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[@BrokenPromise] [@ThatCharacter] [@Ariamis]

[color=8EE5EE]"...!"[/color] the Infinite Herbalist's eyes must have blinked a grand total of five times in succession as they shot up to notice the new commotion in the room. The chewed up morsel of the remaining half of her sandwich stuck in her throat, disabling her from speaking. She was left to quietly watch the chaos, all the way from the metal sled and robo-reindeer, and to two women - no, they were incredibly lifelike but they weren't real - in skimpy Christmas gowns firing presents at people from a massive cannon.

She could have sworn this seemed like a scene out of an animated movie, a story, or a video-game she had once played. Even so, it was almost impossible putting together where she could have seen an image like this - or, more probably, women like this. They bore an uncanny resemblance to something anxiously tugging at the woman's thoughts. Some[i]one[/i], even. But whom...? Even if Marianne had wanted more than anything in the world to zone out at that moment and boggle her mind as to whom they were related to, it was escaping her, even now. That being said, they bore a resemblance that the Herbalist would at least keep in the forefront of her mind - and would attempt to gather more information on these metallic women as time went on.

This institution was increasingly becoming stranger and stranger. Everyone reacted with the same shock factor with which Marianne did, but some still seemed more composed than others. Almost as if [i]they had seen something similar happen before.[/i]
Of course, her thoughts were understandable, as according to the fact that she was much later than most - if not all - the other infinites at the location, this would be her first run-in with the carnage sisters. ...they didn't seem all bad for the moment. At the very least, they had the courtesy to slip her her gift politely.

The neatly wrapped box slid out of the canon and into her lap, followed by a flurry of confetti that almost painted the whole white lap of her dress in multicoloured red, green and gold. The only problem with this scene was that [i]it wasn't Christmas.[/i] It couldn't have been Christmas. Could it? 
The woman had no way to tell the current date and time, except rely on others. Maybe that was for the better or the worse. It was most definitely nowhere near Christmas where she remembered herself last, before waking up in this place. There were no bad Christmas decorations, no couples preparing for the holidays, no carollers around Axis Mundi...

[color=8EE5EE]"Just [i]what[/i] is going on here?"[/color] Marianne found herself thinking out loud, her eyes never being given a moment to relax, taken from the bear's Christmas get-up to a picture of a woman who looked almost identical to the ones firing the gift-cannon. It was for the first time here that Marianne could notice they all had different demeanours and ways in which they conducted themselves. The last of the trio she saw looked sad and distant. The herbalist almost felt the need to go find the robot and comfort it, not knowing that this was her usual state of being.

The bear concluded his little speech talking about vices, gambling and filling holes in hearts of someone lost, and it made the herbalist pause. There was definitely a tense aura in the entire building, but the more time she spent with these people, the less she realised she actually knew. There were ever more secrets in ever more places, and the dark haired, bright eyed woman would want to know them all. If only to construct herself a proper mental picture of what was occurring in that place, in that time. 

[color=8EE5EE]"...Cyrus."[/color] Marianne began, almost defensively shuffling a little closer to the man on the bench. It was before she had so much as opened her gift, but she could overhear something being said by Calvin, one of the two infinites that helped her when she was first in the elevator. It was more like 'caught on to' as he appeared to be making some sort of declaration. Her face was stuck in a look of pondering, as if she was putting pieces together to some puzzle. Gradually, this contorted into light shock. [color=8EE5EE]"Who is Alexandria? What is he talking about?"[/color] she brought her down to a hissing whisper, gesturing discretely to the dark haired boy.

The man beside her never missed a beat, and in his no-nonsense, fully-practical manner, summarised the entire situation for one Marianne Roche. He told her about the Carnage Sisters, and also about the events that transpired the night before. The herbalist's hand clenched the fabric of her dress tightly when he told her that there was already someone dead. With this background information, everything Calvin was saying suddenly all made a lot more sense.
There was still so much more left to ask, and Marianne wanted to know it all. She would have almost forgotten about the gift in her lap if it wasn't for-

[color=8EE5EE]"Ah! Hello...!"[/color]

