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1261

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: June 20, 2017, 02:13:08 AM »

Irene

Her eyes had a inquiring, cold gleam to them, despite her smile. The inside of her body strained and relaxed in casual preparation for anything going awry. "Then it shouldn't be so hard for you to leap down here and sit for a minute."

She pursed a finger over her lips, like a coy damsel certain. "You and your friend both. It's quite rude to talk between yourselves after intercepting a lady."

1262

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: June 20, 2017, 01:33:16 AM »

Irene

She crossed her arms, making her missing sleeve stand out from her striking dress. "Have you considered that being so generous to every jewel that glitters in your eye may be suspicious in and of itself?"

Irene stood impavid and genteel as the scorched petals fell before her. In any other situation, she might've found them beautiful, but in that second these games had no place in the cogs of her trained mind but to warn her of his abilities in advance.

"Then I would hear you out with haste," She explained herself simply, eyes focused on him like a hawk. "Another time, I might invite you to a drink, but this night has already seen thorns of ice run into me, and I am no more keen to revisit the experience than to learn of their opposite."

1263

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: June 20, 2017, 01:22:33 AM »

Butler

He nodded steeply to the woman and her immaculately professional poise, firmly but not toughly clasping her hand and shaking it.

"Butler. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, lifting his ashen skull to look her straight in the eyes. "If you'll allow my bluntness, for I'm sure you will have much to ask soon, I come here to answer your ad for a skilled housekeeper. I am currently looking for stable employment in a quieter environment, and I hope you'll hear me out, Ms ...?"

1264

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: June 19, 2017, 04:15:28 AM »

Irene

She looked up at the presence she had faintly noticed when crossing this street, right before opening the door to the parlor in front of her. Irene had hoped it wasn't anything with her, but it appeared she had drawn at least some attention, so there was no sense in ignoring it.

When she looked up at the dreadfully unusual sight of a faceless, burning skeleton, she felt a migraine of aggression run up her skull and culminate in a small twitch of her eyelid. Sure, she had smelled something in embers, but she did not expect this. And frankly, after the run-in with some localized extreme weather earlier, she had no interest in the polar opposite.

"Good night, sir smokey. Do you have some business with me?" She asked, her thoughts hidden behind an enchanting smile honed over decades.

1265

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: June 19, 2017, 04:01:30 AM »

Butler

At the doors of a well-groomed, high rise apartment building in one of the nicest residential areas of the dense urban web of the Nexus, a tall and dignified man waited under the scrutiny of the troll-like yet immaculate security guard, holding a folded newspaper under his arm. He would have been the perfect picture of elegance, left to uncerimoniously wait out in the cold of undue suspicion, were it not for the fact his face was an unsettling, bare skull with an eyepatch.

Despite that, he did not seem bothered, at least as far as the faint but undying light within his exposed eye socket and his expressionless face could show. It was natural to be cautious of those with unusually striking appearances, whether you lived in the realm of the common or the absurd, and it would be incredibly crass of him to not be able to even stand this.

Although he did have to question the misplaced guidance in that logic. One could never know what lurked beneath the face of a common man or woman, and here even more so. If you questioned the veracity of every unexpected sight, then you must question the truth of all that appears normal as well.

He had served several who fit the bill for the latter concerns, and he had ingrained it in himself to discern them, but one could not spend every new meeting and time knowing people thereafter laden in suspicion without a reason for it. Nor could you simply accept everything at face value. The answer lay in striking a balance that adhered to your needs and your surroundings.

Butler hoped that he could find a master who themselves knew such moderation, regardless of what their seeming suggested and their true mien concealed. Perhaps by answering this advertisement, he could be fulfilled a little longer. So he waited for the person who had placed that call for a housekeeper, confirmed by the building guard to be out, to arrive.

1266

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: June 19, 2017, 03:45:31 AM »

Irene

She stalked her way through the night, pondering on the information she'd so far acquired - or rather pilfered - while contemplating the way to her next objective. Before the night ended, she needed to gather as much information as possible on her surroundings and the threats that awaited. The complete shift in geography and paradigm was a disorienting affair that still had not come to a compromise in her mind, but she was already used to acting before everything was clear to her. It was one of her good points, one of her teachers had said.

