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Wait for the next release. I want usable mugs damn it!

55 (71.4%)

We can use the current one. I like the big trees and slightly smarter dorfs.

17 (22.1%)

I'll take .34.11 thanks. I want to know I'll get to kill things for sure.

5 (6.5%)

Total Members Voted: 77

[Talvieno]

Wow... didn't expect to see all this when I logged in.  I don't know what to say.... lol, just that I'm blown away, I guess... That post you made, Starweaver, really hit me... I think about that point I realized that McClellan may have actually been serious about the "entire forum" thing, and... well, I'll admit to a few tears. >.> Thank you, guys. I don't have the words to express exactly how this made me feel... I guess "humbled", but in a good way. I still don't understand how you all seem to think of me like this, but... even if I don't see it myself I'll do my best to do you all proud. (that sounds cheesy, but really, I'm just blown away and don't quite know what to say. I didn't expect this. I mean, I expected "oh, don't be so hard on yourself" or maybe "okay, your writing isn't the best, but you're still good" or something... but not this.)

That is a problem, yes Have you tried negotiating with your mother? And I don't mean asking nicely, I mean seriously, honestly fighting for the right to be allowed out of the house with assistance.

yeah, I have. She says I'm "not responsible enough yet" or "it's not a good time", or some variation on the two. I think it's actually that she just doesn't want to lose her parental substitute. I've been standing in for her since I was 12. I even got/get my sister up to go to school in the morning. I would've reported it to CPS a long time ago, but doing that means I lose my siblings. There's no way my little sisters would be able to find me afterwards, or I them, even if my brothers would know to look for "Talvieno" online.

others'

The grammar hammerer side of me rejoices; you almost never see anybody write this correctly. (note I'm hypocritical and not using capitalization for a lot of my sentences.)

You won't be able to become independent without someone to help you onto your feet (which is something that needs to happen sooner rather than later)

Yeah, I know. It does need to happen soon. Like you said, it's not doing much for me psychologically. When I took my GED a couple years ago it showed that I wasn't quite as ignorant as I thought - I scored in the top 5%, which I guess says something for how hard I pushed myself to learn. Or that everybody else in the 95% didn't try. (Might be worth mentioning that I was very displeased with myself for not scoring in the top 1%.)

Do you have a driver's license, or is it possible for you to acquire one? Failing that, do you have any other means of independent transportation (even a bicycle might work if civilisation is close enough)? I'm not sure how your mother would react if you disregarded her just randomly went off to the nearest town for a day (even if you be really careful and make sure to bring a map that you know how to read and stay away from people who look like they're trouble),

No, no, and she'd probably respond with a five-hour lecture and cutting off my Internet access again.

I've actually toyed with the idea of arranging this, but it seems questionably-legal and I'm not sure how I'd go about enlisting people (I unfortunately can't drive; else I'd be hauling ass down to Texas or whereever as we speak) or where you'd stay.

We have a forum full of intelligent strategists. I don't think it would be exceptionally hard to find a way to help.

Thanks, guys. I hate asking for help, but I kind of need it at this point. I'm worried I'll never get out otherwise. The law is fine - I'm 24, so I'm legally old enough to leave, or even call the cops and say my mom is forcing me to stay at home (which a good number of people elsewhere have suggested). They're both bad ideas, especially with calling the cops, because... well, first, I won't last long on the streets (I'd probably die of thirst, actually, not knowing where to get water from)... and the CPS would come, and I'd never see my little sisters again. (Also is note that I have no access to any form of ID, be it birth certificate or social security. also no bank account.) As to crossing into Canada, I dunno, it seems like something that might be an issue just because of citizenship. I understand neither of you can help me, though, and that's totally fine. I just appreciate the offer.

Where did you get this idea that you're some humongous pain in the ass that people don't actually want around or care about? :V  (Don't answer that.)

A great many people have said as much. Not gonna go into it farther because you said not to answer (although you posted it, so there must've been a reason for posting it, so I half-answered).

Okay, so I'll say something: your writing is good. It's a bit rambly in parts, but I think you just need to learn how to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant bits. I've said some really brutal things about your writing, but honestly part of the reason why I kept judging you so harshly was because I felt threatened by your writing ability. I was trying to convince myself that your writing was crap probably even more than I was trying to convince you.

Well, I've never tried to say I was better than you. In fact, your writing has a much more "mature" feel than mine does, in my opinion - it feels like it was aimed at an older audience, which is a quality I've always tried to instill in my work, but I don't feel I've ever really managed.

Talvi, I read your 'If Bay12 was a Mountainhome' stories yesterday and they were great. You are a great writer.

Thanks. I like the first post I made, and I'm kind of proud of it (keeping that fort alive for six months was the single hardest DF game I've ever played), but I feel the quality dropped off sharply after that.

Hhhhh... I have a friend in a similar situation, mind if I let him in on things Talvi?

