epidemiology | EVENT ★ WELCOME TO TERRA FELIS

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EVENT ★ WELCOME TO TERRA FELIS

WELCOME TO TERRA FELIS

Characters leave Woodhurst suddenly and without notice, but once they come out the other side of the rift, they aren't in Oska. Instead, they'll find themselves in the middle of a springtime meadow. Flowers are in bloom, the bright blue sky is above, and birds chirp overhead.

And then there are the cats.

From all sides of the meadow come housecats of all shapes and sizes, indistinguishable from mundane felines in every way until one of them speaks: "You're the third team today," it says in the calm, clear voice of a man. "Come along."

CENTRUM COLONIAM

Centrum Coloniam is the primary city of Terra Felis and is where the government, a constitutional monarchy, is located. Situated high above the ground, the city is accessible via teleportation pads located at guarded entrances all around its base; the teleportation pads to return to the ground are not guarded at all, and anyone may travel freely whenever they wish.

Terra Felis operates on magitek, a complex combination of magic and technology that recruits should be familiar with: it's the same technology that runs Oska and the jewelcomms. Centrum Coloniam is lit by glowing, floating orbs that turn on automatically in the darkness, and its machinery seems to run itself, with only a few technicians scurrying about every now and then. The buildings all have tall, vaulted ceilings, as the cats prefer to walk along raised platforms rather than the floor, though furniture and utensils might give larger species (that's you) some difficulty.

However, the cats receive enough visitors where most buildings (except private residences) have been situated with human-sized doorways, though if you're very tall, you may have to stoop a bit. All in all, characters ought to be relatively comfortable here if they have a good sense of humor -- though dogs or other canine companions will be met with suspicion if not outright hostility. Even enlightened sapient felines are not without their prejudices.

The city of Centrum Coloniam is shaped like a circle, with the government in the center and four districts located to the north, east, south, and west. Radiating out from the city are four long spokes of parkland, separating each district.

AREAS OF NOTE:

ROYAL SQUARE. Where the Queen's opulent palace is located. She is much too busy to see visitors right now, but the Prime Minister, a plump persian, will greet anyone in her stead and answer any questions. Surrounding the palace in a circle are the parliamentary buildings and other governmental structures.

ACADEMY SQUARE. To the north of the Royal Square is Academy Square, Terra Felis's university district and home to the Royal University. The cats focus mainly on scientific, mathematical, and magical pursuits, though there are smaller colleges for history and law. This is also where the library is located, though it is all nonfiction (and written in Latin), as the cats don't seem to have much use for entertainment.

Also located within the Academy Square is the Royal Magitekkery, where the magitek specialists are hard at work developing new spells and technology. This is where the interdimensional rift machines are located, and where scientists and wizards are monitoring for news from Oska. If characters would like to ask more about magitek or inquire about Oska, they may speak to the Royal Scientist, a rather snobby sphynx.

GROOMING DISTRICT. Home to many spas, salons, and other businesses focusing on individual pampering, the Grooming District is located to the east of the Royal Square and is where the majority of the locals are employed if they are not involved in politics or magitek. Though their primary clientele are, naturally, feline, they are largely excited to work on aliens and will do their best to provide whatever services they can.

Of particular note are the Terra Felis spas, where soothing mud baths and shi-miatsu massage are very popular with their regular alien visitors. They also have natural hot springs available, though you'll have to wait for a Turkish Van to assist you, as all other spa attendants refuse to risk getting wet.

RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT. Unless you are going to be roughing it down on the ground, your lodgings will be here at a hotel especially outfitted for human-sized visitors. The proprietress, a friendly tabby, will give you directions if you need them.

Hotel rooms are outfitted with private bathrooms, a table and chairs, a vanity, and a television -- though the programming is primarily educational and news, except for the channel that plays nothing but endless videos of birds and fish, and the "alien station" which plays what appears to be soap operas starring bloblike creatures. The beds are probably the most unusual thing here for visitors -- although they're big enough for humanoids, they're just gigantic, fluffy cat beds.

