[She hasn't used the network in awhile, preferring to do things face-to-face. That and all the crazy and scary things that had happened the past couple of weeks was not the best thing to think about. Sora remembered how she would cry and whimper about being useless and unable to help but oddly enough...there was something a friend told her while in the city. And while he was no longer among them, it didn't mean his words didn't hold any power.

She just had to have courage and turn it on...]

Hi Asgard, it's been awhile since I used this and know what exactly has changed within nine months.

[There's no bubbliness from her, the reasoning behind her post being far from a social call.]

It's getting really dangerous here with everything going on and I realize that standing around and expect others to protect me won't work here. So I was wondering...is there anyone who can teach self defense here? I need to know just in case.

[Anyone in the general vicinity of the hospital in Sigyn - more precisely, the vicinity of the Everyday Sunshine building - might catch Kanji at work setting things up, organizing cute bits and pieces and generally making a nice looking display. It's been more than a week since his stall's been open, and he's making up for lost ground.
Not that he could help it. Going home can be a drag like that.

He sets a sign outside, decorated to the point of possible overkill, down to having a (drawn up, sadly) plushie pointing at it: Craft stall re-opening!

And to announce things a bit more, the video feed opens from inside the building, set up to take the stall in the best he can:]

Hey, everyone.

Just lettin' anyone who was lookin' for my craft stall this last - uh, is it a week? Two? I can't work it out... anyway, I'm up and running again. Yeah, I got pulled home for a bit. [Shrug.] Not like I could help it, right?

So... the cute stuff's ready to go again. And I'm doin' a 'first day back' sale. Come on over and get it!

While I'm here, though... have I missed anything?

[Oh god, being five years old for a bit of time can really make someone feel weird. That and she might've scared some people. Well, time to do some damage control.]

Um, to those who saw a little girl about a week ago...well, that was me. You see, sometimes people get stuck with curses and that's what mine was.

[But yeah, she had to say something to the newcomers who took care of her while a bitty.]

Well, for those who are new, I'm Sora Naegino. Now that I think about it, it was winter when I first arrived here and since it's getting colder, I wonder if it's coming soon. I wonder how long has it been since I was home...?

[Ladies and gentlemen, meet the weirdo acrobat girl who has kind of dazed off just as the feed ends.]

[ Katniss has several strong, straight sticks in one pile sitting on the table, just across the from where her bracelet has been placed. She knows not to take it off and wander far, or to take it off for long, but if she stays close enough she can remove it from her wrist. It's easy to see her, though only up to her shoulders at this close a shot, as she picks up each stick and skillfully wields a small knife to sharpen each stick into an arrow. A small pile of feathers rests not far from the sticks, and upon finishing each stick to her satisfaction, she creates a stiff fletching for each, setting the nearly finished products aside. She'll give them arrowheads later. This is the busywork she does to keep herself distracted, and grounded, and sane. She is no longer given comfort by the smell of bread in the house, but she knows she's safe, so the footprints she hears approaching do not distract her from her work. ]

[Finnick hops. Yes, hops, not walks, runs or saunters into frame as he leans forward and chuckles.]

Keeping busy?

[ She doesn't even look up to acknowledge him, and her voice is soft and flat and sullen when she replies. ]

Trying to.

[He starts to hum, and he sways in the background hips twisting as he leans forward on the table next to her.]

Katniss? Hey Katniss.

[ She pauses only long enough to take a slow breath, so she doesn't get too irritated with him too quickly. Then she returns to her knifestrokes with fervor, stripping away the bark easily and whittling to the pliant, soft fibers beneath. ]

Yes, Finnick?

[He just starts to sing at her. Yes, his voice isn't all that amazing, no but it's a sea shanty that he was taught back in district four.]

Well a hundred years on the eastern shore
Oh yes, Oh
Oh, a hundred years on the eastern shore
A Hundred years ago

Well its Bully John from Baltimore
Well I knew him well on the eastern shore...

[ He's certainly not her father as far as singing goes, no, but... The fact that he's singing to her gives her reason to pause. She doesn't let the knife and stick out of her fingers yet, but her arms rest on the table. Though her face is not visible to those seeing this on the network, she looks at him with curiosity, eyebrows furrowed, and interrupts him. ]

Finnick, what are you doing?

[He doesn't stop singing as he reaches out and gently guides the tools from her hands as he grins. It's that full of life grin as he pauses making sure she can't stab him before suddenly she's yanked from the table.]

