The Unsettling City (under new management)

[Ixor Firebadger]

"And what is it to you?" she snaps. "You just came along to watch the fur fly."

"That....would be Ruby....why?" Kat ventures cautiously. She braces herself for what she knew must be coming.

[AnCatDubh]

"I came to show him where to go firstly, and only secondarily was it to see how you reacted," Steel countered, "Fur flying was when you and Kat were hit with that spell." He considered her a moment before saying, "Does it have anything to do with him reminding you of how you used to be, hm?"

Terra took a deep breath before saying, "...Kev is the one who took up the mantle. He was already a player beforehand, and...well, he was the first pick, and he took it." She crossed her arms and stared into space across the room, fingers tapping on her bicep. "So yeah, he's leader of the Seducers and Cyberknights, but it seems like I've been handling more and more of the leadership duties for them. He's also reckless and tends to rush into things without thinking or planning things through much yet. He's afraid people might think he's gay if he wears the wrong colors. He's also got a height complex, and he's afraid of the dark and has claustrophobia. He puts up a front but, on the inside, he's a mess, and he don't seem to really want to address any of it at all." Much as she tried not to, she couldn't keep a bitter edge of developing toward the end. In the end, she'd been more of a conquest to him than anything else, hadn't she?

[Aurelus LaCrois]

Would that it were allowed to come back down, as when he noticed it teeter at that point where the upwards momentum had equalized with gravity's reaction, his atms suddenly went like pistons, the discharge of his weapons causing his arms to thrust forth and then back, as he aimed several lighter blows to the bottom of the squad car to keep it balanced upright on its end, and then stomping down on the ground before twisting his whole body into a punch dead centre of the chassis.

[Ixor Firebadger]

Her tense moment of silence might be answer enough. "Do you have a point...?" She growls testily.

Kat takes a moment to let that settle in. "Well...I have problems with most of that..." Kat answers. "And Rachel has done her darnedest to convince me to become a Seducer. But I have problems with....physical intimacy..."

[Roaven]

"I didn't spend a ton of time out in the country." Roaven began when Ivory mentioned that she wasn't big on country music. "But I can tell you that's probably pretty sacrilegious. You didn't even mention guns." She noted, regarding er summary of country music. "Not much my thing either. Nor rap, of any era, really, not even just modern." She admitted. Audiobooks weren't something she had really looked into, but she imagined that they were probably pretty useful for one who suffered through, well, being incapable of reading. Hm, it did make her wonder of one could get audio spellbooks, though, for the less visually inclined mages. Hm. "Admittedly, the metal and the classical, different as they may be, fit my perception of you best. As for techno, well, I get my fill of that from a certain lab in Haven."

[AnCatDubh]

((Just a small-auto hit to add flavor to the scene))

The man wouldn't have time to line up the coup de gras shot on the car when...

"Oi! Asshat!" Whunk! A chunk of concrete, larger than a fist, landed a solid blow against the arm he intended on punching the sqaud car with. There was no inconsiderable amount of strength behind the toss, either, and it should be enough to knock him off balance and, more importantly, draw his attention away from the cops.

Standing just down the road was a tall young woman with somewhat messy hair and a confidant grin. "What are ya, a weakling that you have to go picking on cops like that?" she taunted, "You're a real piece of trash and I'm," now she thrust a thumb at herself, "Am going to toss you were ya belong!"

She was dressed in a tank top and jeans and barefoot, and there was a small waif of a young man hanging on her back and shoulders. The challenge might seem comical in light of that if not for the fact that the concrete chunk had hit with more force than just a normal human could throw.

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"Don't take it out on him that he remembers how to say thank you and mean it," he said. He rolled one shoulder, then the other, then added, "I know you want to be Independent, but treating your Other like that is just classless."

Terra considered that a few moments, then remarked, "You know, I think I'd rather he had intimacy issues..." She shook her head a bit and continued, "Still, you seem more level-headed than he is, so I'm going to hazard a guess that you've started addressing the issues at the least?"

