Cloudsea - The Chronicle of Alice Van Vaugen

>"Come over here and see what happens" you manage to make it less cool when you say it out loud. Needs practice. Oh well, Book 'em!

> "Why don't you come over here and find out what happens?"
(things are going crazy now!)

{Alice takes 2 Morale damage to stay standing.}

So tired. Alice's vision gets hazy for a minute, then she blinks it out of her eyes and tries to stand up straight.

"Why... Don't you come over here... and see what... happens?"

That sounded better in her head. She didn't realize she was hyperventilating. The kick she took from Qhen there at the end may have done some serious damage. Hopefully this package deal comes with medical care. Doctors are expensive, and good ones tend to ask questions that would be really hard to answer right now. The Muse floats there, staring at you with a hood devoid of eyes or face.

( YOU CAN BARELY STAND. I COULD KILL YOU WITH BUT AN ARROW. BESIDES, YOU'RE PLANNING SOMETHING. THAT MUCH IS OBVIOUS. )

"You're- ... Right. I am... I'm planning to let this one take care of you for me. Then when you're weakened, I'm going to finish you off, and make sure you don't torture anybody else with your presence ever again."

For an empty void with no wind, Alice could hear the tumbleweeds roll by. The Muse looked at her. Then where she was pointing. To ?. Then back to her. ? just continued to stare at her. She thinks. Ever since they first met, she could tell when it was gazing at her. It didn't seem to be angry, but then again- every time she thinks of it being emotional, that's just her brain playing out scenarios. It's turned out to be quite passive, for the most part.

( . . . You could probably just finish this one off yourself, you know. The damage that Qhen took has transferred, in part, to it- And you did strike a fairly good blow with that last attack. The Muse of Anti-Heroes is much stronger than you- but it does not know what your plan is. Additionally, you know by doing this, you are dragging yourself deeper. If you defeat the Muse, and give me the book, there is still a chance for us to part ways- )

"What, trying to get out of our deal now? I thought it was pretty clear. In exchange for my life, you would help me pursue my goals. Right now, my goal is to stomp this blowhard, and for that, I need your power."

( . . . . . . . . . )

"Well?"

( YOU BELIEVE THIS- WILL STOP ME? )

The Muse thrusts a sword in ?'s direction.

( THE MEDDLER DOES NOT HAVE ANY POWER. THEY DO NOT EVEN HAVE A NAME. AN IDENTITY. THEY ARE JUST A WHISPER, WORSE THAN A BLANK BOOK, THEY ARE A BOOK WITHOUT PAGES, AND ANY PROMISE THEY HAVE MADE TO YOU WAS- )

Alice pointed a finger at the Muse.

"One. I am talking. Two. If you talk crap about my friend here one more time, maybe I'll reconsider kicking your ass myself. Three- LET US FINISH."

( I... do not know what to say, Alice of Vaugen. You know I cannot just leave. Even if you did not immediately drop dead on the spot, The Muse would kill you. Even if I wanted to leave, by giving you the power to continue living without my presence, I would either need to take the life of Qhen, who you adamantly insist on saving, or I would need to give you enough power that we would be inseparable anyway. )

"You don't have to say anything. Just choose. I'm not going to make you do this, after all. I just thought you'd appreciate the trust I'm putting in you to handle this situation."

( Some might interpret that as guilt. )

"... I'm SORRY I'm bad at talking, okay?! Keep it up and I'll only communicate with you through writing and it'll make everything really slow and awkward!"

. . . ? looked at The Muse. Alice was no longer talking with either of them. The Muse stared back at ?. They could not understand what the Muse was thinking. They were so... emotional. Even if it was a single note that was being played, they had given in to these base instincts. That made them vulnerable. But not weak. ? could feel the power radiating from The Muse. Even though they had divided their energy into a nimbus of weapons, each weapon had more than enough power to destroy a mortal creature with but a touch.

