~ Tнє Pαяα∂σχ Hσυѕє ~ now back to regularly scheduled chaos

Victoria’s description of the fireworks was quite vivid, though Orpheus couldn’t picture what sort of explosion might go along with the sound she was mimicking. They frowned a little bit, gaze scanning over the ground for the pencil as they tried to think of how, exactly, they were meant to respond to that.
“I’ve never seen fireworks,” they admitted after a long moment, glancing up to meet Victoria’s eyes even as they continued to scratch behind her ears (she had guided them to the best spot for it, and they didn’t want to deprive her of a really good scratch). “I’m excited to see the kind you described, though. The one that went off when I first blinked in was spectacular. We have displays with fire, of course, but nothing of this caliber. It’s… I know it’s not magic, but it feels an awful lot like magic. It looks like magic.”

"I'd rather not," Percival said with some wary disdain. He wasn't sure what to make of Archie. Not a human, obviously, since the horn pretty much eliminated that as a possibility. As if this place hadn't already eliminated a lot of that. He wasn't so sure if 'demon' was truly the best description as much.
"I see. So you're a show off? And a bit flashy?"
He straightened his back, crossing his arms over his chest. 
"I don't need to give you a nickname. At any rate ..."
He wasn't sure if he was inclined to give his name. Eventually though, he said, "Percival."

Sam | for Sam room | ®Hawkpath® strider

Sam found himself wanting to edge closer to Nico. Everything that Hades was saying was hurting him and it was slowly starting to show that he was leaving wounds. The edges of his eyes, still stained a bit with blood, were crinkling. He wanted to yell at Hades, both about what he was saying about Samuel, but now about what Nico was telling him.
"He was wrong about you," he agreed to Nico. "I ... I think I have to find out for myself whether he's wrong about me."
He wanted to stand between Kelsier and Hades again, for Kelsier's sake, but he held no power in this situation. He couldn't stop the fight that Kelsier wanted to undertake. It was simply about the fact that Hades was in the House that they hadn't died yet. Samuel was worried, but he also didn't know much about Kelsier's strength.
He wanted to protect Nico, just as much as Nico seemed to be trying to protect him.
Sam sniffed, part of his chest swelling over the fact that he didn't know how he had deserved Nico. Someone standing with him like this. It meant more than he was able to say right now.
"Thank you," he whispered.
Then he looked around. It was time to leave. To look for a way out. They needed to leave before things got worse and then he could talk to Nico more. Tell him he was sorry. That all of this was his fault and any situation in Nico's own world that would cause more harm than good because of Sam - well, he was so sorry about it. And he'd do his best to help Nico as best as he could.
"We need to go," he said to Nico.

Orpheus had never really considered before how something could be magical without really being magic. Humanity, he supposed, was a little bit like that. Although, Orpheus believed there was something magic in every person, even if they didn’t have special skills or powers. They were all alive, and that was a sort of magic in and of itself. Others didn’t see it that way, though, so he made a point not to voice that opinion around others.
“We have magic, yes,” Orpheus confirmed, a tiny smile pulling his lips up into a crescent moon. “It’s mostly performed at the hands of the gods, though. They’re the ones who command it and know what to do with it. Does your world have magic?”
If Orpheus was at all perturbed by having a full conversation with a wolf, he gave no indication of it.

