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<> Topic — Sleeptalk Quarantine Ended (Boards – Places – United States – Michigan – Events)

4D-Daniel (Moderator – Original Poster)

Posted on June 9th, 2020:

Well break out the champagne and get your plane tickets early, because it’s official: the quarantine around Detroit is coming down. Yes, this was expected to come at some point, given the news of a cure and that those who were affected are already being woken up. But it’s still earlier than expected. The last quarantine thread has been locked, with people being redirected to this one. Please see this post on the official Detroit Police Department blog for details, as well as this one from the governor’s office on how various details will be handled when it comes to avoiding too much traffic congestion for those who wish to leave.

In general, just be excellent to one another. This is a time for celebration, but keep the board rules in mind. Thanks to everyone who participated throughout our game threads for those who needed to be distracted, and I’ve been assured that those threads will be moved to their own section now for anyone who wants to continue them.

(Showing page 17 of 20, displaying ten posts per page)

—> SunRise

Replied on June 12th, 2020

Fuck dude, I don’t even care about details. I never really left the city before, never had any reason to. But somehow, having those barricades up so we couldn’t leave made me all wanderlusty. That’s a word, right? I just wanna get out of here, maybe take a bus all the way to Florida, then California, then back again. See everything along the way. I managed to make some bank off selling my grandpa’s old vinyl collection. Was gonna use it as a downpayment on a house, but now I’m thinking seeing the country and just chilling on the road for a month or so sounds like the experience of a lifetime.

Besides, after getting stuck here through all that, I’m kinda thinking maybe moving might be a good idea. I’m not so sure I want to stick around Detroit. Might see if any other cities catch my fancy along the way. Or a small town. Need peace and quiet.

—> Xiddon

Replied on June 12th, 2020

Man you have the money to put a downpayment on a house and you’re thinking about throwing it away on a roadtrip that’ll be over in a month? A house is for, like, the rest of your life. And if you do go to some smaller town, you can get a pretty sweet one for less than you’d pay here. But just so you know, you’re not necessarily safer out in the middle of nowhere. If a Collision Point happens, there’ll be less between you and them, and it’ll take Touched longer to show up. Plus, if some Fell gets a wild hair and decides to play warlord over your podunk town just for shits and giggles, you won’t have local Stars to knock them out. Just saying, it might sound like a good idea, but there’s risks involved wherever you go. I already heard about some Fells who decided to leave the big cities and go venture out to rural-land where there’s greener pastures.

—> MostAmazingFinalGuiderOfCults

Replied on June 12th, 2020

Actually, if you really want to look into moving but still want to be near the city so you can visit your friends without taking a plane or driving for six hours, try Tecumseh. It’s only about an hour’s drive from Detroit and the population’s hovering around twenty thousand. Thing is, you’re not alone in the wanting to get out of Detroit thing. Actually, there’s a group of us talking about going in on some land out there and building some houses. If you want I could drop you a DM for details. Also obligatory it’s not a cult.

—> SunRise

Replied on June 12th, 2020

*looks at name* Hey wait a minute…

But nah, the cult’s here in the city. You guys heard about that, right? Fucking quarantine wasn’t even over yet and we already had the Garden of Badb showing up. Maybe leaving really is a good idea. Not that I want to, family’s lived here for like a hundred and fifty years or something. Grandma’d roll over in her grave if she knew I was thinking about leaving this place.

Oh and uh, sure, send me those details. No promises but I guess I’ll check it out.

—> GuruOfZeal

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Personally I’m not about to abandon the city I grew up in, let alone one that my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents built lives in. Those of you who just want to go running off should be ashamed of yourselves. This is our home, our world. Detroit already went to shit before Touched became a thing, then the past twenty years turned everything around and made it one of the best cities in the world and you want to take off just because there’s a little violence? Join the police or one of the Star-Touched groups as a Prev with a gun. Get training. Do something to help the city.

