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 Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 1:25 pm
It was a bar. A clean, dimly lit bar. A bar which was, for the most part, deserted, except for a few patrons who seemed less drunk than would be expected in a bar, and a lone bartender who poured drinks with a smile-- a slightly disconcerting smile which spoke of distance and power-- but not power of a particularly threatening sort.
All in all, it was quiet. At the counter itself, there were twelve stools-- two of which were occupied by patrons who seemed about ready to call it a night. A grand total of eight booths filled the rest of the room-- mostly empty, except for a few.
It seemed almost more of a café than a true bar-- or one of those clubs that existed solely for members of a more elite group. But at the same time, it held an aura of power unlike most establishments of the time-- almost as if this bar had been built upon ground consecrated for either good or evil.
Strange, to say the least.
It wasn't that the Petal was difficult to find-- it was simply a less than popular bar down one of the less traveled strips of the mall nearby the Nest-- but more that there was something... odd about the place.
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Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 2:08 pm
Consecrated - that was the sort of atmosphere that made Mickey feel safe, y'know? Ish. As much as was conceivable. Especially when, once again, it was hard to know, to remember... precisely what was safe... and what was your mind playing tricks on you... for better of for worse. Because who could tell what imagination conjured up in the name of denial and what was just the twist and twirl of decades in the dreaming world?
He really had to find a better way of doing this. Something more effective than running by sleeping - because it hadn't worked the last time. Then again, last time he technically hadn't started it, hadn't... okay. It was... different. Hard to say. No more definitive than a horoscope, really. Unlike that letter now folded so precisely into his jacket sleeve, concealed for no particular reason other than he didn't actually feel like sharing it - despite the open nature of the invitation. It wasn't that something wasn't right, or even that something was too right. Just... instinct kicking in. Not even one to duck and cover, just... just... Something.
The demon calling himself Mickey Young ambled inconspicuously into the bar, turtleneck and jacket concealing the ever-shifting tattoos from sight. Full moon soon. Maybe that was why he was getting so antsy - this wasn't... going to be bad, necessarily. He'd just taken to seeing every situation as a possible trap, an end to all things. But heck, there was an opportunity in every trap. One to get on the entrapper's good side, for example. Put yourself on the opposite end.
'sides, he hadn't done anything too remarkable here yet, what was to say he wasn't already on the good side? Besides experience, that was. ...Enh.
A mild frown that was so close to neutral it might not have been there at all crossed over his face as he noticed the lack of people. Okay. Back to not so comforting. Nevertheless, curiosity and the driving need to know how much these people really knew about him (Dunsirn really being only a secondary concern by this point) drove Mickey to take a casual seat at the bar, uninterested in calling attention to himself in a solitary booth, however much shadows might be a comfort at the moment. They were, as he'd noted before, sometimes pretty overrated.
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Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 5:49 pm
  As he'd done to almost everyone who'd come through his door as of late, Seishirou was tempted to go over and offer the demon a drink. After all, this was a bar, even if it was currently being used to meet with a great many individuals. In truth, Seishirou felt somewhat used about that-- even though he'd given his permission. And yet, he couldn't really protest too much about it.
Ah well. This man... Young. Whose charge was he? Ah yes. Emissary Kaine.
That fox was around here somewhere, wasn't he? He'd been taking the time to spend most of his time at the bar, in hopes of finishing his assignment. After all, once he finished, he'd be free to do whatever he liked with the protection of the Alliance.
--and there he was.
Kaine took a deep breath as he moved to the bar, smiling slightly. So. The demon had decided to show up? That was... a pleasant surprise. Kaine had almost been worried he'd be stood up. That would've been boring. But nevertheless, the fox slipped gracefully towards Mickey, violet gaze on him.
