't fall ]

[dissenter]

[it's always a surprise when she doesn't simply plummet to the ground, bringing him down with her. but at least it's a pleasant one.

it'd be the smarter idea to look down to see exactly where they were going, but qilby opts to stare pointedly at the sky instead, his face a mortified red. if it didn't sound so pathetic even in his head, he'd picture himself among the clouds under his own power once again. at least when he had his portals, he didn't have to fear falling.

the one good thing (for demona) is that he doesn't even have it in him to make any sharp remarks. she could get the fancy to drop him at any point, after all.]

[pmsgargoyle]

[ Demona enjoys a silent trip; she honestly doesn't want to hear Qilby complaining and the trip goes much faster. Besides, she is too busy remembering the way there, taking in deep breathes to follow the scent.

Soon (as soon as it could be. The factory wasn't that close to the city, thankfully) Demona and Qilby reach their location and the gargoyle dives in to the ground, landing there without much of a fuss, showing off or scaring Qilby for the heck of it. She puts him down as soon as they touch the ground, too.

All around them is sand. Lots and lots of sand. At night, it looks like there is even more sand than before. Which is good, Demona doesn't want their place to be found easily.

She reaches for the leather bag she has on her belt, taking out a flashlight which she hands to the man.]

[dissenter]

[oh thank the goddess. qilby'd never been so glad to have sand get in his shoes.

after taking a moment to take a breath and appreciate the feeling of mostly-solid ground beneath his feet, he accepts the flashlight with a quizzical look. the sand dune they were standing atop was pretty, perhaps (in a dull, desolate, lifeless sort of way) but there was certainly nothing here to earn his attentions.]

Very exciting, indeed. [he flicks the light on and restlessly sweeps the beam along the ground a few times, sending a scorpion scuttling away under a rock.] You've managed to find the most sand I've ever seen in one place.

[pmsgargoyle]

Don't be a fool. [ demona takes few steps ahead and suddenly she stomps on the ground. And said ground echoes, metallic sound sounding underneath her feet.

The gargoyle glances over her shoulder at the man, a smirk growing on her lips ] You should start trusting me when I say I'm good, Qilby.

[dissenter]

[qilby's gaze lingers on the ground where she stomped for a second or two, both brows raised. he makes a faint, interested sound and lets the flashlight fall to the ground, dropping to his knees and letting his fingers sink in the sand.

he's only in the sand halfway up his forearm when he feels cold, smooth metal beneath his hands. getting back on his feet, he looks at demona, mustering what admiration he could spare for her benefit.] Well, looks like I was wrong.

Is it a construct of some sort? [a beat.] No, not something both this large and hollow... A building?

[pmsgargoyle]

[ she nods ]

Yes.

Come, we did find an entrance.

[ Demona walks forward; they are on top of a hill, formed by the structure underneath that is now covered by the sand. She slides down the hill, stopping at the bottom and looking up at Qilby, as to expect for him to follow ]

[dissenter]

[well, well -- dreams really do come true. an entire building hidden in the sand, left intact? practically ready and wrapped up for them to use? he wonders how long she and the robot had to stumble around blindly before they came across such a find.

qilby retrieves the light and follows suit, sliding down the dune and only stumbling when he suddenly hits bottom. by now he's hopelessly covered in sand (it's in his hat, even) but he hardly cares. he scans the ground for signs of this entrance, but to his satisfaction it's completely hidden from even his sharp eyes.]

Have you and Barricade already explored it?

[pmsgargoyle]

Yes. The first and second floor are accessible, but the second floor is partially covered by sand.