The houses here are not built for alien visitors larger than a cat, so if you make a friend, you'll have to visit them elsewhere. This district is also home to a number of shops and restaurants, though you might have trouble finding something to eat at the latter unless you live on a purely carnivorous diet. If you would like a little more variation in your meal, you will be offered a tray of wheatgrass; the kitchen at the hotel is staffed with cooks more accustomed to a human diet, so you might have better luck there. As cats are allergic to alcohol, there is no liquor in Terra Felis, but locals will offer you catnip on the sly if you mention you want something to help you loosen up.

MUSEUM CAMPUS. The pride of Centrum Coloniam, the Museum Campus is located to the west of the Royal Square and home to museums covering everything from history to astronomy. (There is no art museum. If you were interested in seeing what cats consider art, the answer is nothing.) There is also a rather large and rather popular aquarium, as well as a zoo which features both native animals and animals from all across the galaxy. The zoo is home to an extremely complex breeding program, and the Royal Zookeeper, a scatterbrained black longhaired cat, is happy to explain their methods.

Outside the city, the ground is home to meadows and forests, plus smaller villages for more rural cats. Characters are welcome to spend their time exploring the wilds if the city life isn't for them, where they may run into animals that one may expect to find in medieval Europe (deer, bears, wolves, etc). Apart from the cats, there is no other sapient species on the planet.

OOC NOTES

Welcome to Terra Felis! Contact with ALASTAIR NPCs remains mysteriously closed, and the native cat population has no idea what's going on with Oska either.

Please use this post to plot amongst yourselves!

The two other ALASTAIR teams in Terra Felis are Team Unicorn, an elite team of six (five humanoids and one talking kangaroo), and Team Ambrosia, a 20-recruit magic-focused team that consists of elves, humans, and satyrs. Unicorn had just begun their mission when they were suddenly rifted to Terra Felis, and Ambrosia was in the middle of what was apparently a very epic battle.

Questions about Terra Felis can be directed here. You may also use this comment to ask (brief!) handwaved questions with cat NPCs.

Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ. You may also submit mission ideas or player plots at any time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Cat-land is not precisely action-packed, it's true. The novelty of the place wore off for Koltira after about five minutes; sentient animal species are common enough where he's from, and the culture itself holds no special interest--particularly for someone who's not that scholarly. Thus, he finds himself with little to occupy his increasingly pained time, aside from basic exploration. That's what he's up to when he comes across Mettaton and the rising swell of oddly dreamy music. It'd make Koltira sleepy, if he still did such things.

He stands over Mettaton, casting a long shadow. From his perspective, this guy looks a little dead.

His long ears twitch. ]

Are you well?

[The music immediately cuts out the second Mettaton flicks his eyes over toward the shadow. He did move, after all. You're only laying down so long as you don't move.

Oh. It's that grumpy not-a-human from the network!]

Perfectly fine!!!! [...that was several octaves higher than any voice should ever be. Try again.] Perfectly fine! Just a bit of meditation, is all! What EVER could I help you with, darling??

[ Koltira drops to his haunches, mostly so that he isn't awkwardly towering over MTT while they talk.

(He's a tall man, and he's hit his head on almost every doorframe since arrival.) ]

Was that meditating? I've been told I should learn.

[ His ears flick forward. ]

But you did not seem calm.

[For split second, his overly cheery smile turns into a grimace. I've been told I should learn. By Zenyatta, most likely. Robotic Dalai Lama thinks he so goddamn great.............

He claps his hands together and springs up into a sitting position!! How can he not seem calm when he's having so much fun?!] We're on VACATION, sweetheart! There's no one on the team that ISN'T rested and relaxed! And about time, too!! Sigh!! [he exclaims, actually saying the word "sigh."]

So! You're Koltira, aren't you? It's wonderful to meet you in person! I'm assuming you're pleased with how things ended with Percy, eh?

