Escher Tower Waltz, Vol 2: You're in my world now, not yours...

[Hijinks]

Jink was incandescently happy. Finally, he had guests to toy with. Carliah and Joelle had been here with him, and were with him right now, but he hadn't shown his lover or his adopted kitten exactly what the Tower (now really a castle, after tens of generations of guardians building it up) could do to people. It represented a place where space held no meaning. A door the size of a small starship could simply lad to a cleaning closet, or nowhere, just right into a wall.

The Cheshire Warden smiled at the ships he could see docking in his little castle. These people would either have the greatest adventure of their lives, or learn the true meaning of fear, depending on how they reacted to this strange place he called home. He would show them a bit of the way, how to use the doors, and how to walk the illusory worlds behind them. But the rest would be in their hands. Sanity, life, death, heaven, hell... All of these things are subjective in the mad world of the Escher. Ghosts from ages past come back to haunt the young, and beasts that were extinct live again. The secrets, prosperity, and terror that the galaxy forgot could all be found here, if one just knew where to look.

His smile broadened, as he stepped out of the door to the rooms that had once been his, but he now shared with his new 'family'. It led into a impossibly long hall: the Crossroads. The first door on his left opened at his touch, and he stepped out into the main hangar of the Escher, grinning at all his guests.

"Well, I believe there's time for breakfast, and then you'll all get to run off into this home of mine. Any questions?"

[member="Corruck Kazen"], [member='Krest'], [member='Alexandra Lianne Feanor'], [member='Myla Mireya'], [member='Joelle Dain'], [member='Darth Vivaldi'], [member='Adenn Gra'tua']

 

[Alatar Istari]

Joelle followed her adopted daddy and peeked out from behind him at the guests arriving, wearing a new white off-shoulder dress from her adopted mother and Sith master, Carliah. Amity, her ever present carrier butterfly, fluttered around her head a few times before landing on her shoulder, and watched the guests warily, slowly opening and closing its wings.

Joelle whispered into her daddy's ear, "Who're the guests, daddy? Do you know what's for breakfast?" If the guests noticed her, she wouldn't know unless they asked about her.

[member="Hijinks"] [member="Darth Vivaldi"]

 

[Juwiela Melec]

Currently seated in the cockpit of her Yavin-Class Fighter, the Blind Gambit, Juwiela was shutting down the systems of her personal fighter one-by-one, taking her time with the routine. Minutes of this passed before she finally opened the cockpit and stepped out into the hangar bay, adjusting the durasteel staff across her back into a more comfortable position, studying the Force signatures of any and all nearby individuals for a moment. One of them, specifically that of [member="Corruck Kazen"], she recognized as familiar, the rest of them alien to her. Couple that with the strange nexus that seemed to permeate the building - or maybe it was a space station of sorts - that she'd landed in. All things considered, her Sight was a bit disoriented.

So for a moment she didn't reply to the question asked of them, simply centering herself so that she'd be able to navigate wherever it was she'd managed to find herself. The one silver lining was that she hadn't been shot at yet, and nor had anyone tried to do so, so that was one thing she could be thankful for. And something told her that would be one of very few things, in the long run. "Not a bad place. Any idea as to when we'll be able to leave? It isn't that I don't appreciate your hospitality, but some of us have places to be."

The last thing she'd expected to encounter while flying was a place like this, and it was curious enough to give her cause to investigate. This far in it hadn't been proven too bad of a decision, but she didn't intend on staying for too long. But apparently the man that stood before them had other things in mind, or had otherwise expected their arrival. That just made this situation all the more curious, but she still remained silent, simply studying the one who stood before her.

[member="Hijinks"]

((The Princess and the Frog references. I see what you did there.))

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Corruck had been quietly standing outside of a small ship, it was not his usual mode of transportation, but he figured that the Recalcitrant was of better use elsewhere. He looked around the large room, too large it seemed. It didn't make sense, but he got the feeling that this place would hardly live up to regular standards. Just looking at the man he got the same feeling. But he didn't have concrete evidence to follow the feeling, so he simply let it go.

Corruck felt to his left hip, where his little blaster pistol, Core's Death lay nestled in his pocket. He could feel the distinct push of his other gun, Dropper on his back and he needed nothing other than the feeling to tell him it was there. He didn't expect trouble, but it was better to be safe rather than sorry. He found this an odd place to call home. He wondered what sort of things were hidden within its walls. It would be an interesting day that was for sure, there may be treasures or beasts inside.

He stayed silent when the question was asked, he recognized the voice. At least there was one assured ally here.