Well it's Bully John's the boy for me
He's a buckle on land and a bully at sea

Well its been a long time and a very long time
Well its been a long time since I made this rhyme

[ Katniss is too surprised by the sudden onslaught of song and random frivolity to struggle too much, but when she's yanked from the chair, she barks at him. Her bracelet is knocked farther back as her hip hits the table, giving a wider view of the two. ]

Finnick!

[He grins at her and starts spinning her about!]

Well my old mother she wrote to me
Me darling son come home from sea

Well I thought I heard the first mate cry
That bleeding top main sheave is dry

[ Katniss only just then connects that he's trying to get her to dance with him. She's not thrilled with it, but he's so persistent that she can't help but go along with him. She listens carefully to the tune until she picks it up, and though she doesn't know the words, she starts to hum the harmonies. There may be life left in her yet. ]

[As he continues to sing at her, and he hears her start to hum and he starts it over again, spinning her around, until the song is no longer that, but a lively laugh out of Finnick. He abruptly stops as he gets to dizzy holding onto her grinning like an idiot.]

[ She picks up on the words quickly and starts to sing along in harmony now, though she misses a few here and there. She stops when he starts laughing and just watches his face, and tries to register the own kind of joy within herself. It's hard to find, but when she lets herself enjoy the spinning, a smile breaks out on her face. She doesn't laugh like he does, but it's a real, genuine smile - a warm one, one so rare out of her that it's bright and beaming... But it lasts only a couple of seconds, and fades just as quickly as it appeared. There are traces of it left behind, a smile still on her face, but those moments of sunshine never do last with her. This is okay, though. This isn't bad. ]

There, now that's a smile!

[Finnick leans back against the table, bumping Katniss's bracelet again. With that the feed ends.]

(( OOC; BLUE is Finnick, RED is Katniss. Replies will come from both. Also, Katniss-mun is going to sleep shortly so replies may be delayed until morning. ))

[Even though the bracelet had been somewhat explained to Gaius on his arrival, he's still not sure how it's even meant to work. It's in his hands as only Merlin the village idiot would put jewelery from a random stranger on.

And for a good few moments the entire network has a close up of Gaius's trademark stare, one eyebrow already raised. Tremble in fear, judgment is upon you.]

-sted thing. Communication through a bracelet? Are they even sure about that?

[Gaius pulls back from his squinting, putting on a pair of glass so he can...squint harder. This is sorcery even he's never heard of. Well, here goes nothing right? What other options are there? Approximately zero.]

I find it very hard to believe this thing is even useful for anything. Who is hearing this?

[ Regina appears with a smile and a wave as per usual. She was a little shaken up by the battle, but she'll get to that later - for now, there's more pressing issues to attend to. ]

Hey Asgard! What's up? I guess things haven't been so good lately. Let's tidy this place up so Mr Freyr will be proud of us, wherever he is. [ She pauses. She's already getting sad! This can't happen. Better get to the real meat of her broadcast quickly. ]

Anyways, it's kind of a bummer that we're not going home, but at the same time I'll be able to talk to you all for a bit longer! You're my friends, after all! But I was wondering why my friends from home haven't shown up yet. I don't want them to get hurt, but I'd like to introduce them to you all! So next time a bunch of people arrive, I want you to look extra-specially-hard for these guys:

[ And here it comes - Regina winks and shoves a few crudely-drawn sketches right in the camera. No-one can escape them now. ]

( ooc cut for artistic genius )

Okay, that's all for now! Except for one thing. Oops, I forgot. [ She giggles, but (oddly) soon shuts up. ]

What happens after you die? I want to know, once and for all.

 [Here's a rare occurrence - Ritsu using the bracelet on purpose! And looking cheerful! He is standing in front of the former Ayame's shop...]

Hello, everyone. I'm sorry to have bothered you, but I have a small announcement to make. Myself, Sora Naegino, and Haseo Nakai have decided to keep open Ayame Sohma's Boutique. The three of us are looking for clothing designers and those who can sew, so we can continue keeping Ayame's dream alive.

[So far, so good! Only one apology, and he's being sweet and heartfelt. Could this be a day where Ritsu doesn't make an idiot out of himself?]

Ayami-nii always believed in the beauty of... Men's fantasies!

[Nnnope.]