[ Koltira's eyebrows furrow. He's experienced Mettaton's artifice first-hand via the network, and he's seeing now that it's apparently a near-constant thing. But the grimace, however brief, did not escape him.

He taps his fingers on his knees, thinking that he is neither rested nor relaxed--not that he ever is. ]

I'm relieved that his wickedness cannot spread to other worlds. That no others will suffer from his designs.

It's as good an ending as we can hope for, really. [Yes, good. Think about something else. Think about anything else. Percy is dead. Woodhurst is saved. Charlie is back with her mother, as well as so many other families with their loved ones. He got his friends to play a mindless board game with him! And visit with a hermit crab! Things are fantastic!! They're not nearly as bad as he's letting himself thing they are!

Sigh. Okay. Whatever high-strung, manic joy he was projecting earlier begins to wind down. Unfortunately for Koltira, Mettaton's normal attitude is still... Well. Mettaton.

He kicks his legs back and forth on his perch, hands at his sides as he eyes the other man.]

And yet, you look so blue. [Eh? Get it?]

We saved many innocent lives. There was chaos, but I believe they will recover. Everyone did well, despite our strife.

[ It's strange to be near MTT. Good-strange, as it is with the few others on the team who don't actually have a heartbeat. Koltira's not tormented by the rush of blood, the thrum and pump of veins. Even so, there's a vitality to Mettaton that strikes him as unusual; an energy that feels almost palpable.

He runs a hand through his thick hair, his mouth curling up slightly. ]

I'm afraid that's a permanent condition.

[ In more ways than one. ]

Edited 2017-04-13 01:04 (UTC)

[...? What is that face, is that a...

Gasp!]

Ah-HAAAAAAAA! So that mouth does more than frown! [Mettaton's smiling himself, playfully nudging the man with his ankle.] And here I thought you only had two emotions: Brooding and, [he drops his voice several octaves, casting his head down and letting his hair obscure his face in shadows,] REVENGE.

[Ha!]

[ Koltira stiffens a little, just out of surprise--the same surprise he always feels whenever anyone willingly touches any part of his body.

He coughs. He can't blush; too dead for that. But the tips of his long ears curl slightly, which suggests the same thing. ]

It is difficult for me to feel --

[ He makes a circular, unsure gesture with his hand, as though he doesn't quite know how to describe it. ]

-- the gentler emotions. I was not remade for it.

[ He looks down at the ground, ears still curled. ]

But it's not impossible.

[Pft. That's certainly a way to put it. As is... that. What is that supposed to mean?]

Remade, darling?

[ He holds out his arm, looks at his blue-slate skin shot through with tiny fissures. ]

I lived, I died.

[ He draws his arm back. ]

I live again. Restored through vile necromancy, my will subsumed to evil. Irrevocably, irreparably.

[Mettaton watches, fascinated, as Koltira holds out his arm. He examines the shade of his skin, the way the veins stick out in ways a regular human's doesn't. He listens to his spiel, obviously taken aback.]

...How. How dramatic.

I LOVE IT!! [He's not kidding. Small gray sparkles are floating around his own head.] How long have you been practicing that monologue, Kiki?

[ His ears flick back, a sign of vague irritation. ]

There was no practice.

[ He mutters, folding his hands in his lap. ]

Though I am often called upon to explain what I am.

[ For all the good it does. ]

And you just HAPPEN go for the spookiest introduction every time?

[He presses a hand to his chest, closing his eyes like this is the most vital thing he'll say today.]

Kiki. Darling.

You're a man after my own heart. [Yes, he's tossing glitter above their heads. Solemnly.] Most people just don't see the appeal of making a lasting impression.

[ Koltira's eyes track the glitter, his expression shifting from mild agitation to simple confusion. MTT hadn't rejected him, and he doesn't seem discomfited or disdainful... but Koltira can't quite figure out the reaction, all the same. He's unsettled. ]

I -- do not mean to. It's the only way I know how to put it.

[ Or rather, he thinks any other way is worse. ]

Edited (clarity!!) 2017-04-27 23:06 (UTC)

Oh?

