Tea in the Gardens and Antechambers

[kaolinandbone]

As the many multiversal guests are gated in, singly or in groups, a crowd slowly begins to form in the entry hall. Lioncourt looks up from her meditation break and claps her hands twice: in moments, a dozen automaton servants file out from the adjoining rooms, hands of gleaming white porcelain holding equally elegant china tea-sets. A pair of the automatons open the doors at the far end of the hall, revealing a tiered rose garden, the stone benches dotted here and there ringing a large central clearing.

"Tea is served, either here or in the gardens: I would appreciate it, however, if some of my guests might proceed onward so as to reduce crowding."

Comments

Ahrotahn

[calledtoventure]

The woman in orange and gray proceeds onward.

Conveniently, there seems to be a large table available, suitable for putting down her gift. She does so, and goes to mingle.

Anda and Linsa (with Tyche)

[ambrovimvor]

Anda wanders into the garden, followed closely by her Companion. They both collect cups of tea and find a bench to sit on together and admire the garden.

Re: Anda and Linsa (with Tyche)

[scatteredstars]

A synthmorph wanders by on zir way to set something on the gifts table.

Re: Anda and Linsa (with Tyche)

[ambrovimvor]

The two women look slightly alarmed and mutter and make hand (and tentacle in Anda's case) at each other.

Re: Anda and Linsa (with Tyche)

[scatteredstars]

Yes, Tyche did see that out zir peripheral vision. "Yes?" ze says, and then belatedly turns to face them. There's a note of challenge in zir voice.

Re: Ahrotahn

[aestrix]

An elven woman in a sparkling color-shifting dress twirls into the garden. She wanders by and touches the roses, smiling a little.

She looks up and spots the woman in orange and gray, and her smile widens.

"Oh, hello! Wow, there are so many humans here, it's so cool!"

Re: Ahrotahn

[calledtoventure]

The human waves hello. "Hi, I'm Ahrotahn. Your dress is gorgeous."

Re: Anda and Linsa (with Tyche)

[ambrovimvor]

"...Are you a person?" (this is clearly confusion).

Astra Nepthys

[voidsextant]

A dark-haired woman sits on one of the many stone benches, her black eyes dotted with falling stars. She absently sips at her scalding-hot tea, then returns the cup to the saucer in her lap.

Re: Anda and Linsa (with Tyche)

[scatteredstars]

"Yes, I am." (is that deep, abiding frustration? Why yes, yes it is).

Ze takes in their confusion, and sighs. "I -- what even makes that seem like an appropriate question to ask someone?"

Re: Ahrotahn

[aestrix]

"Hi! I'm Dispersive Prism. Thank you! I thought since it was a party I should dress up a bit! And I liked how it shimmered."

Re: Astra Nepthys

[meletiti_entelecheiai]

A red-haired man almost walks past her before noticing her.

He blinks, and then shrugs. Walking nearer to her, he asks: "Mind if I sit here?"

[intricate_engineer]

Glen goes over to one of the automatons.
She inspects it for a moment, walks in a slow circle to see every angle, then settles onto the ground.

She opens her notebook and begins to sketch.

Re: Ahrotahn

[calledtoventure]

Ahrotahn starts making her way over to where the tea has been set out. "You're from the... Sunrise Empire? Am I remembering that right?"

Re: Anda and Linsa (with Tyche)

[ambrovimvor]

Anda leans against her Companion.

"I'm...sorry, it's just that, I'm not used to..the divide between living and non-living things being...blurred. It's rather obvious where I'm from. Especially for a channel like me. I suppose it's not so clear, elsewhere."

Re: Ahrotahn

[aestrix]

"Yes! I - don't actually remember where you're from, sorry. Something about books? That are magic? It sounds really interesting, but there's so much on the forum, you know?"

[kaolinandbone]

Upon closer inspection, the automaton appears to have biological components beneath the smooth, overlapping ceramic exoskeleton: They appear to mostly be visible at the joints when it bends, the plates shifting past each other as it moves. Though sculpted in the rough form of a human, it has no real facial features to speak of. The entire contruction gives an impression of something intended to blend into the background when not paid attention to, and to be strikingly elegant when observed directly.

Re: Ahrotahn

[calledtoventure]

"Yes, that's right. D'ni. The books," she sips her tea, "—wow, this is really good tea. ...Sorry. The books travel between worlds."

Re: Ahrotahn

[aestrix]

"The books travel between worlds? How do they get there, do they flap their covers?"

Re: Astra Nepthys

[voidsextant]

Astra shrugs. "Not particularly." She goes on looking at the flowers stretching out around her.

[intricate_engineer]

Glen finishes her sketches and takes a cup of tea. She runs one hand over the ceramic skeleton before she goes.

Re: Anda and Linsa (with Tyche)

[scatteredstars]

Tyche is silent for a moment. "Alive is... vague. I'm not biological. That doesn't mean I am not a person, any more than an bush is a person because it's made of cells. It doesn't work that way."

Re: Ahrotahn

[calledtoventure]

"Well, not the books themselves. Er. They let you travel between worlds, but they don't come with you... uh. I'm not explaining this very well, I'm sorry.

"...How it works is, each book goes to a certain place in a certain world, and you touch the linking panel, and then you're in that place. The linking panel is a picture of the place. But it moves. The panel, I mean, not the place. ...It doesn't move around, it stays on the page, but the picture is... a moving picture? Do you have those?

"I'm sorry, I'm really making a mess of this."

Re: Anda and Linsa (with Tyche)

[intricate_engineer]

Glen walks over, curious, and listens. She tries not to stare.

Re: Ahrotahn

[aestrix]

Prism giggles a little. "We have moving pictures. So the books transport people to specific places, and show moving pictures of the place that they'll be going? ... Neat!"