Not at all. Go right ahead. I'm not concerned much with confidentiality unless I think it could get me attacked and/or in trouble. (at least when it relates to me, I keep other peoples' stuff confidential.

Also, my ego is no concern. I just have this weird thing where I care about my friends. It's not to make me feel better... I guess it's more like to not feel terrible if you have to attribute it to a selfish reason. ( As I'm sure Mr Frog will and you'll want to even though you shouldn't because it's not healthy, believe me. ) I have a problem with taking on other peoples' problems and empathetically sharing their pain, even, if not especially when it's unhealthy.

I do the same thing, but I never feel bad about helping people out. I feel good about it, actually... part of me just legitimately wants other people to feel better. There's a psychological term for it, but I can't remember it at the moment - basically, it's a desire to help others that arises from being unable to help myself.

Mmm... I hope you don't mind if I pray for you also. ( Mock all you like if you wish, but it helps. )

I won't mock. I believe in God myself, and consider myself a Christian after a fashion. ("After a fashion" because I believe a lot of what the Bible says, but not quite all of it.)
And yes, I live in Georgia. Northwest Georgia, actually, about one hour from Chattanooga, two hours from Knoxville, and two from Atlanta. roughly.

You know, I'd pay good money to see that (provided the director kept the movie close to its roots).

Heh, I would too. >.> Thank you.

I'm kinda curious, what other motives for writing are there? The only one I can think of is trying to entertain, which is the same thing really (Can't get famous with out entertaining). Circles in circles.

uhhhh... good point. I didn't think of that. Still, hoping to use Spearbreakers to piggyback to the Hall of Legends and beyond wasn't entirely ethical of me. On the plus side, I never fully intended to publish Vanya's story as an actual book... at least not without everybody's permission. (and giving anything it made to Toady.) I'd have to rewrite some of it for it to make sense outside of the context of the thread, but...

And Talvi, never doubt that you mean something here. You are literally the top of my list(of important people on Bay12), with Mr Frog and Splint tied for second. (Sorry for singling people out, won't happen again.)

and this is the line that made me break down. didn't help I was listening to music at the time, probably, but still. it really got to me that anyone could think that highly of me... I still can't comprehend it, to be honest - how anyone could think so much of me (even if you just meant Spearbreakers, McClellan didn't) - but. I'm shaken, humbled, and grateful. thank you.

And nice work on the Vanya story. Twisty Twist.

"twisty twist"? thank you, though. I'm going to start working on it again as soon as I finish this post. You can expect another chapter today, sometime after someone else posts. (Splint should be excited in particular.)

[Reudh]

I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said, Talvi, but you know if you're ever over this way you've got a couch, assuming i have a house.

Also, I added you on skype.

[Starweaver396]

I forgot to link it yesterday, but this seemed appropriate. All her pictures moved me, but I think this one applies directly. http://destinyblue.deviantart.com/art/Friends-set-you-Free-359112677

And I meant what I said; your writing (and Spearbreakers) are what got me back into DF. I know things will go well for you.

And for grins, I should warn you that it is far easier to live outside a house than inside some houses. Chew on that for a little bit before you draw conclusions.

[Splint]

Huh, I was expecting southern Georgia. Either way if I had the time, space, and resources that's somewhere perfectly feasible to go.

[Mr Frog]

I feel as though I should remind everyone to be extremely cautious, and that this isn't a game and should be approached with a appropriate degree of gravity. I think something should be done about this, because it has kept me awake at night many times over the past couple years, but this also has the potential to get very bad for Talvi if the wrong move is taken, and I don't want that on my head. I really only suggested running away or organising a rescue expedition as a last resort.

I should also clarify that I do not fancy myself a strategist in any way, shape or form. I'm good at giving the impression that I know what I'm talking about, but I'm really only marginally-less sheltered and naïve than Talvi himself is and am quite prone to making hasty decisions that I immediately regret. I just want to provide as much assistance as I can, however poorly-informed and incompetent as it turns out to be.

I should call attention to what Talvi said about his mother revoking his Internet access both as punishment and to cut him off from outside influences. This is something she has done repeatedly and has frequently been the reason for him losing contact with us in the past. This is a critical point -- Talvi must avoid angering his mother at all costs or letting her think we're giving him ideas, else his one line to the outside world and by extension us is taken away.
    This leads me to the second, and most important, factor, which is that TalviMom essentially has all the power right now. She may not be able to prevent Talvi from leaving outright, but she's the only one at the moment capable of facilitating his transition to the outside world in a stable, healthy manner. From what I understand, Talvi currently lives in a rural area and lacks a driver's license, so he literally cannot go anywhere meaningful without his mother voluntarily taking him there. As he's indicated that running away is not a practical option, Talvi will either have to circumvent this advantage by calling in someone from outside to 'rescue' him or convince his mother to willingly give him ground.