We will strive to be the number one supplies of men's dresses! And women's too! If you like attire such as mine - 

[Yes, he's wearing a dress again.]

Then we will be the store for you!

( cut for visual representation )

[ Arthur hasn't been gone long. Many of you likely wouldn't have even noticed his absence at all. But he is returned now, just over a year older and with a new crown that he may or may not have stolen from Burger King is far more ornate than a Prince's coronet hanging in his hands. He may not be much older but he certainly looks aged. ]

It would seem this realm has not tired of its want for Kings and Queens.

[ A tight lipped smile. King Arthur of Camelot has just come from the middle of his coronation, and he is hardly amused. ]

I would ask a question of you, Travellers, if you care to answer. How many of you believed you would return home following the battle of Ragnarok, as was promised? How many of you were prepared for it? Wished for it?

[ A pause. ]

Are there any among you that held dread for the prospect, and are glad now to remain in this city for however long you might?

[ He did, once. Now, he is not so sure. He rolls the crown in his hands once, shifts. ]

Or - an easier inquiry, if you are not inclined to answer the other. How many have returned to their native realms, despite the unresolved conflict? Those of you that have made my acquaintance or would call yourselves my friends, I ask that you make known your presence.

[ Another beat, another tense smile. ]

I suppose Asgard is not yet finished with me after all.

( and some action-y things, yay! )

[Its been a long, hard time for Kyo as of late. Kyo has been sulking even more in the past few weeks, not reaching out to people. After awhile, something's gotta give right? And to put it bluntly, one Kyo Sohma had grown tired of this place and the combination of everything and nothing made him lose his cool. So when everything is said and done and the events are over, Kyo will snap literally]

[so some of you lovely people from Asgard may notice the video feed coming on as the bracelet is being chucked across the room as there is objects literally everywhere. The place looks like either a.) someone literally flipped this room upside down b.) a thief ransacked the room c.) someone just didn't care about anything in his way or d.) all of the above.  Things are scattered everywhere, sheets torn, wood chucked, objects torn in too, there's even an occasional whole spotted in the walls.  Looks like someone is having some anger management issues.  And then suddenly there's yelling off screen and something that just won't budge]

DAMMIT WHY THE HELL WON'T THIS DOOR-[and then there's a splinter and a crack almost as if some hinge was torn off.  Oops guess who just broke his front door]


SHIT, I broke it again. DAMMIT! [There's a sharp and loud crack, boom and a woosh, wood goes flying as half of the table flies past the screen] [the table falls slightly to the left of the feed and a figure shows up looking down at the bracelet. The face crumpled up in both anger and disappointment]

Why is this the only damn thing I can't break.

[then he shuts off the feed]

[It's been awhile since anyone has heard from this young woman. While everyone was getting sick and off to Utgard to run errands, Sora had lost her bracelet and just gotten it back. She...didn't know how long she was a native but even so, she should ask if anything important happened.]

I'm sorry but I wasn't here for a little bit. Could someone tell me if anything happened recently? I would very much appreciate it.

[And she ends her line. If you're out, she's on her way to Freya district, more specfically, Ayame Sohma's clothing store. Was he in now?]

Action
[Now Hiccup's been surprisingly quiet since he got pulled into this mess. Nothing's exploded, nothing's been destroyed...his father and Gobber would be so proud.

Or rather, they would have been so proud. There's such a thing as "speaking too soon".

The story starts a couple weeks ago, when Hiccup discovers a forge run by a nice, old native man, who lets him use the facilities in exchange for some labour. Molten steel, razor-sharp blades, lots of time to himself...what could possibly go wrong? As Gobber might say.

The answer is "a lot," as it turns out. If travelers and natives alike weren't warned off in the wee hours of the morning, when a certain viking can be seen lugging a largish metal-and-wood contraption through the city, they're certainly discovering this now. Once people have recovered from the shock of being pelted with what appears to be a lot of balled up parchment, they might notice the projectiles are being launched from some part of the wall around the city, and that the parchment does actually contain a message. It goes something like this:

"Have you seen this dragon?" Under the somewhat vague message is a clear, bold sketch of a dragon.

How curious.]

Video
[Some ten minutes later, a very contrite, sheepish Hiccup addresses the city.]

Sorry about the ahm...volley of parchment. It wasn't supposed to do that. I should probably fix that...

Anyway, since I'm already here, could someone let me know if they see him? His name's Toothless. I've been all over the place looking for him, but I thought asking wouldn't hurt either. Oh, and what are the chances he's outside of the city?