[member="Hijinks"]

 

[Hijinks]

Jink looked down at Joelle, smiling gently. The girl had definitely made both him and Carliah happier, giving them somebody who needed them both around most of the time. It would have almost struck a chord of normality, if 'daddy' and 'mommy' hadn't been aliens who could use the Force. Of course, there was something that made his adopted kitten irresistible to animals... But that wasn't what Jink was worried about, now. It was time for him to have some fun.

"Well, Kitten, they're my toys... I'm gonna play with them like a cat plays with yarn. They're gonna see just what this old castle of mine can do."

At her second question, he smiled and picked her up easily. He was a strong old cat, and Joelle was still pretty light for a 13 year old girl. He ruffled her hair, and chuckled.

"Well, princess, what do you want for breakfast today? We've got droids that cook better than I do."

[member="Joelle Dain"] [member="Juwiela Melec"] [member='Corruck Kazen']

 

[Alatar Istari]

Joelle laughed as the cat picked her up, "Can I play with the yarn too? The droids are going to make thin pan cakes then wrap them around fruit and top them with whipped cream (palachinki, a Czech breakfast/dessert)."

She looked around, "Is mommy here yet?"Joelle watched the guests with bubbling curiosity as to what their fate would be, and if they liked pancakes.

She knew that her mom would be coming, she always did. Joelle whispered something to Amity and the butterfly flew off and fluttered around the guests, apparently listening to their conversations, if they were having any.

[member="Hijinks"]

 

[Hijinks]

Jink smiled at his adopted daughter, and tapped her nose with a finger. Then he pointed with the same finger at a droid leaning on a doorway, with a moronic little shock of white synth-hair poking out of one side of his head. That old machine had been his cook since before he could walk, and he'd gladly stepped back into the role when the cat had brought his new family here.

(I've had those before... 'cept I think my grandma had some French name for it...)

"Well, why don't I start teaching you how to play with the yarn, little cat? You might need to, one day."

He wasn't particularly sure that it'd be possible for him to pass the title of the Escher Guardian onto his little girl, but he'd damn well try. And he'd be a better father to Joelle than his dad had been to him. He was sure of it. Still pointing at the droid, his voice turned to a whisper.

"I'm gonna see if I can wake Carly up, while you go ask that old junker to cook you those yummy pancakes."

With that, he turned from his guests, opened the door, and disappeared back to their rooms. He wondered vaguely if Carliah was, in fact, still asleep up there. It wouldn't stop him if she was, but he'd have to wake her, and he didn't like doing that...

[member="Corruck Kazen"], [member='Krest'], [member='Alexandra Lianne Feanor'], [member='Myla Mireya'], [member='Joelle Dain'], [member='Darth Vivaldi'], [member='Adenn Gra'tua'], [member='Juwiela Melec']

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Corruck was thoroughly lost and a little creeped out by these two, one of which was the host. He had hoped that he had left all the strange people back on his ship...but now he knew better. These ones were even weirder than the ones he had just left.

He turned to [member="Juwiela Melec"] asking in a whisper, "Do you also get the feeling these two are a little odd?"

He wasn't trying to be rude, but he wanted to feel out how the others felt in this situation. Especially when he didn't know what the outcome could be of this. He did not like the sound of being played with like yarn. That was definitely not something that he had intended on ever having done to him. The person obviously cared for his daughter, but he doubted that care went as far as his guests.

[member="Juwiela Melec"]
[member="Hijinks"]

 

[Alatar Istari]

"Okay!" She ran over to the old droid, spoke to it, and followed it down to the dining area, motioning for the guests to follow. "Breakfast is this way, guests!"

Once everyone had found a place to sit, she left the guests, with Amity to watch them, to see how the cook was doing.



[member="Hijinks"] [member="Corruck Kazen"] [member="Juwiela Melec"] [member="Krest"] [member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"] [member="Myla Mireya"] [member="Darth Vivaldi"] [member="Adenn Gra'tua"]

 

[Adenn Gra'tua]

Adenn stood silent with his helmet under his left arm, scanning the hangar that he was in and other ships that were around it, a small frown on his face for no real reason, it had just been there since he'd got here, so he decided to keep it on his face as he did whatever he needed to do here, but it was apparent that he wasn't exactly needed to do anything. As [member="Hijinks"] left the room Adenn raised an eyebrow for a moment, wondering why he didn't ask a question, as he now had hundreds, one of them why that pink haired man left him and the few other people occupying the hangar in it so quickly, but the bounty hunter shrugged as he raised a hand to scratch his neck "Sooo... Are we just supposed to walk around, or something?" the Adenn asked, looking to [member="Corruck Kazen"] as if he held an answer, before he raised his helmet to his head so he could slide it on, a small hiss announcing that the suit he was wearing was sealed, before he turned to the young girl who had called everyone after her, for some 'breakfast'. Adenn shrugged as he started following the girl, quickly a dining area was found and the bounty hunter took a seat, as he removed his helmet he felt slightly agitated since he had just put it on, but it was mainly his timing, if only he'd waited ten seconds more to put it on.