—> dander26

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Hell yeah, that’s what me and my friends are doing. The Seraphs are hiring guards, drivers, fuck if you don’t want to see any combat but still want to contribute, join up as a gofer. You can stay in the nice protected facility and just carry stuff around, clean up messes, help out while they keep the city safe. There’s so much to do right now.

—> HeavenSketch

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Deciding whether you stay in the city and help make it better or have to leave for your own safety or your families should be that person's choice. And they shouldn't be shamed for it either way. Yeah, people should be proud of their home but they shouldn't be expected to put themselves and their families in danger constantly if they're not in a good position to do that.

—> dander26

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Okay, well, you guys do what you want if you can live with that. I don't have any power or special skills, but I'm still gonna do everything I can to make the city better. Even if that means playing janitor for one of the Touched teams. Hey, do you think Avant-Guard needs someone to clean their bathrooms? They seem pretty effective.

—> OnceWereWarriors

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Just so everyone knows, there is a way to spend most of your time outside of the city and still help it. There's a bunch of companies that are hiring drivers to carry things all across the country. You'd be helping the economy here, but you'd be out on the road most of the time.

—> GearK

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Lmao, yeah sure, will be out on the road carrying supplies from Detroit. That's like taping a bunch of meat to your body and wandering into cougar territory. Do you have any idea how many pirates would be all over trucks coming out of here?

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 … 17, 18, 19, 20

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<> Topic — Deicide Killed In Explosion (Boards – Places – United States – Michigan – Events)

Constructicon (Original Poster)

Posted on June 13th, 2020:

Okay, the moderators have locked the three other threads on the subject so we can keep the discussion centralized and coherent. It’s been confirmed by multiple sources (Ten Towers press release here, Police Department release here, on-scene first responder Seraphs interview here) that the Fell-Touched known as Deicide was killed today, (Saturday, June 13th) after being caught in an accidental gas explosion while attempting to break into a Ten Towers armored truck. Read all the details in those press releases, or you can watch any of the eighteen news clips about it as compiled here.

I’ve been asked to remind everyone that while you are allowed to express your opinion on the subject whether positive or negative, please keep the violent revenge fantasy scenarios to a minimum. And remember that the people you’re talking to are actual living beings, so if you get into an argument about what Deicide or any particular Fell-Touched deserves, just bear that in mind. You can agree to disagree.

(Showing page 43 of 44, displaying ten posts per page)

—> Flaboran

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Yeah, I think the biggest question that needs to be answered right now is what the hell was deicide trying to get out of that fucking truck? What was so important in there that she chased it down and didn't even notice all the gasoline around her? Because that seems like a pretty stupid mistake, doesn't it? Whatever she was trying to get must've been super important.

—> Anonymoton

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Sometimes mistakes just happen. Even if you're a big bad Fell leader. Look at Pencil and his reputation, then look at what actually happened to him. Sometimes people just screw up. It's been a long few weeks with the quarantine, maybe she just screwed up at the worst time.

—> LaughingLad

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Absolutely. Sure, it's been a long few weeks. And on top of that, like half her gang leadership betrayed her and jumped sides. Is it really all that surprising that she might make a mistake, even a huge one like that? Honestly, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.

—> Flaboran

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Well I still say something is fishy about all this. Personally, I think she had some help making that mistake. I don't know what she thought was in the truck, but I don't think it was actually there. I think the whole thing was a set-up. Ten Towers found out about something she wanted, pretended it was in one of their trucks, and sent it off as bait. They tricked her into walking into a trap and then blew her up. Seriously, that explosion was way too convenient and strong for just having a little gasoline.

—> Sickstalker

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Boy, it sure didn't take long for the conspiracy theorist to jump into the conversation, did it? Sometimes things just happen. Do you really think towers could get away with setting up a whole elaborate trap to intentionally assassinate one of the most powerful Fells in the city and no one involved gave anything away?

—> FiefdomOfFeelings

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Would there really need to be that many people involved though? I mean in the actual trap. There was just the one driver, who has conveniently declined to appear on camera. He could've been one of the Stars in disguise. Other than that, you don't need some way of spreading the word and making sure it got to her, and then someone to set up the explosives.

