Zachary arrives at Sanctuary

Characters in this scene: Zachary, Justin, Levi

Setting Location: Sanctuary

Swaygze07 — 03/18/2021

By the time that Zachary has reached the door to Sanctuary, his voice is growing weary and he is thoroughly embarrassed with how off-key his rendition of the Halo theme song is. He drags his luggage behind him, with a small suitcase in one hand and a long, wooden quarterstaff in the other. Normally he'd be able to carry both for much longer periods of time without even breaking a sweat, but it's been a long day, and the quarterstaff feels like it has gotten caught in every single nook and cranny that he's passed. Oliver had offered to help, but Zachary had refused, and then Oliver had left. He's relieved to finally, finally see the hotel that Oliver told him to look for. Is the journey finally over?

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/18/2021

Swaygze07 — 03/18/2021

"Uh, yeah. I was told that I could stay here for a while?"

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/18/2021

"That's correct - the complimentary stay would be for a week and a day, but longer stays are of course negotiable with Lady Lim. But, regardless, welcome to Sanctuary!" Justin says, opening the door fully and stepping out of the way so Zachary can enter. "I'm Justin, by the way. I'm staying here as well."

Swaygze07 — 03/18/2021

"I'm Zachary." He walks in the door, taking in the sights. Sanctuary is huge, with an ornately decorated lobby that reminds him of when his family went on a cruise, once. Overhead chandeliers glitter with light, and the carpet is soft and clean. For all of that, the place is surprisingly empty. Almost to a suspicious level. Zachary turns back to Justin, looking at him with his Sight. The two stone lions strapped to his body glow a bright green, and move slightly with a soft inhalation and exhalation. No doubt these are somehow magical. Justin doesn't have any strange status effects that immediately pop out to Zachary, but he'd have to look a bit longer to be sure. "Are you planning on hurting me or leading me to situations that can hurt me?" Zachary asks.

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/19/2021

As Zachary looks around Sanctuary's foyer, Justin takes in the new guest. *Tired. A... quarterstaff. Fit. Probably knows how to use that staff.* He blinks, then matches Zachary's gaze as it turns to him. He's taken aback by the question. "Um... well, I have no intention of harming you and I think the likelihood of you being harmed here is very low, but can't any situation potentially hurt you? Especially with that staff - like, if you want to spar, which often includes getting hurt, I'd show you to the grounds for that." He isn't very concise.

Swaygze07 — 03/19/2021

"Can I see that area?"

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/19/2021

"Sure." Justin leads him through the foyer and into the building, past the lobby, then makes a right turn through a large seating area to a door heading outside. The entire interior is beautiful, with elegant furniture and finishings; the outside area is no different. They pass tennis courts and what looks like a spa before stopping in front of a large open lawn. "This would probably be the best spot for sparring. Lots of room to swing that staff, at least."

Swaygze07 — 03/19/2021

As they pass into the lawn, Zachary sees clear skies, a big change from the suffocating backstage areas that he has spent half of the day squeezing through. A sudden thought strikes him. He frantically sets his luggage down and fishes out his phone. "Oh God oh God what time is it?" According to the phone, it is now 3:17. Zachary holds it up to Justin. "Is this time right? What day is it?"

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/19/2021

Justin leans in to look at the phone. "That is the time, and it's Thursday today. Wait, were you expecting something different?"

Swaygze07 — 03/19/2021

Zachary heaves a visible sigh of relief. "It was Thursday when I was in the UK, and it's still Thursday now. That's good. I almost thought I forgot." Zachary moves further into the lawn, away from Justin and his luggage. Then he takes the end of the quarterstaff in one hand and swings it around experimentally. It moves fluidly through the air, not catching on anything, visible or not. "I need to practice today before I sleep. The one thing I'm supposed to do, and I almost forgot..."

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/19/2021

Justin doesn't give the luggage a single glance - he's busy watching Zachary move out into the lawn and spin the quarterstaff. "How long have you been practicing? It looks like you know what you're doing."

Swaygze07 — 03/19/2021

"Four years now." Zachary starts out with a series of slow blocks and strikes, getting his body used to the motion. His legs and back protests -- hasn't he ducked through enough small spaces today? -- but he keeps going. If he doesn't do this now, then he might forget for the rest of the day, and then he might break the promise he made back at the beginning of all this. Once again, Zachary regrets swearing before the spirits that he will spend every day before he sleeps practicing something relevant to combat. It hasn't made him more consistent at anything else, and at time like these, it's a huge hassle. He increases his tempo, moving the staff faster and faster. The air crackles with static electricity. He jabs out, then raises the end of it between his hands up high in a block, and then reverses its orientation to suddenly bring the bottom end swinging out to head level. The sky, clear as it is, suddenly booms with thunder.