[member="Hijinks"] [member="Juwiela Melec"] [member="Corruck Kazen"] [member="Joelle Dain"]

 

[Juwiela Melec]

Her only response to [member="Corruck Kazen"]'s question was a nod. Even without being able to see the individuals before her the aura she felt through the Force told her all she needed to know. It wasn't that they were necessarily unstable, but the feeling she got from them wasn't what she considered average for any sentient she'd ever encountered in her travels. If anything, this would be an experience to share with the other Rebels when they were eventually allowed to leave. But for now there was breakfast to contend with, whether they met it in the literal sense or not.

So with a slight smile in his direction Juwiela followed after the young girl and another man, this one armored, pausing briefly once they arrived at the dining area, her first instinct being to scan the immediate area for any threats before sitting. As it were she still wasn't certain whether she would give them her real name or go by the callsign that each member of the Alliance had decided for themselves. Her staff she turned just a bit to the side so it would be comfortable when she sat, studying the other guests through her own Sight.

However they had wound up in this building that was seemingly in the middle of uncharted space with no other warning of its being there than the odd Force energy it exuded into the atmosphere of her ship and any other that docked there. Whatever this next meeting entailed, she was certain it would have just as interesting an outcome as their simple landing there had.

[member="Adenn Gra'tua"], [member="Joelle Dain"], [member="Hijinks"]

 

[Alatar Istari]

About fifteen minutes after Joelle had left them, she returned and sat down, followed by the servant droids holding plates of the dish she had requested, the droids passing out each plate to each of the guests and leaving two at the two empty seats, reserved for Carliah and Jink as soon as they came down. She looked around cheerfully at the guests and spoke up, "The host will be down shortly to join us, but for now, eat if you want to, it's not poisoned." She then started to eat her dish politely, encouraging the guests to at least take a bite.

[member="Juwiela Melec"] [member="Adenn Gra'tua"] [member="Corruck Kazen"] [member="Hijinks"]

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Corruck followed the little girl silently. This was getting weirder by the minute. Now they were offering breakfast after saying that these people would be played with like toys. He was now highly suspicious, he was questioning the intelligence of staying here. He wondered how secure this place was, considering the owners were...different.

He had the feeling this place was special, if only because of the people who lived here. He took a moment to look around the room. Though he didn't catch much he got the feeling that this would be an interesting house to see. If that was what was going to happen. He looked forward to what was planned, in some sort of strange way that he truly wished he did not. He stayed silent as the food came in soon after. He took a small fork full of the food and chewed it thoughtfully. It tasted good, though he was cautious with the amount he ate. He kept his outward appearance completely stone as he ate, it was quite enjoyable but he didn't want to telegraph that feeling.

[member="Juwiela Melec"]
[member="Adenn Gra'tua"]
[member="Hijinks"]
[member="Joelle Dain"]

 

[Alatar Istari]

Joelle motioned to the butterfly fluttering around the ceiling, which flew down to its mistress's shoulder. She picked up a piece of the fruit and set it aside, which the butterfly flew to and began to suck the juice from it. Joelle looked at the man next to her and smiled kindly, dwarfed by him in size. "Have you ever seen a carrier butterfly before, sir?" Her innocent smile and big blue eyes siren with complete comfortability at asking the stranger a question.

[member="Corruck Kazen"]
[member="Juwiela Melec"]
[member="Adenn Gra'tua"]
[member="Hijinks"]

 

[Adenn Gra'tua]

Adenn looked at the food as it was placed in front of him before he looked at the other people to see if they were eating, and two of them were, the girl that had brought everyone here was eating slowly, along with the white haired man, only he had a straight face that didn't move much as he ate, which the bounty hunter found slightly amusing. As Adenn grabbed a fork to eat with he set his helmet down by one of the legs of his seat, giving it a small pat to make sure it wouldn't move, before cutting a small piece of the food in front of him and eating it, which he quickly found it was quite tasty, that expression was also shown on his face as he swallowed, lighly nodding in approval to the foods tastiness as he went to cut another piece, slightly hearing the girl's question as he did so, but he didn't respond, as he didn't think it was directed towards him at the moment.