( I do not like to do this. But I have made an agreement with Alice of Vaugen, and her heart does not yield. I must fight you, and I must win. )

( . . . Hah. Are you so attached to this mortal, that you intend to be unmade first, so you do not have to watch it die? I suppose you truly are a Nothing. )

( Perhaps you misheard me. I intend to win. It pains me to destroy you, but you will not see any other way to this. That much I can tell, by looking into your heart. )

( My heart? You have spent too long watching these creatures too closely. You and I, we do not have hearts. We are immaterial, at best, inflicting our will on others for our own enjoyment. I do not know how you have failed to understand that for so long. )

( No heart? I think you are the one that does not understand. I have a heart. It is why I dislike how our kind uses others for their own entertainment. Or rather- I had a heart. I gave it to this Alice of Vaugen, so that she may continue to live. Our thoughts may not be one, but my purpose is hers. Besides, Muse of Anti-Heroes. If you do not have a heart, then what am I going to impale on my sword? )

( Insolent FOOL! I WILL CRUSH YOU BEFORE YOU CAN TRY! )

The Muse leapt forward, it's limbs coming around itself from all sides, like a hand with a million fingers reaching out to crush the grey haze in it's grip, arms like fingers with tips of blade and bludgeon. The haze... stood? there while the moments ticked by. The Muse drew closer. Alice was transfixed by this scene. A hooded cloak containing grey mist, being menaced by an approaching cloud of red mist dressed the same, but the way it moved, the way that light bent around it, the way it's cloak fluttered, the way that it's weapons seemed to drip with power...

It was like watching a wall of blood come crashing down on a cloud.

Then it was over.

The Muse fell upon ? and began impaling it's weapons, one after another, through the grey haze, until it reached out with a glowing, clawed arm... and grabbed The Muse by it's... face? Alice's brain was hurting trying to comprehend everything, as these massive of vapor moved like they had bodies. ? pushed backwards, and The Muse began to move, but only their cloak- the sound of their arms breaking away from it's body was horrifically close to the sound Alice imagined a person losing their arm would sound like. Separated from their limbs, which remained partially inside ?, weapons and all, The Muse was placed down on the ground in front of Alice and placed in what could only resemble a choke hold.

"W-What just happened...? Are you-"

( I do not have the luxury of entertaining your emotions right now, Alice of Vaugen. You must use the knowledge you have gained from the gift you were so carelessly given. Bind this one to your pages, and claim your new power. )

She looked from ? to The Muse. It was silent. They both stared at her. While ?'s gaze was as placid as ever... she could feel the hate coming from the red hood. If she waited but even a second longer, this thing... she could feel those arms just picking her up and pulling her apart and-

Alice pulls the Void Manifest out, and the book just falls open in her hand. Her other hand plunges into the hood of The Muse, and it feels exactly what she thought it would feel like, and is deeply displeased. She digs around in the pool of what she is telling herself is NOT blood, until she finds it. A small object. Long. Thin. She pulls the pen forth and writes one word on the page.

FIN.

Then she falls asleep. Which is good. She needs to sleep now. Her energy is all but exhausted, and any further exertion might kill her in a way that she could not be brought back from.

( Hello, Voices. Alice and Qhen are fine. They are back in Alice's house, recuperating. You know who I am, but you do not know WHO I am. WHAT I am. I would like to take a little bit of time to have a nice talk with you. Ask some questions. Answer a few. Feel free to reveal to me any questions you may have about Alice, Qhen, their world, Myself, my world... In exchange, I would like to know more about you. What motivates you to help Alice? )

Show Content

Spoiler>Well, you're unconscious again. Hopefully it's not habit forming, you certainly don't want it to become a vice.

>What are you dreaming of? My guess would be that recurring dream you have of that one stand-up comedian giving you good but unrelated life advice.

<oops, started typing this before your second post, excuse me.

>Some questions for you? Alright.
1.) This world is called the "Cloudsea", what kind of sky world are we talking about specifically? The kind with endless skies and floating cloud islands, outer space, or are all the islands man-made because their old planet blew up?
2.) Are you one of those omnipresent narrators I've heard so much about? Weaving threads of fate in a great tapestry, writing down the history of the world thousands of years in advance? I saw one once that directed fate using a television.
>To answer your question, why am I helping? Eh, she seems like a good kid with a good head on her shoulders. Her adventure seems like it'll be an interesting one, and I've seen enough to know. It would do her well to have a bag of tricks on hand, and I'm happy to lend one. However, being a trickster by nature, that bag of tricks may yield a pie-to-the-face a time or two. Keeps things exciting.

> Personally, my motivation is curiosuity. I'd like to see how things would play out, and if it will turn for the best.
> Here's a q- I can't remeber if you've said this, but why Alice? Why did you save her, and specifically her?
> Also, what the frick was that muse.

Alice was unconscious again. It was starting to become a habit.

