World Tree MUSH

    THE CLINIC:
    A woman sighs softly. "Come on, those toys of yours aren't that dangerous."
    "Then, why hasn't she woken up yet?" comes a familiar male voice. Sampo.

    "Because she's sound asleep. Didn't you hear her sleep talking? poor child, sounded like a nightmare." replies the woman's voice. The tone shifts as she speaks next, gaining an edge of iron and sternness. "Tell me the truth Sampo. What are you gonna do about the Overworld girl?"

    ELSEWHERE: March is out exploring, and Dan Heng is nowhere to be seen. The pink-haired girl is apparently searching for him, but is also taking the time to explore the Underground settlement of Boulder Town. Those who are also out and about will find her talking to a few local children, apparently led by a little blonde girl with a very large hat.

    Jessica is going to go out and about! She's spent a lot of time talking to doctors, and kind of would prefer to...not do so here? Maybe if she knew more about oripathy she could get something useful out of talking to a doctor, but for now the catte is going on the prowl, to see what she can find, which probably means peeking in on March. "Hello there!" That's... actually to the child. Probably.

    The dream comes with running, blaster fire, and massive smoking holes in all of Talia's friends. She sees them cut down one by one, not just the jedi she trained with, but the friends she's made along the way; Rebecca's cybernetic body is torn to bits, looking like a droid meant for the scrapheap, Stelle cut to thirds with Angither's lightsaber, even Lian Kamoya fell to the Sith after being impaled from behind, and the Mandalorian Din Djarrin dying protecting his little friend as he breathes his last, a shot to the jetpack taking them both out in a fireball.

    She awakens with a started yell, sweat trickling down her brow, finding herself in a clinic of some kind. As she reaches out, her lightsaber flies to her hand and she adopts a fighting stance upon jumping out of bed.

    Nothing comes to fight her. She just looks like an idiot waving her laser sword around while in skivvies.

    "...hnn."

    The Jedi stows her weapon and gets dressed after a moment to collect herself, before going to look around and find whomever this clinic belongs to.

    "I take it this is your clinic?" She asks the woman.

    "Ungh, jesus, fuck. My head is killing me."
    True to her word, Rebecca is holding her skull. She's been awake for a bit, but it looks like she's still suffering some side-effects of the knockout gas. She glances over as Talia wakes up from her nightmare in a fit.
    "Hey you. You're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border right?" She prods jokingly as Talia rallies.

    A certain rooster has trailed Talia, or maybe just... intended to go to the doctor anyway. Strutting in behind the Jedi, he's uh... stroking his wattles like a thoughtful aged master, keeping a fair distance before approaching, so he can introduce himself, first.

    "Hmm. I see. I wish I had Ri Zu with me, she would be fascinated by these healing techniques," he murmurs thoughtfully.

    Sampo looks surprised. "What am I gonna do about her? Why, wait for the opportunity and send her back, together with the rest of them of course!" Then Talia yells and jumps out of bed, with the cylinder of he lightsaber almost beaning him in the side of the head as it flies past and snaphisses to life in the Mirialan's hands.
    The doctor looks over at the jedi and the solo as they wake... nearby Stelle still lays restlessly tossing on a bed... before she suddenly jolts to sitting, eyes wide, but unseeing for a few moments, a hand resting over her chest, where the Stellaron rests. "Ah you're awake. How do you feel?" she asks in a motherly tone. She sidelong glances at Sampo, who's trying to edge out of the clinic. "You are a bad liar Sampo Koski, and if you're looking for more attention from Wildfire, you're going about it the right way. This isn't over, Sampo." she says before he can slip out. "Get that Overworlder back here quickly. The underground has been sealed off for ten years now. The children won't know what a Silvermane Guard looks like, but the adults certainly will."

    Turning back to the others she smiles warmly "Take it easy there, you're still going to be feeling the effects of Sampos little toys, though I don't recognize any of your equipment or outfits. You're not Overworlders." She touches the vial of green liquid hanging from her collar. "I am Natasha, an Underworld doctor. This is my clinic yes. As far as your injuries are concerned you're all doing well. I have no reason to keep you here. But if you start feeling dizzy or unwell, come back immediately."

    ELSEWHERE:

    March looks over to Jessica, offering a wave, before returning to the child. "So, if I play hide and seek with you, you'll give me the lowdown of what's going on around here?" she says, hands on hips as she looks at the trio before her. "Yup! All the ins and outs~... what does that mean?" replies the blonde child, before she turns attention to Jessica. "Oh, another big sister? Wanna play with us too?"

    Talia gazes at Rebecca blandly, the reference lost on her. She just stares at the solo for a moment before she goes to address the doctor. "I'm managing." A lie through her kriffing teeth. "How's Stelle?" Her question's answered by Stelle awakening, creepy as it looks to see her eyes wide like that.

    "So that gas was his work?" She asks, glancing at Sampo for a moment. "As much as I appreciate you saving our lives, was it necessary to knock us all out?"