[Huh. Mettaton leans back into his seat before pushing himself to lay on his side on the fountain's edge. He pulls a book out from behind his back, opens it, and proceeds to fan himself.]

I could give you some suggestions if you WEREN'T in the business of being such an imposing figure, but where's the fun in that? That hair? Those eyes? The attitude? The audience goes wild for people like you.

Edited 2017-04-27 23:11 (UTC)

[ He runs a hand through his own hair--long and thick, silky even in death--and lets it fall slowly through his fingers. He glances at MTT--at the book, the casual air--and he murmurs. ]

For the most part, they are simply afraid of me.

[ As they should be, he knows. He doesn't have to like it, though. ]

...

[Ah.

Ah.

There's a brief flicker of understanding on Mettaton's face. Why wouldn't there be? His entire life and identity as himself has been one huge effort to get away from people being afraid of what he really is. To get out from being ignored. From being taken as just... a spook.

Welp, the lounging lasted while it could. He's already stretching himself back into a sitting position as he holds his hand toward Koltira, palm down.]

Well! If that's not the author's intent, it'll just have to do with a rewrite, won't it? Consider me your new head of PR, darling. Pleasure's all mine, this is strictly pro-bono, yadda yadda.

Let's take you shopping.

Edited 2017-04-27 23:24 (UTC)

[ Koltira can't grasp the meaning of that flicker; he senses that there is magic in MTT, as he is intimately attuned to such things, but he can't characterize what he's sensing in any concrete way.

He's surprised at the hand, and hesitates only a second before taking it--MTT is a robot, so perhaps the chill of Koltira's skin won't be so oppressive. ]

Hmm. You are charitable, but you may not know what you're signing up for.

[ A lot of people here seem pretty set in their perception of him, so far as he's seen. ]

[Once again, Mettaton's hand goes unkissed... Such is his cruel life.

Alright, up we go! He uses Koltira's hand as leverage, like a prince exiting a carriage, and drapes an arm around the man's shoulder. The other, he uses to sweep across the sky, projected stars and hearts left in his hand's wake.]

Nonsense! There is NOTHING more simple than a brand revival. Put enough flowers and cartoons on a bottle of arsenic and no one will even remember is was poison. It's all about looks! About ATTITUDE. You just need an UPGRADE, is all.

[He's already reaching for Koltira's hair, inspecting it.]

Physically, you're already stunning, I'll give you that. But these CLOTHES - they completely wash you out. You need something that accentuates your features, not something that makes you look like...

Well.

Like you're DEAD. The living are so touchy about that.

[ Koltira was once a man of courtly graces, and in some ways that's still true. Perhaps once he's sure that MTT won't walk away from him for what he is. What he's done, and will do.

For the moment, he just looks baffled. His hair reaches to his midback, and it's thick enough to lose your hand in. He does take care of it, even now--vestiges of his old, race-wide vanity remain. But his fashion has become pretty monochrome. ]

The living are not fond of me for many reasons. Some wiser than others.

[ He plucks at his shirt--he's wearing the ALASTAIR uniform, in all black, of course. Most of what he wears is black. ]

And that's what we're here to change, Tira-darling!

[Hm... The man does have some nice hair on him. But with the pale tone of his skin, it leaves too much... white. Perhaps if his skin were a darker gray to offset it, but for NOW...

Mettaton pulls himself away enough to cross his arms over his chest, tilting his head.]

Have you ever considered dying your hair?

[ His ears curl slightly, mostly because that's the nickname he likes. Not one he hears often, either. ]

I have not.

[ He arches an eyebrow, frowning slightly. ]

I was blond, back when I was alive.

Ooooooooh YES, there's a color we can work with!! Something light, a little pop of color to off-set your skin-tone... Depending on how it looks, we may not even need to change much of... [He trails off, gesturing to all of Koltira's clothing.] This.

[He claps his hands together, bouncing on his heels. This will work.] Let's do it.

EVENT ★ WELCOME TO TERRA FELIS

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