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 Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 11:24 pm
Lucretia could forget some things fairly easily. Things she said she would do for her siblings would just slip her mind, and for the life of her, the ice rose girl would not be able to remember an hour later that she had even made a promise. Sometimes, her mind would wander while she was in the middle of doing something, and before she knew it, Lucretia would have no idea what she had been up to.
Two things always stuck in her memory, though. Things her father told her to do, and that red-and-black-haired Raeven, Rivener.
The former was something that did not trouble the girl at all; her father was her father, and so of course she could never forget him. Rivener was a different matter, though. He had been so rude, and had judged her in a moment. Lucretia found her thoughts wandering back to him, and to that meeting, far more often than she would have liked.
Fortunately, she had been granted more freedom to leave the house when she wanted. Kumoru set very specific limits on how long she could be gone, of course, but Lucretia had been surprised that he allowed her out at all. It felt odd, but it was permitted, and so she took advantage of it.
And today, she decided that she would try again to find Rivener. She had a bone to pick with him, about his attitude and who "Roux" was. All Lucretia knew about the male Raevan was that her father had encountered him once at a pizza parlor. It was one not too far from where they lived; close enough that the bus would not really quite be worth it, even. So Lucretia set out to the pizza parlor, bristling with energy for the confrontation, and the hope that she would even be able to find Rivener in the first place.
If nothing else, she might find someone else who knew him, anyway.
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 10:22 am
That day, Mario himself was working at the parlor, a rare thing for the manager. He'd much rather be in the back, checking paperwork and making orders to their suppliers, but today his usual cooks had to take a day off. Mario didn't dislike doing this, but he was fearful of orders being made late, or payments being missed...
As the door jingled open, Mario looked up, startled for a moment. A floating person! Just like Aphismet's trouble-making Rivener! Mario hadn't seen someone like this for a long time, over a year now. He smiled pleasantly at the pale blue lady, walking to the front counter to greet her. She was alone... Was this really usual for these floating torsos to be left alone?
"Hello, bella. How can I help you?" He leaned on the counter, hoping she wouldn't be as difficult as Rivener normally had been.
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 10:37 am
Lucretia looked around the store as she entered, as though she half expected a fist-fight right then and there. Seeing no one but a man behind the counter, though, the intense expression upon her face faded in a few seconds to its usual somewhat bored-looking appearance. She approached the counter, and rested her hands on it when she reached it, leaning forward a little to study the unfamiliar man as she spoke.
"I'm looking for someone, actually. My father said he used to work here, I think." She paused a moment, and glanced down at where the rest of her body would be, if she had one. "He's like me, with nothing below his ribs but a glowing rune. All red and black, with long hair and little wings. Do you know him? Or, where he is now?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 10:48 am
Mario chuckled. Made sense that this one would be looking for the other one like her. "Ah, si, si. That's Rivener, Aphismet's, er... Ward, I suppose might be the right word? Son? Charge? At any rate, yes I know him, but I'm afraid he and Aphismet do not work here. They left quite a while ago."
Mario shrugged, dusting his hands on his apron. "Last I heard they lived in Durem Caves North, in a biiiiiiig, haunted-looking house. It's out in the middle of nowhere so you'll have a hard time finding it. I don't know the exact adress. If you want, though, you can find Aphismet. He works at the Crystal Carafe in Durem, now. It's a fancy restaurant, on the top floor of a big hotel there..." With a sad sigh, the Italian smiled at the girl. "Sorry I can't help you more than that, bella. I hope you find him!"
He offered her a small cup of ice-cold soda in compensation. "Here, for the road, bella."
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 11:16 am
As the manager spoke, Lucretia's gaze wandered off to the side and out the window. She nodded occasionally, showing that she was still paying attention, more or less, but by looking at her, there was a lot of room for doubt.
At the offering of cold soda, the ice-rose Raevan turned back to the man, and she smiled a little. Taking the cup in both hands, she blew gently across the surface of the soda, freezing it a little and releasing a little cloud of condensation.
"Thank you, sir," she told him with a small bow that seemed awkward due to her lack of a body. "I think I've seen the Crystal Carafe from the bus before. It's near the Blue-fifty-seven line, right? I'll look there then, I guess."