( Hello. I'll be keeping my voice down so I do not disturb our sleeping friend. Let's see... The CloudSea, hm? Interestingly enough, all three of those answers are somewhat valid. Life used to live on the ground, on a planet, far below the islands. It's not clear WHY- but life has now migrated up here. The islands ARE man-made in that they are assembled by hand usually, but they're assembled from pieces of rock and dirt large enough that the theory about the planet exploding could be very well true. Nobody has been able to confirm that, apparently. Going below a certain... depth... there is a field of storms that tears ships apart and would confound all but the most advanced or accurate of breeze mappers. Above, there is an area where some larger islands float. A kind of unlivable wild frontier, where the air is so thin that breathing apparatus are required to survive. Some very interesting treasures lay up there. Of course, there is also the Wild CloudSea, the area outside of settled areas like the Imperial Sphere. A dangerous, twisting, wild wind pattern requiring the use of breeze mappers to get through, but safer- MUCH safer- than trying to descend down to whatever lay below. There are some other known of settled areas, and they get along as well as one might expect when putting together different species, races, nationalities and religions. )

That's a lie. It already was a habit. She liked reading, and that was about it. If there were non-reading things to be done, she'd do them, then sleep the rest of the day away to forget they happened. Not like she had anything better to do. It wasn't a vice yet, though, certainly. She knew better than that. There were some things she HAD to do, that only she could do. People would come to her looking for help. She couldn't talk to them face to face very often, but she did her best to help them.

( Omnipresent? I believe you are thinking of a God. Hardly... I am not much of a weaver, nor a writer. I am a reader. A watcher. For time uncountable, I have observed bits and pieces of the world through the lens most important to mortals: Time. Unlike my- I hesitate to call them kin- I view things on the same scale of time as living creatures. From moment to moment. It's a fascinating view of the universe. You see so much, when everything is moving so slow. But I do not have the power to do much. )

( . . . I truly am a book without pages now. You may call me "The Empty" , to avoid further confusion in the future. )

Tonight she was in a club. This dream isn't too uncommon, but it is different this time. Normally she's up on stage, and depending on if it's a dream or nightmare, she then starts to perform an act. Sometimes it was just sitting nicely and reading a book. Sometimes it was something horrible like singing, or even worse. Oddly enough, her least favorite thing was the reading. It was... like being dissected. So many eyes watching you do something that you would prefer to enjoy privately. She got a shiver. So she's lucid. Great.

( Why Alice. Alice... Alice. Alice of Vaugen. The answer is simple, and goes well with helping to explain your fourth question: I saved Alice because we are similar. We are without purpose. Goal. Ambition. Her needs and desires had long since fallen dormant, and were little more than requirements to continue the existence she had. I saved her because in the entire world, at that exact moment, there was someone who resonated with me. )

The club act was alright. It was some older guy in a very nice looking suit that didn't quite fit him right. He was always adjusting his neckline and tie. He was a comedian, telling jokes about what it was like to be married and little bits and pieces of his life and how he never got any respect. Alice felt uncomfortable laughing at his jokes, but she did all the same. Maybe it was because despite the lack of actual understanding of his situation, the humor... resonated with her. Why did she think that? . . .

( The Muse. That is a... difficult question to answer. Theologically, we are probably fairly close to gods. We largely hold unimaginable power, although it is very... limited in it's use. I do not remember when they started calling themselves Muses though. They have different reasons for doing what they do, and some of them are even more noble than others- I have met at least three Muses of the Anti-Hero. The other two were much more reasonable than the one we defeated... and yet, I cannot condone their meddling in the universe. Maybe I'm a hypocrite. )

Alice looked down at the table. There was a drink there. She smelled it. Alcohol. . . . She closer her eyes and took a gulp. It burned. It reminded her of the times she accidentally caught herself in the explosion of her pyrotechnics... but it tasted much better. Bitter, but sweet. Fruity, with an herbal taste that lingered after she forced herself to drink it. . . . THIS might become a vice. She quickly put the glass down and got up. As much as she was enjoying the club, her mind kept coming back to the nightmare moments she experienced here and she didn't want to stick around lest it become her time to get up on stage.

( As for your motivations and reasons for helping... I think I like you, voices. I think we will get along just fine. If I failed to answer a question satisfactorily, please, continue to ask. I believe Alice is going to wake up soon, and could do without our meddling for a ltitle bit. )

She grabbed the door handle, pushed it open and-

( ) Woke up, Alone.
( ) Woke up, next to Qhen.
( ) Woke up, next to a blue-scaled girl.
( ) Woke up, wearing a grey cloak.
( ) Woke up, in the middle of something.
( ) Walked into another dream.
( ) Walked into a nightmare.

>Woke up next to Qhen. The two are tangled together like a twisted, uncomfortable people pretzel. All of your joints hurt, all your limbs are numbly asleep, and your head is pounding like a jackhammer. It's like the two of you were carelessly tossed into a heap. Also, Qhen has a nightmarish case of the foulest morning breath. Good Morning.