—> AvoidanceLamb

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Honestly, can we just be happy that one of the big bad guys got taken off the board? We don't need to go poking at it already. Let's just raise a toast to that guard, wish him luck, and move on. Honestly, it feels like some of you might be doing her minions’ work for them. You're trying to find out who that driver was, just like they are. Do you really think it's strange that he doesn't want to go on the news? If they find out who he is, they'll go after him.

—> Flaboran

Replied on June 13th, 2020

OK, yeah that's a fair point. I know I wouldn't want to put a bullseye on my face for a bunch of pissed off gang members to take a shot at. They’ll be all about making an example out of him.

I still say there's something suspicious about the whole situation, but you're right, let's not push too hard and get that driver in trouble. I'll just sit over here squinting at the whole situation. But in far more important and relevant news, did you guys hear about what's going on with the rest of the Easy Eights now? You'll never fucking guess who their new leader is.

—> EnemyOfTheGoose

Replied on June 13th, 2020

Fucking Grandstand? What the hell is going on there? She was Cuélebre’s second, now she's leading the group most opposed to him? I mean, I knew they had a falling out or something, but what the hell? And why would the Eights trust her to lead them?

I've got so many goddamn questions right now.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 … 42, 43, 44

**********

Sierra And Paige Sisterly Bonding

“Do you wish you'd been the one to pull the trigger?” As she asked that, Sierra pivoted on one foot to walk backwards along the narrow trail above the nearby waterfall. They were currently about a thousand miles from home, having stopped at a motel for the night. Irelyn was getting some sleep after driving for so long, while the two of them explored. They didn't exactly need much rest, and they didn't want to wake up the older girl.

Paige, coming along behind her, looked up and met her gaze. “You mean do I wish I'd been the one to kill our dad instead of Robert?” She paused briefly, turning to look down the waterfall to the stream below. They had just started to walk along this trail without any sort of goal or destination. Which, after spending so long constantly fighting and trying to break her programming, was a real treat. Maybe some people would have been bored, but she was enjoying the chance to do absolutely nothing of any importance.

Granted, she did think that this whole thing would be better if Cassidy had come with them. But they had their own vacation to go on, and they'd probably enjoy it more if Paige wasn't there to remind them about… well, all of that.

Finally, after dwelling on that for a moment, she turned her attention back to Sierra. “Part of me wanted to do it myself, yeah. After everything he did, after everything he made me do, I wanted to be the one who ended him. And I guess maybe part of me feels like it's not really over yet. Like it was too easy, you know? He was just alive one second, and then he was dead. He didn't get the chance to say anything, to threaten anything, he was just gone. After everything he did, everything he was to all of us, and then he's just dead like that? I don't know, it seems like there should've been some big fight or something.”

Sierra picked up a small rock and gave it a chuck out over the waterfall. They both watched as it sailed down into the stream, skipping a couple times across the surface far below. “I mean, we did contribute to him dying. We put him in that situation. We trapped him. And yeah, I know you're gonna say the kid did that work, but you helped put it together too. You helped get the supplies together for it, helped build it, you helped get the machine that teleported him to Detroit in the first place. None of that would've happened, and he wouldn't have been in that situation at all, if we hadn't done everything we did. So, I think it's okay if we take partial credit for the patricide. Just don't tell the kid we're taking any credit for it, because I told her that him dying wasn't her fault at all. She was kinda messed up.”

Grimacing a bit, Paige turned and started to walk once more, heading deeper into the forest with her sister. With one of her sisters, she reminded herself. Against all odds, against everything she had assumed, Irelyn hadn't tossed her aside in horror and disgust. She actually wanted to spend time with her and get to know her. She wanted to be a real sister, which was just… it felt impossible, like she was living some sort of weird dream. Her father was dead, she and Sierra were alive and free, and Irelyn actually wanted both of them around.

Finally, after walking in silence through the forest for a minute, she spoke up. “Do you think this place looks anything like the island? The one he spent the past few years on, I mean. I know most of it is a forest, but I'm not exactly sure what kind.”

