#with potentially some in-world fictional ones to cover some things they've thought of independently

[johannstutt413]

(requested by mathmaticalknight) DND night at RI

“Doctor, are you-” Amiya entered the Doctor’s office late in the afternoon, about an hour before his shift ended, and found him putting on his coat. “-busy? Are you leaving already?”

“Yeah, I’ve got an appointment to catch. Didja need something before I leave?” He stopped, giving her his full attention for the moment.

The Cautus shook her head. “No, not if you’re busy.”

“Bunny, ya know I’m never too busy for you.” Neither was his fiance, after all. “What’s going on?”

“Some of the other Operators invited me to something they’re calling ‘Leviathans and Landships,’ and they said you would help me with a character?”

The Doctor froze. “They invited you to...Was it Blaze?”

“It was,” she smiled innocently. “She also said you might complain about having too many players already.”

“Damn. Well, if she wants ya to play with us, I’m not gonna say no to both of ya. Besides, I’m leaving early to prep anyway.” Oh, but how to introduce her-

Amiya cocked her head. “You’re leaving work early to play games?”

“No, to prepare to play games. Very important distinction.” He grinned. “I’m the GM, after all.”

“...The Game Master?” The Cautus knew full well he wasn’t the General Manager of anything - not since selling his Kazimierz Knights Club, at least.

He nodded. “Location, snacks, the events of the game itself - all my responsibility. Granted, this week it’s Kal’tsit’s turn to buy snacks, so those aren’t my direct responsibility-”

“Dr. Kal’tsit is playing, Blaze is playing, you’re running it...and I wasn’t invited sooner?” She stared at him hard enough to paralyze him. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Oh, bunny, it’s nothing like that, I just wasn’t sure how any of this was going to shake out, and then by the time I got comfortable, well...Sorry.”

The Guard/Caster sighed. “It’s alright. I’m playing now.”

“Right. Speaking of which, we do need to make you a character.” The Doctor continued walking. “I have all my books and stuff ready to go in the VIP meeting room, just need to get the ones with player options out for you to look at. How much alternative history do you read?”

“Alternative history, Doctor?” Amiya fell into step with him, as she so often did.

He waved a hand in the air. “You know, those books with goblins and magical swords and stuff? How much did Blaze tell you?”

“Um, not a lot. She said you’d fill me in.” He groaned, and she frowned. “Should I have asked her to tell me more?”

“No, but there’s a lot of information to give you and not as much time as I’d like to take to do it. Three hours for a character is already tight, but catching you up on the story, too? Damnit, Blaze, I’m not a miracle-worker even if I can do Arts...” Still, they’d already crossed this bridge. No turning her away at this point.

When the pair arrived at the VIP room, they weren’t the only ones there early. “Good afternoon, Doctor.”

“Good afternoon, Kal’tsit.” He gestured to Amiya. “Blaze invited her to play, so we need to make her a character. Would you mind helping out?”

“I’m leaving now to pick up the food for the game tonight, but I’m coming back after that.”

He sighed with relief. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“That is what a Medic does, isn’t it?” The Feline patted Amiya’s shoulder as she left. “I’ll take care of your vital statistics; after seeing some of his math for Surtr’s character, it will be better that way.”

“I legitimately misread the book,” he grumbled as he began flipping open book after book to its table of contents page, looking for a specific heading that’d tell him there were player character options in it somewhere.

By the time Dr. Kal’tsit returned, the Doctor had his computer open and was scrolling through some of Deepcolor’s character portraits to find one for the Cautus’ character, and she was leaning against his shoulder for a ‘better view’. “Comfortable, Amiya?”

“Mhmm- I mean, um, I need to see the pictures.” As luck would have it, at that exact moment, one caught her eye. “I like that one.”

“Do you, now? Kal’tsit, any issue with Amiya playing a Specialist? Pretty sure we have the basic roles covered, after all.” He pulled out a character sheet as the Feline walked around to see the portrait in question.

Specialist? “I see Enmity Guard here, Doctor.”

“Not Stalker? All the shadows scattered around him?” He caught himself there. “I mean, they don’t have to be a guy-”

“It’s fine, Doctor. I want to play a male character.”

Cool, moment passed safely. “But yeah, I’m pretty sure Stalker or Steadfast Specialist will work. We already have a Summoner, a Focused Medic, a Cleaver Guard, a Flagbearer, and a Chain Caster, after all, and Blaze’ll probably appreciate the frontline help. No offense to your Summons, of course.”

“None taken.” Monst3r was in their crystal at the moment, after all. “Same level as we are now?”

“Yeah, we’re bringing her in tonight. Now, the fun part: explaining how this person is joining the party while they’re completely unreachable from outside the Aura Sphere...” This was going to take awhile.

Twenty minutes before game start time, Manticore slipped into the room, her dice bag being the only indication someone had arrived. The Doctor found her almost immediately regardless. “Good evening, Manticore. Amiya’s going to be joining us tonight.”

“Oh?...How nice. What kind of...character...are you playing?” The Specialist took her seat on the right side of the Doctor (so he could hear her easily) as the Cautus moved her things to sit on the other side of the new arrival. “Did the Doctor...find a new tank?”

“New tank? And make Blaze mad at me? Sounds like a death flag to me,” he commented, otherwise absorbed in rewriting his plans for the night’s session.

Kal’tsit shook her head. “We built her a Stalker to match the portrait she liked.”

“A S-stalker?” The Manticore blushed. “You mean...like me?”

“When I saw the picture, I thought of you,” Amiya noted with a smile.

Manticore’s tail curled around her chair legs for safety. “You...you remembered me...”

“Hey.” Deepcolor strolled in, setting her dice down while leaving a seat between her and the Cautus. “Joining the party, Amiya?”

“Blaze invited her. Speaking of, Doctor, she and Surtr are still on a mission, if I remember the deploym-”

A *bang* from the hallway stopped the Medic in her tracks as another Feline and Sarkaz landed outside the door. “You can take that out of my paycheck,” Blaze sighed, picking the pair of them off the ground.

“We apologize for our la- Blaze.” Surtr squeezed her backpack strap. “We’re not late.”

“Well, yeah, because I blasted us here.”

She spun in place to stare her down. “You forgot the time change across the Kjerag border.”

“Wait, is it- oh, shit, I did.” By then, however, the Feline could see into the room, and so she knocked the Sarkaz inside to reach the empty chair next to Amiya. “BUNNY!!!”

“Ah!” The Cautus was lifted out of her seat and squeezed like a stuffed animal.

The Doctor sighed. “This is going to be a thing now, isn’t it?”

“I believe so,” Kal’tsit agreed, closing the door behind them as Surtr took her seat, and then taking her place next to the GM. “Now that everyone is here, we can begin...Once Blaze has set our Specialist on the ground again.”

“Aww, can’t I just keep her in my lap?” She gave her fiance the eyes-

Nope. “Ya both have sheets to keep track of...besides, ya don’t squeeze me like that when I come home from the office...”

“‘Cause you’ve got bird-bones!” Blaze finally sat down, allowing Amiya to do the same. “Just ‘cause you’re jealous...”

“Where’d we leave off last time, anyway? We just got done killing that Leviathan, right?” The Sarkaz steered the group back in the direction she was interested in going - continuing the plot.

The Doctor shook his head. “No, that was the session before. LAST session, well, things got interesting. Let me set the scene...”