I'm probably a little late on saying hi but.. I too am helping from curiosity. I am nosy and like to read into things. Another person's head and heart seem a very interesting read. It is nice to meet you Em.

() Woke up, Next to Qhen

"Qhen."

"Qhen..."

Well. This is... awkward. The first couple minutes, Alice was sorta freaking out. She won't lie! Not the most graceful of dignified moment in her life. She also learned some things.

1: Qhen is a deep sleeper.
2: Qhen's arms and legs weigh WAY more than she thought they would. Maybe being in the heat of combat sorta blurred the details, but she didn't realize how much weight Qhen had.
3: Qhen has terrible morning breath. She's managed to remedy this by biting a hole in her pillow, pulling out a little blob of the fiber filling with her pinned hand, and stuffing it in her nose. And breathing out the side of her mouth.
4: Qhen is warm. Or she's warm. Either way she doesn't want to wake up Qhen because that would be super rude because they probably still need to recover their energy but she has a KILLER headache and would like to get to the medicine box.

"Qhen."

"QHEN."

Alice sighs. Okay. Just-

"QHE-AAAAAAAAAA"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

THUMP-BUMP-CRASH.

"Oh gosh, Alice, are you okay?"

"I can't feel my arms or legs, I have a headache, you WERE and still ARE pinning me down so I can't move... and you were so close that I could have tried to kiss you awake but you REALLY need to brush your teeth. Also, you beat the crap out of me. Please get off of me."

"Sorry!"

Eventually, Alice gets untangled. Qhen and Alice make a plan, and execute it. Qhen gets to pick up all the books and stack them neatly into piles. During that time, Alice is going to find some non-shredded clothes, bath, then make breakfast while Qhen gets clean.

Now they're having breakfast. Sort of. Alice forgot she didn't do any shopping real recently. The icebox and pantry are fairly empty, so Alice made a breakfast of... jerky and pickles and some old (not moldy! She checked!) bread rolls she had. She was surprised she had the jerky. She didn't think of it any more beyond that, lest she begin to regret her decisions.

".... So. What are you going to do now?"

"Hmn? Well- After we have the laziest breakfast ever, I think we should go out exploring. See if there are any survivors, people, animals or otherwise. Maybe the Imperial Fleet has sent someone to check on the place... There's a few places I want to check, really. Will that be okay with you?"

"... You said we-. ... am I invited?"

"Yeah. We gotta talk, though."

"Okay... Well- Where are we gonna go?"

( ) Wander/Explore Town
( ) Wander/Explore the Forest
( ) Investigate the Spring
( ) Investigate the Airship Docks

> Wander town. You both need food, after all. Preferably better ones! Maybe.

>Explore the town, there is ice cream to be gotten. This is now your greatest mission in life. Ice cream may very well be the second most important thing to you next to books.

" . . . "

Alice wandered through the ruins of town. It occurred to her she never knew the name of the town or the island she lived on. She looked up. The sign of the bakery she was headed to that night still hung there. The building was partially collapsed, but looking inside, she can see that the interior wasn't too badly damaged. She dug in her pocket, and pulled out a piece of chalk. She scrawled a circle on the wall by the doorway, and kept walking. Alice wasn't sure what bothered her more: The fact that she couldn't find any bodies... or the fact that she couldn't find any evidence people even died here. No blood. No remains. Of course, in the couple of building she checked, there were signs that they LIVED here... Recently even. But...

" . . . ce . . . lice. . . . Alice!"

Alice whipped around to find Qhen almost right in her face.

"Haaa~ Hi, Qhen. I zoned out, I'm guessing. Find anything on your end of things?"

"Houses. Stores. Businesses. Empty. No bodies. I've been taking notes in that journal you gave me... I located some supplies that we could use. Marked them down."

Qhen looked around.

"You're... alright, right?"

Alice sighed. She looked around and saw a bench. She wandered over and sat down, and Qhen stood nearby, surveying the street, just in case.

"I don't know? It's weird. I've lived here my entire life... But I didn't really know anybody here. I went as far as I needed to go in order to get the things I wanted. It was easier to pay a store to send someone to pick up something I needed that was being sold elsewhere. I rarely went beyond the first couple of streets near my house. These people... didn't really exist for me. Even that place."

Alice gestured at the bakery. Qhen looked at it, then back to Alice.

"I loved going there. But I can't recall the owner's name."

" . . . I know you're having a moment- but..."