Hades bristled, Kelsier’s words washing over him like they were poisonous. He was a god, not someone to be poked and prodded by mere mortals. Mortals who clearly had no idea what they were talking about, because they didn’t have to worry about the balance between life and death. They didn’t have to worry about whether the scales were tipped, or if there were humans who had managed to cheat death and therefore threatened the system as a whole. It was a carefully balanced machine, and there wasn’t a single cog out of place. If there were to be one… Hades eyed Samuel, eyes narrowing. The vampire was an issue. There were vampires in Hades’ version of the world, of course, but they weren’t very widespread, and there were ways to keep their populations in control. Hades would have preferred to just kill them all, but it wasn’t as simple as that. Vampires weren’t as easy to kill as mortals were, for one thing. That, and there wasn’t really a place they belonged in the Underworld. They went straight to Tartarus when they died, though they weren’t given the chance to escape and come back. Or, if they were, it would take millions of years. Hades had yet to see one, but he hadn’t killed all that many.
“You know nothing of me,” Hades returned, a bit of anger sparking into his voice. He had managed to keep it even up to this point, but bringing Nico into the equation… he scowled, eyes narrowing at the sight of his son helping the vampire child. If the child grew hungry, who would it go for? Vampires were like all animals – they went for the easiest prey, and in this room, that meant Nico. No matter how much power he had to stand up for himself, he was still small and exhausted, and easy prey. Hades grit his teeth, a muscle working in his jaw.
“What, do tell, do you believe I’ve done to my own son? I’ve done nothing but be the best father I could to him. I am a god, might I remind you, and it is not my responsibility to watch out for my kid. I’ve done that and more for Nico.
The children of Hades were very rarely given a happy ending. They were torn down by fate or by other demigods who didn’t believe in their right to continue existing. Other demigods who were afraid of them because of their father. Hades eyes narrowed. He had done everything he could to ensure Nico a happy ending, even if he couldn’t make his decisions for him. He had given his guidance. He had tried to make him the child in the prophecy. Now, he was trying to protect him from the monster he was currently holding like they were capable of being friends.
Kelsier’s laugh was like nails against a chalkboard. Hades’ rational mind turned off and his power flared inside of him, covering the room in dark mist.
“You think you can take me? Just try. I dare you. I will crush you. And when I have…” the ground began shaking, and Hades made little effort to keep it from impacting Sam and Nico as well as Kelsier, “You will be under my thumb as much as any ghost.” If Nico were the Ghost King, then Hades was the god of them. He didn’t just command them, he controlled them. Every move. No free will. And it was a skill that would serve him well if Kelsier fell.

Nico thought that fighting Hades was probably in the list of top five stupidest things Kelsier had ever tried to do, but he wasn’t going to say that. He wasn’t going to pick a side, because he knew the side he wanted to win. And he knew which side would save his back a few days down the line, if Hades decided to retaliate and bring this back into their world. He paled, as though remembering for the first time that everything that happened here might not just stay in the House, for once. This whole situation might follow Nico directly back into his world, and it could kill him, if it went wrong enough. If Hades believed that Nico had supported the wrong side of the divide.
“He is wrong about you,” Nico managed, preferring to think about helping Sam than his own potential doom. He was already on a death mission, what was one more risk? What was getting Hades on his back when he was doing his best to save the lives of dozens if not hundreds of demigods? “You’re not a monster. You never have been, and you never will be. You’re just… you’re you, Sam. And vampirism doesn’t change that. You’re… you’re kind, and you have a nice smile, and you’re more competitive than you would admit, and if you were a monster, you’d want to attack me right now. You’d care about little else other than hurting others and getting revenge because you were hurt yourself. And you’d hurt people well beyond what’s strictly necessary. But you don’t do any of that. You’re not a monster.” There were very few things in Nico’s mind that were undeniably the truth, but these words were.
“Samuel Salinas, you don’t get to listen to the words of a jaded old man and decide that what he says has to be the truth. It’s not.”
After an intense moment, Nico fell silent and gave a small nod. He wanted out as badly as Sam, though he was loath to leave Kelsier to face this threat alone.

