~~ Scott ~~
"That wasn't so bad, actually. Thanks."
"Very strong. Easy." Scott was sitting in a bed in a dark room with the only light coming from one of those weird modern lights in the corner. That was fine with him, so was the doctor's silence. Scott needed a minute or two to get his bearings and bright light and noise were definitely not conducive to his thought process. He had long since come to terms with being crippled, but while he had been sleeping, someone brought him to the doctor who did something and fixed him. As Scott leaned back on the headboard, he looked at the doctor's wings and figured one of the Brotherhood must have taken him to one of their underground friends. This 'doctor' was probably just a mutant with healing powers.
"May I ask your name?" Scott asked.
"K'ten nec Felin." Was the reply. Cay-ten Neck-fell-in? Scott blinked. What?
"Oh. Nice to meet you. I'm Scott Summers." To his surprise the other man began laughing.
"K'ten is title. Means Scholar-Mage. Nec joins title and name." he handed a cup to Scott and bade him drink it. "Humans speak different. Call me Felin."
Scott sipped the drink as he thought about that. 'Humans speak different'… he didn't like what that implied, but Scott decided that he couldn't rule out the possibility that he was trapped with a madman. "Mage, huh?"
"Yes." Felin sat on a stool to Scott's left, one that put him out of the direct rays of light. "Middle class Vulgate. Nobles are K'mas and warriors are lowest class, K'vas."
Scott stopped pretending to drink. "Vulgate? Isn't that some version of the Bible?"
"What is bye-bull?"
Scott and Felin stared at each other for a moment as if something just occurred to them.
"Is this for real?" Scott asked.
"Is anything for real?" Felin answered.
"Well. Where I come from…"
And so it was that the foundations of the Vulgate Empire were shaken even further.
~~ Kurt ~~
It took a little getting used to, playing Blind Man's Bluff with kids who could fly. Every time he got close to one, they took off. Even so, it was a pretty fair game, since Kurt's tail didn't give off enough heat for the Vulgates to see and moved too fast for them to dodge well. They played until the kids were too tired to continue and then they begged Kurt to perform for them. Never one to turn down an opportunity to display his gymnastic talent, Kurt paced off an area, made sure it was clear by tumbling and scattering dirt in all directions and making sure the dirt hit only the ground, not an errant stone or box that was just waiting to trip him up.
For the next five minutes, he amazed the crowd of Vulgates and by the time he finished, he had collected a crowd that got him thinking about his days in the Munich circus. Until he noticed that there were a few people staring at him a bit too intensely.
"K'mas nec Kurt." Came a soft voice from the crowd, and though they pronounced his name with the proper German inflection, it took a moment for him to realize they were talking to him. He peered at the crowd, trying to tell who had called him. Although Kurt's night vision let him see more than Todd, Haiden or Evan, he could only see a few feet in front of him, just enough to make out the shape of the crowd.
"Kurt? Did you say Kurt?"
"Was that Scott?" Evan asked from his post by a fountain. Haiden and Todd were with him, but they had missed the voice over the babble of the crowd.
"Ja…"
"Friend is better." And there was Scott striding across the cleared area as if he could see where he was going. The crowd got quiet as they watched the scarlet ovals floating across the clearing. No doubt they saw a human with burning eyes, since the Vulgates relied on heat to navigate. Then again, many had never seen light before, so they were blinded by the light coming from Scott's shades.
"Hey, Kurt." He flexed his new arm. "Where are the others? We need to start thinking about how to get out of here."
Todd shouted and made a dash for Scott. "Thank God!! I don't have to think any more!!"
"Todd? What do you mean by that?"
"He was incredible." Haiden said as he and Evan picked their way more carefully towards Scott. "After you and Evan were hurt, Todd got everyone out of the tunnels."
"I helped!" Kurt interrupted.
"Yeah, but it was Todd who did the most, but... maybe we should go see if the others need help. They probably pounded that demon to corn meal and are waiting for us to get back."
"Monster? Wait, back up. Let's pretend I fainted back while we were hiding from the army in that supply closet. Now, what's happened since I was gone?"
Haiden sighed. "That was how long ago? Man. Well… I don't know the whole story-"
"Who does?" Todd interrupted.
"But…" Haiden continued. "It's not a happy story, that's the truth."
"I can take it. Meanwhile, Felin, could you arrange transport for us? We really need to get back to the surface."
"Done. Your escorts come soon."
"Alright. So, Haiden, is it? Hit me."