[member="Juwiela Melec"] [member="Joelle Dain"] [member="Corruck Kazen"] [member="Hijinks"]

 

[Hijinks]

Jink shook his head as he looked into the room he and Carliah were sleeping in while they were here, and sighed as he saw his red-loving queen still laid out across the bed. No waking her up when she was like that. Oh, well. He closed the door, and walked back through the crossroads, to the dining room. Walking in on the ceiling rather than the ground, he floated gently to recline across the arms of his throne-like chair at the table.

"Well, I see my daughter's gotten you all well-fed. I can tell you now: this will not be the only pleasure you feel this trip. You'll have either the time of your lives, or the greatest hell your mind can muster."

He called his plate into his hand with the Force, took a bite of the fruity pancake, and winked at his guests.

"Yum."

[member="Joelle Dain"] [member="Juwiela Melec"] [member="Adenn Gra'tua"] [member="Corruck Kazen"]

 

[Juwiela Melec]

Maybe the man wasn't aware that Miraluka - or rather, hybrids, in her case - weren't able to see the facial expressions of others like most species could, or maybe he'd directed the gesture towards the others that sat at the table with her, but regardless, Juwiela found it slightly amusing that he did so. Most weren't aware of the fact that she, or any others like her, couldn't see the faces of others, and it was something she simply went along with. Hearing a smile in someone's voice was easy enough, but seeing it was something beyond her. Perhaps he was aware, though if he wasn't she'd make him aware eventually.

Regardless of that, she pushed her plate aside once their host sat, part of it being that she wasn't really hungry to begin with, the other being that she was still wary of exactly who these people were. Rarely were random run-ins such as this prosperous for the visiting party, so unless she had a change of heart, remain cautious she would. She'd been given no reason to trust them, so she wouldn't, simple as that. Although she wasn't sure if the other Rebel had the same thoughts, from his guarded behavior, she guessed it to be so.

The way the building was spoken of was still strange to her, but from the strange feeling in the Force that it gave off, she supposed that it wasn't entirely untrue. Something about it was off, but she wasn't sure what just yet. The man who sat at the head of the table talked of it as if it were another sentient being. That was new, though not entirely strange, as she'd thought something was off about the lot of them beforehand. This only added to it.

"When is it we get to go on this trip, as you put it? I can't speak for the rest of them, but I'm not much a fan of waiting around."

[member="Hijinks"], [member="Adenn Gra'tua"], [member="Joelle Dain"], [member="Corruck Kazen"]

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Corruck had watched with close attention to the words spoken. He wasn't certain to answer the question, as he did not recognize the butterfly but he also didn't want to give any amount of knowledge to these people about himself. Not until he could learn more about the people who were going to play with them.

He noted that [member="Juwiela Melec"] also did not seem to want to let any feelings show. She seemed to guard herself against others learning more of her. It was an intelligent decision, as they knew nothing of these people who obviously were either insane or a degree of strangeness that was dangerous to them. Either way, Corruck was glad that she was not taking chances either. He agreed with her sentiment, at least the sentiment that was most easily identified by her question.

He pushed his plate away from and moved further into his seat, keeping his back dead straight. His food was mostly gone, testament to his somewhat meager hunger that had been satisfied. Even though the food was very different from what he grown used to, it was most certainly better than ration bars. He was wondering what the man meant when he stated that this could be an amazing time or hell. He wondered how it could be either, but then Corruck guessed it meant that depending on your view it could be one or the other.

[member="Hijinks"]
[member="Adenn Gra'tua"]
[member="Joelle Dain"]

 

[Alatar Istari]

Joelle finished her plate and sat back, watching Amity finish off its fruit, then whispered to it. Amity flew off and returned, holding a tiny band, too small for any finger, but small enough to fit onto the butterfly. Joelle let the butterfly land on her finger, gently took the band from it, then fastened it to its left leg. "Go on Amity, you can explore now." The little carrier butterfly fluttered off.

Joelle saw her daddy come back, and giggled when he floated down from the ceiling, already guessing that Carliah was still sleeping.

[member="Corruck Kazen"]
[member="Juwiela Melec"]
[member="Hijinks"]
[member="Adenn Gra'tua"]

 

[Carliah Dakrone]

Carliah finally awoke and dressed for the day. She waltzed out into the room Joelle and Jink were in and snuck up behind the small girl. She placed her hand over Joelle's eye and smiled. She had fun playing tricks on her daughter/student. The little girl had some very interesting reactions to the things Carliah would do. After this little play time in the tower was over Carliah would begin training the girl for real. [member="Joelle Dain"] [member="Hijinks"]