Sierra shrugged. “Yeah, they do tend to keep as many details about that place as hush hush as possible. Turns out they don't exactly want to put up video-guided tours of the island prison where they keep all the worst supervillains. Though to be fair, I've heard of worse plans the government types have been all in on.”

She took a moment to glance around consideringly, pursing her lips. “I think the trees over there are bigger. Just from the stories we heard. And speaking of stories, you know you can just ask Irelyn what the place looked like? She spent time there and all. I'm sure she got a pretty good look at the scenery.”

It was Paige’s turn to pick up a rock, chucking it at a distant tree with a heavy sigh. “I know, trust me. But I don't want to make her go over all that again. I'm pretty sure she'd rather forget about as much of it as she can, not tell me stories about the place just so I can picture what it was like for our father.”

Sierra moved quickly, climbing up the nearest tree like a monkey. Soon, she was perched in the tallest branches that would support her, staring down at the other girl. “And maybe you should let that be the decision she makes for herself. You could just ask her if she wants to talk about it instead of deciding ahead of time how she'll feel.”

Tilting her head back to stare up that way, Paige gave her sister a long look. “I guess I kind of make a habit of that sort of thing, don't I?

“It's okay, that's what I'm here for,” Sierra replied easily. “To keep you grounded and find out when you're making a mistake.” She paused thoughtfully before pushing forward out of the tree. Dropping through the leaves, she landed smoothly right next to Paige. “Well, if we really want to get technical, I was here to kill you and take your place in that body.” She gave the girl a wide smile and winked. “I think we can both say that this is a better use of my time.”

Reaching out to poke the other girl in the forehead, Paige agreed, “Sure, I like you better this way too. I already had my fill of piece of shit family members. And to be honest with you, back when I thought Irelyn wouldn't want anything to do with me once she knew the truth, the only reason I was kind of okay with it is because I knew I had you around. So I wouldn't be alone.”

Sierra groaned at that, but despite her audible reaction, her hand slipped down to take Paige’s, squeezing it. “Okay, don't get all that sappy on me, come on. It's not that big of a deal. Besides, as it turns out, she's the forgiving type. So you could toss me aside if you wanted to and still have a sister to spend time with.”

Shaking her head, Paige brought the other girl's hand up while it was still clasped in hers. “Irelyn is a pretty cool sister, true. But she's not the sort of sister you are. She's not a twin. Yeah, I know we look different, don't squint at me like that. You know what I mean. For all intents and purposes, we are twins. We're Biolems. Maybe the last ones, especially with any individuality. You're my sister, Sierra. Whatever happens, wherever we go and whatever we do, that won't change. You're stuck with me. And I guess I'm stuck with you. Can you live with that?”

Sierra seemed to consider it for a moment, making a show of rocking her head back and forth thoughtfully. Finally, she offered a shrug. “I guess if there's no getting out of it, I'll just have to find a way to survive the experience.

“Maybe Peyton has some advice for dealing with overbearing family members who won't stop smothering you.”

**************

Fisher And Price Go To The Evans Home

Most people would have given a severe side-eye at the rather large truck that rumbled its way up to the front gate of the Evans’ property. It was somewhere between an oversized pickup and a monster truck. Clearly too big to be of much practical use in the middle of a busy city, but not quite large enough to actually drive over other, smaller vehicles. Those who looked at the thing filling up entire street lanes almost always assumed the driver was compensating for something. And, truthfully, he was.

He was compensating for the fact that most normal vehicles didn’t tend to be designed with the idea that an almost nine-foot-tall bear weighing over a thousand pounds would be sitting in the driver’s seat in mind. An obviously tragic and unthinking oversight, yes.

The guard at the gatehouse, however, was not one of those people who held such instinctive annoyance for the truck in question. Not after years of experience. He barely glanced up from his phone long enough to visually confirm that the vehicle was the one he had identified purely from sound, and that the hidden scanners that had been running over the vehicle since it approached hadn’t picked up anything unusual about it, before hitting the button to raise the barrier so the truck could drive through.