I've been standing in for her since I was 12. I even got/get my sister up to go to school in the morning. I would've reported it to CPS a long time ago, but doing that means I lose my siblings. There's no way my little sisters would be able to find me afterwards, or I them, even if my brothers would know to look for "Talvieno" online.

That may be a sacrifice you'll have to end up making. In particular, if she's really as awful and controlling as I'm imagining right now then I really don't like the idea of your siblings having to grow up with her as well.

She says I'm "not responsible enough yet" or "it's not a good time", or some variation on the two.

Try getting her to set her terms more precisely. When is "a good time", and what exactly do you have to do in order to prove to her that you're "responsible enough"? Additionally, I don't know her well enough to say, but she may have other priorities besides keeping you "safe" that you can try appealing to.
    Try to avoid turning it into a fight if you have to. I'd hate for you to lose your Internet again.

I won't last long on the streets (I'd probably die of thirst, actually, not knowing where to get water from)... and the CPS would come, and I'd never see my little sisters again. (Also is note that I have no access to any form of ID, be it birth certificate or social security. also no bank account.)

That's a problem... I'm pretty sure there'd be shelters where you could stay, and you might be able to ask where to get necessities, but I don't know if either of those are true. It might be possible to work around the lack of ID, but I'd rather avoid having to do that as it'd make a risky situation even more dicey.
    I think we can pretty much state outright that any option that risks leaving Talvi homeless or without someone to care for him until he's self-sufficient is not worth taking.

As to crossing into Canada, I dunno, it seems like something that might be an issue just because of citizenship.

Citizenship, no. My father is a British immigrant who *still* hasn't bothered getting citizenship and he gets by without problems. Not having a social insurance number would be a hassle if you're looking for employment but getting one approved may still be possible (it's been a while since I got mine, so I can't remember what's required). There's admittedly probably some kind of law or something against immigrating to Canada without some kind of documentation or some such, which could be troublesome to work around.

A great many people have said as much.

Not sure what you were doing differently with them, because around here you're nothing less than a pleasure.

In fact, your writing has a much more "mature" feel than mine does, in my opinion - it feels like it was aimed at an older audience, which is a quality I've always tried to instill in my work, but I don't feel I've ever really managed.

BWAHAHAHAHA

This is more-or-less exactly what I think about my own writing. When I read my own stories, they just seem like childish reams of simplified prose punctuated by loving descriptions of gore and horror. I think it's more of a perspective thing than anything else. Your own writing will always seem bland, because to you there really isn't anything special about it -- that's the way you look at and think about things anyways, so there are no moments of 'wow, I never would have thought of that' and such.

Still, hoping to use Spearbreakers to piggyback to the Hall of Legends and beyond wasn't entirely ethical of me.

Ethical schmethical. As far as I can tell from my limited viewpoint, you can't get anywhere in life without using somebody as a stepping-stone. It sucks, but that's how it is. At least you'd be giving us something nice in the process.

[CaptainMcClellan]

Can we set up a fund? I don't have much... but I can square away some money for Talvi. A safety net for him to land on after his big leap, if you like. However, I quite agree with Talvien that there's no way you should abandon your siblings. Mr Frog, I know you think that it'd be better to put them into Protection Services, but honestly there's a lot worse places they could end up and Talvi's psyche would never be able to handle not knowing. Surely, you gotta realize this. That, unfortunately, makes things all the more difficult for us working around things.

I myself have no driver's license and am dependent on my very tired father to get things done in many cases. He thinks of me as partially to completely incapable and is loath to allow me to take care of my own funds. I'll admit I haven't shown much sign of fiscal responsibility, but then again I have never had any finances to be responsible for, at least until recently. Upon turning 18, I've come upon a small bit of government money. ( A diagnosis goes a long way into getting free money, but it's barely enough to live on by itself. ) This money, whether my dad will try to cut off access to it or not, is mine. Along with my scholarships I may well have an excess of money, and I'm quite willing to use said money to help Talvien. I'm sure all of us have some pennies we can use.

This, obviously, won't be enough. Especially if, and we do want this even though we don't, we want Talvi to keep a relationship with his mother. ( 'Tis a necessary evil for the sake of the Sisters Talvieno. ) However, if we could somehow get these funds to him in a way that seems legitimate... then perhaps we have a bargaining tool. "Look, I am capable of making enough to live on." Problem is, TalviMom will likely ( read: almost certainly ) be super suspect of said money, attempt to take possession of it, and accuse him of being involved in illicit/immoral activity. All the while, still depriving Talvien of his freedom... And Talvi, it's imperative that you don't just run away. As hard as it may be, you must persevere. Ask your mother about pursuing Tertiary Education. When she says "it cannot be afforded", then combat this with... hmm. Well then, we're writers here. Why not just invent a scholarship tailored to Talvi and post a web-page for such?  Hhghgh. It's so crazy it might work, yes?