    And then Stelle wakes up.
    "Oh good, she's up. Rebecca says mildly, still rubbing her skull. "So like does anyone have any aspirin?" She asks before eyeing Sampo.
    Rebecca drags her thumb across her throat menacingly.

    "I regret that I could not wake you all up properly, as is my normal responsibility. Are you sure I shouldn't do that?" Bi De ruffles his feathers, as always somehow managing to convey mild annoyance at not being allowed to 'sing' in the mornings like he normally does. You can give the Rooster kung-fu, but you can't uh... make him... not a rooster? "Gratitude, for the assistance, Healer."

    Sampo grins sheepishly at Rebecca's motion, rubbing the back of his head. "Well... y'see... uh, the thing is I--" he edges toward the door a bit more, then just bolts. "GottagofindtheOverworldergirlbye!"

    Natasha pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs longsufferingly. "That man will get himself into more trouble than he can escape from one of these days." She then looks over at Rebecca. "I don't know what an 'aspirin' is, but if you require something to mitigate pain I have some options." she looks the Solo over carefully. "Though I've never seen someone with such adaptations as you. Mechanical parts grafted to your body. A facinating technique. How do you handle rejection reactions?"

    Bi De earns a chuckle. "We Undergounders haven't heard any type of animal for a long time, most of them died before any of us were born, so hearing a powerful sound such as you could make may even cause a cave-in. That would be a bad thing." she does dip her head. "You are most welcome." she says in return.

    For a moment- for a good beat- Rebecca looks ready to chase after Sampo. But then she scowls and decides against it. This won't likely be the last she sees of him, anyway.
    "Huh? Oh that? I gotta take a pretty strict regimen of immunosupressants." She does admit. "But I'm not as chromed up as other people from around where I'm from, who have to take like a bajillion pills a day because of it or go completely gonkbrain short-circuit." She says before pausing.
    "Don't cause a cave in, please, Big Bird."

    Talia gives Sampo a suspicious look as he zips off. He's probably wise for not wanting to risk Rebecca's wrath. She's not nearly as gracious as her friends, it'd appear.

    "Regardless, it seems we're fine. Where are Dan Heng and March?" She wonders aloud, "We should probably go look for them."

    The wings fluff. "I will not." Bi De mumbles. "But I grow restless here, and feel ill at ease and... weak. My kind are meant to be under the sun and moon, and here beneath the earth my Qi is sluggish, as is my mind."

    He fans his wings lightly, "At least I am in good health. Though it saddens me to hear you reliance upon pills. My own experience with them has been... unpleasant, to say the least."

    Cat ears splay out as Jessica hears the invite. "Ah... hide and sneak? Well, I guess if you want to!" Hey, she doesn't have to shoot anything, so this is a good day, right? The catgirl's tail waves pleasantly as she straightens up, giving a smile to the young girl. "If that's what you want to do, we can do that!"

    Maybe she also wants to, as a little dose of fun times in all this running for her life and framed charges. Jess really isn't a complicated person, when you get down to it.

    Natasha nods a little. "The young man and woman brought in with you, correct? They left already. They shook off the effects much more quickly than you did. I think the young lady isn't too far away, though I have no idea where the young man went." She gestures toward the door. "Remember, if you need healing, my door is always open." She then moves off to attend to some of the other patients, many of them clearly miners, or their families.

    March chuckles softly. "It just means you'll tell me all the details, no leaving things out and no lies." she explains. The blonde girl then turns to huddle up with her friends, the three whispering amongst themselves for a few moments, lifting heads to glance at the two adults briefly. The blonde turns back, and mirrors March's stance. "Hook isn't an overgrounder y'know. Hook never tells fibs!" The boy to her right affirms. "Yeah! Never!"

    Jessica giggles, then looks at March. "Well, it looks like you've insulted their honor. What do you have to say for yourself?" She's just teasing of course. To the kids, she adds, "We're just very new down here, and are trying to get used to the place. You're much nicer than the people up above though."

    Becca is not fuckin' gracious. Not at all to someone like Sampo who got her in trouble with The Law and then knockout gassed her.
    "Eh, it's so common where I'm from, it's not that big a deal." She comments to Bi De about her immunosuppressants as she steps out the door to the clinic. "... I sure hope you're in good health. I don't want to catch bird flu or some feather crud, chikkie-choom." She says heading out to look for Jess and March.

    "I'm more confused as to why Sampo knocked us out like this." Talia says, as she begins to leave so she can find Dan, March, and Jessica with Rebecca.

    "If I were you, I'd keep a close eye on him." Talia whispers to Rebecca as they leave. "I don't trust him."

    Bi De has been underground before, so he knows that his poor feeling will just get worse until he's more dead weight than anything else. That's why he sticks with the pair. "Cultivators rarely fall ill to mundane deseases. Even in my weakened state, my meridians are strong and my dantain is pure. It simply takes far more effort to do anything."