[ Demona moves towards a more hidden area and now that they were close, a door could be seen. She bangs it a but with her arm and eventually pulls until it opens. ]

Let's go. [ not waiting much longer, the gargoyle moves inside the building, glad to have her night vision ]

[dissenter]

You don't need the--? [he calls out after her pointlessly, waving the light back and forth. no, he supposed not. it seemed her kind could see in the dark.

unfortunately, he'd lost the ability to see the world as streams of wakfu when he'd lost his portals, so he has to rely on the flashlight she was kind enough to provide him with. the interior of the building is dark enough as is, but once he shuts the door behind him with a rusty squeal, he can see nothing beyond the beam of light. he takes a few pointless moments to try and adjust his eyes to the lack of light, but there's nothing for it.

something crunches below his feet as he takes a few steps in -- glass, perhaps. maybe even bone. the place has a musty smell, as if something -- or many things -- had died in it.]

Demona? [no sign of her. that woman wastes no time.]

[pmsgargoyle]

[ honestly, Qilby, you are so slow. Demona's head pops from one of the rooms and walks towards the light, allowing Qilby to see her. ]

At first this looked like a Hospital. This floor has living quarters; rooms, all the same size, with a bed and what appeared to be a nightstand.

[ she looks to the side, towards one of said rooms ] Most of them can be used, just need cleaning up.

[dissenter]

[he sweeps the light across the room, trailing it over a table full of glass containers opaque with dust. a few are shattered (explaining the shards littering the floor) spilling out their contents -- tools he vaguely recognized as being used in human medicine. a hospital? out in the middle of the desert?]

But this isn't a hospital, is it? [a frown.] It just doesn't make any sense...

[judging by how quickly she'd moved on, the truly interesting finds were deeper within.] What's further in?

[pmsgargoyle]

No, it's not. Barricade and I found the lower floor. It proved to be much more interesting and it also provided some information about what exactly this place was.

[ The gargoyle heads towards some stairs at the end of the corridor; they are pretty old but even barricade managed through them, so they are safe enough. She moves her tail to call Qilby] Here.

We only managed to find two floors, and the one below is still very much covered with sand. Unless we plan on cleaning up said sand later on, this is all we have for now. It's not bad, though.

[dissenter]

[tearing his attention away from the instruments, qilby follows her to the end of the hall. he eyes the stairs dubiously.]

I'm surprised that lump made it down there without sending the whole structure down on both your heads. [a snort.] I don't suppose there's any chance of this place sinking even further in the sand...

[pmsgargoyle]

Perhaps that's true, but it's a good thing he can. [Demona shrugs] We do need to remove all of this sand. [GUESS WHO WILL BE DOING THAT WHILE THE SCIENTISTS WORK]

[She goes to the lower floor, waiting for Qilby before she turns her attention to the rooms with the shackles] That doesn't belong to a Hospital at all.

[dissenter]

[they can get him a little hard hat and construction vest while they're at it. just like dressing a pet up for halloween!

he trails behind her, casting an inspecting eye up and down the stairwell as he goes. no cracks in the walls, no significant damage to any load-bearing structures... they can be rest-assured that if it was to come down, they'd see the warning signs ahead of time.

catching up with Demona, he looks down and sees just what she was talking about. his carefully-neutral expression wavers.] ... A prison. For live research subjects, I'm willing to wager.

[pmsgargoyle]

[ it would be so cute, right?

When Qilby finally recognizes the shackles, Demona nods in order to agree] Most likely by the Witches. I doubt Shibusen would keep a place like this, considering how righteous they are. [ she still doesn't believe they are as good as they try to show others to be, but a place like this sounds more like a Witch thing. ]

[dissenter]

No-- no, you're completely right. [he murmurs, as if distracted.

unlike demona, qilby believes their hosts are exactly as good as they seem. and perhaps their purported foes are even crueler than he'd initially thought-- these mutated, half-human half-monster remains are not the results of delicate research. even he had generally refrained from these sorts of experiments. butchery, he called it. no finesse whatsoever.

even so, the eliatrope makes a beeline for a table with some scattered notes on it-- but makes a disgusted sound when he sees they're charred and unreadable. a pity.] Well. I doubt my work will require me to make much use of live subjects... [and then, surprisingly, he smiles. it's about as genuine as he's ever been.] But the space is just what we need. I have to admit, Demona, I'm impressed.