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 Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 10:36 pm
"I got no idea what that means, but whatever floats your boat, Dollface." He popped open the door and beamed at what lay inside.
The stench of it wafted out as thick as Amarus' ghostly essence, but not nearly as pleasant. It burned in any corporal nostrils, and watered any eye nearby.
Enzo was quick to pick up a nearby gas mask before giving her a thumbs up.
Pipes were jerry-rigged, some Bunsen burners clearly pilfered from the Mad Science Lab heating up the chemistry set that emptied itself out to a holding tank that consisted of his bathtub. The occasionally bubbling concoction filling it had a handful of rats that scrambled at the edges, too drunk to get free, and some of them floated face down, waiting to dissipate.
"Vwaaah-laah!"
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 10:45 pm
Amarus casually decided now would be a good time to not even pretend to breathe. After all, she had no need to, and maybe it would lessen the sting of the stench of whatever it was he was keeping in there. She eyed the pipes, Bunsen burners and weird chemistry set hooked to pour stuff into the bathtub.
The drunk rats definitely didn't do much to make her feel better about this whole situation.
The best she could do was stare at it with a blank expression, and address the situation in a flat tone: "Enzo... I believe I have lost my mind, and this is an elaborate hallucination."
If she hadn't, she was even more concerned.
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 10:52 pm
"No, ma'am! You're lookin' at grade-A bootlegged cider! Worth a good twenty seeds a bottle!" He beamed proudly, voice muffled by the gasmask.
A flock of roaches skittered across the tiled wall before the fumes got them and their wings curled and they fell into the stew as well.
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:03 pm
"Ah, Enzo... how can I say this?" Amarus began, leaning over the brew.
She was unafraid, but mostly because she could turn intangible if something was bothering her. And she didn't need to breathe.
"Cider... I believe it is, ah, usually... more palatable. Do you know what I mean?" she asked, straightening to look at Enzo. There was a faint glimmer of concern, and it wasn't clear if it was for him, or herself, or the poor living (or not living, really) things that might be forced to ingest his brew.
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:06 pm
His thick brows furrowed behind the goggles of the gasmask. "You callin' my product sub-par?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:14 pm
"Take off the gas mask and drink some, if you're certain you know what you're dealing with," she said, the corner of her mouth quirking up in a smile.
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:29 pm
Enzo stared at her a moment, blinking a bit unevenly thanks to Amarus' Magic Frosting, and then stared at the bathtub. "I aint the target audience." He huffed, waving a hand as though her point was moot. "And no one needs 'em to drink it. Just buy the bottle off me."
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:45 pm
She was going to try to reason with him, one more time. Okay.
Here goes.
"Enzo... sure, they don't have to drink it, but..." Okay, how could she even-- oh, wait. That might work.
"I am not very good at explaining, but do you know why it is dangerous to quit me? Withdrawal. It's hard to stop, once you start."
That was, after all, why it was so hard to leave a Lotus Eater. That was where the FEAR that generated her had even started. "If you sell one bottle, and no one can drink it, do you not think word will get around? That does not seem... like the best business model."
And then, abandoning ship on this line of thought altogether, she merely shrugged one shoulder, and made an effort to smile. "Make it taste a little better, maybe? You are the money side of this operation anyway, so perhaps I am wrong." Amarus snuck some of the frosting she'd made, licking it off her finger.
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Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:56 pm
Enzo frowned, tapping the filter of his gasmask as he thought this through. "I suppose... I aint quite as good as my Pop was." The drugged dessert swirled through his brain and his expression fell a bit distantly for a moment, an uncharacteristic look creeping its way into his eyes.
He was glad for the gasmask, and cleared his throat pointedly. "Alright, alright, it aint no where street ready yet anyway. We'll concentrate on your cakes. Addictive is good! Means they'll come back wanting more!" He certainly did, and wobbled from the cramped and fumey bathroom before the smell seeped into his nice suits in the bedroom. "I'll leave the cookin' to you dames."
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Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 2:53 pm
"Why leave it to us? Experimenting is the fun part," Amarus said, the corner of her mouth slipping into what was halfway between a self-contented smile and a smirk. She wasn't directing the expression at him, exactly; her eyes had a far-off look, like she was seeing something that amused her at some distant point.
"I am sure you can be better than you expect, do you not think so?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 3:01 pm
He wove a hand dismissively again as he held the door for her, "Yeah yeah, well, at least you got something we can work with immediate-like." He shut and locked the door behind them before kicking his way through debris to his desk, taking a seat and switching on the light. He ran his fingers through his hair before popping on his thinking hat, a battered old grey fedora he didn't wear out of his room much at all.
"How much you been sellin' 'em for so far?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 3:23 pm
Mar nodded her head, her casual form of the usual bow, and excused herself from the room as Enzo held the door for her. "Yes, that much is true," she agreed. She tilted her head, bells ringing, "Nice hat," she said.
Then, she paused. She knew he wouldn't be pleased with her in a couple moments; she'd already been told not to give stuff away, but now she wasn't even doing that. She'd just been using it all on her version of Research and Development. "Ah... well... It is complicated," she said.
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Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 3:28 pm
He flushed at the compliment of his head gear, but made no comment in that regard beside running a finger along the brim.
"Whatdya' mean, complicated?" His eyes narrowed.
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 11:37 pm
Amarus decided to just come out and say it. Or try to, anyway:
"I have been focusing on developing a sustainable source of my essence, admittedly. I have not been in, ah, very good health." She looked off at a wall, or something, as if it was suddenly very important, and edged slightly closer to the door.
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 11:41 pm
"Oh!" He relaxed a bit, swiveling on his chair to face her as he tapped a hand on his knee, "Sorry to hear that, Pidge. So they aint hit the market yet, that what you're saying?" Good, good, this was good- "You can make more without makin' yourself sick tho, right?" That would complicate things. He liked Amarus. He liked the idea of what she could do more, though. He liked what he could do with it.
The plan would work either way. But a slower production would raise the cost significantly- but they needed to start the demand before they worried about the supply.
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