Take To The Skies | Steampunk/Fantasy | Lit | [Full]

[InherentlyRisky]

Ѵιɳcєɳт Ҏαтɾιcӄ Đιℓє

It was difficult to say just what Vincent was doing. There were wires and there was metal and maybe a bit of explosive. The storefront was quiet for a bit, and so naturally he decided to work on one of his many... let's say projects. He kept his goggles over his eyes as he siphoned gunpowder into a little box, filling it just a bit. With a little magic worked with wires and metal and a fuse, he'd managed to create a little bomb. He did the math in his head, quickly, mostly just skimming over the numbers before picking up the little toy and setting it aside, by his soldering equipment. He got up to check the front of the store. The bell hadn't rung, but who knows. A lot of people were too timid to ring it. It was fortunately empty, though, and he ducked his head back into the back room, pushing the goggles onto the top of his head and rubbing at his eyes, which were getting a little dry.

A faint hissing alerted him of some dubiousness, however. He pulled his hands from his face and looked over at his soldering equipment. "Oh no." The hot tip of the solderer had slipped and rested against the fuse long enough to light it. Panicked, he sealed off all of his gunpowder and covered all the flammable things as quickly as he could. Just before --

BOOM

A flash of light and smoke knocked Vincent onto his a**, coughing. He waved the soot away from his face, trying to breathe in clean air. He pushed the goggles off his head and tossed them onto his desk, getting up with a croak. "Congratulations, Vince," he muttered, dusting himself off. "You just blew up your flash bomb." He coughed again, opening a window at the back of the room, trying to get some air flow. He swore once or twice, when he tripped while trying to get the lights out of his eyes.

"That had to have drawn some attention. Crap." He passed a hand over his face, then went to his solderer, pushing the tip into the sponge and putting it away properly. He quietly lectured himself on safety guidelines and "this is why you don't leave your soldering iron out and hot, even if you aren't done with it yet." He huffed, wafting the smoke toward the window and closing the door to the front of the shop so none of it tried to escape through the front door.

Well. It could have been worse. After all, it could have been an actual bomb.

≾Never let a little paranoia slow you down.≿

[THE Great Mysterious inu]

Gypsy

BOOM

Gypsy jumped when she heard it. The sudden explosion seemed to have come from the clock store next door. Then came the swearing, which made her smile and chuckle. A little relieved to know that the occupant wasn't harmed. But just to be on the safe side, and perhaps a little to ease her boredom, she chose to go check on said person.

The little bells twinkled as she exited her shop and went over to the watch shop.
Vincent? Everything alright in here? she called as she entered the shop and looked around. Generally, the shop was rather good looking. Watches were always pretty.
She heard someone talking behind the door that led to his workshop, and she rapped her knuckles on it.

Vincent? It's Gypsy. What's going on?

[Shadow of Twilight]

James Wyndrider

His horse slowed seeing the man wasn't in any real condition to be fighting back at this point, though he was indeed still keeping himself armed...then he stopped and dismounted, keeping his sword brandished.

"What good will your deaths do to serve our cause, you say. You are heathens, in violation of the One God. Rifters, seeking to supplant righteousness with polytheistic nonsense and nature magicks. You strike out at decent, hard working people simply because when your gods were pushed, when you needed them the most, they abandoned you, just as the false idols they were."

He kept moving forward, keeping his eyes on the man on the gun.

"And now, despite all this, despite you blasphemy and your outlaw ways, I offered your camp redemption. to hand over that young woman and what she was carrying. Instead, her accomplice and her are taken out of here by airship."

Resting his sword against his shoulder lightly.

"Killing Rifters helps to preserve the way of life of the Empire. It lessens your numbers and weakens your ability to harm innocent commercial ships and stores simply because you think you can."

He was well within range, but the look on his face said that if he even thought to be concerned about the gun...he'd decided he wasn't going to use it.