After taking the long, winding driveway up to the front door, Fisher stopped the truck, using one massive paw to shift into park, before carefully turning off the ignition with two claws. Then he opened the door and heaved himself out, coming down heavily on the pavement. Anyone who was expecting to see a stereotypical sort of driver coming out of a truck that size would have been taken aback by the reveal, and not just because of the bear thing. Not because of the bear thing at all, actually. Thanks to Elena Evans, anyone not already in the know who looked at him would only see a large human male (and not a nine-foot-tall one either, but one of impressive but reasonable height). No, the surprise would come because Fisher wore an expensive, perfectly tailored three-piece suit. Which he adjusted and brushed off briefly before starting up to the front door. On the way, he spoke inwardly, I wish we had better news. Or any news other than ‘we’re still looking.’

Tell me about it, his raccoon partner, Price, replied from their inner space. They like Parsons. I’d rather tell them that he’s called in and is ready to talk about what happened. This whole going dark thing, especially after what he did, that’s concerning.

He has to know that they understand why he did it, even if they are disappointed, Fisher mused, while turning to look over at a seemingly random bit of the front walk. There was nothing there now, but his attention wasn’t on the now. He was focused on the past, over eleven years in the past, actually. When he looked at that spot, Fisher saw himself, sans suit and tie. Bear-naked, as it were, heh. Wearing only his handsome fur, that past Fisher in his memories came bounding around the side of the mansion, with a very small human child clinging tightly to his neck and squealing with delight the entire time. She was nearly bounced off and sent flying with each motion, but she didn’t care. She simply held on and excitedly urged him, “Faster, faster!”

Cassidy Evans, barely five years old, squealed once more as they reached the spot present Fisher had been staring at. Slipping down off him, the small child squeezed his massive body as tightly as she could. Her arms couldn’t even go halfway around him, so she was just sort of sprawled against his side. “Thanks for the lift, Fishes!” With that, she literally hopped to where his hindquarters were, dramatically shoved her hips to one side, then shoved them back. Past Fisher did the same, as lightly as possible. Even then, as they butt-bumped, she was still knocked to the ground with a laugh.

Shaking off that memory and returning his focus to the here and now, Fisher carefully reached out to press the doorbell with one claw. He didn’t strictly need to press it, as they were expected and could have walked right in. But he still found that to be a bit rude. Besides, he rather liked listening to the pretty chiming sound through the thick door. It reminded him of songbirds he had listened to out in the forest, years ago before becoming what he was now. A simpler time in some ways, but also harder. No, he wouldn’t give up his sapience and partner for anything.

In this case, however, he’d barely had time to enjoy the first couple notes of those cheerful chimes before something very different caught his attention. Fisher paused, head cocking to the side suddenly. He sniffed once, slowly turning his head to face the door itself while sniffing again, then leaned in close to the knob for one more inhale.

That was when the door opened, and he found himself face to face with one of the maids, who was clearly startled by his close proximity. He may not have looked like a bear to her, but he was still rather intimidating-looking. Intimidating enough, particularly from that distance, to make the poor girl audibly gasp and step back quickly.

“Ahem, apologies,” Fisher managed, straightening up while giving her what he hoped was a cheerful smile. He was never quite sure how well his attempted facial expressions came through in the disguise illusion. “I believe I have an appointment.”

Recovering quite smoothly and quickly from her surprise, the maid gave a slight curtsey. “Of course, sir. Right this way. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are expecting you in the third floor den.” She turned then, as though to lead him through the enormous house.

“Ah, that’s quite alright,” Fisher quickly assured her before the young woman could do more than take a couple steps to the nearby stairs. “I know the way quite well by now, and I’m sure you have much more important things to do than walk in front of me.”

Without giving much in the way of argument, the woman headed off, leaving Fisher to make his way to the den himself. Heh, den. His den back in the old days had been quite a bit different than the place Sterling and Elena would be waiting for them.