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 11:27 am
Mario simply watched in wonder as the little lady froze her soda to perfection. These floating half-people were quite amazing. At least this one wasn't keen on harming people, it seemed. That's good. He nodded at her words, confirming the location of the restaurant.
"Good luck," Mario called after the girl as she left.
Aphismet had been at work for a few hours already. Rivener wandered around outside, pondering if the new camera lens was really worth going up to the restaurant and asking Aph for the money. The man wouldn't like being bothered at work, and he'd more than once forbidden Rivener to go there in case he felt like poisoning the customers in a fit of bad mood. Riv knew Aphi wouldn't actually DO anything if Rivener went up there, but he wouldn't be happy, and that might affect Riv's chance of getting the money he wanted.
Really, he should just head home and wait for Aphismet to come back from work. He would ask then, and Aphi would probably say yes. He'd been in such a good mood lately, since Chloe was back... But the sale ended today! Tomorrow it would be more expensive!
Frowning, arms crossed, Rivener floated in place and mulled it over and over, hovering near the large front doors of the hotel.
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:23 pm
Fortunately, the Blue-fifty-seven bus station was not far away. After walking a few blocks, Lucretia rushed the last two to reach the stop just in time to catch the bus downtown. She rode it until she passed the hotel and restaurant, as she could not quite remember the exact stop, and was surprised to see her quarry just waiting around out in front of the place.
She immediately pressed her hands against the window as she fixed him with her gaze, and when she got off of the bus at the next stop, Lucretia's condensed breath had frozen onto the glass. Once she had parted with her quarter and was on the sidewalk again, the ice rose girl headed straight back towards where she had seen Rivener, features filled with intensity again.
"There you are!" she called as she drew close, her voice sounding a bit shrill like an owl's cry. "We need to talk."
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:30 pm
Rivener's eyes narrowed as he heard a shrill girl's voice, yelling at some poor sap. Probably a girlfriend who'd just found her boyfriend, and was going to break up. Never for a second did Rivener expect that HE was the one this voice was directed at.
Rivener glanced over his shoulder at the ruckus, expecting to see some human girl glaring at some boy, hands on her hips. Instead, he was faced with a Raevan floating towards him. He blinked in surprise before his features fell into their usual disdainful, hating configuration. He turned to face her.
"I remember you," he said, his voice scathing and dripping with venom. "What do you want? I got nothing to talk to you about." Crossing his arms again, Rivener tilted his head up, giving the girl his best Roux-inspired I'm better than you look.
Red eyes glanced around momentarily, searching for Lucretia's guardian. Asahi, was his name, Rivener recalled. He seemed to be nowhere around. Had the owl-Frei come by on her own, then? With a malicious smirk, Rivener riveted his eyes back on the girl. Good, nobody to get in the way of their "talking".
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:40 pm
"And I'd like to know why," the girl hissed back. Oh, she had been through this conversation in her mind a hundred times before, and somehow, Lucretia's mind had conjured up an opposing Rivener who was far scarier than the true one before her now. Kumoru always emphasized politeness, diplomacy... but this was something she was unable to remain subdued about. Rivener had thrown the first punch, in her mind, when they had first met, and Lucretia subsequently felt no need to exercise her father's civil mannerisms.
Of course, she still considered it as grave a transgression as Kumoru would have, that Rivener had been so impolite. "I met you once previously, and you treated me quite poorly. Who is 'Roux' and why does he or she or it permit you to act this way towards me?"
She had nearly finished the ice from her soda on the bus, but the soda itself still remained in the cup; at Lucretia's anger, both the sweat on the outside of the little paper cup as well as the contents of the cup itself started to freeze where they were closest to her hand. Her skin seemed almost whiter, if that was possible, and what little humidity there was in the air at the moment began to condense around her icy form, shrouding the furious Raevan in a very thin fog.
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:59 pm
Rivener frowned at the Raevan who faced him. "You came all this way for THAT?" He scoffed, smirking at her hatefully, although he noticed the cooling air around Lucretia with a little unease. If she felt like attacking him, it would really hurt, but Rivener was sure he'd hurt her just as badly. Still, he'd like to spare himself cold-induced pain if he could. Better to just talk to her for a while, and if she got to be too damn annoying he could just leave.