"You brought this on yourselves. Unlike the pagan gods of magicks, the One God does push back when provoked. You see God's instrument before you. you see the fires of his Wrath behind me. I am a Grand Inquisitor. and this Inquisition is about to begin. You can give yourself voluntarily, or we can continue this bloody struggle to it's finality. Either way you will lose, it is God's will."

He gave a thoughtful look a moment, before a slight grin and leaning over some, letting that sword point sink a bit into the ground to support him.

"In fact, let me turn your question back on you, for a start. What do you think killing those soldiers will do for your cause? they are a handful of sand in a desert. hundreds remain to replace any you slay today. Yet each Rifter that falls is a heavy loss to you. You gain nothing by provoking this fight, and continuing to fight it today. So why do you continue to point your gun at me, when it would be better served pointing at the one man of yours that lit the spark on this powderkeg?"

[InherentlyRisky]

Ѵιɳcєɳт Ҏαтɾιcӄ Đιℓє

Vincent froze when he heard the rapping, afraid he'd caught some unwanted attention. Because why would a watchmaker's shop be exploding? When he heard Gypsy's voice, though, he relaxed, and even straightened his tie a little, dusting himself off as the smoke cleared. He picked his way around the back room back to the door, opening it a crack and peering out. He gave Gypsy a little smile and a wave. "Hey. Everything's fine. Just. Technical difficulties." He looked around behind him and swung the door open wide enough for him to step out. It was probably better this way, anyhow. It was kind of a mess in there. "I didn't disrupt business for you, did I?"

He rolled his shoulders, then rubbed at the back of his head. Sometimes he forgot they only shared a wall. Luckily, though, this didn't happen very often. He was only just getting into the bombs racket and was in the middle of filling a small order for a small group of rebels. it took him about a week to make sense of the system. Now all he had to do was not blow them up prematurely. Baby steps.

≾Never let a little paranoia slow you down.≿

[jess inc o g n i t o]

Gods - he'd wanted a simple answer, yes or no, not a sermon. Alo gritted his teeth; the adrenaline of the fight was running out of him, endorphins grating to a stop on the bottom of the barrel and he was feeling the pain of the punches and skin deep slices of the knife he hadn't felt get so close to his skin.

Aloysius ignored the religious talk, the babble. The two would never agree, and Alo had left behind those Gods years ago, and certainly not to support a new one. So he focused his attention elsewhere.

"This is not our doing - you, the Emperor, started this by killing and ravaging those who were once your countrymen. You ruined this land," he said, words tasting acrid in his mouth. "We only fight for what's left." Soldiers like this one, perhaps this one exactly as he stands above him, killed his neighbors, his family. They stole his sister and they scorched the earth. There no longer stood an easy fix. If the rebels ever won Ossero, they would have to completely rebuild from the bottom up.

"God's instrument? I see only a man the wreckage he's made. And I have no answers to give for it."

He was so calm, so nonchalant with his words, as if he'd given this speech to a thousand others a thousand times before. He leaned on his sword and switched his words around, but Alo was resolute. "If I am nothing, then kill me now to get it over with," he said, eyes burning into the man. "But unlike you, I will not turn my gun on my countrymen." He had no doubt this man before him had killed before. He had no doubt he was asking for, and very well might receive, death right as he lay; but even as he said it, with all traces of seriousness in his voice and no betrayal in his features, he held his rifle tightly and did not allow his grip to loosen. He wanted to live, he just hadn't thought his way out of it yet.

[THE Great Mysterious inu]

Gypsy

Gypsy blinked and studied the man for a moment before smiling back and chuckling at him softly.
Of course not. It's a slow day over there. I take it, business has been the same here, or else you wouldn't be playing with your she raised her hands to make a quotation gesture with her fingers "hobbies"
She winked at him.
She folded her hands behind her shrugged before turning and pace the shop, looking around as if she were there to shop. Occasionally she'd pick up something and examine it before setting it back down.
So, anything new? she stopped and looked at him, making a gesture towards the watches.

[Shadow of Twilight]

James Wyndrider

"The Emperor brought order to chaos. He gave us the true faith. unlike your gods of nature and magicks."