Taking a seat next to the demon, the fox's smile grew ever so slightly. "Hey there, handsome. Are you Mr. Young?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 1:19 am
Was he ever going to get used to that? No, probably not. Well. Not coming from guys, anyway. Try to see it this way for a spell - youngest son of a family with title but no lands to back it up in an age where everything depends on how fast you can climb to the pile, not whether or not you're already sitting on top of it - so of course you get to dodder off to the clergy. And from there it's sort of a one way trip down the road to... okay, really unexpected sharp lefts into the shadows. But there really hadn't been time - not to mention interest - in anything remotely resembling a relationship. There'd been reliance, there'd even been some modicum of loyalty but never, not even in his method of hunting...
Well. Handsome. That was just sort of out there, y'know? Hard to remember, care about things like appearance when you spent so much time hiding. Not that he hadn't been acutely instructed to try and make a point of presentability, even attractiveness by various employers. It didn't even make him uncomfortable - you got hit on a lot by chicks, dudes, any passing thing or the other, as a bouncer in New York. But heck if he was used to it.
"Usually," Mickey acknowledged with a single raised brow, lips quirking not a mote as he directed an intent, dark-eyed stare to the approaching fox. Sizing up the opposition? Kind of. More like registering that ah - they weren't coming to him direct. That was right. They were after Dunsirn primarily, if the letter were to be relied upon. So much the better.
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 12:59 pm
"Usually, hm? Well, that's good enough for me," Kaine smiled. "I'm Kaine-- one of the associates of the Alliance. You got the letter then?" Truth be told, Kaine had to ask the question-- even though obviously Mickey had, since he was here and right now no one came to the Petal without an invitation. They just... had a really hard time finding it without a letter granting them audience with one of the Alliance members or the Emissaries.
There was power inside this one-- more than had first been expected. See past the illusions to the soul of the man, and you'll find the true power-- and this one had a hunk of it. Not surprising though-- no one was right about everything, and Kaine just hated the fact that he was on the bad end of this one. He wasn't cut out for dealing with powerful individuals. Really, he wasn't. He dealt with the semi-powered and the molesters. That was his specialty.
...damn.
"Did you have any questions, did you want a drink, or did you want me to just dive right into the business end of the game?" Kaine offered, smiling still with that winning charm of his.
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 3:03 pm
"Probably," came the second reply, keeping to the established ambiguous-trisyllabic-adverb approach. The demon's expression didn't change all that much, though the apathetic face now held a hint of amusement. He'd long since given up doing things like judging by appearance - except when something was big and scary looking because then it probably was big and scary - but the ones that didn't lean that way to the naked eye, especially anyone who spent time prettifying themselves...
Just made you wonder what there was without all the time spent on modifications.
Still. With this one, he didn't really get the feeling that there was anything warranting any particular caution - not about the things he was cautious about, at least. Besides, however much he really appreciated and even preferred the blunt, forward, totally unpretty approach (let us cite Varysien, Fred, Hilda et al) it was a lot more nerve-wracking than simple charms. Okay. Sometimes.
"Business sounds peachy - not on a schedule or anything," he shrugged a little, arms still resting on the bar, "Just given how loosely this whole shebang's been outlined I'm more interested to know what I might be getting my employer into than having a drink with it."
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 3:15 pm
"It's not just for your employer, Mr. Young-- and I'm sorry if you got that impression. The invitation is for you as well," Kaine assured the demon. "After all, you're powerful in your own right, ne?" the boy smiled.
"Anyway-- the Alliance is just a collection of people-- usually powerful people-- who are helping each other out. It's... an alliance, simply put. An agreement to help each other out if anything should happen which requires such. Y'know?" Kaine explained.
"They want you to join it. Or at least, they're offering you a chance to join it. You and your employer both."
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 3:32 pm
The look directed at Kaine was now openly skeptical - which was perhaps better than downright freaked in terms of potential cooperation, but it wasn't exactly agreeable. Oh no, he'd gotten that much out of the letter. Just wasn't... you know... sure where this Alliance business had gotten the impression he was an asset. Other than perhaps the fact that Dunsirn had chosen to employ him out of all other people in the world. Or maybe the fac that he'd pretty much placed himself in the necromancer's employ in the first place. Okay, maybe that hadn't been so inconspicuous.