So then... If we can convince TalviMom to allow him his college education, then that provides an nice little transition point and his freedom. At least, partially. Meanwhile, he can, if he's able, attempt to get an on-campus job. Said job can be put into private funds. These TalviMom can never find out about. This money can be used to further sustain Talvieno's independence. As per your younger siblings, encourage them to start early with pursuing college funding. It'll help them not to get stuck... assuming that your mother doesn't believe college is evil. Hmm. On what grounds Talvieno, are you being kept at home anyway? Is there any further reason she gives as to why you're not allowed to be independent?

[Splint]

This all sounds highly convoluted. Sad fact remains though that while we may be supportive unless one of us has space for I'm guessing... Three people, and means to keep them fed, nevermind transportation, we can't do much to help.

[CaptainMcClellan]

This all sounds highly convoluted. Sad fact remains though that while we may be supportive unless one of us has space for I'm guessing... Three people, and means to keep them fed, nevermind transportation, we can't do much to help.

Splint... you're gonna make me cry.

Anyone else have any bright ideas that might be able to do something? Is one of us insanely wealthy? Hhh...

[Lolfail0009]

Why not just invent a scholarship tailored to Talvi and post a web-page for such?  Hhghgh. It's so crazy it might work, yes?

That smells illegal to me...

[CaptainMcClellan]

Why not just invent a scholarship tailored to Talvi and post a web-page for such?  Hhghgh. It's so crazy it might work, yes?

That smells illegal to me...

Probably... but it's a low level fraud that's never going to get investigated and we're giving our money so it's not like we're stealing anything. But what Splint said pretty much is sadly accurate.

[Mr Frog]

We should probably avoid discussing crazy schemes until it becomes clear that Talvi can't negotiate his way out of this. Besides, (@McClellan) I don't think TalviMom's reasoning for not allowing Talvi to leave is so much that he can't make money as it is that he (supposedly) can't keep a schedule or generally perform basic tasks needed to maintain a home and feed himself and such. If he came at her with money that he got from doing some nondescript job she wasn't aware he had taken and had no possible way of getting to without her noticing, it probably wouldn't change anything even if she somehow fell for it.

E:

So then... If we can convince TalviMom to allow him his college education, then that provides an nice little transition point and his freedom. At least, partially. Meanwhile, he can, if he's able, attempt to get an on-campus job. Said job can be put into private funds. These TalviMom can never find out about. This money can be used to further sustain Talvieno's independence. As per your younger siblings, encourage them to start early with pursuing college funding. It'll help them not to get stuck... assuming that your mother doesn't believe college is evil. Hmm. On what grounds Talvieno, are you being kept at home anyway? Is there any further reason she gives as to why you're not allowed to be independent?

This sounds valid enough, I guess, though my intuition is telling me there are holes in the plan somewhere.

[Lolfail0009]

Let's hope your intuition is better than mine screaming "Do this before September 13."

[CaptainMcClellan]

Mr Frog, you're probably right. My intuition tells me that it has nothing to do with Talvien, but rather it's something in TalviMom's mind that is warped. The college should be an agreeable choice by any standard. It provides a supposedly safe, structured environment with a potential payout. Does Talvien have any sort of disability or condition that can be diagnosed? If so, he can be issued certain accomodations by the school and possibly draw SSI'

[Talvieno]

Holy shit, guys, eight posts in the time it took me to proofread this. o.o   I'm going to have to respond to it all tomorrow - really sorry, but I'm dead tired and have to get my sister up for school tomorrow. Today's been a busy day today - lots of moving furniture. (long story.) (I haven't read the last eight posts yet. wow, I haven't been ninja'd eight times in forever. o.o) I'm running on fumes right now and there may be typos or glaring errors in here somewhere...

But I got the chapter done! Couldn't stand to break my promise.

Vanya's Journals, chapter 64: A Mysterious Stranger

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Vanya's Journals, chapter 64: A Mysterious Stranger
    As you continue reading you hear gunshots coming from the hallway outside the door. The woman across from you seems alarmed, but the guards standing on either side of Vanya's coffin bolt to the door and exit, leaving you to wonder what was going on as you continue reading.

    If there's one thing I've learned from my travels, it's that when things are "normal", they never tend to stay that way for long.