Though his grin had faded and he stood himself up, pulling the sword tip out of the ground. He was not pleased at this person's continued blasphemy. Though he did tilt his head lightly at his statement.

"Did I claim you were without value? I don't believe I did. And while I commend your resolute defense of your brothers in arms, I'm afraid that you do possess value."

He simply moved forward and grabbed hold of the rifle, and jerked it free of his hands and tossed it aside lightly. After all, if the boy was going to use it, or was capable of using it, he'd have done so by now. But James then sheathed his sword, and jerked him up by his collar to a roughly standing position.

"You are valuable for the information you carry about the Rifters. and potentially, about the one who was flying that airship. You could have spared yourself what's coming and told me what you know without your continued blasphemy. So again, all I can say to you on what's going to come is you brought this on yourself."

Giving him a shove toward the horse, of course he had shackles and rope in his saddlebags. he'd have to take him back to the Capital however to question him 'properly'. sparing a glance to the burning tents, and noting that his troops were probably a little outdone. while they felled several, the numbers game was indeed starting to catch up a bit.

"That's enough for today! Fall back, return to the Capital. what we're looking for isn't here, she must still have it. I think we've shown these heathen's enough wrath...now lets give them some compassion they hardly deserve."

Keeping one eye on the young man he was herding toward his horse.

[InherentlyRisky]

Ѵιɳcєɳт Ҏαтɾιcӄ Đιℓє

"Admittedly, that was the whole point of this half of the building." Vincent smiled, moving behind the display case. He leaned his elbows on it, watching her move around the store. He hooked a chair with his foot and brought it over, taking a seat. "The only people who really come in here are the people who want the back room." It was a pretty smooth operation. He'd say it was almost too smooth, but he felt like that would jinx it somehow. Things were running well so far, and he was able to buy watches off the unsuspecting customers that strolled in with the money he made from his real job.

By now he had even learned a thing or two about fixing watches. That helped things considerably. Hard to run a watch shop when you can't fix a watch. Vincent glanced up at Gypsy when she asked if there was anything new. He frowned a little, looking around. "Aah, yes, I think." He got up then and knelt behind the display case, easing open the sliding door at the back of it. After carefully wiping his hands on a cloth he kept in his pocket, he lifted two watches, one silver, one gold. "I don't think you've seen these yet. Don't get many new clocks. All about the watches now." He rested them on the top of the display, pushing them toward Gypsy to come and see.

≾Never let a little paranoia slow you down.≿

[THE Great Mysterious inu]

Gypsy

She pouted at the comment about his customers being there mostly for his weapons. They were good. Scary good. Which is a shame really. You have some really nice watches in here.

Her eyes then sparkled when she saw the new watches that he put infront of her, and she let out an almost audible Oooh! as she skittered forward to look at them closely.
She picked up the silver one and examined it, a small grin crossed her face.

Admittedly, she was probably one of his few customers who actually came in for watches as opposed to other things. She collected watches and clocks, and it helped him as well.
She weighed the silver watch in her hand. It was definitely pretty. She held it to her ear, and listened for the soft tick tock. She let out a small giggle, and set it down.

They're both very pretty. Fancy too. How'd you manage to get your hands on these? And how much are they going for these days? she asked leaning her elbows on the display case, her chin resting on her knuckles.
Just for cheekiness sake, she batted her eyelashes and tried hard to look cute.

[InherentlyRisky]

Ѵιɳcєɳт Ҏαтɾιcӄ Đιℓє

He shrugged. "Yeah, but. I dunno, I like them. So it's no great loss for me when no one comes in to buy. 'Cept you." He sat back in the chair when she scampered over and laughed, enjoying her enthusiasm. He leaned over when she set the watch back down and lifted it back up, giving it a quick polish before opening it up. "Here, look." He held it open for her to see, leaning over to peer at the etching at the top. It was simple, but it was detailed, swirling and sweeping into an ornate rose. "That's not something you see every day, huh?" He set that one down, then lifted the gold one. "And I think..." he trailed off, flipping the thing in his hands before letting it settle face down, fingers running over the edge before one of his nails found a little hatch. "Yup." gently, he eased the backing off, revealing a secret compartment. It was empty, of course, though it was very disappointing to Vincent when he first figured it out. "Secret compartment. Are these not the coolest watches or what." He grinned a bit, setting that one down too.

