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 Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:22 am
Someone, anyone, must have known. There must have been one person in this entire gosh-darn city that would have seen a twenty-something man with cat ears being either kidnapped or wondering around like he was stoned. Though with Valeriu, having wedged himself into their community and having stood so steadfastly in his place, many of the middling denizens had already found him as just another oddity. Sure, they wouldn’t talk to the freaks from his house, but they found them no strange sight along the streets around their home.
And so Tepin needed to branch out. There was no way that she would get any coherent answers. The twins would have covered every corner of Middling anyway, asking everyone they knew and many that they didn’t (in the most pushy and obnoxious way possible.) To try anywhere near Middling would be utterly useless. But where else did Varu ever go? There were only a few places she had ever seen him.
Work, the store, the babysitter’s house, and home. Those were the places where people would recognize him. Seeing as how the final three had already been questioned to no tomorrow, that left only one last place to check: the many worksites throughout the town.
And of those, Tepin only knew the location of two. Middling, and the downers.
Which meant that of the intelligent places to check-- Well… She was headed down.
Downers was a scary place. Tepin knew this well enough. The only time she had even been there, Varu had met another Godling, and they had tried to fight. This time, there was no hiding behind her innocent looks. She knew that if there were any other players, she would have to fight.
It made her anxious. After the jungle, she wasn’t really sure about herself. Had she gotten a power boost?
Looking over the crippled buildings, Tepin couldn’t help but have the hair on the back of her neck stand on edge. A tanned hand grazed over the aged brick of a nearby wall. Downers felt as if it were the perfect place for Godlings to roam.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 2:47 pm
There was a tinge of paranoia Writ felt when he opened the door of his apartment building. He was happy that he found a solid place he can call home, but he was beginning to realize the unfortunate possibilities this had in store. Soon enough Godlings will figure out where he lived, and then the Blacksuits will. If anybody wanted to kill him, he would be a lot easier target to find. Writ felt more uncomfortable having a home than he was than wandering the streets.
So he made a promise to himself to stay out as long as possible before going back. Maybe even sleepover at Quinn's or Fish's if he was in the neighborhood. He stepped off of the stoop, and glanced around the walls and pricked up his ears. It was his third day in his new apartment, but he didn't know how fast the Blacksuits got their information- and he didn't want to take any chances.
He didn't see anyone around the front wall of the building, so he slipped down the alleyways. There, he found Vale's blonde "Princess" all grown up with her hands on his building.
"I had a hunch you were a player." He said to her from the end of the alley, "Couldn't really tell the first time we met, but it's pretty obvious now."
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 8:55 pm
Her eyes snapped up to his face, and a look of pure and raw defiance graced he own.
This was the man that had nearly attacked Vale, even though she was there. The older player, who even Valeriu had feared.
But they had gone out together, hadn’t they? What kind of ground was she standing on, here? It was a dangerous place to be, with too many uncertainties.
It was entirely possible that this man was the one who had kidnapped Valeriu the day before.
“How good for you.” Her hand tightened against the bricks of the wall-- she had to at least appear as though she was composed, “But it’s not like we were hiding it.”
A trapped rat. That was exactly what she was. Every ounce of fear that had clutched at her their first meeting seemed to be pouring back to her in a horrible wave of nostalgia.
She had to keep calm, and she had to look as if she was confident.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 9:33 pm
Writ tilted his head. It's been a while since he's seen a girl godling in her teens. He would've honestly went ahead with the sparkles if he didn't meet her when she was little. There was just something awkward of trying to charm someone who's really not as old as they looked. Besides, if he remembered their last meeting correctly, the girl seemed terrified of him. Or was she scared of Vale? He couldn't tell.
"Some flaunt it more than others." Writ shrugged and leaned against the wall, "So, what brings you to my humble abode?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 9:44 pm
“It’s not like I’m here for you.” She seemed almost embarrassed, even despite how hostile she was trying to sound. It was true, too. What did he think he was doing, making light conversation like that? “It’s a coincidence that I ended up near where you live.”
Though he would be a good source of information, Tepin didn’t want to let him in on what had happened. Giving away information was never a good idea, especially when it could endanger both her and Valeriu.
In fact, the safest course of action would probably be to get the heck out of there and rush back home. Even if Valeriu was still recovering from his wounds and surgery, he’d be some sort of protection against other Godlings.
She took a step, even despite her fear. The further she got, the better. Even if it meant that she had to pass by the man to get home-- she had to do it. Refusing to do so would only leave her trapped for longer.
But would he even let her pass? She was too uncertain.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:04 pm
"Who are you here for then?" Writ didn't know this godling at all. For all he knew, she was here for his head. Nuka and the rest of the coyotes he knew were elsewhere, he'd have to take on this kid on his own. Not that he was too worried about confronting her-- but he would prefer if that the both of them would leave this alleyway unscathed.