[A short, awkward silence.]

Yep, that's it. Thanks. And...sorry again.

[ It's getting late into the evening when Paige posts. Two things can be known just by looking at the video: 1) Paige is very wet, due to the rain and having been in it since she's arrived, 2) she's confused. She hasn't gotten any answers - other than the ones from the 'welcome lady' and she hasn't seen who she's been looking for. Mainly the Gods, or a God. So, whilst she's broadcasting (which may look accidental, but in fact it's very deliberately done) Paige is looking up at the sky, calling: ]

I can stand and do this all day you know.

[ The reason she's looking up at the sky? That's what she usually does, sky or ceiling, or just in the general direction of 'up there' for yelling at the Elders. Or Leo, though that's mostly Piper ]

You think this is the worst? Well you're wrong.

[ Or maybe she's underplaying it a little. Paige found out very quickly after arriving here that she didn't have her powers, any of them. She's tried orbing - or orbing something - several times throughout the day to no avail, and that's only the tip of why she's very not happy (actually it's the biggest part of it). And as worrying as not having her powers is? She's not going to say anything about it on the video, or in earshot of anyone but these 'gods' ]

I've faced... things worse than this. [ Yeah, it's hard to be vague, and harder to cut yourself off when you're yelling at the sky and your words can just flow. But she's doing it ] So you can just- No. You're going to come down here or... something will happen. [ She hasn't tried casting any spells yet, and since that part of her magic can't be taken like her powers (she thinks) she's going to be quickly coming up with something. Something better than her bad threats

And finally, with a sigh and frustrated noise, Paige tilts her head back down, finally looking at and addressing the broadcast: ]

Has anyone had any luck with them? Or are they just like- [ the Elders, she was going to say ] -like some... rude people?

[...It hasn't been that long since he last said something over the network but.

But this is important!

Senji is sitting there, arms crossed, looking absolutely.... annoyed. Why? There was a crow on his shoulder.]

.....Oi.

[The crow flew to his head. Pecking at his spiky hair.]

Oi.... how the fuck.... do you get rid of a damn bird that won't go away? This is seriously.... [CAW CAW goes the crow.]

This is seriously fucked up. Way too ironic if you ask me.... I'm... supposed to be Crow!

[CAW :V]

Alright, listen up, this one's to all the guys who've hit puberty.  Every one of you. You see this girl?

[He holds up a photo of ]

That's Ange. She's my kid. Real cute, right? I know. Well don't get thinking she's too cute, 'cause you're not allowed to talk to her.  If I catch any guys talking to her, I'm gonna track them down and gut them like a fish, you got it? Good.  Well here's a list of offenders so far after looking back on the bracelet. You guys are safe for now, but consider this your final warning.

Ryuunosuke Uryuu
Eridan Ampora
Hijiri Shinozuka
Kiyomasa Senji
Shiki Tohno
Kurt Hummel
Aoto
Soushi Miketsukami
Arihiko Inui
Kaz
Nezumi
Shion
Koda Hasegawa
Austin O'Brien
Hisao Nakai

[The camera turns on and Sora appears on the screen but this time, is wearing that damn outfit and her room looks like hell.

Reason is trying to get in some practice without stares from the Arena people.]

Hey, I got a question and I've been thinking about this for awhile now. I saw a lot of people doing performances during the festival and I talked with someone before this and it's making wonder about how others entertain.

So, I guess I'm kind of curious to see if anyone would be interested in some kind of troupe. It's just an idea right now but...it's something to think about.

Thanks!

[And she shuts it off.]

[Guy's been doing a bit of shopping, mostly for groceries but he's looking around pretty much everywhere to get a good feel of the place]

I think I have everything I'd need for an alfredo... & probably a few meals for a couple of weeks. Do I need anything else?

[yeah he's talking to himself. feel free to run into!]

[Guess who got swapped? If you guessed Sora then you're right! Somehow she found herself in the body of that one woman who looks like that golden witch Beatrice except it's the other one? You know, the nice SANE one?

Welp...this was a new experience.]

Um, I think due to what's going on, I don't think I'll be able to come into work today. Does anyone know how long this will last?



[Private to Beatrice Castiglioni]


Hey, are you alright over there?




((OOC: Yep, Sora's switched with Beatrice Castiglioni for the event! Tags will come from hisdesire !))