"No, don't worry about it. If we're going to resort to looting these buildings, I will have all the time in the world to indulge my self-flagellation. What's up?"

"Earlier, when you sent me off to go do a run through town, listening for anybody or anything, I took a detour."

"... They weren't there, huh?"

Qhen blinked. They reach into their cloak, and pulled out a large tube on a small wooden handle.

"They left me a note, and this flare. Your clock still works, and provided that it and the ship's clock was set to the same time... They'll check back late tonight."

"Mm."

". . . You're not gonna come with, are you?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. I think..."

Alice stands up. She looks at Qhen, and pats them on the shoulder.

"... I need some time to think. If the time comes, and I'm not at the house... Just- There's probably not much reason for you to stick around here."

Qhen goes to say something, but Alice looks at them, and they close their mouth. Alice wanders away. Qhen mutters something under their breath at her back, and she ignores it.

( You don't actually intend to abandon Qhen, and I don't think I need to tell you that they don't plan on leaving you here. )

"Why not? We barely know each other. I caught them breaking into my house, then I blacked out- then we fought, then I bound the Muse in their heart to the Void Manifest. Unlike you and I- They are not bound to stick around. They benefit from it, but the downsides..."

( . . . Are you alright, Alice of Vaugen? )

"OF COURSE NOT! They're all GONE! Everybody! All these people! Without a trace! I don't know what happened to them!

( But you were talking about how you barely knew them. Do you feel that strongly about them...? )

"That doesn't MATTER! It doesn't matter. They were people. Families. Friends. Partners. Siblings. Pets. Young. Old. They didn't deserve this, did they?"

( I have no way to know that, Alice of Vaugen. I know only about the things I know about... and what I now know is that you have a fair amount of compassion. You said they were taken without a trace, correct? Maybe they are still alive. )

"... That's really nice of you to say, but unless I imagined those monsters, or the terrible scar in my chest... I'm pretty sure they're gone. If I find some evidence to otherwise, sure..."

Alice stopped walking. She turned.

". . . Your name is Empty?"

( Yes. )

"Why do I know that?"

( You are opening up to me. Like I said. The more we share, the close we become, metaphorically. I apologize. )

"Oh... Whatever. ... I should... probably..."

( ) Go check more of the town
( ) Start collecting supplies
( ) Go check the airship docks
( ) Go wander the forest
( ) Check the Spring Fountain
( ) Talk to Qhen
( ) Go looking for that ice cream. That seems like a good way to apologize to Qhen. (Edited In)
( ) Talk to Empty some More

> Ice cream. Come on, you did say you were gonna get ice cream!!!

>"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream"

"You know what? I don't have time to be sad or angry or otherwise self-involved. I have a mission. I said Qhen and I could have ice cream. If I achieve only one thing today, I will find or make ice cream, and then... Qhen and I can sit at the house and argue about what I plan on doing with my life."

( That sounds... fine. What do you need, Alice of Vaugen? )

"First? I need you to stop calling me that. I know that it's the way you talk, but it- ... Never mind that. We can talk about that later too. Okay. So- We've observed through visiting various buildings that power is on, right?"

( You have said as such, yes. )

"Right. So if I'm correct about how large this island is... there's probably at least one market. Hopefully one large enough to support a few refrigeration units. I'll pick up some ingredients and..."

Alice moves deeper into the town, occasionally calling out in hopes of finding someone. She checks buildings as she passes them, marking them based on how difficult they'll be to search. She doesn't talk much to Empty during the trip, instead choosing to wallow in her own thoughts. That doesn't help, but what else is she going to do? Talk about her feelings with a weird... not-god? Nah. Not right now. Not yet. She's still working through all. . . this.

She finds what she believes is the town square, and looking around, locates a store. She peeks inside. Yup! Store!

"Objective Complete! Now for the next objective, I'm going to start searching for some stuff- Hey, Empty?"

( Yes, Alice of Vaugen? )

"I got a little more time reading the book this morning over breakfast. Can I... make use of the voidspace?"

( Indeed you can. Are you asking, regarding the unique chronological properties? )

"Yeah... Is that- Okay with you?"

( I understand and appreciate your thoughts on the matter, but the voidspace is no home for me. It was simply something I made use of. With the book in your possession, the voidspace is now yours, if anything. )

"Okay. I'll accept that- for now. So, if I remember correctly, I just-"

Empty watched as Alice focused on the air in front of her, bringing her hands together. It could see, feel the energy coming from her as she brought her thoughts together and allowed them to coalesce physically into a key- or rather, a small thin golden rod with a decorative 'wing' on one end. Walking into the store, she found a wall with a magazine rack against it. Pulling it away, she felt the wall, then brought the 'key' up to the wall and gently slid it in, the material of the wall giving away like it was nothing. A line formed, making a rectangular outline, and when she turned the key and pushed... The wall swung open, revealing the white emptiness of the voidspace beyond.

