Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

A succubus with long cherry-red hair breaks the mood, seeming to be wearing a rather revealing outfit and carrying a box of toffee apples; her breasts large enough to simply rest the box in front of them as support.

"Toffee apple?" The succubus asks with a seductive voice while tapping the box, causing the toffee apples poking out from the box and their support to jiggle.

"Oh, sure." I say, reaching for the box of toffee apples. The succubus quickly slaps my hand away, instead taking out a toffee apple herself and handing it to me.

When the succubus turns to Artemis, she asks "Do you have any apples that aren't coated in sugar?"

"Certainly." The succubus responds happily, reaching into a compartment in the box and handing Artemis a shiny red apple.

As the succubus turns to Idhaenna, I slip off a piece of paper from the stick of my toffee apple.

"Hey, what's this note for?" I ask.

The succubus just giggles, giving me a seductive wink before asking Idhaenna if she herself would like a toffee apple.

 

“No thanks.” She says flatly. “I just left a feast.”

 

The succubus turns and walks away, though not before blowing me a kiss.

"For the sake of your relationship, I wouldn't follow up on that invitation." Temporus says, seemingly appearing next to me over the bar as he cleans an empty beer mug. An aura of calm seems to surround him.

I jump, and almost fall out of my seat before turning around.

"What's with the demons around here?" I ask, before taking a bite out of my toffee apple.

"Like with Praecantatia, it's a two-way deal. The demons get to have fun at my rave during the month they're most active, and I get some extra hands to help out." Temporus says, sounding laid back, "I'm letting the incubi and succubi slide on seducing my guests, since that's just what they do and they're pretty good at getting people to buy more drinks. Though I'm certain both the Artemis from a timeline different to yours, and your own Artemis who's yet to arrive, wouldn't be happy with you if you met succubus in one of the chillout rooms for a fun time together."

I panic a little, quickly turning the note over to make sure it wasn't facing Temporus. He simply smirks as I inadvertently show him the contents of the note before stashing it away.

"I'd break up with you if we were together and I found out you did that." Artemis says, looking disappointed in me already.

 

“Oh, you never told me that relationships were on the list of things you’re bad at.” Idhaenna grins, teasing.

 

"I'm not bad at relationships! I'm average at worst!" I say, offended.

Artemis just smiles into her apple.

Temporus' mug squeaks as he cleans it, rave music turning from oppressive to more upbeat music focused on Fia and her singing.

"Got some real talent with Praecantatia's friend. She fills a gap in my music I desperately missed." Temporus comments, a lot more people joining in the dance as Fia dances about her stage happily.

 

“You have access to every timeline and you’re still missing stuff?” Idhaenna asks, seeming a bit suspicious.

 

"My ability can only go so far. Jumping around time randomly or without pattern can lead to some dangerous outcomes." Temporous says, a familiar pocketwatch appearing and spinning on his finger, before it disappears just as quickly.

 

“Take notes. Oh, wait.” Idhaenna teases, smirking at you.

 

I just seem annoyed.

"I certainly will." Temporus says, before disappearing as well.

Artemis lets out a sigh, finishing off her apple and bundling up it's seeds.

 

“Did we still plan to wait before meeting with Praecantatia, or do you want to just up and go on ahead?”

 

"What do you want to do? We could probably call her over and ask to chat," I say, "I'm pretty sure talking to gods here isn't as difficult as it is outside, since this place is pretty exclusive already."

 

“That’d work, but I think you underestimate the true extent of my tech. Regardless, calling her over should be good enough. They did say they were working on something together?”

 

"I think they finished, which is why they're here." I say, before calling Praecantatia over.

"Yes? Did you need something?" Praecantatia asks happily, though looking rather rushed.

"We need to talk. Or rather, Idhaenna needs to talk." I say, gesturing to Idhaenna.

"Oh, one moment then." Praecantatia says, running over to Temporus. A couple of seconds later, Idhaenna, Praecantatia and I seem to be transported to a different version of the rave. Chill synth music that feels oddly nostalgic plays at a far less deafening volume, and the rave seems to be fairly empty. Only the demons seem to be around, a few laying on bean-bags or mattresses spread out on the floor while others sit on the edges of the floating platforms. A few succubi and incubi seem to enjoy being in the embrace of other demons rather than the comfort of a beanbag or the view of a floating platform. The cherry-haired succubi that was handing out the toffee apples seems to also be present, though far less interested in me as she prepares some more toffee apples.

A version of Temporus sits up by his turntables at the top of the stage, laid back with his feet up as the most effort he needs to put in to his music is just picking the next chill track. The decor of the room seems to have changed slightly too, statues of humans and plastic palm trees sit under an orange sun which seems to have a slight red and blue tint at the edges.

"What did you want to talk about?" Praecantatia asks, walking back over and sitting on a barstool rather than standing behind the bar. She takes out three lightly smoking pink and purple potions that seem to glow like neon, and seem to fit the mood of the room.

"Where...is this place?" I ask out of confusion.

"Oh, we're still in Temporus' rave. This is just break time. It sort of co-exists with the rave so we can take breaks without missing out on actual rave time." Praecantatia explains.

 

“It was suggested I come and attempt to make amends for apparently sour relations. I’ve met you exactly once prior, though I’m pretty sure I brushed you off onto Stella. I also heard you were working on some piece of tech, and I’m curious to see what’s considered cutting edge here.”

 

"Yes! Good game indeed."

 

"I've been working with Temporus on developing time-based technology. Similar to the watch he uses to move freely about the timeline." Praecantatia says, summoning a golden ring and a simple looking cloak. Praecantatia puts the ring on the bar, though nothing seems to happen at first. However, everything around Idhaenna seems to speed up considerably.

"Try putting on this cloak." Praecantatia says, offering the cloak to Idhaenna.

 

I dig through my mind to see if I know that, because last time I checked, I don’t.

 

Hey, would you look at that. We're out of the fireweed now, so...

The Leviathan was right, she went around the mountains. We seem to be moving faster than she is, but she's still a ways off.

There's usually a dial with elemental symbols next to the portal room, you do know that changes the portal room from inter-domain travel to cross-palace travel.

"I have a set amount of time that still passes should I remain in a timeless dimension. How will this affect that?" Idhaenna asks, taking the cloak.

 

"Well, if my testing is correct, it should prevent that time from passing." Praecantatia says, thinking.

 

"If it fails and I overshoot, my failsafe is going to come after you. I don't want that, and considering you're the goddess of magic, you really don't want that either." Idhaenna warns, hesitant.