Kelsier | for Sam Room | mintedstar/fur strider

It was mere mortals that had sentenced Kelsier, and a mere mortal (himself) that had saved him. It was a mere mortal that he’d fallen in love with, and a mere mortal who’d become his best friend, and a mere mortal who had caused the world to fall apart, and another one (himself) who would put it back together again. Mere mortals, as Hades called them, ran the world. They were his friends, his enemies, the most loved and the most hated. If a demigod counted as mortal, then it was a mere mortal that had become Kelsier’s son, and if a vampire counted, a mere mortal who’d become his son’s crush.
If the world was balanced on the deaths of the innocent, lf children, then it was a world that deserved to be torn apart at the most basic of levels.
Maybe he truly knew nothing of the way the world worked. Maybe Hades knew the inner workings of the universe, and was aware that Sam’s existence truly did cause it to fall out of balance. In that case? Nothing changed. Sam was a person, a child. How many times would Kelsier have to stand between a weapon and a life?
“Don’t I, Hades?” He replied, dropping even his sarcastic deference in favor of none at all. “You think being a god changes anything? What have you truly done to be worthy of my respect? I have more respect for the worms, at least they hurt no one, and know nothing. You, with a rational mind, you should know better. You are not innocent. Pretending you are only makes you even worse. A god indeed…of excuses, perhaps.”
He needed to protect Nico and Sam. He didn’t think Nico was in any danger from Sam, even if he did know how dangerous vampires could be. Sam was a child. Sam was Nico’s friend. He wasn’t going to hurt him, anymore than Myrnin was going to hurt Kelsier. The most dangerous person in the room was the one he stood in front of, not the ones he had his back to.
He smiled. This was probably one of the most stupid things he’d ever done, and he truly didn’t know how to kill, or stop, Hades, but there had to be a way. He knew he giving in wasn’t an option. So he was a mere mortal. So he was facing a god. That god was going to regret this, at the end of the day. He was going to wish he hadn’t dared hurt Sam after all. They were past talking now, they were past trying to work this out peacefully. Truly, though…that had never been a real option. The moment he had come after Sam…no…the moment he had told Nico he was worthless, that he should have died in place of his sister, that was the moment he had given up the right to solve anything peacefully. As far as Kelsier was concerned, he had walked into the fire of his own free will. All the Mistborn was doing now was letting him burn.
Maybe he didn’t know everything. But he damn well knew enough, and he didn’t think the rest of the information was really relevant here.
His eyes darkened at the threats. That was who Hades was. An arrogant old man trying to make himself feel powerful by stepping on those weaker than he.
A moment passed. Kelsier tilted his head, either utterly unconcerned by the shaking ground and the dark mist, or pretending to be with such determination that it was nearly impossible to tell for sure.
Then he smiled, the expression bright and cheerful, edged with knowledge and death.
He lifted a finger to his lips, silently shushing the god, then dropped his hand again. “Hold that thought,” he told him, as though he were a petulant child interrupting an important meeting. “I’ll get back to you in a moment.”
And he turned his back to Hades, eyes finding Nico instead. “Hey, kid. I have a question for you, before you get Sam out of here. Do you mind if I go ahead and give this man a quick lesson in the powers of Allomancy?”
He met his eyes. He hoped that was enough to tell Nico what his plan was. He didn’t want to tell Hades exactly what he was doing before he did it, but he wouldn’t do it without Nico’s permission.

“I think your world might be more similar to mine than you think,” Orpheus replied genially, a small smile touching their face. “I mean… you keep mentioning things that I don’t really understand, which leads me to believe you might be from my future, at least… if you’re from Earth. I have a close friend who’s from the future, and his world doesn’t really have magic either. His world doesn’t have the same gods mine has, either, but… honestly, my theory is that maybe the gods don’t last forever. Maybe they fade as fewer people believe in them and worship them, and then when they fade completely, they take most magic with them but leave just a little bit left in the world for other people to use. It would explain why some things that happen in your world don’t seem magic, even if they don’t really seem possible either. Humans in my world have little traces of magic sometimes, but it isn’t often seen as magic. It’s just seen as talent or skill.” They were close to asking what the internet was, but they figured that might be a question best saved for L.

Asami | Fireworks room | ®Hawkpath® |

Asami stayed frozen for a moment, her eyestalks folded inward like a startled snail, her blades poised defensively in front of her.

After a moment, though, her blades began to retract, and her eyestalks began to move hesitantly upwards, until they were extended to their full length, staring at the sky.  Every time a firework would go off, they would jerk back a little in surprise, but she continued to watch, quietly taking in the sight.

"I see them," she confirmed, her tone still flat and neutral, though she moved one of her eyestalks to watch Juuzou as she answered.  "What are they?"

