008 ~*~ At least she can't drink and fly...

[not_so_great_wall]

[ Action : Olney's Tavern : Open ]
[ If you're a regular at the bar, you might notice a new sigth in one of the stools. A tall red-haired Chinese woman in a plain green dress is making herself right at home, even if the drone workers don't particularly care about serving her anything other than weak, fruity, feminine drinks.

That doesn't mean she hasn't been trying to sweet-talk them into it for the better part of an hour. And by sweet-talk, I mean whining pitifully because she really doesn't want to get thrown out for taking matters into her own hands. ] --c'mo~on. Can't you just pour me something a little stronger? I'm going to need a whole lot more than this. [ She remarks, fingernail grazing the edge of the colorful cocktail glass. ]

---

[ Action : Around Town : Open ]
[ Later, no matter how much she had to work at it, she managed to get herself sufficiently smashed (for a short while, at least)! You can encounter her:

1) Wandering the neighborhood, humming some old tune to herself as she sways.
2) Attempting to enter your home and not realizing why her stupid key isn't working...
3) Napping on your front lawn. ]

Comments

[not_so_great_wall]

[ Cheesy grin. ] That's a secret~!

Besides, some people don't trust people like me, so I can't just go spilling the beans to everyone. [ Except, as drunk as she is, she just might. ]

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

I guess I can understand that, since I'ma Receptive. It's not like I'm any less human than I was before'a Bane hit ...

[Even though being a Youkai and being a Receptive are two entirely different things. Just then, Balin realizes that Meiling didn't answer his other question.]

—So, yeah, uh—you need help gettin' back home? I don't got a car—wife traded it for a horse an' I can't ride one'a those—but I can help walk ya home or somethin'.

[not_so_great_wall]

[ Home can wait! He said an interesting thing. ] What's a ... "receptive"? [ Glancing him up and down, totally not taking her earlier advice. ] You look normal...

[ Then, she grabs his shoulders! ] You have a pony?!

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

Receptives're humans that're genetically capable of receivin' Logos Element information from'a Eloh.

[A beat.]

I don't got my Logos Abilities back yet, though. An' with some of what I can do back home, I ain't sure'a town's gonna want to give 'em back.

[And then—Yikes! Balin's caught off guard by how quickly Meiling goes from stumbling-drunk to grabbing his shoulders.]

Well, uh—it ain't a pony, it's fully-grown. An' I don't think'a wife'd let anyone borrow it, s'pecially not without her permission. It's her horse from her homeworld, see.

[not_so_great_wall]

Ohh...

Sounds complicated![ Thumbs up. ] But just hang in there~

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

Well, the concept ain't that complicated.

[Though, inwardly, he concedes it'd be hard to teach someone who's drunk. But, hey, she's lucid enough to carry on a conversation!]

Basically, the Eloh's an ancient alien race, yeah? They developed'a Logos system. An' they taught other races in'a galaxy how to use it. Or in some cases, altered their genes so they could learn in'a future.

That's how it was with us humans. It's like ... well, this ain't really accurate but I guess you could think'a Logos bein' like magic. You know'a kind where you got wizards with spell books an' runes an' stuff?

It reminds me a lot of'at, but not it's not quite'a same thing. Still, though ... I'ma soldier anyhow, I've got enough trainin' in my field to get by without'a Logos Abilities.

An' if what I've heard about'a town is true ... I better not get too used'a havin' 'em if the town gives 'em back.

[not_so_great_wall]

[ She seems to listen intently, and follows along, except that it's evident about halfway through that he's going waaaay over her head.

You can practically hear the gears in her head stop. ]

So... right now you're just a plain human? I could pick you up and throw you over your house if I wanted to? [ It isn't a threat! She sounds genuinely curious. ]

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[D'oh. Yeah, maybe it's not a good idea to discuss Logos at the moment!]

... Eh, guess I'll hafta show ya if I ever get my abilities back.

[And yet ... throw him over the house? Balin looks a bit unsettled by that question. If she really can do that, it certainly explains the strength behind her casual movements, though.]

Well, uh—if you can do that now you coulda done it even if I had all my Logos Abilities. I ain't trained for super-strength or anything like that; that's more a Guardian thing. They're the close quarter combat types.