__________________________________

Ivory waved her hand dismissively when the point of guns was brought up about country, saying "Whatever. They can just shoot at their beer cans that they've been drowning their sorrows in." She grinned when Roaven said that metal and clasical was the better fit for her and said, "It's even better when they fuse the two. Instrumental techno's also good. I suppose you would get an overload of techno visiting Daela's lab though. Only been there...twice, I think. I'd hazard the upbeat stuff she listens to is what keeps a smile plastered on her face, given what Hoeller did."

[Aurelus LaCrois]

"Hmph"

He glared back over his shoulder, before turning and stalking towards the pair. The car behind him would be allowed to slam into the ground forcefully, as he shook out the wrist that had been smacked with a concrete block, flexing the fingers. Anyone else that would have broken bones, but his species' bones had a bit of give. He didn't seem very displeased with their arrival, almost in fact the opposite, though they weren't who he'd been hoping to attract, they would make a fine distraction.

Widening his stance, he extended his arms before himself ready, slightly loosely held so the muscles were ready to tense at any moment, before his fingers flexed towards his palm in a beckoning gesture.

[Ixor Firebadger]

sammy scrambles down from Tatyana's back and takes a spot on the side, bring up a Psychic Shield, just in case. He'd stay out of it for now, unless Tat seemed to need his help.

Ruby whirls on him and out came all the anger and the hurt that she'd been holding onto. "Gee, thanks dad, I'll remember to be nicer next time I'm reminded how weak and helpless and vulnerable and fearful and and malleable and...unattractive I was." She couldn't bring herself to use the other 'U' word. "And that everyone liked be better that way. When I could be controlled," she spits. "What am I supposed to thank you for? For trying to tell me what to do and what risks I should take? For humiliating me and making me look incompetent in front of the Clan? You know they were starting to rebel, some of them. How did you miss that? Isn't that the kind of threat I asked you to watch out for? Instead, you were too busy sheltering and babysitting me and treating me like a child and making that threat worse. You tried to control me! And you haven't stopped!. You're still trying to figure out how to manipulate me, aren't you?"

"I've started to...yes...." Kat answers. "I don't how or why...just...that I don't think I would have come to that point if Terrence had given up on me...and I still have a long way to go..."

[Roaven]

"Something like that. Between the music and the toys, she gets through." Roaven nodded her agreement, frowning briefly when the topic became a bit more somber and Hoeller was brought up. She was far from an expert on the Blackguard, but she knew plenty enough to have a distaste for the whole thing. If she recalled, he had a hand in the Chimera incident as well, and she had been involved enough in that to develop a dislike for the man and his work. Science wasn't always pretty, she'd grant, but there were lines to cross, and he had crossed them. "On a lighter note, you ever look into folk metal? Dunno that you're much the fiddling type, but might suit you."

[AnCatDubh]

Down came the car with a crunch. The cop in the passenger seat quickly got out while the weirdo was distracted by the crazy person. The fallen cop behind the car gets dragged away, while the cop behind the wheel puts the car in reverse and gets well out of the way. Amazingly enough, the engine compartment still worked, though with much noise and complaint.

With Sammy off and to the side, Tatyana cricks her neck to one side, then the other. She then took her own stance. Much as she'd like to just charge in and lay the smack down on the guy, she'd learned better than to just do that against someone who knocked around cars as a play thing. So, she'd seemingly move in as a reckless charge, though it was a feint. If she could, she'd avoid any punch or kick he might throw to meet the charge and attempt to sweep him off his feet and deliver a punch of her own to the kidney.

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"And how do you know I wasn't already quietly watching the ones ready to rebel?" he countered, "And yes, I've had to 'babysit' you, as you put it, until you had a chance to properly learn how to handle yourself, something that I'm not entirely convinced of it if he," and he jerked his head back tow where they had just come from, "Bothers you so much. As for manipulating, yes, because you've been taking steps down a dark road. Are you that desperate to leave who you were behind as to become the sort of being that the Witch Queen wants you to be, that the people you call friends might just have to step in and take different measures?"

She was silent again for a few moments. Had she given up on Kevin? Terra wasn't sure that she had, but it had become more trying in dealing with him and keep him from morally sleeping. "Well, I'm glad he's been there for you," she said, giving Kat a genuine smile, "I'm sure you'll continue to improve."