Asami | Fireworks room | ®Hawkpath® |

"No, I have not," answered Asami simply, still with her vision split between Juuzou and the fireworks. It was a lot of information at once, sure, but her brain was built to handle more than a human could under normal circumstances - it was no problem at all for her to be looking at two things at once.

"What is the purpose?" she asked, tilting her eyestalk sideways to give Juuzou a slightly quizzical look. "Why do humans use flame efforts?"

Orpheus appeared, his lyre on full display as he finished up a song in his world. His eyes widened in surprise at the change in surroundings, but even more so as the speed of the vehicle under him seemed to actually increase. That was rare – usually when he blinked in, he stopped entirely. There was no motion beneath him, because the House was not a moving thing. Here, though, the House was very clearly moving. Or… the room they were in did. He took a step towards a window, eyes wide as he looked out. It was dark outside so it was nearly impossible to see anything, but Orpheus could make out the way the landscape seemed to be disappearing behind them almost as soon as it had popped in front of them. He frowned, taking a small step back from the window.
“Hello,” Orpheus greeted, eyes widening as he realized he wasn’t alone. The girl had been there when he had first blinked, though it had taken him a few moments to notice her.
“Sol, right?” he asked, tilting his head as he remembered their first meeting. It hadn’t been the most pleasant, but that hadn’t been Sol’s fault. He would like to get things back on the right foot – this time, at least, there was nobody else here to antagonize anyone.

Sol | Train room | @ hawk and stri |

Sol narrowed her eyes and began to inch a little up against the wall, pulling her knife slightly out of her pocket in case she had to use it in a hurry. She heard two people specifically - two separate voices, both of which she vaguely recognized. Music guy - Orpheus - and hot chocolate guy, whose name she didn't know. Music guy had seemed nice last time, but she was well aware that things can change, and she hadn't managed to get a good sense of hot chocolate guy.

"It's Sol," she said cautiously, in answer to hot chocolate boy. Then, she turned to the other, without turning her back to where she estimated hot chocolate guy to be. "And you're Orpheus. The music guy."

Kelsier | Train Room

“That’s me,” Kelsier confirmed, smiling at the two of them, even though he knew Sol couldn’t see it. That was okay. He could keep his tone light.
He was glad to see them both. He hadn’t done a room with Sol, unless the Lodge counted, and he didn’t know if it did.
“Nice to meet you properly, Sol,” he said cheerfully, glancing between them. He liked Orpheus quite a lot, too, even if he hadn’t seen him since Nico had been a tentative ally, at best. Things had happened since then, and he was half tempted to brag about Nico, but he didn’t do it. He had a feeling Nico would rather speak for himself.
Wouldn’t stop him from complimenting him if either of these two knew him, of course.
He looked up as someone else joined them. Another blinker? He was about to greet him, but he spoke first, introducing himself as…
“I see,” he murmured, though not because he understood what an express was. He had just realized that this man was a House person, like Quincy had been.
If the House tried to make him kill another person…he wouldn’t be very pleased with it.
“Thank you very much,” he replied, smiling at the newcomer. “I was actually just wondering, where are we headed?”

Orpheus looked up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, uncertain if the person who had appeared was another blinker or if they were created by the House. His question was (mostly) answered a few seconds later. It was, of course, possible that they were a normal blinker who had been… adjusted… by the House to act as though they weren’t, but that seemed unlikely. Considering that seemed an awful lot like paranoia. He hesitated for a long moment, casting Sol a glance as she edged nearer to him.
“An express is… it’s a really fast way to get somewhere. Faster than walking, at any rate. And a conductor is someone who works on it – he collects tickets and helps guide people to where they need to get off.” He made sure to keep his voice as quiet as Sol had – he didn’t want to seem rude by interrupting the conductor.

The conductor took another large puff of smoke, glancing between the three and giving a wide smile. He didn’t know what Orpheus and Sol were saying, but he was more than happy to answer Kelsier’s question.
“We are… well, there are a variety of stops, so it depends entirely on where you’d like to get off! Our end destination is-” Whatever the conductor had been about to say was drowned out by the loud whistle as the train picked up speed and moved ahead on its way.