Any other time, Fisher wouldn’t have delayed, particularly when it had been so long since they’d actually spoken to the Evans in person. He had certainly seen the mansion enough, particularly early in his existence as a TONI, to know everything about it. They hadn’t come around that much in the past few years, but the place hadn’t changed that much.

Or had it? Even as he had that thought, Fisher sniffed again. It was even stronger inside the house than it had been out front on the door. A very distinctive smell.

Price, who couldn’t actually smell things from their inner space, demanded, What is it? What’s got you so distracted all of a sudden? You didn’t forget why we’re here just because Claudio’s fixing some salmon, did you? There was a brief pause before he added, in a considering tone, Though if he is, it probably wouldn’t hurt for us to take a peek. I’m sure Sterling and Elena would understand that sort of very minor delay.

It’s not about food, Fisher informed his partner simply. Even the strong temptation of going to see if there actually was any fresh salmon on the menu couldn’t distract him from this. But I need you to switch with me and check to see if I’ve completely lost my mind.

Price was, understandably, even more confused by that response. But he willingly switched with Fisher, as soon as they had made sure they were alone in this foyer.

While the bear appeared as a very large man under Elena’s power, the raccoon appeared as a very small one. Anyone who looked at him would believe they were simply seeing a little person, though one just as well-dressed as his companion.

Not that anyone else had time to appear before Price abruptly jerked with surprise. Lifting his head, he sniffed the air, then dropped to all fours (that might’ve looked odd to any potential passersby) to intently sniff the stairs right in front of them. Just like that, he went bounding up those stairs very quickly, sniffing the whole way through.

I suppose this means either I haven’t lost my mind, Fisher mused, or I have company.

Soon, Price had stopped at the top of that flight of stairs. He turned to look over his shoulder, staring into the past just as Fisher had outside. In this case, he saw the tiny Cassidy, barely bigger than he was. The two of them were perched on a sled, the sort that should have been used on a snowy hill. The front door was standing wide open. Cassidy was sitting behind Price, who was holding onto the front handle of the sled. Both of them were giving matching eager grins as Cassidy reached up to give a last tug at the railing. Then she grabbed the front of the sled as well, her own hands right next to the raccoon TONI’s paws. The sled went over the edge of the stairs and careened down them, while both of them gave loud, shrill cries of excitement. Down the stairs they went, hitting the deliberately heavily-polished floor before sliding right out the front door with enough speed to actually jump right over the steps there, landing on the pavement below. Their momentum carried the sled clear across the driveway and into the grass beyond, where it finally crashed. Both were laughing so hard they almost couldn’t breathe, falling off the sled together to roll over the lawn.

But that was the past. Now, the door was closed and Price was sitting at the top of that first flight of stairs. Turning away, he sniffed again, then continued on his way. Startled as he was by what he was smelling, what both of them had smelled, he still managed to make himself stand up and walk properly. Which was probably for the best, given one of the maids passed by just then. The Evans’ staff had long-since learned not to question things like that around here, but still. He didn’t like when people stared at him too much. Being so small already drew their attention more than he’d like. Sometimes he passed more easily under the disguise of a child, but too often that would simply make people stop him to ask where his parents were. And that turned into a whole thing. The sheer indignity of being forced to hold one security guard’s hand at a store until Elena showed up to claim her child still burned deep inside.

Even walking upright rather than bounding on all fours like he wanted to, it wasn’t long before they were standing in front of Cassidy’s bedroom door. She wouldn’t be there right then--no, they wouldn’t be there. Price still wasn’t sure how that whole thing worked or what it meant, to be perfectly honest, but if Cassidy Evans wanted to be called they instead of she, that was what they’d get. He would have referred to Cassidy with any terms they wanted. But in any case, they were at school for those big end-of-year tests. Their room was empty at the moment.

You do it, he insisted, before switching with his partner once more.

Finding himself back in the outside world, facing that familiar door, Fisher carefully reached out to open it. He had to duck to slip inside, but once he did, the TONI bear found himself standing in that room. His eyes turned toward the floor in front of the enormous bed, and once more he was seeing things from many years earlier. Even further back than what he had been remembering outside.