He just wanted to buy some groceries, go back home and finish the day figuring out how to cook the mess. He had a busy few days ahead of him, from meeting Fish at the sewers to other interesting plans, today was his rest day.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:22 pm
She titled her head to look at him sidelong. He didn’t seem to be outright violent. She’d probably get by without any injuries, if she continued to be… --Well, if she didn’t attack, she doubted he would.
“I’m not here for anyone in particular.” What was his deal, anyway? “Why does it matter? It’s not like its any of your business what I do.”
Was it some weird Godling thing to keep tabs on each other? She was probably being naive. By tomorrow her and Vale’d be taken out by this man’s posse, or something like that.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:35 pm
"Well..." Writ pushed himself off the wall and came a little closer to the girl, "I find it kind of weird that Vale's not with you. I was under the impression that he wouldn't leave his 'stray princess' all alone."
Writ didn't want a fight, but he did want information. What she was doing now could be a hint at something she planned to do in the future, and he wanted to know what was going on.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:46 pm
“Just because he takes care of me doesn’t mean he’s with me all the time.” She shifted her weight, hand gripping her arm uncomfortably, “I am capable of being on my own.”
Whatever the balance of power here seemed to be, Tepin could tell that she was losing. This guy had way more information than she did, and an added bonus of knowing the terrain. Whenever she tried to get the one up on him, he seemed to have some sort of retort.
Talking her way out of this was not working out so well, after all.
“What-- are you gunna drag me back to him or something? I’m not his pet.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:21 pm
"Hey, I'm not saying you are." Writ raised an eyebrow. She seemed uncomfortable. Was he really that scary? Well, maybe it wasn't him as much as it was the prospect of death. He was the older player, and he had as much god-given license to kill as every other kid who happened to be lucky enough to get chosen.
"Even if I knew where that guy was, I'm not his lackey. I'm just a friend who wants to talk to him. I figure you might know best."
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 10:59 pm
Her attention was caught-- something he had said seemed to grab her.
“You haven’t talked to him lately?”
Did that mean before or after the last few days of hell? Probably after, knowing how Valeriu was with cell phones. But when had the conversation changed from why she was on her own to whether or not Valeriu was alright? That was a strange notion all of itself.
“I do know best.” If anyone was to question her, she would be more than happy to prove them wrong. “And I know enough that if you want to talk to him, then you should go to him. I’m not his messenger either.”
The sooner she could get out of this, the better. Varu could take care of any misunderstandings later.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 11:52 pm
"I tried his cell, he didn't pick up." Writ was slightly annoyed at how difficult this girl was making this, "I'm not asking you to give him a message, I just want to know where he is and why he hasn't been picking up." Writ figured that she was hiding something. Maybe he had to give a little to know a little. A piece of his motives for a piece of information. At least, that's how these kind of trades are supposed to go, no matter how discreet they may be.
He held back on using his powers on her. One half was because he was having much more fun doing this on his own wit. The other half was because despite her being the oldest girl player he's seen in a while, Writ still found seducing people visually younger than him kind of creepy. He was close to Coyote's level of shamelessness, but he wasn't insane.
"I mean, I've had things planned out for a couple of weeks now, and you know, a helping hand would be nice."
Writ had some mischief making planned out for the month. It was best to strike while the Blacksuits were still recovering from his and Vale's last gleeful act of vandalism. Except it'd be a little more complex this time around-- but with Fish, it should be a piece of cake.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:50 pm
“He wouldn’t.” Didn’t this kid understand the tense atmosphere? She was clearly uncomfortable and curt. “He never does.”
Of course Vale wouldn’t answer. Not with his cell in her pocket. Since Vale had been injured, even despite their fighting, she kept the cell with her at all times.
Just in case. She told herself.
Her hand ran through her hair, tugging at tiny knots before looking back up to the man. “In any case, he isn’t going to help you. Not for a while, at least.”
Once he was better, Vale could make that choice for himself. But Tepin didn’t want him to so much as hear that this man was scheming. She knew that, even despite his condition, Vale would jump at any offer to do mischief.
And he was in no condition to do mischief.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 12:15 am
Writ was good at reading people, but he wasn't as good when it came to empathy. There was something disturbing the girl, but it hasn't sunk in that he should be worried too. He kept his casual tone.
"For someone who doesn't say you're his messenger, you sure act like his secretary." Writ said pointedly. He rubbed his chin, "So, something happened to Vale, eh? Shoulda guessed from all the fidgeting you've been doing." Writ had figured that out just now, but he wanted to give at least the illusion of cleverness.
"So what, he climb up a tree he couldn't get down? Or something worse than that? Must be pretty bad if he can't answer the phone."
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 1:56 am
Her flat glare made it all too clear that she did not appreciate his butting in. Not in the slightest.
“Look…” How could she get out of this without being horribly offensive? “He won’t answer because he’s an idiot. Don’t get your hopes up.”
Another step-- She was less cautious about being on the safe side: there was too much information at stake. If she were to let another player know that Varu had been injured… It could very well mean the end for them both.
“I need to get going.” To make sure he was okay--to make sure she wasn’t giving too much information out---to calm her nerves.
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