"That wasn't so bad, actually. Thanks."
"Very strong. Easy." Scott was sitting in a bed in a dark room with the only light coming from one of those weird modern lights in the corner. That was fine with him, so was the doctor's silence. Scott needed a minute or two to get his bearings and bright light and noise were definitely not conducive to his thought process. He had long since come to terms with being crippled, but while he had been sleeping, someone brought him to the doctor who did something and fixed him. As Scott leaned back on the headboard, he looked at the doctor's wings and figured one of the Brotherhood must have taken him to one of their underground friends. This 'doctor' was probably just a mutant with healing powers.
"May I ask your name?" Scott asked.
"K'ten nec Felin." Was the reply. Cay-ten Neck-fell-in? Scott blinked. What?
"Oh. Nice to meet you. I'm Scott Summers." To his surprise the other man began laughing.
"K'ten is title. Means Scholar-Mage. Nec joins title and name." he handed a cup to Scott and bade him drink it. "Humans speak different. Call me Felin."
Scott sipped the drink as he thought about that. 'Humans speak different'… he didn't like what that implied, but Scott decided that he couldn't rule out the possibility that he was trapped with a madman. "Mage, huh?"
"Yes." Felin sat on a stool to Scott's left, one that put him out of the direct rays of light. "Middle class Vulgate. Nobles are K'mas and warriors are lowest class, K'vas."
Scott stopped pretending to drink. "Vulgate? Isn't that some version of the Bible?"
"What is bye-bull?"
Scott and Felin stared at each other for a moment as if something just occurred to them.
"Is this for real?" Scott asked.
"Is anything for real?" Felin answered.
"Well. Where I come from…"
And so it was that the foundations of the Vulgate Empire were shaken even further.
~~ Kurt ~~
It took a little getting used to, playing Blind Man's Bluff with kids who could fly. Every time he got close to one, they took off. Even so, it was a pretty fair game, since Kurt's tail didn't give off enough heat for the Vulgates to see and moved too fast for them to dodge well. They played until the kids were too tired to continue and then they begged Kurt to perform for them. Never one to turn down an opportunity to display his gymnastic talent, Kurt paced off an area, made sure it was clear by tumbling and scattering dirt in all directions and making sure the dirt hit only the ground, not an errant stone or box that was just waiting to trip him up.
For the next five minutes, he amazed the crowd of Vulgates and by the time he finished, he had collected a crowd that got him thinking about his days in the Munich circus. Until he noticed that there were a few people staring at him a bit too intensely.
"K'mas nec Kurt." Came a soft voice from the crowd, and though they pronounced his name with the proper German inflection, it took a moment for him to realize they were talking to him. He peered at the crowd, trying to tell who had called him. Although Kurt's night vision let him see more than Todd, Haiden or Evan, he could only see a few feet in front of him, just enough to make out the shape of the crowd.
"Kurt? Did you say Kurt?"
"Was that Scott?" Evan asked from his post by a fountain. Haiden and Todd were with him, but they had missed the voice over the babble of the crowd.
"Ja…"
"Friend is better." And there was Scott striding across the cleared area as if he could see where he was going. The crowd got quiet as they watched the scarlet ovals floating across the clearing. No doubt they saw a human with burning eyes, since the Vulgates relied on heat to navigate. Then again, many had never seen light before, so they were blinded by the light coming from Scott's shades.
"Hey, Kurt." He flexed his new arm. "Where are the others? We need to start thinking about how to get out of here."
Todd shouted and made a dash for Scott. "Thank God!! I don't have to think any more!!"
"Todd? What do you mean by that?"
"He was incredible." Haiden said as he and Evan picked their way more carefully towards Scott. "After you and Evan were hurt, Todd got everyone out of the tunnels."
"I helped!" Kurt interrupted.
"Yeah, but it was Todd who did the most, but... maybe we should go see if the others need help. They probably pounded that demon to corn meal and are waiting for us to get back."
"Monster? Wait, back up. Let's pretend I fainted back while we were hiding from the army in that supply closet. Now, what's happened since I was gone?"
Haiden sighed. "That was how long ago? Man. Well… I don't know the whole story-"
"Who does?" Todd interrupted.
"But…" Haiden continued. "It's not a happy story, that's the truth."
"I can take it. Meanwhile, Felin, could you arrange transport for us? We really need to get back to the surface."
"Done. Your escorts come soon."
"Alright. So, Haiden, is it? Hit me."