His past self was sitting on his rump, legs parted to either side with a collection of small human toys in front of him. Toys meant for a tiny child, like the one currently laying on their stomach as they diligently placed small figurines into the plastic airplane. This version of Cassidy was barely three years old. “Whaaaaaaat abooooout…. Jonah an’ Hex.” She suggested even as she lifted the airplane off the ground and started to steer it around with both hands. “Dad’s gots a pretty book with a super-cowboy an’ he said that was his name.”

“Which of us would be Jonah, and which would be Hex?” the bear asked curiously.

Screwing up her face thoughtfully as they stared at him with that airplane held out, Cassidy considered. She looked so funny in that moment, so serious and thoughtful, that the bear almost laughed. But he held it back, not wanting to insult the child. “Mmmm…. Iiiiiii think you’re Jonah.”

That’d make me Hex, the raccoon inside their shared inner space put in. Kinda cool, but I think we can do better.

“My friend believes we should try again,” the bear noted. “As cool as the names Jonah and Hex are, there may be something that… fits better. Like your name fits you.”

Sticking her chin out proudly, Cassidy looked thoughtful once more. She was still flying the airplane around, before making it dramatically crash into a large train engine while making loud explosion noises with their mouth.

Casually catching the train engine as it went flying to the side, the bear extended it toward the child. “You should be careful, you don’t want the toys to break. You like them, don’t you?”

“O’course I--” Cassidy stopped, nose scrunching up while she stared at the toy being held out to them. Slowly, she took the toy, cradling it while looking back and forth between it and her companion. “Uh, what’s this called?”

“Oh, Miss Evans,” the bear informed them, “you know that’s a train.”

“No, no, no.” Leaning over, the child grabbed the cardboard box the toys were kept in and dragged it over before pointing to the colorful logo. “What’s this say?”

His eyes weren’t the best, and reading was still somewhat new to him, so he leaned in closer to squint at the thing. “Ah, that says Fisher-Price. It is the name of the people who made your toys.”

“Fisher-Price,” Cassidy echoed thoughtfully, before a wide smile appeared. “Hey…

“I think I gots a idea!”

And that was how their names came about, Fisher and Price. Turning his attention away from that spot to look around once more, the bear TONI sniffed intently. He slowly moved into the room with another sniff, not that he needed it. We were right. Of course they were. They had both known the truth the moment they first caught that scent. The realization had come immediately, this was just confirmation. And now things were so much more complicated.

He switched with Price, so the raccoon could bound up onto the bed and sniff that pillow before sighing. It’s them, the kid. How could that--what-- Plopping down on the pillow, he heaved a long sigh. The hell are we gonna do about it?

From within their shared space, Fisher lamented, I truly do not know. This is a very complicated situation. Cassidy’s parents would want to know. And they are our friends.

But Cassidy is Cassidy, came the swift retort. They named us. They played with us. How could we just turn them in like that?

The two continued to lament over their choices, knowing that whatever they did, they would be betraying someone they cared about. Even if Cassidy themself no longer remembered them-- except they did know them, but only as Paintball. Only… only as Paintball.

Cassidy Evans was Paintball, and obviously knew their parents were the Ministry leaders. That was the only reason they wouldn’t have said anything about Touching. The only--oh they were--they had been there the night that--oh.

Complicated indeed.

In the end, the two came to the only conclusion they could. Price jumped from the bed and made his way to the door. We keep an eye on them. We watch them. But we don’t expose them. Sterling and Elena will understand once it comes out… I hope.

And if they don’t, we’ll just have to deal with it, Fisher noted, while switching with his companion so that it was the suited bear who stepped out of Cassidy Evans’ room and began to make his way to the den where the others were waiting. We can’t betray Cassidy. They have chosen not to tell their parents for a reason. It’s not our place to force the issue otherwise.

I just hope that whatever does eventually cause the issue to be raised, that all of our friends survive the experience.