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 Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 9:24 pm
Middling was always crowded. So it came to no surprise when Diogenes quickly found himself completely lost in it. It wasn't like he had anywhere in particular to go, but he didn't really like being crushed by adults 3 feet taller than him either. After his meeting with the cookie-lady - as he had come to call her - Diogenes had simply wandered around the city, completely lost.
As he was now, for a matter of fact.
The city was a bit to large for the nine-year old to handle by himself, he realized that much. And the prospect of this ' game' that Cernunnos had originally baited with him with had evaporated completely. He was in a city. On his own. And he knew absolutely nobody.
Wonderful.
The day found him as usual. Running. Away from a merchant man who's purse he had stolen. For food purposes, of course. How else was he supposed to survive? It wasn't like he could get a job or anything.
Bumping into various people, the godling stumbled in and out of the crowds, creating a line of chaos and angry citizens behind him.
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 9:41 pm
"My god, what have I gotten myself into? What will Mama say? Papa? Can I tell them?" Yes, Zyanya was talking to herself as she walked through Middling, wandering aimlessly after leaving Seasons. The flowers Persy had given her were clutched tightly against her chest, and the necklace which was apparently a gift from Chalchiuhtlicue was firmly around her neck.
Calm down, conetl. It will be all right. Take deep breaths. I cannot have you having an..What is it they call it? Anurism? So soon. I need you in one piece.
"Well good luck with that! I don't even know your name and you expect me to die for you!"
You do not know my name because I have not yet decided you should have it. You will be safer if you know nothing.
"I would be safer if I knew something!" she snapped, several people looking at her oddly for talking to herself. "Mierda," she hissed to herself, knowing she shouldn't be cursing but figuring the situation warranted it.
Trust me to know what's good for you or not, conetl, Chal said softly, calmly, And trust your gut. By the way - watch out.
"Wait, what?" She didn't have a chance to get an answer. She, instead, was plowed into by a very colorful boy. "Mierda!" she cursed again.
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 10:24 pm
In one moment, Diogenes went from the running to the ground. Taken by surprise, he couldn't hold back a yell of surprise .
Hey, boy! The god's presence came quickly, sounding more amused than worried. Are you okay? Get up! That man may still be after you!
Diogenes obeyed, but did not respond. He turned quizzically towards the source of his problems. It was a girl. With feathers in her hair. With the short attention span befitting his age, His eyes suddenly widened. She looked funny. Rather than pointing out what may have been possibly insulting, he suddenly realized that he had in fact just ran into her and may just want to apologize.
"I'm terribly, terribly sorry!" He squeaked, going from quizzical to apologetic, "Um..." He quickly turned around. Surprisingly, the indignant shouts of his victim were nowhere to be heard. Relieved, he turned back to the girl, no longer in a rush.
"Er... my apologies! I hope you weren't to terribly injured...?"
Please stop with the chivalry boy. I think you're making me slightly ill.
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 10:56 pm
Oh, had Zyanya been in a worse mood, Diogenes would likely have her tongue wagging. However, the flowers hadn't been tipped over and she had an opportunity to have one up over her betrothed and that made everything just fine. Other than the pain in her chest from being plowed into, anyway.
"No, I'm not," she answered, rubbing her chest which had a bit too much pressure added from the pot that had been jammed into it, "But hurt enough. Watch where you're going, chico." Thankfully, she hadn't been knocked to the ground.
"Why are you running?" Of course, stealing wasn't something Zyanya immediately thought of.
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 11:11 pm
"Um..." He was a bit tongue-tied to answer that question.
Make something up boy!
"I... like running?" It came out sounding slightly more like a question than Diogenes would have liked, and he grinned apologetically. He quickly moved his left hand - the one holding the purse - into his pants pocket, releasing it gently so that the coins did not jingle revealingly.
Realizing he was not doing a good job at convincing, he changed the subject. "So, um... I am so glad that thou - er, you, weren't too badly hurt. Who are those flowers for, may I ask? They're quite beautiful. I'm sure whoever their for will enjoy them very much."
