2014-08-25 The Horn Sounds and a Seed Takes Root
This scene is rated Everybody
Warning: N/A
2014-08-25
Players: Ember Cara
GMed by Random Acts of Spongebob
Title: The Horn Sounds and a Seed Takes Root

All work and no play makes Ember more than a little bit stir crazy. And this is the result: Binging on a combination of Halo multiplayer and cable news. She's got a smaller TV set on a Manhattan news channel, it's mute but there is a story being done on a collapsed street over a subway line through east harlem. The game is more active but the sound is piped through her headphones. She's got snacks laid out on the table in front of her, but they're mostly untouched.

Cara works her way down to the rec room and smiles as she steps into the light of the tv screens. "Oh, hi Ember." Cara notes a she moves over towards the couch and sets her few art supplies down on the coffee table next to the other mutant's snacks. Looking over at the other girl, Cara spots the headphones and quickly stops talking.

Ember glances over with a smile at Cara's greeting. The smile widens at the spotting of the headphones. "Heya, Cara. How're you doing?" She flips the microphone down from where it was tucked away, speaking into it with a quick, "I'm going full-mute, kids. This match is all but over already. I'll hold the south slope until they realize they're already dead." Then she tosses the headphones onto the table and continues to play the match as if mowing down enemies like a wheat field is easier than breathing. Clearly she's practiced at this. She gives Cara's art supplies a look-see, "So you're an artist?" A sideways smirk. "Yeah, obvious question. But we've barely had time for 'meet the neighbors' type stuff so far."

Cara is quiet until Ember addresses her directly, "I am." She says but follows up with, "But I'm not THAT good." She says, afraid to toot her own horn. "You're a gamer?" She says, motioning towards the TV and raising her brows as she watches the men on the screen get downed like a lazy dog in the summer sun.

A soft smile is Ember's reaction to the disclaimer. "Not that I have much experience, but in the little I have the ones that say they're 'not that good' are usually better than they think." Then she nods to the question, "Yeah. One of the only benefits of being a forced shut-in back home was plenty of online time." On screen she swaps to a sniper rifle and takes a few quick-scope shots to get some last second kills before the match timer runs down and the stats screen appears. Her LiveID isn't the top of the chart, but she's right behind the one who is.

"See, like you said, you're better than you think." Cara says with a smile as she points to the screen. "But we all have room to improve." She leans forward to open the case with her charcoals and then pulls out a sheet of paper and lays it out with a smile. "You going to play another match?"

Ember shakes her head. "Nah. I've been at it for a while. Just trying to get my head to calm down a bit. The last day or so has been… hectic to say the least." She sets the controller down on the table and snags a bottle of tea which she starts to drink slowly while watching Cara with her charcoals. "What are you working on? Or is it just whatever pops into… your…" She sits up straight with her head cocked to one side as if listening for something. "Do you hear that?"

The deep, resonating sound of a horn being blown can be heard across the Nine Realms. It lasts for several seconds then pauses, then starts again. This happens three times, then goes silent once more.

Cara looks up to Ember with a smile "What's been so bad about it?" She says with a furrowed brow, and a tilted head. Her fingers have stopped working on the case of art materials as she looks over towards the window with a scared look on her face, "Y-yes. What is it?!" She asks, standing up and moving towards the window.

As the horn resounds and then goes silent, Ember looks like she's been hit on the head with a board. Her face goes slack, her eyes roll back and when she speaks her voice sounds haunted.

"Gjallarhorn kaller aesene til kamp. Verdener vil brenne. Treet skal bli knust. Na er tiden inne for Ragnarok."

The words flow from her mouth as if she's spoken the nordic language since birth, but when the words fade she comes back to herself with a jolt which turns to shaking with her hand held over her heart. There is little beyond confusion in her expression.

Translated from nordic: Gjallarhorn calls the Aesir to battle. Worlds will burn. The tree shall be shattered. Now is the time of Ragnarok.

Cara's expression is a mirror of Embers, "What. Was. That?!" Cara blurts out, stepping up and blinking at the mutant next to her. "That wasn't english, what was that?"

For a moment Ember can't seem to respond. She's down on one knee with her hands clutched together over her chest. When she finds her voice she speaks in barely a whisper as she looks out the window Cara was looking towards before. "Loki… Oh, Loki what have you done?" She manages to stand up after that and looks to Cara with fear in her eyes. "That was the Gjallarhorn, blown by Heimdall of Asgard. It signals the beginning of Ragnarok. And no, that wasn't english before. I… I'm not sure why it had that effect on me other than I've been a student of Loki's these past months."

Cara blinks and moves closer towards the window, wanting to look out and wanting to be closer to glass. "Loki, like, norse god of mischief and Thor's brother?" Cara asks as she turns around and yet stays near the port-hole. "What do we need to do?"

Ember joins Cara at the window, hugging herself now instead of clutching her hands to her chest. "Yeah, that Loki. I met him and his brother at a mexican restraunt of all places. Loki recognized me as a fellow illusionist and offered to teach me some tricks of the trade. I accepted. How often does one get the chance, right?" She goes quiet for a moment then shakes her head at the question. "I'm not really sure what we do now. Except we don't just lie down and accept that our world will burn with the rest. We train. We research. We figure out a way to survive, to get past it. I might be dying, but I'll do what I can to keep the rest of the world from going out with me."

She says this while looking out at the darkening sky, then blinks and shakes her head a bit. "Yeah, that wasn't over the top at all."

Moving her palm up to press against the glass as she listens to Ember, Cara starts to reform the glass into a marble that fits in the palm of her hand. "How long do we have?" She asks, turning her amber eyes to look at Ember's looking to the more confident and trained mutant for leadership.

Ember watches the glass reform to Cara's command with slightly widened eyes. "That… is so very cool." Then she shrugs to the question posed. "I'm not sure about the timescale. The old epics aren't much on giving a calendar for Ragnarok, and if it's started that means that we're not likely to be able to get the attention of any Asgardian to put the question to them." She thinks for a minute then shrugs again, still looking out the window. "We should talk to the Professor. Odds are good that he'll know something or know who to talk to. He did give me some research material a few weeks ago, but it hasn't had much in the way of answers."

"So, it's not this very moment?" Cara asks, putting her hand back where the pane was and reforming it with the marble. "Sorry." She says, blushing at Ember's compliment. "That's a good idea, he seems like a good person to ask." Cara notes.

Ember shakes her head, "No, it's not all happening now. The horn sounding was the starter's gun, so to speak. It means that the first Asgardian has died and things are just going to get more crazy from here." She nods to the muted television set to the news channel. "It's supposed to all happen in Asgard and a couple of other realms, but I think things are bleeding into our world as well. That street collapse happened when some Jotun, or frost giants, came through a breech of some kind."

Cara looks over her shoulder towards the tv, blinking with worry the whole time. "I guess I should get some rest then. While I can." Cara notes, moving away from the window and yet she pauses to lean in towards Ember and give the girl a hug, "We'll make it through." She says, her feelings based on nothing, but themselves.

Ember returns the hug, hesitantly at first but stronger after a moment. Well, stronger being a relative term. Her grip is about as firm as a pool noodle since she's not using her aura. "Yeah, you sleeping types should get some rest. And yes, we will. We'll find a way."

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