[center][h3]Tora & Poppi[/h3] [b]Level 4 Tora[/b] - (17/40) EXP && [b]Level 3 Poppi[/b] - (7/30) EXP [b]Location:[/b] Peach's Castle Kitchen [b]Word Count:[/b] 1263[/center] The kitchen was lively, but even with the addition of another half-dozen faces and the best efforts of a few copycat rabbids, the situation never devolved into chaos. Tora appreciated that; it allowed the whole affair to retain the comfortable, familiar air of a big community dinner instead of a mess-hall madhouse. Even with the typical Nopon appetite, he felt full after a while, and settled back on his chair to watch and listen. Poppi, content with the aromas she'd sample, busied herself collecting plates and debris to pile in the sink or toss in the trash—or to Kirby, as the case might be. No matter what came before him, the little guy seemed content to vacuum it down. In the course of her efforts the Artificial Blade passed close to practically everyone present, and she committed each face to memory. These were her allies, her teammates. From the searing visage of the Centurion to the startling normality of Franklin to the effortless elegance of Din, each one left an impression. A normal blade knew from birth the tragedy of his or her existence; that when his or her driver perished, the inert nothingness of existence as a Core Crystal would persist until a new would-be driver came along, and awakened the blade anew, all memories swept away. Some, like Bridgid, knew such privilege that they could jot down their lifetimes into journals that would last the generations, but most would never have the slightest hint of the loves, hatreds, excitements, and sorrows that came before. Poppi did not envy them. Her memories of her Masterpon were precious, and if it came down to dying forever or living again with all thought of her friends erased, erasure seemed preferable. Fortunately, as a Blade of machinery and software, she need never know such a fate as what awaited Dromarch, Bridgid, Aegeon, Pandoria, Obrona, and so many others. She came to Gene in due course, making sure to study his features especially since he was so knew. The situation might have been awkward if the young man didn't preoccupy himself with an introduction. Putting her new knowledge to good use, Poppi assured him, “Do not worry, mister Gene. Everyone vulnerable, and actions under baddypon influence not friends' fault. Now that Gene has come to senses, he can be Poppi's friend. That what matter.” In a corner of the kitchen, a young man with a bad squint sat with a rather sardonic grin on his face. The meager dish of food he'd made for himself lay close by, barely picked at. Meals alone would not sustain him, and did not interest him. His eyes fell upon an approaching [url=https://www.mariowiki.com/images/0/02/Toadsworth_artwork_--_Super_Mario_Sunshine.png]toad[/url], an aged, sharply-dressed specimen. Toadsworth came to a stop in front of Henry, planted his cane, and said, “Pardon me sonny, but you look like you know your way 'round a tome or two. What do you say you lend a hand in the library, helping me sort out all these books from different worlds? Luigi left a couple spooks behind when he left, so it could be pretty exciting. Well? Coming?” He extended the mage a hand. Meanwhile, Tora threw a dubious look at Centurion. Sure, the guy got a bit bigger and more incendiary, but already he seemed to be a little full of himself. Maybe it was for the better Tora didn't get that Megadragonbowser spirit; few Nopon could avoid giving in to temptation. Din spoke more sense. Even with the whole group, including a couple of the sturdiest tanks and deadliest fighters in the business, their foe had wiped a couple of them out with terrifying ease. Tora took a look around, taking in everyone present. Then again, with a group as big as this, they could split into two groups and neither team would be much smaller than the one that invaded Peach's Castle. “Meh, meh,” he piped up, not sure what to do. Coming up with a plan and setting it into motion was Rex's shtick, or perhaps Nia's, or Morag's. Leadership wasn't the inventor's responsibility. Speaking of, that pipsqueak Bowser Jr was leading the way out of the kitchen, no doubt embarking on that repair mission his dad mentioned. With Ratchet and Blazermate busy teleporting bread and sorting out one facet of the transportation issue, the mite-sized miscreant would need someone who knew his way around a wrench. Plus, as nice as going to bed sounded, he didn't want to conk out right after a meal. Leaping to his stubby legs, Tora called, “Hold on, littlepon! Tora will help do it!” As he made tracks, his faithful companion plonked down her stack of plates into the sink and rushed after him, her metal legs clanging against the stone floor. It was a beautiful evening outside. The sun's descent sent streaks of yellow and orange up from the horizon; it wouldn't be too long before it set. Still muddled by dinner, Tora made it to the bridge over the castle moat before he ran out of breath; Bowser Jr and his rabbid entourage would have to wait for the moment. Given what he'd seen, the Nopon didn't exactly trust the critters when it came to safety, but somehow they did seem to have a knack for cobbling contraptions together. Speak of the devil: an unusual noise seized his attention, and from the heavens came a bizarre flying machine, landing itself in front of the castle door before divulging Hat Kid and a stranger that seemed free from Galeem's influence. Tora would have said hello, but Linkle jogged up a second later, only marginally slower than Donnie's whole process of summoning, boarding, flying, de-boarding, and de-summoning. She looked as though she would continue after Junior, as opposed to joining the others inside, but Tora could not stop himself from accosting her. From the vantage point of a Nopon, the changes made manifest on Linkle were particularly clear. “Meh meh mehmehmeh!?” he exclaimed, intrigued and delighted. “Linky-Linky got smaller, and sprouted long ears! Friend as cute as bunnit!” Still standing beside him, Poppi rolled her eyes. Seldom did her masterpon wear his idealization of cutesy appearances and behavior on his sleeve. She crossed her arms. “For while there, Poppi almost forgot about major flaw. A shame Tora had to go and remind.” Tora looked hurt. “Meh! Poppi so mean to Tora...” He averted his gaze and, spurred on by his invention's disapproval, continued after Junior in a hurry. In doing so, he totally forgot Donnie, who Poppi acknowledged with a bow. “Hello, new person. Poppi bid welcome to ragtag misfit force. Make proper introduction later. Goodbye!” With that, she went after Tora. The two rendezvoused with Bowser's kid and his cohorts in the Scrapyard. Wreckage from various machines lay everywhere, much of it too comically large to be anything other than the cast-aside parts of some colossal [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mariokart/images/a/ad/MK8-Course-DS_Tick-TockClock.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150619164855]clockwork[/url], but a great many karts and bikes in various conditions could be found. None of them seemed broken up into too many little pieces, so with some scrounging, replacement, and retrofitting, repairs would be a good sight easier than a typical feat of engineering. Were racing machines really that easy to make in the Mushroom Kingdom? An idea came to the Nopon as he looked among the available chassis: an innovative [url=https://www.mariowiki.com/images/6/6d/LandshipBodyMK8.png]kart[/url] resembling a miniature boat on wheels. It could be a lot of fun. That said, there needed to be at least twenty karts in working order, and with daylight fading fast the mechanic team needed to put its collective pedal to the metal. [hr] [center][b](The next update will begin with a wrap-up of the evening and then skip over the night. Once morning comes, the trek into the Land of Adventure will begin, unless a different consensus is reached before that. Close out the evening with interaction, question-asking, story-telling, hijinx, games, feasting, exploration, or whatever strikes your fancy, for 'tomorrow' we ride!)[/b][/center]