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/19/2021

He watches, eyes wide as Zachary goes through the motions. It's *impressive* to watch. Justin had seen his Guardians fight, of course, but that wasn't quite the same as *this*. "Damn," he mutters under his breath as the thunder booms and he realizes he hasn't moved since Zachary started. "Do you usually practice alone? You might be able to get a homunculus to practice with, but I don't think the Lady would want them destroyed."

Swaygze07 — 03/19/2021

"Most of the time," Zachary grunts out. "Have a training dummy back home. Not the same as a real enemy."

levi || Seafoam (Tojin) — 03/19/2021

As Zachary was concluding his quarterstaff form, a quite worn-out Levi was walking past, making her way back to her room. She'd been out for a run, doing her best to keep in shape and take full advantage of the facilities at Sanctuary to do so. She had just recovered enough to replace the mask over her lower face when she heard a thunderous *BOOM* from nearby. She spun to face it, claws unsheathed, before realizing that it had come from the dark-haired man practicing with a quarterstaff nearby, and relaxing somewhat - the man could still have been dangerous, but at least it wasn't Sanctuary being attacked, like she'd thought for a brief, wild moment. Levi took a brief moment to calm her breathing and sheathe her claws again before walking over to the man with the staff and his companion and calling out a question by way of greeting. "Yo, was that you? I didn't know you could do stuff like that with a quarterstaff!" Zachary and Justin would see, walking towards them, a tall, pale woman with long, wavy brown hair, wearing a plain black tank top made for working out in, baggy black pants, and a mask stretched over her lower face, depicting a large, fanged grin. A pair of earbuds stretch from a pocket on the side of her pants, with the earbuds themselves tucked into the top of her shirt.

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/19/2021

If Levi frequented OMO, she would definitely recognize Justin from the ill-advised selfie posted a few weeks back.

Swaygze07 — 03/19/2021

Zachary spared a quick glance to the side and saw a woman approaching. He stepped back and then tossed the staff with both arms, catching it around the center. A quick twist of the wrist, and now it was turning in tight figure eights. The staff blurred until it looked like a continuous circle. "Justin, can you throw something at me?"

levi || Seafoam (Tojin) — 03/19/2021

From the expression on Levi's face (what you can see of it, at least), it's clear that she's excited to see what comes next. She glances at Justin as Zachary points to him, and then looks a little closer at him, squinting slightly behind her glasses. Then they snap wide again in recognition. "Oh! You're, uh..." She snaps her fingers a few times. "Inkstainer! Right? You sent us that book of seals a bit ago. We saw that one selfie Octane posted of you and them beating Crazy Bob." She laughs a bit and continues, "Guess I shouldn't be surprised that someone from OMO is here. This place was kinda advertised there, huh?"

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/19/2021

Justin laughs a little as he looks around for a rock or something to throw. In a manicured garden, such a thing is not available just lying around. "Yeah, that's me! You're... um..." He does a mental inventory of people he's sent books of seals to, and their quirks. "...Seafoam? Anyway, just call me Justin. It's good to meet you." He finally finds a rock, gives it a toss in his hand, and then throws it at Zachary.

Swaygze07 — 03/19/2021

The rock collides into the blurred staff and bounces off with a sizzle and a flash. It's one of the more difficult moves that Zachary has picked up, and took a while to figure out. The staff moves so quickly that the spirits lose track of where exactly it is, and decide that it can be anywhere inside of the area that it is spinning to block any object that would normally pass through. Zachary brings the hand holding his staff to his neck and releases; momentum carries it turning the rest of the way onto his shoulder. He catches it in between his neck and shoulder, then pops it, sending the staff the other way around. "You're from OMO? I'm from it too. Swaygze, you might have heard of me?"

levi || Seafoam (Tojin) — 03/19/2021

Levi smiles at Justin, though all that can really be seen is her eyes squinting half-shut from it. "Yep, that's us! Good to meet you too." She quickly becomes very obviously enraptured with Zachary's performance, eyes wide, slightly leaned forwards. She is absolutely eating this up. This promptly fades into a very complicated series of emotions when Zachary shares his username, which average out into a sort of awkward "oh, shit" face before being replaced with her earlier cheeriness (albeit still with a vague, strained note of "oh, shit"). "Oh, yeah, we've seen you around! Nice to meet you."