    Jade stayed at home the next weekend just as she always did. She never figured out I'd left, which is good: if she or Kenzon had ever known, they probably would've taken Katie's PEA away and moved her somewhere else. It's very possible that I would've gotten kicked out, too. After all, she and I are just friends... but I suppose Kenzon thought the killer might try to extract information from me if I was on the streets. I can't come up with any other reason that he would have kept me living with her, besides the fact that I don't have anywhere else to go.
    As it was, Katie had a way to talk to the outside world again, and she was happy. With her occupied, though, I had very little to do. For a while I tried watching the news on Jade's televiewer. Spurred onwards by Trebor's speech, Parasol was gearing up to wage a fullscale war against Ballpoint within the next year, which was exactly what Joseph wanted: he wanted them to destroy each other, and from Jade's apartment, there was nothing I could do about it. Really, even if I'd found a way to leave, I still don't think there's anything I could've done. In the end, the news programs only made me worry even more about Spearbreakers and Everoc. Katie still watched them frequently, but I wasn't really as interested anymore.
    To get my mind off it all, I eventually decided to occupy my time trying to write out the story of 48D's final battle in my journal, and that involved cutting up my copy of Katie and Trebor's book to help tell the parts of the story I hadn't witnessed personally. I've been writing it my native elven language so Mr. Kenzon can't read it if he tries, but the text of Trebor's book is in Dwarven Standard... as I pasted portions of it into my journal, it bothered me a little that I was mixing the two languages, but I didn't really have a choice. During all this, I discovered many things Katie had never told me... like how she'd had to personally destroy the zombie of her former boyfriend, Saemin Lo; Eltsha's son. I can't imagine how traumatic that must've been for her, and it at least partially explains the nightmares she still has.
    Fortunately for me, Jade didn't ask any questions about Trebor's book. I suppose she'd never paid attention enough to know that we hadn't brought them with us. Over the weekend, though, I found myself wishing I could leave again. I'd managed one succcessful excursion, and as far as I knew, Kenzon's detective simply wasn't going to finish his job. Katie missed Trebor... and I missed Urist. We both wanted out, sooner rather than later.
    I suppose that's part of why Katie and I decided I needed to leave again. Although Katie had Trebor's PEA address, I didn't have Reudh's, or Solnay's... and that was something I wanted to change. Our plan was to obtain Solnay and Gareth's assistance in getting Katie and I out of there, and there was no way to do it if we couldn't contact them. Somehow, I felt sure that with their help, we could figure out who was really behind the attacks, and make whoever it was stop, once and for all.

~~~~

    Wearing my freshly painted armor, I left Jade's apartment early Monday morning, closing the door softly as I went. Katie stayed behind, just as she had last time, although she'd made it clear she'd really wanted to come with me. Despite how much she disliked Solnay, it would've meant getting out of the house, and that was something she never got to do enough. Unfortunately, one of us needed to be able to stay behind to cover for the other, in case we didn't finish fast enough... and we decided it would be better for her to stay. If Jade got back too soon, Katie would simply tell her that I was napping in our room.
    As I walked down the stucco-walled hallways towards the elevator, my mind was turning. I wasn't entirely sure Solnay and Gareth would help, and I didn't even know for sure if there was even anything they could do... but over the past couple of days, Katie and I had been hatching a plan. Kenzon's private investigator, Weldon, had said that he hadn't managed to get into Parasol's Division 3 Intelligence Center, but he'd implied that if he could have gotten in, he would've been able to figure out who the killer was. That was my goal. It would be risky, and probably illegal, I knew... but really, as Katie was so fond of pointing out, I have a penchant for breaking the rules.


    It seems that whenever I'm lost in thought in unfamiliar places, bad things happen... and that day was no exception. Still preoccupied with my plans, I exited the elevator onto the station's floor, walking towards the shuttlecar platform just like I always did. This time, though, someone was waiting.
    "It's you!" a female voice hissed from the shadows on the far side of the elongated room, and I jumped, raising my eyes abruptly to the noise. I didn't get a very good look at her at the time, but it was enough to notice the long, dark coat she was wearing, and one thought ran through my mind: It's the Killer. As the woman left the shadows she revealed her battle-scarred face and walked towards me purposefully, a hand on the pistol at her waist.
    I didn't stop to see more. Spinning around in a panic, I pressed the elevator button and looked up at the display above the doorframe for a second, before changing my mind and darting for the stairs as fast as my legs could carry me, terrified for my life. I suspected she must've followed me home three days before, when I'd gone to get Katie's PEA; I didn't have a clue how the person would've even known to look for me at Kenzon's place, but really, right then, that didn't seem as important as running.