The robotic synth-like voice came from her left, and Marianne looked up just in time to catch the eye - no, eye-socket lights - of the peaceful robot who had quietly earlier made his debut and left. So his name was Mondatta...she had seen him before, yes. But how did everyone in this place know her name? She wasn't even one of the people on the starting video they were all shown. Was there some other trick?
[color=8EE5EE]"Just Marianne is fine."[/color] the herbalist supplied cautiously, giving Cyrus a gentle, friendly nudge as if in thanks before taking a little breath and getting to her feet. Even standing, with her hands at her sides and her gazing up into the blinking sockets of the robot before her, Mondatta was much taller than the herbalist - and she considered herself on the taller side, where heights were concerned.
Her posture eased when he introduced himself too, and made his intentions clear. It was a fridge with feelings!
[color=8EE5EE]"The pleasure is mine, Mister Mondatta."[/color] she replied in-turn, using the man's last name courteously. She gave him a little smile that only widened when he mentioned tea. Tea! Marianne [i]loved[/i] tea. [color=8EE5EE]"Yes, I think that would be wonderful! There is nothing quite like tea to soothe the senses, I think."[/color]
She nodded, convinced. Maybe all she needed was to drink more tea and this situation would somehow normalise itself in her eyes. Still a little wary of 'taking gifts from strangers', she reached for her gift-box, as if expecting there to be a present she could give him inside. She gently unwrapped it and carefully set it down, carefully opening up the box to find a beautiful Victorian-era hat nestled inside. Her eyes went from the hat to Mondatta and she bashfully avoided his eye-sockets, with a nervous laugh, too. [color=8EE5EE]"...Mister Mondatta, are you a fan of hats? I know this isn't much, but...oh, I wish I had a more fitting present for you! But everybody got different ones to give. Does that mean I need to find who this hat goes to, too? It's like a game of [i]'Secret Santa'[/i]."[/color]

The herbalist's eyes scanned the break-room and, lucky for her, it was very easy to find someone who might like the hat. It was the woman dressed in clothes from a similar era - it looked like the two, the woman and this hat, were made for each other, and had unfortunately gotten separated along the way. She made a mental note to go and hand it over right away, but for the mean-time, left the hat carefully tucked into the giftbox where she was sitting by Cyrus. Gently walking a little away from the tables (especially upon noticing a pink-haired ball of energy scurry over to Cyrus with a present of her own) Marianne looked up at Mondatta with a semi-serious expression. [color=8EE5EE]"...Mister Mondatta, could you excuse me for a second? Or, if you pleased, I would not mind if you accompanied me."[/color]
She gestured to where Davis and Calvin were, and the more she looked, the more agitated either party appeared. [color=8EE5EE]"...I need to know more about what the Infinite Metalsmith is saying. Please, I could use your help to calm them down...it appears that the other gentleman is making him uneasy."[/color]

Without much more of a word, the remainder of the sandwich stuffed into her mouth, Marianne made her way to where Calvin was. Despite whatever she had heard come out of his mouth (only half of which she really understood in his frenzy) she could not help but feel attached to him, as his was one of the first two faces she saw when she arrived to this place. It pained her seeing his skin stretched so tightly across his muscles, and his eyes fervent. It looked almost like he was a trapped animal with a case of melancholia, and it almost reminded her of her earlier state.

[color=8EE5EE]"Sir, please."[/color] she gave Davis a curt smile, knowing him only as the man who walked right past her out of the break-room. If he would rile up Calvin, it would not be in Marianne's favour. She needed to know the truth. [color=8EE5EE]"...I would appreciate the opportunity to speak to Calvin. Would that be alright?"[/color]

She played a little with the ends of her hair, twirling them around her wrist as her eyes shifted from Perfection to Calvin, and back again. [color=8EE5EE]"I apologise sincerely for interrupting your discussion. I would be honoured if you would let me join it, however."[/color]

Her attention was moved to the metalsmith, and behind her, she gestured gently between the Infinite Monk and Davis. She did not know what exactly would occur, but she hoped that the roboman would have a way to calm the ignited Infinite Conquest down.

[color=8EE5EE]"Calvin."[/color] she began gently. She gauged the situation before deciding carefully to try and understand the man's point of view as well. She placed one of her hands on top of the heavy gauntlets he wore. Then, careful still, she held the hefty gauntlet in both her hands. She would have almost recoiled at the cold of the metal and how it was so different from the usual feeling of human skin. That being said, if she would have touched his skin at this point, things would not have been much better.
The woman wanted answers.

[color=8EE5EE]"...please, be easy. I don't think anyone will hurt you here."[/color] she tried to be convincing, but her voice shook as she couldn't account for all the infinites in the room. [color=8EE5EE]"I need you to repeat that for me, [i]very slowly[/i]."[/color]

[i]Deja-vu, she'd already asked him something almost the exact same less than an hour ago.[/i]

[color=8EE5EE]"I promise I will hold no judgement of you. However I ask you, please...please tell me what is happening. Is someone truly dead?"[/color]
She paused.
[color=8EE5EE]"...[i]please[/i], Calvin."[/color] she urged, her hands holding a little bit tighter to the gauntlet. In any other circumstance this may have been strange, but the woman needed answers. Besides, it was probably the least strange thing since waking up in this place.
[color=8EE5EE]"I want to know exactly what's going on."[/color]