"Roux doesn't need to PERMIT me to do anything. I do what I want. I acted poorly towards you because I don't like you. And Roux won't like you either, so there's no reason for you to even ask about him."
There, he'd answered her stupid questions. Maybe she'd leave him alone now. "Ya happy now? So just go back home and leave me alone, you're annoying." Riv glared, lips tightening into a disapproving line.
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:12 pm
"Who is Roux?" she demanded, the feathers on her head standing up a bit straighter. "I should like to know, though I can't imagine why anyone else would enjoy your company if you act like this towards everyone. Either that or he's just as rotten a person as you are."
Lucretia cast the paper cup aside and clenched her fists; the soda had turned to solid ice. She was fairly certain she would get hurt if it did come to blows, but she was not about to back down because of it. His hate vexed her deeply; Lucretia knew she had done nothing wrong, but, at the moment, was not afraid to change that to find out what she wanted to know. The little rose had thorns, alright.
"I don't care much for you either, so the sooner you answer me, the sooner I won't have to look at you anymore."
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:23 pm
Rivener bristled at hearing her call Roux a rotten person. He flared his wings, stingers raising threateningly, and uncrossed his arms, fists at his side just as Lucretia's were at hers.
"You girls are all the same! The minute things don't go your way you're all upset and demanding, "Waaah, waah, I want, I want, me, me, me!" Well, just so you can shut the hell up, I'll tell you; Roux is a Raevan like us, but he's MINE, MY friend! He's the best, more beautiful Raevan there is, and he's so much better than you, that you don't even deserve to ever SEE him! Don't you dare call such a perfect person Rotten! You selfish, childish, stupid girl!!!"
Patrons who were walking nearby had to stop and look now, as the red-and-black Raevan's voice rose to near-screaming. He fumed, his wings shivering with anticipation, begging to be allowed to strike. Riv had just meant to reply calmly, but he'd gotten carried away very quickly, as usual.
"Now get outta my sight before I-..." He let it hang, gritting his teeth, wondering if he'd really go through with it if she stayed. He wasn't sure at all.
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 3:45 pm
Lucretia was honestly a bit shocked at how upset he got. She almost felt bad about what she said, too. Almost. It got her the information she wanted, though, that was for sure.
And, since her aim had been to get her questions answered and not to fight with Rivener, the ice rose Raevan decided that she was done. In a few moments, Lucretia's intensity all but vanished, the light robe of fog dissipated, and her stance became more relaxed. Brushing a lock of hair back out of her face, she shrugged a little and crossed her arms.
"Okay. All I wanted to know," she said, her face deadpan again, except for maybe the slightest twinge of anger left in her brow at the insults Rivener had hurled. She kept her eye on him as she bent to pick up her frozen cup of soda, lazily murmuring, "Right, shouldn't litter," and began to back off, but did not show her back to Rivener yet.
She could always find Roux herself, she figured. With any luck, the search would not further involve Rivener, too. The impulsive, immature, rude fellow that he was.
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:16 pm
Rivener huffed, frowning, still angry at the girl, but secretly glad that she was backing down. He really didn't want to sting other Raevans, it seemed, even if they were annoying girls. He crossed his arms and watched her as she picked up her cup.
Her demeanor had already changed completely, and she was as deadpan as the first time he'd met her. At least she wasn't completely frozen.
He waited, growling in the back of his throat, eager to have her leave. "Well?!" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Excuse me," a man said, coming closer carefully. The doormen knew Rivener, of course; he came here sometimes with Aphismet. "Please lower your voice or we'll have to ask you to leave."
Rivener glowered at the man, before snapping his eyes back to Lucretia, daring her to say something snarky.
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:43 pm
As though Rivener had suddenly disappeared from Lucretia's world, she shrugged a little and rolled her eyes, and turned to drift back up the sidewalk in the direction she had come from. Hopefully the wait for the next bus would not be too long, but even if it was, she had her frozen soda.
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