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Ivory frowned faintly and admitted, "No, I don't think I have. I suppose I'll have to look into it next chance I get." Unlike her counterpart, who had bodygaurding duties, she had more free time to herself. Part of that time was spent on topiary, some was on entertaining the orphans. Aleria was always eager for "Ghost Lady's" stories of dealing with the undead.

[Ixor Firebadger]

Ruby blinks. Had he been? "If that's that case, how could I know? You never said anything..." The fight seems to go out of her, showing a glimpse of the old, unsure girl she had been. "What I want...is to be treated like...like what i am now." And then her new found assertiveness is back. "I'm a full-grown woman and a god damn Queen." Her tone gentles, and she all but mumbles what was probably the most apology he was going to get out of her. "I might have handled it poorly, but what else could I do? Even some of the more loyal Seducers were beginning to doubt me because of...because of the way you acted with me. I flt like...I had to prove them wrong..."

Kat smiles back, looking encouraged. "Thanks." Her and Terrence's relationship had hit a bit of a plateau, but neither had there been much drama. Kat wore less make-up now, but it was so insignificant a difference only her closest friends and family, and perhaps those who knew her and were keenly observant would notice.

[Roaven]

"Right, well, pleasant as the small talk is, we should probably focus again." Roaven noted, having enjoyed the chatting, but they were getting towards the city proper, and given how many unknowns there still were about...well, everything, she wanted to be careful as they made their way in. Well, hopefully there was a convention of some sort on, because Ivory....well, she didn't exactly blend. Great for drama, not so perfect for just being part of the crowd. Of course, she wasn't in any position to talk, given her current outfit, but she had been on a job, not expecting to prowl the streets of the city. "On that note, we should find some high ground and try to stay out of sight. We're not exactly dressed casually, as wonderful as I'm sure both of our outfits are." Not that Ivory could really tell, but she at least knew how to make herself look intimidating, so points for that.

[AnCatDubh]

Steel held up his arm and hold his neck to make it looked like he had hung himself, then said, "I was letting them play out the rope, seeing just how much of a threat they were. Nothing hits home harder than letting conspiricists think they're getting away, only to get hammered hard. I would have let you know at the right time." He released the "noose" and made a hammering gesture with his hands, "And speaking of hitting hard, while you may hove shown them that you were capable, I wouldn't put it past them to think that it might have been a gauche display. You're leader of a clan of socialites that uses words for weapons. Politics are all about spin, and I've seen more than a bit among the Deathlords. A Queen is allowed advisers, after all, and perhaps I was a little too...forward, perhaps things are ripe where I can step back more."

"You're welcome," Terra said. She sighed and looked over at Eli with his feet up like that. "Well, I'm feeling kind of useless here right now, I'm thinking perhaps I should go out and patrol for that dragon juicer."

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Ivory smiled conspiratorially and suggested, "Well, there is the possibility of checking out to see if Pockycon is still going on here. We wouldn't be out of place there, and it'd also be a place to listen and see what the people have to say about the city."

[Roaven]

"Wait, wait, wait." Roaven replied, holding up a hand and quirking an eyebrow towards Ivory. "Are you seriously suggesting blending in? Keeping a low profile?" She was understandably suspicious, but maybe she was rubbing off on the dealbound. She could only hope, at any rate. The smile made her a bit wary, but she wrote it off as merely her wanting to show off a bit at the con and get some attention. Which was fair enough, she could keep a low profile, and she doubted Ivory would attempt to drag her into things. Wasn't high ground, per se, but it was unlikely anyone would recognize them, given the abundance of costumes and such, and it would be a good opportunity to see if they could get a finger on the pulse of the city, so to speak. "Well, I'm not going to object."

[Lady Lai]

It took some work, but Rimmerish finally got settled in...picked up a gardening job within the Haven and also some Alchemy studies. She still needed to go back and see the Doctor now that she was all settled in, had her passes and place to rest and all. That could come later.

She wanted to meet up with Darren, see how he was doing and tell him all of her accomplishments. Man was she ever happy about that. So going into her room for a moment where the rest of her things were she figured she'd give Darren a ring, see if he was busy, or if she could meet up with him somewhere.

She wasn't wearing the outfit that accentuated her body....but things more loose and fit her better. A white shirt...and long deep red dress that matched her red tipped hair and bangs. She still wore boots under the skirt, always finding it more comfortable.