Bizarre how you didn't have to hide nearly so much in this place. Not that he said anything didn't need saying just because of the new freedoms. But in a world where every other creature was just as average as a soap opera (literally in that sense at times)... It was just a little weird.
"Wow that's inspecific," Mickey pointed out with a snort, as if he were the first to notice. "I think there's gotta be a little more to know before membership becomes a consideration - what exactly is this Alliance? There's gotta be more to it than lending a helping hand to the likewise 'powerful' - what's your standard of that, anyway? And why make a club out of the high n' mighty?" Because hell if that could stand on its own. The 'powerful' never forged alliances without some sort of objective in mind. It just --Did. Not. Happen. Like. That.
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 3:43 pm
In all actuality, Mickey really was one of the first to notice. "It's an alliance. Because in this world... the powerful have a tendency to be struck down or attacked by others-- those who would want their powers or are jealous of them. As for the standard... well, the higher-ups in the Alliance come together, discuss possible candidates, and then meet with them. Send out letters of invitation and such.
"As for why make a club...? I suppose it's mainly to find those of like minds and such. A group you can count on. Something of... 'backup', I suppose," Kaine shrugged slightly.
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 3:54 pm
"Back-up? No," Mickey shook his head, eyes narrowing slightly though he smiled now, falling into a recently developed very, very bad habit - that of articulating all his thoughts aloud, holding back nothing, not the slightest idle speculation and dispensing with all notions of private thought. It was, perhaps, some sort of shock tactic - he'd never really tried to dissect it, only found that while it got him into trouble more often than not it also turned into the good kind of trouble on enough occasions that the practice was well worth it.
"See, back-up wouldn't be so forward, wouldn't be so big either," another snort and the smile grew slightly, "This had me a little jumpy at first - kept taking it for some mafia-like operation - because it's open enough about its existence for that to be a valid assumption. Simple back-up does not advertise itself this much, not if the objective is to act as protection. You make people scared when you're forward about a bunch of high-powered individuals buying each other friendship bracelets and what-not and sure that can be helpful if you want people to back the hell off but..." the demon trailed off, faded for a moment and shook his head again, "No, feels like you'd be inviting attack in this place.
"Don't get me wrong - I'd rather have big and scary buddies than Joe Shmoe from the cornerstore but I really don't think I'm getting enough information here." He broke off, frown easing into something personal, slightly troubled more than disagreeing, "It's just not enough, not as it stands."
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 4:09 pm
Kaine considered Mickey for a moment before laughing quietly, nodding. "...you're a sharp one. Probably the smartest one in this bunch they're trying to get. So I'll level with you on this-- sound fair enough?"
Mickey had brought up many of the points that Kaine had been wondering about-- points that he'd researched. Considered. "A while ago... there was a group called the Circle-- or rather two, overlapping groups calling themselves the Circle. One had formed simply to research-- research the dead, spirits, how to revive them, etc. The other formed as something of a mafia organization. They were mercenaries, in a sense. They... hurt people sometimes. On contract. They were well paid for their services-- but they were discovered and problems ensued.
"The Circle disbanded-- both of them. Theoretically at least. And then one day, one of the members of the former Circle decided that it was a good idea to at least make allies-- people who could be relied on in the event of something occuring-- perhaps as a result of what had happened in the past, or perhaps because there are changes happening on Gaia-- new people, massive amounts of power being called on...
"In any event, that's where the Alliance came from. It's a coalition of forces against whatever might be coming. We're at the center of a storm right now, in the eye of the hurricane, and no one knows what's happening outside of it," Kaine explained quietly, all pretense of that easy-going, carefree creature gone. "Does that explain a little more?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 4:31 pm
The flattery he didn't like - well, maybe not so far - but compliments tended to make him blink twice and re-examine the angle, because more often than not Mickey was pretty sure he hadn't done something to warrant positive recognition.