{Alice has acquired the Void Key}

"That's... amazing. But it makes me tired to do this. I presume I shouldn't use this power too often."

( That is a safe assumption to make, however, the more you use it, the greater your capacity will become, as well. )

"Right- Well... Gotta start somewhere I guess."

Alice took a little bit of time to collect some things, wishing she had thought to bring a bag from home. A crystal of salt, a cone of sugar, some spices, herbs, and a few other assorted food supplies. She carried them into the voidspace through the door, left them by the little table she had constructed earlier, then went back out to get a few more things.

"I don't suppose it helps me to ask you what time it is, does it?"

( Not only do I not experience time in the same way as you, but I do not have a watch. There's one here, but who's to say it's been set? )

Walking past Empty, Alice took the watch and put it back on the shelf where it sat.

"And I don't plan on taking anything that... expensive. I feel bad enough taking what I already have. This is stealing- and before you say anything, yes. Stealing from the dead or possibly dead is still stealing. Let's just head back now."

Pulling on the key as she walked out, the door to the voidspace close behind her, and with a twist and a pull, the key came out cleanly, except for a small hole where she had placed the key in the wall, and a faint outline of where the door once was.

As she began to walk back to her house, Alice was glad that her plan of 'walk down a single street until she found what she needed' was working. She barely, if at all knew the layout of the town, and didn't really want to get lost. That would be embarrassing. On the way back, she called out to Qhen, but didn't get a response. She worried, until she actually reached her house and found Qhen passed out in one of the chairs in the downstairs library, with a book in their lap. Alice got an urge to pat Qhen on the head, but has already learned not to startle them. So she moved on.

She walked into her pantry, and looked around on the shelves until she found- An ice cream churn! And it was clean. How about that? Slipping the key out of her pocket, she found a clear space of the pantry wall, and made a door to the voidspace. Wandering in, she went over to the table and sat down next to the piles of things she had grabbed. Salt. Sugar. Some tightly capped bottles of milk and cream that she hoped were still good. They were in an icebox when she found them, so suspected the best. And... this other stuff.

" . . . Hey, voices, you there? ... This is gonna sound weird- but... I don't suppose you have a suggestion on what type of ice cream I should make? I have some spices... and some boxes of dried fruits... and this pouch of nuts and- . . . "

"Is it wrong that I want to stay here? Even if it's just for another few days... I want to be absolutely sure there's no survivors... and- I guess... 'gather' more supplies for... my journey."

Alice fell over backwards and stared up into the white void.

". . . I don't even know what I want to do. What am I supposed to do?"

>As for the ice cream, just toss everything you have in. It'll be a new flavor. The Alice Blend. You could get rich off that patent, you know?
>I agree, you should do a thorough search of the town and surrounding areas. Supplies, survivors, intel, and not to mention ample opportunities for some creative graffiti.

> Uhhhh maybe don't toss everything in. That's not how cooking works i think. It might taste too "spicy". Do you have any knowledge of cooking? If not, make one plain batch and one every spice batch. If you do... make your faveorite flavor?? Or the every spice one if you think it'll be good.

> I concur with the other voice! Maybe get Qhen too?

> Do you have cinnamon? Cinnamon ice cream is tasty and not too offensive to the taste buds. Perhaps have a little 'make your own' thing going on. I'm sure Qhen could add what they like to it.

> Staying and looking around is a good idea. Maybe Qhen's 'friends' could give you some help in supplies as well? Or at least maybe they could give you a backpack for storage? Do -you- have a backpack somewhere? We need to get some inventory space going.

Alice laid there on the floor of the void and listened to the voices.

"Well, I guess we're all in agreement one one thing. Lets see."

She sat back up and started going through the ingredients she had grabbed.

"Of course I know how to cook! It was one of the many skills my parents and guardians insisted I had to learn. Can't survive on pre-packaged foods and wild meat and vegetables badly burnt on a cook fire, can you? I mean, sometimes it's just not a choice. But if you have a choice... It should at least taste good, right?"