    Sprinting down the stairs two steps at a time, rushing to get back to Jade's apartment on floor 12, I could hear heavy footfalls above as the mysterious figure gave chase. "Stop! Where the fuck do you think you're going?" she called after me in aggravation as we descended the square spiral staircase.
    I was too distressed to even consider answering, hyperventilating with fear. I didn't want to die. When I looked upwards, I could see her gaining on me, and it frightened me enough to make some foolhardy maneuvers. Praying for my life, I leapt sideways over the stair rail and plummeted downwards to the next set of stairs, a flight below me. I barely managed to land with both feet on the same step, catching myself with my hands. Before I'd even had time to check to see how much ground I'd gained, I stumbled to my feet and kept running, watching the numbers on the wall as I descended: 33... 32... 31...
    She was just above me - as if her stomping feet weren't enough to tell me where she was, the woman added colorful language to the mix: "Damn it all, you bitch, get back here!"
    My heart was pounding like a drum, and I was panting heavily from exertion. My temples throbbed, pulsing with every heartbeat, and I was working up a sweat. I was running on pure adrenaline, and my fight-or-flight response had definitely tuned in to "flight". The only weapons I had were my daggers, and that's no match for someone wielding a pistol with murderous intent.
    As I passed a doorway labeled with the dwarven runes for 18, she shouted once more, "Where the fuck are you going?"
    At that point, I just didn't care anymore, leaping over the railing again, and again. My next two landings were lucky, but the third wasn't: I landed halfway on the edge of a step, extremely lucky that I didn't twist my ankle again as I tumbled down to the next corner, my armor absorbing most of the damage. Aching, I picked myself up and continued rushing downwards. The woman's footsteps weren't as loud as they'd been, but I could tell she was still following me. I continued my descent as fast as I could: 14... 13... and finally, finally, I reached floor twelve, pushing open the heavy metal door and rushing through, trying to calm my panicked mind as I tried to remember where Jade's apartment was.
    All the way there, I was afraid that if I looked backwards, I'd see that woman right behind me. Instead, I made up my mind to quit watching for her and just run.

    On reaching Jade's door, I knocked urgently, praying that Katie would open it up quickly. The moments between when I knocked and when she opened the door seemed an eternity, but it wasn't really too long before she did.
    "Vanya?" she asked in surprise, looking me over in growing anxiety. "Are you okay? You look –" I put my hand over her mouth to silence her and pushed past. As soon as I was inside, I closed the door behind us and locked it.
    "Safe," I whispered, collapsing onto the floor with my back against the doorframe, wiping the sweat from my brow as I tried to slow my breath. My head was pounding; I could actually hear my heartbeat. I don't think I've ever run as fast in my life... at least not while wearing my armor.
    "Vanya, what's going on??" Katie asked, starting to panic herself. "Is he out there? Is he after you?"
    I nodded, blinking and trying to swallow, but my mouth was so dry I almost couldn't.
    Katie face fell, and she slipped to the ground beside me, whispering, "Oh my gods... how did he find us?"
    "It's a she," I managed quietly. "She chased me down the stairs from the shuttlecar station."
    "She???" My friend bit her lip, her eyes falling to the floor as she shook her head in dismay. "She must've followed you home after you went to get the PEA... What'll we do?"
    I closed my eyes tightly, thinking and trying to calm myself down a little bit. "We stay inside. We can't go back out there if she knows what building we're in." There was a pause, and the only sounds in the room were our breathing. I strained my ears to listen for any sounds outside the door, but heard nothing.
    "She'll recognize Jade," Katie whispered finally. "If she's still around when Jade gets back, she'll recognize her immediately and follow her here."
    Katie was right, and my plan to get back home, while successful, appeared to not be as safe as I'd hoped. "We don't even know who this person is. I've never seen her before in my life."
    "What did she look like? Maybe I'll have known her," Katie suggested.
    Nodding, I strained to picture her face in my mind. "I think she was a human, or a really tall dwarf," I said slowly, remembering, "and her face was scarred pretty badly, but not like Eltsha's: they were battle scars. Her hair was... her hair was light brown, and came down to... I guess to her shoulders, and it looked like it hadn't been kept up very well."
    My friend frowned. "I haven't met anybody like that before."

    At that moment, my heart leapt into my throat; someone knocked loudly on the door behind me. "I found you, come on out!" ordered the woman's voice, muffled as it was by the wooden door.
    Katie and I sat frozen in silence, staring at each other in terror. The knob above my head rattled for a moment, and I was thankful I'd remembered to lock it. Neither of us moved or made a sound.
    "Open up!" the voice called out again. "I could hear you through the door; I know you're in there."
    "Leave us alone!" I said in response, loud enough for her to hear. "We never did anything to you. Why are you trying to kill us?"
    There was a pause. "Kill you? I just want to talk!" the woman said, sounding surprised. Then, in a somewhat quieter tone, as if worried someone might overhear, she went on, "I know you're from Ballpoint, got it? Just let me in."
    Katie raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Ballpoint??" she mouthed.