Not like Irene had the privilege of waiting for everything to become clear, from where she stood, and she certainly didn't want to rely on those bloodsuckers - heh - in medical robes and white suits. She was in their debt, and for now that was all the association she was comfortable with.

She sighed, following her mental map through the neon-lit stilted streets to an informer. She had luckily secured a place to lair for now through Julius's name (though it was quite stifling to have to turn back mid-way due to her boiling forgetfulness and ask for an address to where he was staying), but - well, if she had to be frank it was easier than she thought to acquire those directions.

But if everything in the Nexus was as claimed, then it was no wonder information went out of its way to be known to newcomers. And no doubt exponentially greater in value.

1267

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: June 11, 2017, 12:58:30 AM »

Julius

"There's a phone in my apartment. I don't carry around those things that they call cellphones. I'm afraid that with my lifestyle they would just break too easily. Fortunately I've a good memory for numbers, so I can tell you." He then dictated his number out of his memory as he wasn't in a position to write it down just yet.

Irene

She nodded and quickly registered the number. "I don't forget the important numbers, but when you know as many people as me, this is more convenient than relying on memory alone. But I suppose all of those contacts would be useless here and now, wouldn't they?"

Irene had books and diaries filled with the information of many people she'd known in the estates that she returned to as well, but they too were out of her reach now. She had only herself to rely upon and those she would meet. Which is why she felt glad that Julius was the first person she really spoke with.

"Rest then, my friend. I will take care of our immediate official worries," she added, putting back her worn phone in its pocket and smiling at him. She would call so her number was registed at his house, but it was possible she didn't actually have any service here. Another inconvenience.

Following his preferred method, she asked him to remember her own number and recited it to him because making her way out with a polite wave. She had a lot to catch up on, it seemed, and first off was settling this deal with the company that ran the hospital...

1268

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: June 09, 2017, 12:29:53 AM »

Julius

"I don't really know if I have anything to teach you. People have asked me before why I display such feats, but I don't believe there's anything inherent in me that causes. My weapons are blessed and I put my faith in a higher power. My knowledge aside, I wouldn't reach that far without my trust in God. Some people disbelieve me about that, but I do feel that He reaches out to me in dreams." All those cryptic visions couldn't be anything else but a hand of God guiding him from one place to another in order to overcome calamities.

Irene

Her gaze wandered to an indistinct picture formed by his words, and she turned her face slightly to the side in a restrained hum. "A peculiar phenomenon. But, if you what you believe in leads you, then that is quite alright, isn't it?"

"On my part," Irene continued, as she pushed herself off the bedside. "It is the goodness and values of my parents and mentors which guide me, and which I remember to make my decisions and actions upright. In times it was my training that gave the strength to walk along that road, and though I still rely on it, it is more my constitution that keeps me standing these days."

The vampire shook her head, searching into her pants pocket and retrieving a small phone. "I should be leaving you to rest now, though - do you have a phone that I could register, it would be easier for us to find each other if something else happens. In any event, I hope we'll have time to speak more of such things later."

She wanted nothing more than to slip away and reflect on the events of the evenings, but Irene Maiden had already beholden her person to account for services given upfront, and she unfortunately remembered she had to sign those papers. She would spare Julius the annoyance of that, at least.

1269

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: June 05, 2017, 04:04:47 PM »

"I should be fine in few hours. Even if I'm in a bit of pain, small break won't hurt. If I need another favor from you, there's a thing that takes a priority. Did you report everything on the enemy to the police? If they know what they may possibly deal with, then they won't be taken off guard too easily by anything that she plots."

Irene

She sighed and nodded. "I gave a detailed account of all that we witnessed. Though I couldn't gleam what the origin of her strange powers was, and there was no point to risking a guess. Others more used to this city surely have a better point of reference to me. Something I must fix now that I must deal with this place."

Irene turned around to sit with eased weight on his bed and smiled. "It's my business to know these things, after all. I hope you'll teach me what you know while we're working together."