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Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 11:22 pm
"Somehow, I do not believe that," Zyanya said, though she laughed, "But I'm not going to push. The flowers are for my mother." Why she needed them, she wouldn't disclose, but that small tidbit was likely enough information. "I hope that she'll like them."
At least, she better like them, Zyanya thought to herself, taking a slow breath as the pain in her chest began to ebb away.
"Didn't know that men held purses," she teased lightly, watching his hand slip into his pocket.
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 12:06 am
Diogenes scowled at her last comment, turning bright red in the process. "It's my, my mother's!" He shouted defensively. "She sent me on several errands! If thee must know!" He shut his mouth and sulked for a good 5 seconds or so, before his curiosity got the better of him and a wave of questions flowed out.
"Why dost thou have feathers in thy hair? They're not attached, are they? Canst thou speak another language? How old art thou, er, you? Dost thou have a name, because I'm entirely sure what to address you as...?"
His scrawny, adolescent chest as he took a deep breath and proudly exclaimed, "You can call me Diogenes Voltaire!"
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 8:26 am
Writ had been scamming people out of money for a while now- taking money from beguiled victims to the point that it became an art. It was simple. Find someone who didn't know Middling all that well, be a little charming b*****d and pay for their meal and show them around- a few shops, a few cafes, stuff like that. Then he'd charm the money out of them, convincing them to spend on some expensive trinket or costly dessert. After the day was through, he'd go back to the shops and take his share of the profit. He ended up with more than he spent on paying for the person's meal.
He was going to collect from a particular merchant, before some kid snatched the money satchel from the table. The merchant screamed after the boy as he disappeared into the crowd. The man started after him. But Writ held him back.
"I'll get him."
There were yells of fear as a Coyote ran through the crowd. After a few swift strides. He caught up with the thief and started changing back, just in time to grab a piece of conversation between the two kids.
"Your mom, huh?" Writ put a slowly changing hand on Diogenes' shoulder, he gently pinched a slowly changing claw into his shoulder, "Kid, most of that money was already stolen before you came along."
He looked to the girl curiously, "And the kid's got a good point" He shook Diogenes by the shoulder, "What's with the feathers?"
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 12:20 pm
The shouting came as a surprise to the young girl, though instead of crying, like most ten year old girls would do when faced with a shouting boy, she simply raised a brow, "You speak funny, Chico, she said with a laugh, "But there's no reason to get defensive. Not to yell at me either, yes?"
The sulk was making Chalchiuhtlicue laugh in the back of her head, and she sent a mental dirty look to her. It wasn't nice to make fun of others - but of course the Goddess paid no mind to her Prophet's displeasure of it.
She was about to answer the outpour of questions when a boy just..appeared. Where a coyote had been moments before. Insert a shell-shocked Zyanya right there, eyes widening. The pot of flowers was held tighter to her chest, and she blurted out possibly the worst thing she could have.
"Dios! You're playing the Game!"
Hush, conetl. You just gave away your advantage!
The questions coming toward her were fully ignored for the moment, knuckles near turning white from gripping the pot so heavily. Would she be able to do that? Turn into an animal?
No, that will not be your power, conetl.
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 6:26 pm
There was a sudden weight on the boy's shoulder, causing him to visible stiffen. He turned cautiously, the color draining from his face. Another boy stared back at him, definitely very much older. And he was funny looking.
Diogenes paled when the boy, started talking to him, completely blowing away his shoddy lie. Diogenes glared back at him, though inwardly he was fighting very hard to fight back tears. "I - " he began to protest, albeit weakly, when the girl interrupted. She seemed to have completely glazed over the fact that he had just lied to her. Good.
Mentally, he heard Cernunnos whoop with apparent glee.
How stupid was that! They just completely gave away their cover! Act smooth boy, pretend you don't know what their talking about. We can't let them know we're in the game!
"What game?" He relaxed a bit, talking to the girl in a curious tone, but still warily watching the black-haired boy.
He should have never stolen that stupid purse.
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 9:00 pm
((I'm assuming Dio didn't do anything to hide stuff.))
