144.98750: PUBLIC CHANNEL, D90 (evening)

[whattaprick]

[ Hey, guess who has his voice back? Turns out traveling to Mainframe gives you plenty of voices to hear. But is he actually going to report back with anything useful? ]

"All of Man’s works, all his cities, all his empires, all his monuments will one day crumble to dust. Even the houses of my own dear readers must – though it be for just one day, one hour be ruined and become houses where the stones are mortared with moonlight, windowed with starlight and furnished with the dusty wind. It is said that in that day, in that hour, our houses become the possessions of the Raven King."

[ For once, his voice isn't carrying that edge of mocking, actually managing to sound solemn and thoughtful -- not that it lasts. There's the sound of a book being snapped shut, and Lambert resumes the rest of the radio post speaking in his normal tone of voice: just a touch insufferably smug. ]

Maybe Master Strange should consider becoming a poet, if he ever gets bored of being a magician.

[ And then, as an off-handed follow-up to that: ]

All scouts and nightrunners, report in. Let 'em know what they're in for.

Comments

[whattaprick]

[ Give him a moment to process that. Slowly. ]

Sounds like a lot of work for girls that aren't even real. Why not just find a brothel?

[perverses]

[ Lambert... ]

That's not very romantic of you, boss... [ Also he can't afford those? Yeah, he can't afford those. ] Besides, I did say they were games. They're just for fun.

[whattaprick]

Witchers aren't exactly known for being romantic. [ BIG SHRUG. ]

Besides, brothels can be fun. [ Lambert, no. ] Guess you're a bit young for those, though.

[perverses]

Juuust a little bit. [ Is this an actual conversation he's having with an adult? Really? Amazing, truly amazing. ] Kind of hard to find, too, if ya don't already know where to look.

[whattaprick]

Have you ever tried?

[perverses]

Uh, no? Not really? Even if I did look, it's just gonna be full of creepy old guys too lame to pick up chicks without forkin' over cash.

[whattaprick]

Oh? And you've had a lot of success picking up girls, have you?

[perverses]

Well, yeah, of course! I'm in high school. You can't go three steps without meeting a girl who would love to go out.

[ Mind, going out on a date isn't at all like going to a brothel, but like he had said before... where's the romance in that?! ]

[whattaprick]

Wouldn't know what that's like. For some reason, we don't get a lot girls lining up to become witchers.

[ None at all, actually. And if they had, well, eight out of ten would be dead. ]

[perverses]

Probably because monsters suck, but they aren't exorcists. There's only two girls in the actual exorcist school right now... [ Here, there's a pause, then a quick revision. ] Well, one now. High school is different, though.

[whattaprick]

Just how many schools are you in, anyway?

[perverses]

Just the two. High school is... basically normal person school? The other one is hidden in that one.

[whattaprick]

Do you actually study anything, or do you just slack off?

[perverses]

I'm only passing anything because my friends force me to study against my will. It's the worst.

[ y e p, but he sounds like he thinks it's funny as hell in retrospect. In actual practice, there's definitely a lot more whining. ]

[whattaprick]

[ Lambert snorts. ]

How else does studying get done?

[ He doesn't have to know the words "peer pressure " to be able to appreciate the concept. ]

[perverses]

Doesn't even really matter if I'm good at any of it, right? So why put in more effort than that?

[ Only now this conversation is leaning towards "depressing", so... ]

But speaking of schools! I really did ask for a whole bunch of books from home. Feel free to borrow some of the exorcist ones if you're actually curious. Since, apparently, you're a reader.

[ aka neeeeerd ]

[whattaprick]

[ Ew, Shima, don't get him confused with one of those real nerds. ]

Sounds like you're trying to get rid of them. Is there actually anything useful in them?

[ Useful in witcher terms, naturally. ]

[perverses]

[ He chose to read a book all on his own, therefore neeeeeerd. ]

Get rid of 'em? Nah, no way. I still need them for the exam, but that's suddenly not for another year, right? Dunno how useful they are to someone outside the order, though. It's a lot of stuff about demons and Gehenna and other crap like that.

[whattaprick]

[ Ughhh it sounds nerdy but on the other hand... who knows when they'll run into something that he could deal with better with some extra knowledge? ]

But the things in them are real, right? Not just fairy tales?

[perverses]

Can't say I've seen 'em all, but yeah, they're supposed to be. Greenmen, ghouls, goblins, and all the other creepy crawlies of the demon world.

[whattaprick]

Fine, I'll take a look. When do you want them back?

[perverses]

Eh, whenever Okumura remembers he has a whole lot of studying to do.