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 Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 12:31 pm
The bartender polished the glasses at the bar, glancing up to smile at the entering anthros. "Irasshaimase," he murmured. "Please, have a seat. Is there anything I can get for you while you wait? Your contact should be here shortly to speak with you, Mr. Dunsirn."
At least, they should be. Seishirou didn't have the patience to deal with all the patrons at once.
Mickey's presence wasn't... unexpected. However, given the way he was attempting to conceal himself, it might be unwise to approach him yet. But soon enough... soon enough, after he chose to reveal himself, there would be someone to speak to him-- perhaps someone who he might find a kinship in.
Coons could be useful on occasion.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:01 pm
Used as he was to dealing in mortal settings where a drink was ordered to divert attention Ramon considered that... well yes, this a setting about which he knew relatively little. Michael hadn't lied to him in the long discourse on his considerations and suspicions about this... Alliance. And through that insight Ramon had come to consider that... yes, he was more interested in aligning himself with these individuals than anything else but he was likewise to be cautious until absolutely certain that he was more than simple cannon fodder.
"If you have, I might kill for a decent Cabarnet," Ramon conceded with no hint that he'd actually meant the disconcerting pun, or was even aware of it in the first place. "Thank you."
For his part the demon remained in stolid if slightly edgy silence. Was it just him or had the barkeep--he had hidden in the first place, right? Ye Gods these people freaked him out on some levels. An uncomfortable and UNWANTED reversal.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:11 pm
Bowing to Ramon, Seishirou smiled. "A moment then, if you please," he murmured before slipping off to procure the aforementioned drink. One could tell a great deal about a person from their beverage of choice. Cabarnet, hm? Not unsurprising to say the least--
Ah. There. The good doctor had arrived.
 Truth be told, he wasn't sure why he'd been assigned to Ramon Dunsirn. The ex-vampire, the necromancer-- he wasn't really Muraki's style, truth be told. Not that that had any bearing whatsoever on the choice of charge. Ah well, no matter. Slipping towards the wolf with unnatural quiet (could unicorns walk that quietly on such hard floors?), Muraki smiled slightly.
"Mr. Dunsirn, I take it?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:32 pm
"You wouldn't be wrong," Ramon murmured at a volume just a shade lower than regular speech, as if distracted by the other's appearance. Interesting to see how some people took caring for their first impression to such an... extreme. There didn't necessarily ahve to be a message to be wrought from the image, just the knowledge that someone would bother with... ah well, he understood it. Didn't disagree with it either. It was simply... interesting.
"And to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"
Hunh. He'd gotten someone much less intimidating. Sorta said something about where they ranked him. Which was a comfort, come to think of it. There were no good vibes coming from this unicorn.
Then again, maybe it was dislike by association. Just that hoof thing... Though at least this one had a horn.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:55 pm
"My name is Dr. Kazutaka Muraki," the unicorn murmured, smiling ever so slightly and not reassuringly in the slightest. "May I sit?" Because it was polite to ask before assuming, even when the territory was decidedly more in your favor than the other's.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 2:03 pm
A single eyebrow raised as Ramon finally smiled in a reserved and mild-mannered fashion, "Only if you'd prefer it," he deferred with a spread of hands towards the seat opposite. Ah, so they would indeed be working under the pretense of polite conversation. Well then. Michael certainly did have the advantage in getting to the root of a matter, but he lost a great deal of time to size up other parties in diving so quickly into the heart.
Oh great. Now he was going to have to suffer through seeing how long he'd have to stay silent until he started saying things that made more sense than the dance of manners. Even before he'd jumped into the neonate's persona he'd been more partial to simple and straightforward. But he'd since developed a very bad habit of wanting to impress that tendency on others. Not conducive to longevity. Or. Well. Maybe, he wasn't sure, still being around and all. But it didn't help him for the most part.
Enh, whatever didn't kill you made you stronger.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 2:15 pm
Seishirou appeared, placing two glasses on the table-- the Cabarnet for Ramon and the doctor's own preferred white Zinfandel. "If you require any assistance, please, feel free to ask," the angel murmured, bowing to each before returning to his post, polishing glasses. There were so many people in this empty place, so many people drinking his liquor--
...he really needed to talk to Lucius about compensation.
Taking the seat, Muraki smiled. "Well then. How has your time on Gaia been treating you, Mr. Dunsirn? Not too terribly, I hope?" he asked, taking a slight sip of the sweet wine.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 2:54 pm
"Not too terribly at all, no," Ramon smiled in that same reserved way, taking a sip of his own. ...Decent indeed. Then again, taste was still something to revel in at this point. He'd forgotten how many varieties there could be... Where there was subtlety in the blood there was a vagrant dynamism in mortal food.
"My assistant cannot say the same with equal veracity however, I apologize if he has given you the impression of undue reluctance," he continued, knowing that to be only half true. Michael had indeed had a harder time of things in the past few days. He was not, however, nearly as reluctant to throw in his lot with the Alliance as he pretended to be.
