thematically appropriate

[alicornucopia]

Linya and Bella are working on wishes, in between light chat about runecasting and their personal lives. It is radiantly obvious to people paying attention that Bella wants to kiss her and Linya is married, although neither statement is made.

Ivans are playing cards.

Mileses, including Solvei, are debating the wisdom of borrowing another strategy game from Bar; Mark, a voice of caution, does not know what will happen if all of them (Solvei, Mial, Miles, Milo, Stalas) all start screaming at each other in twenty directions.

And -

Comments

[last_one_out]

- the door opens. Someone walks in.

He is definitely the right height, facial structure, and body type for a Mark or Miles. He is dressed more towards the Stalas end of the spectrum than the Miles end, in terms of what one's clothes say about one's home technology level. He does not appear to be entirely human: his fingernails are short sharp claws, his ears are long and pointed and mobile, the pupils of his grey eyes are catlike slits, and he has a long monkeylike tail covered in sleek black fur and ending in a dark blade that calls to mind stereotypical images of devils.

He stops just inside the door and blinks in confusion at the assembled patrons.

[unmarred]

Certain of the assembled patrons blink in confusion right back.

[thisbrokenworld]

Solvei's sister/substrate glances from the newcomer to Mark, and asks, "Am I—?"

[unmarred]

"Yeah, no, me too," he says. "It's not."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Mark. English," says Miles.

[unmarred]

"I am nearly positive that this is a new individual," he explains.

[isthisart]

"Bar?" asks Linya.

The new arrival is not an alt of anyone else present.

"Well spotted, Mark. Hello, new individual. This is an interdimensional bar. It is having a theme day. You are a novel theme variant. What's your name?"

[last_one_out]

"Elarron Kevarsin," says the new individual, looking somewhat warily at the Miles-and-Mark alt congregation. (His canine teeth are sharp and elongated.)

[middlingalong]

"And, er, what are you?" asks Ivan. "With the tail and so on."

"Don't knock tails," says Aurin.

"You don't count!"

[last_one_out]

"Aluvai," he says, turning his gaze on Ivan with a hint of a scornful glare.

[onceandforall]

"Well, if Bar hadn't told us he wasn't a - a Mark, for lack of a way to refer to my instance - that reaction to Ivan would clinch it."

[abeance]

"Doesn't look like he recognizes us either. So, Elarron, are there more of you back home?"

[last_one_out]

"'More of me'?"

[isthisart]

"I don't think we have actually encountered any cases of a single world having several of someone. Perhaps Jann meant to ask if there are people who look like you. Who might be alts of Miles or Mark. For that matter, if you have met anyone who looks like us over here we'd love to add to the party."

[last_one_out]

"And I'd love to answer your questions, just as soon as someone deigns to let me know what in the wastes is going on here."

[onceandforall]

"Interdimensional bar. Steals doors. Temporarily. It's on a your-face kick, witness how many of your face there are. That's, let me see if I remember you all - that's Miles, other Mileses, meaning people with the same personality from other places, include -" She's pointing. "Stalas, Mial, Milo, and Solvei when she's being Solvei. Miles's clone Mark, who is an alt of Solvei-when-she's-not-being-Solvei. Some of the Mileses have Ivans. Those are them. Ivan is Miles's and Aurin is Mial's and Jann is Milo's. Wave, Ivans." Ivans wave agreeably. "And over here I'm Solvei's fake girlfriend and Linyabel is Miles's real wife. Questions?"

[last_one_out]

He absorbs this information, thinks for a few seconds, then asks: "How temporary is temporary? Could I, if I felt like it, add more people to the party?"

[isthisart]

"As long as you can get ahold of them while the door is open, held by you or someone else from your world, yes," says Linya. "The door stops being stolen when everybody from your world is out of the bar and it shuts."

[last_one_out]

"Well, I guess that's workable." He looks from Linyabel back to Bella. "But I object to the description of a bunch of shortears as having 'my face'."

[onceandforall]

"Be flexible. Aurin and Mial are actually magically shapeshifted reptiles."

[last_one_out]

"Magically shapeshifted into - fine, I'll be polite - Ceirene, for some reason."

[middlingalong]

"Would you rather I turned into a bird? I can turn into a bird."

[abeance]

"Stalas is a dwarf!" volunteers Jann.

[last_one_out]

Elarron eyes Stalas. "Is he."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Yes," says Stalas. "Yes I am."