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/19/2021

Justin, too, has an uncomfortable realization upon hearing Zachary's username. He makes a very quiet pained noise, takes a deep breath and laughs a little to himself. "So, uh, do you know any martial arts or is Zachary the only one of us who could personally beat someone up?"

levi || Seafoam (Tojin) — 03/19/2021

"I meaaan. We know some taekwondo, and I'd like to think we're pretty fit, but in a straight-up fight? I don't fancy our chances against someone who can do stuff like that."

Swaygze07 — 03/19/2021

At this moment, Zachary is rolling the staff across his outstretched arms, making it seem as if it is moving of its own violition.

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/19/2021

Justin nods. "Yeah. Me neither." He looks over at Zachary's staff tricks, still legitimately impressed, then speaks very quietly to Seafoam. *"Wonder why he doesn't have a girlfriend when he's this good."*

levi || Seafoam (Tojin) — 03/19/2021

Levi snickers. "*Dunno if you saw the post where he asked for dating advice, but it's probably the part where he decided chivalry's still in fashion and men are stronger than women.*" There's a brief pause. "*...Y'know, seeing this, I kinda really regret challenging him to a duel over that.*"

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/19/2021

Justin smiles uncomfortably, replying, *"Yeah, I was, uh, trying to hint at that. He didn't seem to recognize your username, though. And sorry about saying it at all."* He switches to a normal tone of voice. "How long will you be here for?"

Swaygze07 — 03/19/2021

"Dunno. Enough to figure some things out."

He adds, quickly, "As long as you're willing to have me, I mean."

levi || Seafoam (Tojin) — 03/19/2021

"*Don't worry about it.*" She smirks a bit. "*Besides, I did say a straight-up fight. With Practice? I fancy our chances a little better. ...Still not great, mind, but better.*" Also at a normal volume, she says, "Another... six days, I think? Maybe longer. We, uh..." She lifts one arm to scratch at the back of her head. "We're hoping to figure some stuff out, too. Like where the hell we're gonna stay now."

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/19/2021

Justin nods. "Zachary, of course we're willing to have you. That reminds me - we should have a drink or meal together, as part of the "breaking bread" piece of hospitality." He turns to Seafoam. "I'm sure that's something we could talk about - want to join us?"

Swaygze07 — 03/19/2021

It's hard keeping up in conversation while also moving the staff around, but Zachary really, really should practice today. He's already slipped in his schedule for the past few days, spending too much time burying his feelings in League of Legends after that incident with Of Deep. Even thinking about it again now makes him feel a deep sense of shame gnawing at his stomach. And if the staff also means that he has to stand further apart from Seafoam and Justin so he doesn't hit them, then he will. The last thing he wants to do is accidentally crack open Seafoam's ridiculously tall head. "I'm down for whatever," he says.

levi || Seafoam (Tojin) — 03/19/2021

Levi shakes her head, a bit regretfully. "Sorry, but we're exhausted from working out earlier, and we ate a bit beforehand anyway. We were just on our way back to our room when we noticed y'all over here. That does sound nice, though - we'd love to another time!" She lowers her mask to smile again at Justin and Zachary, as a sort of punctuation to her statement, and both boys might notice two things - that she doesn't reveal any teeth, and that her skin doesn't quite seem to fit right over her mouth, though it's difficult to tell what exactly is causing this effect. With that, she replaces her mask and begins to walk backwards away, waving two fingers at Zachary and Justin in a jaunty farewell and saying "See y'all 'round!" before spinning on her heel and heading back inside.

viceVersailes — 03/19/2021

In the spinning, Levi is briefly able to spot a child peeking around a corner on the opposite side of the lawn. Androgyne thanks to youth and a shaved head, they're pouting in the group's direction, dissatisfied. The moment they realise they've been caught, their eyes widen and they dart back behind the corner.

levi || Seafoam (Tojin) — 03/19/2021

Levi slows briefly and cocks her head, puzzled, before shrugging, deciding she can't be arsed, and continuing back to her room.

Swaygze07 — 03/19/2021

Zachary gives a soft sigh as she goes.

Sage (Inkstainer) — 03/19/2021

Justin smiles and shakes his head a little, but doesn't comment as the two head to the cafeteria.