    I shook my head in response to her inquiry. "I'm not from Ballpoint," I called back, half-turning. "You've got the wrong person."
    "I saw you at the Everoc outpost with Bugi," the voice argued, seeming irritated now. "Bugi Thoramuma. I know it's you, I never forget a face. I'm from Ballpoint too, okay? I saw you at the Vynalus Forums – you were yelling to someone and I followed you here."
    Turning back to Katie, I saw she was looking at me with worriment. "Did you meet somebody named Bugi while you were at Ballpoint?" she whispered.
    I frowned, nodding. "This could be a problem," I whispered back. I definitely remembered Bugi. Bugi had been the first nice person I'd met at the Ballpoint outpost, and she'd actually kept me from being sexually harassed in their barracks... but I hadn't been part of Ballpoint. I'd been sent there as a spy by Mr Frog, disguised as Ballpoint's Vanya Carena... who I'd later learned was my sister.
    "We have to get her to leave," Katie stated, furrowing her brow.
    Outside the door, the woman kept trying to make her case, her voice quiet, muffled, and difficult to hear. "It was four years ago. You're Carsenla, right? Or Carlena... Carla? ...something like that. Shit." She muttered something inaudible.
    That was enough for me. Getting to my feet, I motioned for Katie to step back as I unlocked the door and opened it slightly, peering out and following an old black wool coat up to her face. The woman was tall enough to be a human beyond any shadow of a doubt. "Who are you?" I queried, examining her with a suspicious eye. She wasn't drawing her gun on me yet, so there was that in her favor. Her demeanor implied she was a rough, brawler sort.
    "I'm Koth," she replied, still seeming irritated that I'd taken so long to open the door. "Koth Onarith. I'm guessing you're here on assignment."
    I bit my lip. "Well... it's complicated," I mumbled apologetically, glancing down the hallway as I saw a Parasol citizen approaching out of the corner of my eye. "You'd better come inside." Opening the door for her, she walked in, smelling... dirty. It was clear she hadn't made much of an attempt to keep herself cleaned up. She wore a pair of dirty jeans under her coat, a pair of dark boots, and had black, fingerless gloves on her hands.
    "Nice place you got," Koth said in bland approval, examining Jade's living room idly as I closed the door and relocked it. "Ballpoint's taking good care of you. And who's she?" she asked, pointing at Katie. "Looks kind of the same... are you sisters?"
    Before I had a chance to respond, Katie had grabbed my arm and was pulling me away. "Give us a minute," she said over her shoulder to our guest. I didn't resist, and she pulled me down the hallway to our room, making no attempt to hide her irritation. "She's Ballpoint," Katie whispered accusingly. "And you just let her in our home."
    "I didn't think it would hurt..."
    My friend narrowed her eyes at me, giving me an almost vicious glare. "Ballpoint killed Saemin, Captain Almory, and a ton of other friends of mine, and you're being nice to this 'Koth' person now, who is part of Ballpoint, and is probably lying about who she is on top of everything!"
    I felt guilty. "She knew who I was," I pointed out, trying to defend my actions. "I figured it couldn't hurt to hear her out..."
    "Right," Katie growled. "Well, I don't like this. There's something off about her. Not to mention that she's Ballpoint," she added, spitting out this last word with aversion.
    "Give her a chance," I suggested. "My friend John was Ballpoint once... Not all Ballpoint contractors are bad people."
    "They're trying to kill everyone at Parasol," Katie reminded me vehemently.
    "So what do we do, tell her we changed our minds and send her out?"
    Katie just glared at me for a minute, before finally releasing my arm. "Fine," she muttered. "But I don't trust her. And she needs to know we're not from Ballpoint."
    "And what do you think she'll do then?"
    She shook her head. "She can leave then, I don't care. I won't have anybody think I'm from Ballpoint, and I definitely don't want to invite any of them in for tea, like you just did. What were you thinking, Vanya? She's our enemy."
    "People are just people," I whispered, though I knew I was losing the fight against Katie's prejudice.
    "A murderer is still a murderer even when they're not killing someone," she argued. "Either you tell her you're not from Ballpoint, or I'll do it myself."
    Sighing, I turned back towards the living room. I was already very worried about how this would turn out.

    Koth was sitting on Jade's sofa, waiting for us with her arms crossed on her knees. "So?" she asked. "You can get me back to Ballpoint, right? I got stranded here a couple years ago."
    Apologetically, I shook my head. "I don't think I can get you back to Ballpoint by myself..."
    "Vanya has something to tell you," Katie said sharply to the woman, glancing over at me expectantly.
    I hesitated. If I did as Katie wanted me to, then I was just about to admit to a Ballpoint employee that I'd spied on them, basically... it didn't seem like a good idea at all, but I knew Katie would hold true to what she'd said: if I didn't say it, she would, and she'd likely say it with much less finesse than I might manage. With this in mind, I swallowed, taking a deep breath. "I'm not from Ballpoint," I managed quietly.
    Koth looked back and forth between us, before getting to her feet. "What do you mean, you're not from Ballpoint?"
    "I'm from Everoc, and Mr Frog was sending me to get something of his that he'd left behind."
    "But your credentials... And I know I saw you other times besides just that," she said skeptically, turning it over in her mind.