"Some guy sold 'em to me. Old family heirlooms or something. With times how they are, I guess it's hard to hold onto things that remind you of loved ones. And these won't be cheap. I can cut you a deal, though. I always do when you make that face." He grinned a bit, poking her nose. It was safe to assume he liked having Gypsy around. If nothing else, she was a good friend. Fun to talk to and even more fun to nerd out over watches with. Over the time he had been her shop-neighbor they'd really grown together. And he couldn't imagine not having her around anymore.

≾Never let a little paranoia slow you down.≿

[Sofie Argeneau]

Kiki had been on her way home from the market when she'd heard a muffled explosion. Ever the
curious soul she was more than a little startled to learn the source of the sound had come from
the clock shop she'd just passed a few minutes before. She wasn't on the main road having
opted to take a faster route home by traversing the back streets and so stopping in for a moment
hadn't been an option. At least, that was her excuse. Anything was better than feeling foolish
when she became all tongue tied talking to Vince.

All such things were forgotten, however, when she was struck with a fear for his well being.
Cutting through an alley between the clock store and the building next door she was on the main
road in a heart beat and pushing the door to the shop open with more vigor than was normal. The
little bells jingled almost violently and she didn't bother to look around before speaking.

"I heard an explosion!" despite her obvious concern her voice was quiet but there was a strength
to it that was undeniable. It was just the way Kiki was. Soft, gentle, not as out spoken as she
ought to be most times but she had a strength that couldn't be defined by physical attributes or
force of will. She was loyal and determined and she cared a great deal about people.

It took her only a second to realize that Vince was perfectly fine and that he wasn't alone. "Oh,
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... hello, Gypsy," she mumbled, a blush rising to tint her cheeks a rosy pink.

[THE Great Mysterious inu]

Gypsy

She chuckled and grinned up at Vincent.
Aw, that's sweet. she said before looking at the etching on the silver watch and the secret compartment on the gold one.
Hmmm I wonder what this was used for. Extra parts maybe? But yes. These are definitely the coolest I have seen.

She then made a goofy face and stuck out her tongue at him with a giggle when he poked her nose. Then she thought about the watches. She really liked the silver one. The rose reminded her of her mother who went by Rose. However the golden one with the secret compartment would be a bit more useful to her in her job.

Alright Vince.... she rubbed her chin and picked up the gold one. I don't want to buy out both of your new watches without letting anyone else get a chance at them. How much for the gold one? She looked up at him, a look of a serious buyer. She often had this look when it came down to the final deal. Buying a new watch was serious business.

She looked up when the door was swung open wildly, and blinked at the sudden entrance.
Oh. Hello Kiki. she said smiling warmly and straightening. Something the matter? she asked tilting her head.

[InherentlyRisky]

Ѵιɳcєɳт Ҏαтɾιcӄ Đιℓє

"Anything small enough, really. Small keepsakes. Little notes. You could do a lot with a secret compartment." He gingerly took the watch from her grasp and spun it around his finger with the chain, closing the compartment up again. He rolled the watch in his hands, idly checking for damages he already knew weren't there. "I haven't actually priced these yet," he admitted with a slight smile. "For you, say fifty?" He reached over, leaning just a bit to grab a little cloth bag for her to take it away in. However, the noise of the door being swung open with such force nearly knocked him out of his chair.