"You noticed? Name's Writ." He smiled at the girl before he turned back to the boy. His happy face turned into a stern glare in an instant, "I think you know what we're talking about, ya pointed ear thief." Writ growled, failing to see the irony in that that same exact phrase could describe him.
He blew out some air underneath his bangs.
"You two are new, huh?" He studyed them, "Been a while since I've seen a girl player." He nodded to Zyana. "You, on the other hand-" Writ turned the boy around and looked at the boy's multicolored eyes with his gold ones, "I don' think I've seen a player that didn't have something funny with their eyes."
"I told you my name, what about you two?"
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 9:22 pm
Writ bringing attention to Diogenes' ears made Zyanya's eyes trail toward them. Yes, she hadn't noticed them before. Why would he have lied?
Because, conetl, it is better to not be known. There are dangers. You have already blown your cover.
Had it been possible for the girl to pale, she probably would have. However, she seemed to have a tight reign on her emotions after her initial shock. This kid was talking so casually about it. Honestly, if it hadn't been for the voice in her head, she likely would have thought Persy had been pulling her leg.
Do not give your name.
"My name's--" Do not give your name, conetl!, "Celia." she said quickly, almost too quickly. It had been the first name she thought of, and her sister's. "Celia Perez." There. Now her sister wasn't in danger, and technically her last name would eventually be Perez.
Why can't I use my name?
Because, conetl, names are power. You do not give them lightly, do you understand me?
Si. though she didn't quite.
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 10:14 pm
"Just because my ears are pointed does not mean I am part of this Game." Diogenes pointed out. It was almost true, since mentioning it those many months before, and meeting the cookie-lady, Diogenes hadn't done anything Game-related. "Thou art one to talk, in any case. At least mine look slightly normal..." he really didn't like the way the boy was looking at him. Having any enemy in someone that old would not help him survive the Game. Which he still really didn't understand. In fact, it'd probably be better if he was on his side. The jig was up anyways, he obviously knew about the purse so...
"Diogenes Voltaire." He said abruptly, "I'm very sorry Writ, for taking thy purse. However I would think that you, being a native to this city, knows it's the only way for a kid to survive..."
Boy, don't do it, I know what your thinking...
"Here." He stiffly reached into his pocket and pulled out the purse and held it out for Writ. "Beg pardon Writ."
He then stuffed his hands in his pocket, abashed in the most immature, 9-year-old way possible.
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 3:17 pm
"Kid, I've been playing the game for a while now, give me some credit." Writ had calmed down a bit after the money was given to him.
"So Celia... And Di- Di... Uhh Yeah."
Unlike the other two gods, Coyote really didn't bother with the hiding. He didn't go out on the godly features like Morrigan, but he had Writ at least be noticable. There wasn't any point in hiding really, players will eventually know about one another sson enough. Best to make at least have some familiarity. People aren't so quick to kill someone they knew.
Plus, Coyote was busy doing his own thing to really give his godling any advice.
Writ looked at Diogenes, "What, you don' have parents or something?" It was probable, look at Jubs. He sighed, "Fine, let's just give this back, then we can get something to eat."
He walked and looked at the two again, "Coming?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 4:05 pm
Well, considering Zyanya had just entered the game and literally knew...very little about it, other than the fact she was now officially a target for nasty things and could, eventually, get nifty powers and take over the world, she'd take Writ's word for Diogenes being in the game.
Deciding to venture a question, she eyed Writ, "How long have you been playing?" she said quietly, fiddling with the flowers still clutched tightly to her chest. Hopefully she wouldn't lose them on the way to the library, and then home. She really hadn't expected to go anywhere, but meeting players so early in the game was good, right? Maybe she could observe them.
Food really sounded good, so instead of pulling away and going on her own way, she nodded and took a few steps toward him, "Si, I'll come."
How come I do not have any odd features?
Zyanya, those marks under your eyes are not a birth mark. Well, they are, but I put them there. That is your mark from me. You will gain more, later.
What are my powers?
That's a discussion for later. Now. Observe these players, and find as much as you can out about them, conetl. Good luck!
Wait!
But Chalchiuhtlicue was gone, and Zyanya frowned. Hmph! "Where to eat, then?" she asked, clutching her pot tighter.
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