Me, I'm a Demolitionist.

[not_so_great_wall]

[ Smiling innocently, she nods. ] I gotcha! I don't have much to show off right now, either.

--what's that mean, though? You blow things up?

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[He allows himself a grin. Hard to tell if he's bragging or not.]

Yep. I'm trained in makin' and usin' explosives, an' most of my Logos Abilities involve nukes.

I'm a one-man weapon of mass destruction. A megaton of fun!

[A lot like a certain hell raven.]

[not_so_great_wall]

[ She laughs. It sounds like he enjoys doing that.

That earns him an overly strong pat across his shoulders. ] But you wouldn't use those skills carelessly, right?

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

'Course not!

Well—better say, I got some pretty good control over it. If I had my Logos Abilities right now, I could, say ...

[Gestures a thumb to the lawn chair nearby.]

I could nuke that thing an' leave the rest of'a neighborhood undisturbed. Not even so much as a flash burn on anyone.

If you tried doin' that with a regular battlefield nuke, you'd prolly wind up turnin' this whole city block to ash.

[not_so_great_wall]

[ Perhaps a little amazed. ] That's precise! But I'm not talking about things, I'm talking about people.

[ Invading that personal space again, voice lower. ] You'll be careful where you point those things, right?

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[Balin quirks an eyebrow at this.]

What, that wasn't convincin' enough?

Look, back where I'm from I fight on'a front lines with squads of other Receptives. An' I often employ those abilities right up in close contact with'a enemy. If that ain't'a definition of "danger close," I don't know what is.

An' never once have I fried anybody who wasn't'a enemy.

[He's pretty serious right now, though he does have to ask ...]

There a reason why you're so worried?

[not_so_great_wall]

[ And he sounds convincing, but Meiling is a poor judge of character, presently. She backs off, hands on her hips. ] Because this place makes people do things, and I'm just trying to watch out for my family.

...my actual family.

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[Oh ... Oh. She must have been around for—]

Lemme guess ... you were here when Mayfield was doin'at "spring culling" bullshit? An' your family was too?

[not_so_great_wall]

[ A slow nod. ] That's right. I didn't hurt anyone--! ... but it was really hard not to.

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

I'd heard about it from some of'a others around here.

[Balin looks sympathetic.]

If what my coworker from'a construction yard said was any indication, you got some ba—[Wait, she's a woman, that metaphor won't work!]—some real guts to've suffered through'at without givin' into what'a town wanted you to do.

[He sighs.]

In my case, I don't think there's anythin'a town coulda threatened me with that hasn't already happened'a me where I'm from.

[not_so_great_wall]

I don't think I resisted enough. [ And it was kind of a sore subject. ] Maybe you'd be lucky if you were put in the same position...

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

Well, you didn't give in, yeah? You didn't kill anyone, or harm anyone. Least as far as everyone's told me, that's what'a town was wantin' people to do, kill indiscriminately. I don't see how you coulda resisted any harder.

[not_so_great_wall]

I could have stopped people!

I could have stopped her-- [ Meiling clamps a hand over her mouth. ]

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

[Yikes, outburst! Meiling just said something important, though, and Balin can't help but be curious ...]

—Coulda stopped who?

[not_so_great_wall]

Someone I'm supposed to protect. My family. [ Frowning. She best not give too many details up front, since he seems nice so far, but... ] I shouldn't say more.

[walking-nuke.livejournal.com]

... Someone in your family gave in and went on a killin' spree?

[He scratches the back of his head. He makes a note of that.]

You don't hafta tell me, but ... that coworker I met? He says'a town's got a trophy room for everyone who killed somebody, over at'a roller rink. I'm plannin' on takin' a look when I can.

I'll tell you what I told him. I ain't plannin' on goin' on a crusade or anythin' against'a people listed'ere. But I am takin' note, because I wanna know who's most liable'a lose their marbles if'a town pushes'a right buttons.

I don't wanna end up as part of'a bodycount 'cause I was unprepared.

[not_so_great_wall]

[ At the mention, she visibly winces and starts walking in a circle. ] I don't know if I wanna know. I mean... we were all basically blackmailed into it, right? It's not fair to judge people based on it.