Salt. Sugar. Milk. Cream. She even remembered eggs! Those were a little tricky, because again, she didn't have a container ready... She had found some cloth on sale, and removed a piece to bundle up to make a safe carrying receptacle for the eggs. She looked at the various little bits she had grabbed for 'flavorings'.... and she realized she had no idea what Qhen liked! Had she worried about that already? Oh well! No time to worry about that now! She grabbed what she needed, loaded it into a bowl and set to work! Luckily she remembered to bring her kitchen file-knife to help dispatch the salt and sugar crystals.

When Alice came back out, a little bit of time had passed. It was starting to get dark, and Qhen was sitting in the living room.

"Hey Qhen."

"Oh. Alice... I didn't hear you come in."

"I was in the voidspace. I learned how to make a key so we can go in and out of it as long as we have enough of a flat surface to make a door on."

"...That's... pretty cool. I don't get it, but that's cool. . . Uh..."

"Before you start- Can I interest you in some ice cream?"

". . . Really? You... found some?"

"Better, I MADE some! I had an ice cream churn, and all I had to do was find some ingredients... which I stored inside the voidspace until I got back here."

"Huh. That stuff is kinda convenient, huh? Well, sure, I'd love some!"

Qhen stared at her bowl.

"... Is this chocolate and..." -nomf- ". . .Sizzleseed?"

"Yeah. It's something I've always liked. If it's not your thing, I made some plain vanilla. It's in the icebox."

"Well- No- I mean- ... I've never had anything like this."

"What, ice cream?"

"No, a handmade meal and- ... Uh, never mind. Thank you, it's quite lovely. The spice really goes well with the bitter chocolate you used."

". . . Thanks."

. . . Qhen and Alice sat there and enjoyed their desert in awkward silence.

"So... You're going to stay, aren't you?"

"... Yeah. I just thought maybe I could ask a favor...?"

"I dunno. Maybe? What's the favor?"

"I was thinking- Maybe when you call your friends back... You could ask if they might stick around for a little bit? Maybe a day or two...?"

"Uh- I could TRY? They're not- .. really my friends- but I can try. Why?"

"Well, I wanted some help clearing the buildings as quickly as possible. Cleaning up rubble, and I wanted to recover as much supplies as I could from the houses. They don't need to know about the part where I plan on stashing what I can in the voidspace for safe keeping."

Qhen looked up from their bowl, and slowly tilted their head.

". . . Alice, you really have NO idea where you live, do you?"

Alice looked up from her bowl now, and looked at Qhen, and tilted her head to match their angle. She was trying to read Qhen- which IS one of the skills she supposedly learned- but when you don't speak to people very often, it kinda gets rusty. She's not sure what kind of face Qhen is making.

"... No. Like I said. I haven't really... gone out much. I was surprised to find the ingredients I needed for the ice cream, really."

"Well, the island itself isn't too big. It's made up of two structures. You're sort of situated between the two of them: The forest, and the town. They're roughly the same size... When I traveled around, checking the list you gave me, I counted- if I was to guess, a couple hundred houses? Every house that was three or four stories looked like individually owned floors... There were maybe almost... let's say a couple dozen- 'other' buildings of various sizes?"

"Oh. ... Meaning... it would take an amount of time to clean up that would be unreasonable to ask your crew mates to help with. I understand."

Qhen just made another face that Alice is desperately trying to decode.

"That's... not what you wanted to hear. You wanted me to say..."

". . ."

"... I'll... come with you?"

". . ."

"I'm not good at communicating, Qhen."

"Clearly I am not much better."

"Yeah but- I can't just ask you to stick around and wait for me to finish my work-"

" . . . "

". . . o-oh.

". . ."

"Qhen... Would you like to..."

( ) "Stay with me?"
( ) "Stick around until I'm ready to leave?"
( ) "Help out for a while?"
( ) "Uh- I've got a guest room?"
( ) "Sleep in my house and read my books and help me raid the hundreds of homes for useful items?"
( ) "Have some more ice cream?"
( ) please help I have no idea what to say. also we really need to figure out what it is I'm even doing. Like... what am I hoping to achieve by doing this? It's not like I need money- maybe. If I don't leave on this airship with Qhen, will I have another chance? I haven't looked around at the airship yards... Could I just.. live here for the foreseeable future? you know what after Qhen talks to their people and everything is said and done, maybe we can all just sit around and talk about the future for a little bit. deal?

> please help I have no idea what to say. also we really need to figure out what it is I'm even doing. Like... what am I hoping to achieve by doing this? It's not like I need money- maybe. If I don't leave on this airship with Qhen, will I have another chance? I haven't looked around at the airship yards... Could I just.. live here for the foreseeable future? you know what after Qhen talks to their people and everything is said and done, maybe we can all just sit around and talk about the future for a little bit. deal?