    He's still a giant chicken though. So he can't exactly ride on tiny Rebecca's shoulder or anything. He'll be following for now, is the point.

    "So it's all settled then--- huh?" March looks up as the others exit the clinic, just across an open plaza-like section. She offers a wave. "Hey! You're all finally up huh?" she calls out happily. Stelle is in the group, quiet and pensive as usual, hanging behind the others as she seems lost in thought.

    Hook looks around at all the new faces. "This is a lot of playes fo hide and seek..." she muses, then makes a pow-wow huddle with her two friends again while the other chat.

    Rebecca pauses to look at Bi De.
    "... Those are words you just said." Regardless of what meridians and a dantain is, she's still floored by a talking rooster as they run into March and Jess and some kids. "Trust him? I wanna shoot him." She asides to Talia.
    "Yeah we ran into an imperial ambush trying to cross the border." Rebecca replies to March as though it makes perfect sense.
    o be fair that game has been re-released so many times it's probably sold as a braindance on the cheap in Night City. But then she pauses.
    "Hide and seek what? Huh?"

    "We were just about to have a game with these kids!" Jessica says brightly as she moves to meet the jedi, chicken, and solo. When she's close enough, she lowers her voice, "I think March thinks they run a secret underground information network and can quickly get us info we may want, like if they're fattening up overworlders for a feast."

    "I can't exactly say I blame you." Talia says dryly. She doesn't seem to understand what Bi De's talking about, but she carries onward.

    Jedi Training involves so much less jargon, goodness.

    "A game, is it?" Talia says with a crooked smile as she nods to March and Jessica. "Alright then. I suppose the only choice here is to play." She has to admit, the less regarded do manage to be privy to quite a few things. Nobody thinks about them, nobody ever notices them. It makes them perfect intelligence assets.

    "Hmm..." Bi De murmurs, then sighs heavily, "And I have regrets that I have not seen my student in quite some time." He shakes his head, then clucks lightly, "Hide and seek? Perhaps I should not play, my form is... particularly distinctive, I think. I also prefer more physical games, such as torrent riding."

    Hook pipes up. Her hearing seems quite sharp as she points an accusing finger at Jessica. "The Moles aren't just a simple information network! We RUN the Underground! Everyone says Wildfire are the top dogs around hee, but they'd be nuthin' without us Moles!" she announces, then strikes a pose. "Pitch-dark Hook the Great is accepting new members! Even if they are adults." March shrugs. "I was looking for Dan Heng, someone said they saw him with Sampo, so I've been going around in cicles trying to find that blue-haired scoundrel... then I ran into these kids and they said they knew where to find them. All I had to do was win a game of hide and seek to prove my strength... do you get it?" she asks, glancing over at Jessica with a pleasant smile, turning that same one over on the others too.

    Stelle peeks out from behind Talia. "I get it, 'Big Sister.'" she remarks... how did she even hear that?

    "Will you quit acting like a child!" huffs March in return.

    "She WAS born yesterday, wasn't she?" Talia teases March playfully. "I suppose it's natural she'd look up to you."

    "... How do you prove your strength with a game of Hide And Seek?" Rebecca sounds incredulous. But then she makes a face.
    "Oh we saw Sampo. Dan Heng wasn't with him."

    "I think we're still working out the details of that," Jessica admits about the game. She frowns, "Where IS Dan? I'm gettting a little worried." True, she hardly knows Dan, but still, a part of the group is a part of the group, and on an alien worl that's important!

    "So, you're being bullied by children." says Stelle, looking smug. March huffs again, "So what if I am? Are you going to help me or not?"

    Hook is getting impatient here. "Hey! Are you done with all your secret talk!? The Moles time is precious!" she says, hands on hips with a grumpy expression. "Yeah, precious!" remarks the boy again.

    "Oh, yeah, we're done... hey, Pitch-Dark Hook the Great, can my friends join too?" she asks. Hook ponders this for a moment. "Ummmm... sure. I guess so. Then... You guys are seeking!" she asserts.

    The boy, Julian, pipes up again. "... Boss! They dont seem very smart. Why don't we do a practice one first?" he suggests. "Hmm... you're right Julian! Okay, let's do a practice one. I'll hide, you lot have to find me!"

    Talia chuckles. "I suppose we've got to find our new friends! Rebecca, you're with me. We'll scavenge around south." She says, giving the Solo a clap on the shoulder. "C'mon, let's go and count."

    Becca covers her eyes as Talia claps her on the shoulder.
    "Aite, little chooms. You got to the count of ten, then I'm coming for you." She says.
    And activates her thermal vision.
    This'll be like taking candy from a...
    Heh.

    "Well it's better than being bullied by an adult!" Jessica replies to Stelle with a smile. Is it, Jessica? Is it really? She doesn't explain her logic there, and instead just smiles brightly, "Oh, a practice run would be good, because we don't know the area yet! You all have a real advantage here!"

    She turns and grins to the others. Flattery never hurts, right?