He didn't need to look up to know who it was. Her voice gave her away. He sat up, bag in hand, slipping the watch into it while grinning over at Kiki. "Kiki! Hey! Yeah, that was me." He set the bag down and rubbed the back of his head. "Nothing major. But don't worry about that! Check this out!" He hopped off the chair and moved a little further back, opening up a cabinet a little ways behind the counter. From there he pulled down a small box, blowing the dust off before cracking it open to reveal a dainty necklace. It was a thin gold chain with pearls set in it so that they'd be stationery on the chain, always an equal distance apart from one another. "Someone came by the other day and left this here while I was in the back. I don't know how to appraise or sell jewelry, so. If you like it you can have it." He shrugged a little, setting the box on the counter. Then he blinked and glanced at Gypsy.

"There's other stuff too. If you want. All I know how to do is clean them, and the people who drop them off don't want them back, so. I'm kind of stuck with them." He smiled a little at the pair of them. He didn't want to seem like he was favoring one over the other. He was fond of both girls and sincerely believed in fairness.He just didn't know what either of them liked when it came to.. well.. girly things. So he never thought to ask. The thing about Kiki was that he half felt a need to take care of her. Or at least give her something to smile about. It can't have been easy, what she'd gone through. So he made it a point to make sure she was in high spirits whenever he saw her. Which was fairly often. Most times they would just chat. Other times he would look through the old jewelry box and see if there was anything she liked. It varied.

≾Never let a little paranoia slow you down.≿

[Vicious`Mistress]

Șelena Ȼamilla

Jumping awake from her slumber at the base of an old tree, Selena scanned the area for possible danger. Ugh, the dreams. With a half yawn her hand grazed over her lips, trying not to make a noise. Her beautiful fire colored hair layed spread out above her head. The grass was soft beneath her, a soothing blanket under the shade of the tree. Daylight it was, noon it seemed, time for her to move.

Sitting to her feet, Selena brushed the leaves from her dress, begging to groom her hair with her fingers. Her hand tightened the strings at her dress then slipped on her flat pair of shoes. With a slight bend, she was to her feet, grasping a small bag not too far from her. It contained some food, water and everything needed for traveling alone, light.

Looking over the horizon she spotted a nearby village it seemed. Perhaps this could be the place? A place to stay and be safe, if not however, she would make due or continue on. Breathing in the air slowly she closed her eyes softly, as if making a wish. Opening them again, Selena let the breath out slowly then began to walk towards the village.

<Full Picture>

[Sofie Argeneau]

It was always awkward to barge in on other people when they were having a conversation and if it
had been a customer, other than Gypsy of course, Kiki would have been mortified rather than
simply so embarrassed she wanted to sink through the floor. Vincent's enthusiasm, however,
was contagious and when he waved her over to examine something she was hard pressed to
deny him. Offering Gypsy a smile she made her way over to the counter where Vincent had set down a box.

She set her basket on the table, it was full of things from the market: fruits and vegetables, some
soft bread, a few skeins of colorful yarn and some new knitting needles. "I'm glad no one got
hurt," she offered as she picked up the box and examined it. It was wooden and had likely
seen better days however the craftsmanship was superb. Even as she ran her fingers along the
surface she had the distinct impression that whatever it was, it was very old.

"Are you sure I can have this, Vincent?" she asked softly. She hadn't even opened up the
box yet so there might have been nothing more valuable inside than a stone bauble hanging from
a tarnished chain. She fixed him with that questioning stare a moment longer before flipping the
little metal latch and opening it up. The necklace inside was by far the prettiest that Kiki had ever
seen. The chain was thin, delicate and even she was worried she might break it if she wasn't
careful. Hanging from the end was a single ocean blue gem in the shape of a teardrop wrapped in
thin strings of silver. Who would give up such an breathing taking piece of jewelry? It always
warmed her that Vince seemed to have something around to make her day brighter. Things had
recently gotten harder at home what with her grandmother falling ill and the stress had brought
on nightmares Kiki had been sure she'd left behind in her childhood.

"I don't know what to say, Vincent, thank you," she said, unable to keep a smile from
taking over her lips. She held it in the air, allowing the stone to catch the light. "What do you
think, Gypsy? Isn't it lovely?"