1270

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: June 04, 2017, 08:24:35 PM »

Julius

"No, I'm fine like this. I took a gamble and ended up like that. I'm satisfied already that I survived that fight. You can tell the doctor or his supervisors that I'm in their debt. If they have any supernatural problem, I'll be quick to unroot it in exchange." Julius stubbornly refused a help. He ended up like that because of his decision and he was willing to shoulder the rest of the debt. If they didn't need his services, he'd work off the debt in another manner, perhaps.

Irene

"The both of us took a joint gamble, and we share the consequences. I have not been left with wounds, so allow me to share your weight of them, to at least make us even. We will pay together for any value in services and time that we already owe, regardless."

She looked down to him patiently, restraining her intolerance for the circumstances they would be feeding into or maybe mellowed by his reason.

1271

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: June 02, 2017, 09:44:54 PM »

Irene

The English vampire lady closed her eyes, humming in thought. In the failure of a civic body to assert itself, people simply look elsewhere for protection, allowing self-interest to feed on their necessity. Those groups give the masses peace with their benevolent providence, and in the process they make themselves indispensible. It's for the population, but more than that it's for them, and no one needs to remember that part.

She tried not to think too deeply on that crazy woman they had fought, but Irene wouldn't forget her face or let any image of that encounter fade. The next time their paths crossed, she would remember.

"It is a lamentable state of affairs, and seeking to end it without understanding how to fix things will do no favors to this city," she said, nodding. Then she opened her eyes to look at Julius and leaned quickly on the railing at the end of the bed. Her shadow covered Julius and hid his expression from the camera she had seen glimmering at the opposite corner of the room.

"Would you allow me to do something, Julius? I can heal you quicker than this treatment now," she proposed. He could be out of bed in seconds rather than hours or days, and the adventurer didn't relish the thought of having a greater debt to this company than she had to.

1272

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: June 01, 2017, 03:53:31 AM »

Julius

It seemed to him as if he had to stay here for a while regardless. After the nurse left again, he continued the conversation with Irene.

"People know of the supernatural, but it doesn't mean that some don't fear it. You seem to be a selfless person, but the general opinion about vampires is not favorable here. You fought valiantly beside me, so I can put trust in you." A sort of white lie, partly, because the fact stood that he didn't know her that well. He couldn't completely trust a new acquittance like that. Julius believed in redemption and second chances for everyone, but he got burned sometimes. Perhaps he had to observe her further. Even if it was damn difficult in his current condition.

Irene

She shrugged, speaking almost in a chiding motion. "In what world are immortal, blood-sucking fiends well-regarded? I have no rush to out myself to more people, so you can rest easy about my social profile."

Then she stepped away from the bed and pushed the papers she had been clutching to against the noisy man's chest, sticking closer as he was to their conversation. "Reword that so there are no doubts about beliberately inciting harm against me or associates."

The office dupe let out a short sigh, and said "You're a hard lady to please. But we should include your Nexus citizenship in the price, mm?" Then, after a moment to smile wide, he left.

1273

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: May 30, 2017, 02:50:27 AM »

Julius

A person he knew. It was a recent acquittance, but his mind recognized her. Looks like his faculties were intact even if his body still ached and shivered. They had to not only thaw him out of that spell's effect but they surely had to patch his wounds from the firearm. Painkillers wore off and the adrenaline wasn't keeping him painless anymore. "I'm in pain, then I must be alive."

In his mind there were also etched vivid memories of the last battle. He didn't care in the middle of the fight, but now he couldn't just ignore the issue. "I understand why you why you kept your secret, but you surely revealed it so readily. Are you not worried about the secret spreading with all people who witnessed that battle?"

Irene

Casting a soft shadow over Julius, the vampire and adventurer offered a subdued smile in response. As she spoke, it was not the impetous motivations of youth, but a thoughtful rumble that matched her age which echoed from the words.

"What use is keeping a secret if it stops me from helping as I must?" Irene seemed to suppress an edge of cockiness as she leaned back, and the lights of the room hit him more directly now. "Besides, if I took your words of the city at face value, then my being ought not be such a concern."