( ) "Stay with me?"
( ) "Stick around until I'm ready to leave?"
( ) "Help out for a while?"
( ) "Uh- I've got a guest room?"
(✓) "Sleep in my house and read my books and help me raid the hundreds of homes for useful items?"
(✓) "Have some more ice cream?"
( ) please help I have no idea what to say. also we really need to figure out what it is I'm even doing. Like... what am I hoping to achieve by doing this? It's not like I need money- maybe. If I don't leave on this airship with Qhen, will I have another chance? I haven't looked around at the airship yards... Could I just.. live here for the foreseeable future? you know what after Qhen talks to their people and everything is said and done, maybe we can all just sit around and talk about the future for a little bit. deal?

>With a suggested focus on things that may be channeled into the creation, maintenance and upgrade of your weaponry. Developing some nonlethal Bullets might also deserve a place on the agenda<

>"Stay with me? We could have all kinds of adventures, like in the serialized adventure novels. We could raid the town and then find a way off the island when we've had our fill of plunder. Arrrrr, Matey!"

( ) "Stay with me?"
( ) "Stick around until I'm ready to leave?"
( ) "Help out for a while?"
( ) "Uh- I've got a guest room?"
(✓) "Sleep in my house and read my books and help me raid the hundreds of homes for useful items?"
(✓) "Have some more ice cream?"
( ) please help I have no idea what to say. also we really need to figure out what it is I'm even doing. Like... what am I hoping to achieve by doing this? It's not like I need money- maybe. If I don't leave on this airship with Qhen, will I have another chance? I haven't looked around at the airship yards... Could I just.. live here for the foreseeable future? you know what after Qhen talks to their people and everything is said and done, maybe we can all just sit around and talk about the future for a little bit. deal?

>With a suggested focus on things that may be channeled into the creation, maintenance and upgrade of your weaponry. Developing some nonlethal Bullets might also deserve a place on the agenda<

Ideas for nonlethal bullets:

Low voltage electrical shocks (disrupt attacks)
A net launcher type thing (capturing foes)
Sonic bullets (prevent a foe from hearing for a turn or something)
Gas grenades (possibly for eye irritation?)
Sleep gas (maybe only usable if the foe is hanging on via willpower?)
Rubber bullets (blunt impact)

Also find a blunt melee weapon of some sort. Perhaps a click-on stock for precision aiming + melee?

" . . . "

no that was me asking, that's not-

"?"

" . . . "

okay thats

" . . . "

wait-

" . . . "

"Alice-?"

"Qhen, please stay with me, in my house and you can sleep here and read my books and I'll cook and we can hang out, and I don't mean you have to sleep here, I have a bed, I mean another bed, I think there is like three beds in this place, and when I'm done with my weird obsessive need to seek closure by searching the island we can go on adventures but I mean I could just leave here for the foreseeable future but I can't really ask you to do THAT and I mean what if there isn't a way off this island except that airship I haven't gotten to check the airship docks, maybe all the ships are gone- I don't know If I could build one and-"

Qhen reached over sloooowwwlly and put a hand on Alice's mouth.

"You're- Ah... You're freaking out again, Alice. And you're kinda freaking me out. I'll ask the crew if they saw anything at the airship docks, and if the answer is no, I'll let you know that first and you can reconsider things then, okay? For now, the answer is yes. I think I can stand to just settle down and keep an eye on your library while you go and obsessively search the town for clues about what happened."

". . ."

"... Anything else?"

"I almost shot you through the chest with an anti-armor shell because I was afraid you were an 8 foot tall werewolf made of metal and bone and I almost could have killed you if the voices hadn't convinced me to try and take you captive first."

"I... appreciate your honesty. Have you considered non-lethal rounds?"

"Honestly? If I can, I would like to find a better weapon. This thing is basically an emergency sidearm. It's a flare gun that fires artillery shells."

"Mmm. Well, I am going to head outside, and call the airship. I'll be back in a little bit. Alright?"

Alice opened her mouth to say something, but just closed it again and nodded. Qhen patted her on the shoulder- Ow. Her shoulder still hurt. Or Qhen is just too strong. She's not sure which. They took their flare out with them, and after a couple of minutes, Alice heard a whistle and pop of a flare outside. The amount of light shined suggested that Qhen decided to jog away a bit before lighting it up. She looked at the bowls. Dishes. She can do dishes while she waits.

". . . That went well, I think, what do you think?"

Somewhere, in the back of her head, Alice heard herself laughing.