So... this was a little suspicious - first off because Kaine hadn't been completely upfront about it at first, though that might be some sort of ditz relapse right there, and second because... something about it still didn't quite click, though he deigned to keep his mouth shut about that for at least another moment. Because... there'd been no mention about what this Alliance might choose to do in relation to said storm. Because with power there was almost undoubtedly ambition, or at least the desire for more of the same, which said to Mickey that if the hurricane was fast approaching the Alliance didn't intend to wait it out in a bomb shelter.
Which was, to be perfectly honest, Mickey's preferred line of attack. As it were.
But there was something to be said about having, as previously noted, big scary buddies to watch your back, even if they wanted you to help them steal a stray thunderbolt or two. At least Kaine was being straightforward about the Alliance's origins being in the dark and not-so-kosher. Not that Mickey was morally opposed to such, far from it. Just.... that wasn't exactly so safe a hobby as botany, y'know?
Dunsirn was going to want to hear about this, it occurred to him. Hm... "Interesting," Mickey murmured by way of shortening a rather complicated opinion, "Anything else you want me to sum up for Mr. Dunsirn? Or is that the whole of the proposal? Don't think he'll be satisifed with whatever I've got for him - there any way he can get a chat with you people?" Because, well, Mickey just wasn't inclined to dedicate himself to anything his employer wasn't so interested in. Ralph, Ralph had been an entirely different matter - not only not an official employer but... there'd been nothing to gain from staying in his circle of interest. Whereas with one's protection one tended to be a tad more cautious.
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 4:38 pm
"If he wants to meet with a member of the Alliance, of course something can be arranged," Kaine nodded. "If you ask him to come here some night, I'm sure there will be someone here to meet him. Are there any other questions I could answer for you tonight?"
Since... Kaine's function here was to serve as support. Answer questions. Talk. That's all his job entailed. He wasn't a member of the Alliance, after all. He didn't care one way or another, truth be told. He was simply there to talk.
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 5:00 pm
"Sounds peachy," Mickey replied shortly, standing as he did so - "And I'm all full up on new and exciting revelations for now, thanks - later days." Nothing to the effect of an agreement or even general nod in the assenting direction. He had plenty of things to mull over now, and... no one to discuss them with but Dunsirn, even if some of the subjects might be better off private.
But inevitably there would be little he didn't share with the wolf. It wasn't a matter of loyalty or even propriety. Survival instinct through and through - he was still worth much more around and about than dustily molding to Dunsirn and thus the more Dunsirn had to work with the safer Mickey felt. Not so bad a trade off.
With a general sort of wave to both Kaine, and, on second thought, the bartender - this wasn't going to be some random place the Alliance had designated for talky time - the demon made for his exit, not entirely sure where the next move was going to land him on the newly revealed board beneath his feet.
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Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 9:09 am
((Scene break, voot voot!))
If it had bothered him he would've made a casual observation to Michael that yes, he was quite aware that he'd chosen to tag along and no, it didn't bother him entirely much. Ramon didn't know by merit of any supernatural sense - you didn't need that when dealing with an individual so habitually paranoid as the Khaibit - it simply wouldn't have made sense for Michael to stay behind, when he hadn't been expressly forbidden to follow.
But it really, really didn't bother Ramon all that much. Mostly due to the fact that, well, if he was aware of it then there was nothing to lose. If he'd really wanted to go alone he would have come during the day. Simple as that.
Ramon made for an unoccupied booth upon entry, making no move to pretend that he wasn't waiting for someone. Pretense wasn't always so necessary.
It frustrated Mickey that he was pretty damn sure Ramon knew he was about. Just... one too many glances when they'd left, and nothing since then made him feel... uncomfortable? To say the least. Bah. Probably just getting jumpy again.
Perching himself at the booth behind Ramon's back he flopped down for a well Obfuscated wait. It wouldn't be long. He was pretty damn sure of that.
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