There was a little more to it than that, and she truly was not fond of the idea of exposing herself, but in that situation she believed it to be the best chance they had. Against a foe that might've eradicated them, they had both escaped practically unscathed. Surprisingly so, if Irene had to be honest with the long buried unease tingling in her spine now that they were out of danger.

The nurse who had nearly be shoved out of the way approached the bed again from the side of Julius's feet, smiling tersely as she looked between him and the papers in her hands. "You went through a rough spot, but you held up very well," she said, addressing Julius before turning to Irene. "We're just checking to make sure he's suffering no aftereffects and doesn't contract anything like hypothermia. Once that's done we can speed up treatment for the bullet wounds. Lucky they all missed vitals."

Irene nodded and absently wondered how much the "speeding up" was going to cost in addition to base charges. Bah, money.

1274

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: May 27, 2017, 12:28:25 AM »

Irene

She waded past the annoyingly composed employee and the retreating to find Julius woozily resting among the beeps of machinery and clean sheets of a hospital bed at the end of the room. Judging from his expression, he was still disoriented, but that he was lucid took a weight off Irene's shoulders.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, warrior." She said, leaning on the steel frame of the bed and smiling confidently down at him. If not for her sleeve missing from the arm she'd used in the fight earlier and some subtle spots on her clothes, no one would say she had been in a fight. "How are you feeling?"

1275

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: May 22, 2017, 01:14:47 AM »

Irene

Irene looked over the paperwork handed to her at entry and the permeating smell of medicine in the solemn hall, sliding her gaze impatiently at the doors across from it. The concerns of accountability and cost were lost on her in comparison to worry for Julius, and they would continue that way until she managed to see him. But it was a fact the ramifications of the encounter went beyond the two of them, or their justice in opposition to the other woman. The vampire looked at the end of the hall, where the owner of the store was tiredly speaking to a policewoman and rubbing blearly eyes below his glasses.

To hear the people in question say it, by the time the police arrived to the store, the crooks had already cleared out. Maybe it was for the best that they didn't stick around to mess with the kind of people who included that witch. Irene didn't expect them to be able to deal with her anyhow, but the more she saw of this place, the more her understanding chafed.

People didn't ask for your race on admission to a hospital in these terms where she came from, and they certainly didn't ask if someone in dire straits had been the victim of magic before anything else. It was very helpful of the man, who'd been the original victim in that situation, to accompany them this far and walk her through some of these distinct assumptions. But the offputting chill in the back of her neck did not lessen with the realization the hospital was owned by a medical research corporation.

Hurried taps echoed on the grey floor, following a team of nurses rushing a tubed patient past the center of the corridor. As they vanished around a corner, a softer set of steps replaced them. Irene saw the owner's thin shadow stretching along the wall next to hers as they stopped next to her, offering her a wry but measured smile.

"Excuse me, Ms. I hope you've been taking your time digesting the proposal. I can answer any questions in filling it that you may have," he said, hands disarmingly loose to his sides. In contrast to most of the personnel running around, his outfit was dark rather than light, and a more formal affair, complete with a tie, not the vests of someone caring to the injured.

Irene let out a dry chuckle, gesturing with the papers she was holding at him.

"Indeed, I've read it. Asking me to assume a debt to the hospital and the company it represents, intended to be resolved agreeably through deducted work suited to my skills or submission to exams and follow-up cooperation compliant with basic human rights, whichever the creditor deems more advantageous or appropriate. A little one-sided, isn't it?"

"Its sensible concessions should tide over any doubts you may have as to our legitimacy, and considering your lack of ID and cash, I would say it's a very fair deal as presented."

"Maybe so, but I won't be committing to anything until I am certain that my companion is being properly cared for."

"Certainly. We can visit him now and you may see for yourself," he said, curtly closing the distance to the other side of the hall and pushing the doors open. "I'm told he's remarkably sturdy for someone who otherwise appears normal."

Irene almost barreled over the man as she followed, mouth set in a thin line.