    "I was impersonating someone," I admitted, feeling very nervous.
    At that, Koth did something neither of us expected. Glaring at us heatedly, she pulled her pistol from its holster. Katie gave a terrified yell and fell to the floor, while I held out my hands for her to stop. "Wait!" I cried out urgently. "We might be able to help you somehow, don't do this!!"
    She ignored me. "You were spying on us??" Koth demanded to know, brushing back her hair as she pointed the pistol steadily at my chest, walking slowly around the sofa. "You impersonated one of our soldiers??"
    "It's not what you think!" I said as quickly as I could, trying to keep the sofa between us as she circled. As I did, Katie crawled into Jade's little kitchen. "It wasn't one of your soldiers, it my sister, who was a mole for Joseph."
    The woman shook her head at me derisively, hatefully. "You're the one our commanders made such a big fuss about, aren't you? You led a squad in and got a lot of good people killed! Do you realize how many lives you destroyed? A lot of those people were my friends, you bitch!"
    "I didn't want to get anyone killed, and it wasn't even my squad!"
    "You fucking whore," she spat out. She wrinkled her nose in anger, shaking her head disgustedly at me. "You're a horrible person, and I should kill you where you stand."
    "You're one to talk!" Katie shot back from the kitchen, out of our line of sight. "Ballpoint is trying to kill everyone in Parasol and Spearbreakers!"
    "Spearbreakers is just a job for a client," Koth said under her breath, "and Parasol is trying to kill us, too! What are we supposed to do, let them destroy us?? We've got to strike first or we won't get a chance to strike at all!"
    I felt about ready to cry, but I didn't know if it was from fear, or frustration. "Joseph wants Ballpoint and Parasol to destroy each other! That's why he gave Ballpoint the job of obliterating Spearbreakers!"
    "And who's Joseph?" the woman asked. After hearing the name a second time, she seemed slightly curious, but it was clear she didn't buy it.
    "He's your client, the leader of Eris," Katie called out, poking her head around the doorframe.
    Koth turned her head towards Katie, examining her face for a moment, and then glanced back at me out of the corner of her eye. "Eris... I've heard that before," she said slowly, pondering the name.
    "Joseph hates both Parasol and Ballpoint and wants them to destroy each other," I explained as simply as I could, still tense as I kept an eye on her gun. "He's trying to stop them from breaking multiversal law, and experimenting with universes like Everoc's. Eris is the name of the group he leads."
    Looking back towards me, Koth asked, "What, so he's part of The Tribunal?"
    "What?" I hesitated. I'd never heard of The Tribunal. "I have no idea. I don't think so..."
    There was silence. For an unbearably long time, we stood frozen in the room, watching each other as Koth appeared to think over her options. After several tense minutes, she slipped her pistol back into the holster. "I'll bite," she said cautiously, "but you'd better be telling the truth. So what's your story?"
    I finally relaxed, and Katie let out a sigh of relief. "It'll be hard for you to believe," she said with a nervously mischievous smirk.

    Over the course of the next hour, I told Koth my story from the beginning. There were some things I left out, though; I didn't entirely trust her, and it was unnerving to have her glare at me the entire time. In the end, she heard about how I'd talked to Joseph, and how I'd saved Talvi's life... she heard about how Urist had rescued me, how I'd served under Mr Frog, and why I'd left Spearbreakers. I told her some things about the battle of 48D, and here, Katie joined in as well. Katie was surprised to hear that I'd talked to Joseph again after the battle, because I'd never told her, and she wasn't too pleased about that fact. Eventually, we arrived at how someone was trying to kill us, and concluded my tale by explaining my hopes to get into Division 3's intelligence facility.
    Koth sat there for several moments, drinking it in, her arms crossed. After a minute or two of silence, I asked her, "What about you? Why are you here?"
    She shifted in her chair. "Ballpoint ran an operation here," she said simply. "I was one of Bugi's squadmates. They got away, but I got stranded. That was two years ago. I've been hiding here since." She appeared to be debating something internally, but finally, she added hesitantlly, "Look, I've got to trust you guys. I could use getting into the intelligence facility, too; there's probably a way for me to get back home there. And that's all I want," she added pointedly to Katie. "I'm not here to kill everybody, and I've killed very few people while I've been here. Most of what I've done has been sabotage of equipment. And Carena, I've got to get back home, just the same as you, so maybe we can help each other."
    It was an odd sort of alliance... but it wasn't the first time I'd found myself calling on unusual people for assistance.
   
    It wouldn't be the last, either.

☆

[Splint]

This all sounds highly convoluted. Sad fact remains though that while we may be supportive unless one of us has space for I'm guessing... Three people, and means to keep them fed, nevermind transportation, we can't do much to help.

Splint... you're gonna make me cry.

Sorry, just calling it as I see it. For example, I may be closest and while I'd have the space for Talvieno himself and a means to go and get him, I'd have nowhere for his sisters,  along with explaining how I know him and why he's suddenly asking to hole up in our spare room that is barely used, though in that regard my own family may be more annoyed than rejecting.