OH, HA HA. Mickey made an unseen face at his employer's back. Ramon hadn't warned him, and that was just plain irritating. Not nearly enough to make him question his relationship to his employer, granted, but ******** frustrating. He didn't want to be the b***h. If situations called for it, he couldn't really complain but it was really ******** annoying.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:47 am
"Oh, his reluctance was quite understandable-- truth be told, I've been a bit surprised at how few are reluctant to join our little alliance. It seems to me that he was quite wise to ask questions before going off to consider our proposal," Muraki smiled. "And if Gaia has not been treating him well, I do apologize for that. Some of the inhabitants of this world can be a bit... quick in their manner of dealing with others. It's an unfortunate side effect of living in a place where so many groups co-exist." Not that it explained everything-- or anything, really. Simply words which continued the conversation, leading it in the proper way to the proper direction.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:19 am
That the doctor accepted and practically encouraged questions suggested that the Alliance had nothing to hide they thought might turn Ramon away. But in the true spirit of Michael's inquiry, it could all very well be an elaborate machination designed to make him think that way. Hrm. The aggressive sarcasm his demon employed certainly took a toll on one's patience after a time, didn't it?
"I'll carry your regards to him," Ramon smiled over his glass with a smile as if he had just remembered an inside joke. "Do you think perhaps his troubles are related to a sudden expansion of these groups you mention? I had been wondering why this Alliance has been so appropriately timed in its creation, you see... Why has nothing like it existed before? Or if it has, what has become of it?"
What? He wasn't going to mention that Mickey's 'troubles' hadn't been at the hand of some ******** that, fine, it made sense, he acknowledge, leaning with his back to the wall and sulking somewhat. But if there was one thing that really truly interested Mickey about having Big Scary on his side in the proactive sense... it was the thought of things resembling revenge.
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Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 2:21 pm
"I believe Kaine mentioned to your assistant," for Muraki would not suppose to say 'friend' as Ramon had not, "that at one point, in the past, a considerably smaller group existed-- the Circle. It was disbanded after it came under suspicion for some... transgressions which involved some members of the Circle, but didn't involve the Circle itself."
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Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 1:01 am
The smile gracing his expressive mouth was simultaneously genial, apologetic yet reservedly aloof. "Forgive me," he murmured over the lip of glistening glass, "That wasn't exactly what I meant." He paused, to weigh the words more cautiously - no, not caution, with more exactitude. To slice straight into the point without stumbling through further tediums. "I simply find myself wondering on the origin of the Circle and what might possibly have motivated its conception... given the presumed lack of any such organization prior to its assembly. What gave rise to the necessity of congregation?"
Congregation or conflagration?--erk. Wordplay? Not his game. Drop that one like a lighter--
But. Good, that was something he hadn't bothered crawling over. Best to know every single thing about a fellow before stepping into cahoots with 'em. At least these guys seemed to be the real-deal big fish in the neighborhood, bigger at least than any other guppy in a fast draining pond at least. Oh yes, he could feel a turning on the wind - you got familiar with the scent and pull after a bit.
It'd be nice to sidle up to someone on top, though, instead of finding yourself constantly berated and nailed by the manipulative, clingy, more-dangerous-than-they-really-deserved-to-be small fry. Ugh. Here was to hoping the mafia in this place burned for its sins.
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Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 3:58 pm
"Ah," Muraki smiled after a moment, sipping his wine before answering. "The origin of the Circle? Well... truth be told, there were merely a large number of individuals living in the same house who had ideas of what could be. We banded together to attempt a few experiments, originally, to see if we could manage to do things such as raise the dead or soulless, to create new life out of nothing but a few trinkets..." the doctor trailed off, his mind drifting to his mate for a moment, his perfect little doll--
Ah, but the task at hand! "In any case, that was the reason for coming together in the beginning. Now that we've managed our experiments quite nicely, we thought a bit of protection might be in order. As I'm sure Kaine has told your associate, it appears that there is... 'something coming'. We're not entirely sure what it is, or why, but we thought it might be wise to have a collection of reliable individuals in the event that this something chooses to rear its head and attack."
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Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 11:40 am
Ah, but what a well-crafted safeguard. Something coming? Ah ha. There must surely be a better idea of what exactly that 'something' was if it would motivate an organization such as this. Michael was correct to second guess and endlessly accuse all individuals with any amount of influence - a habit that, while prudent and not a little useful often degenerated into the most annoying whine. But, he would shut up eventually, especially when it became clear to him that there were more advantages to taking a side, particularly this side.
Not to mention... this mention of experiments... Ramon couldn't presume to consider himself quite 'like-minded' but the spirit of inquiry was a little more than a hobby for him, though far from the sort of passion that begged years of dedication and research as it did for others. Studies, however, these were... perhaps a bonus, perhaps a distraction he could indulge whilst ignoring whatever grander purpose this Alliance hoped to pursue. Whatever the case, Ramon was not disinclined to throw himself in with the lot though he wondered when exactly he might cross the point of no return. For certainly there would be more... binding loyalties than simple agreements.
"Reliable..." he echoed finally, one eyebrow raised in seeming amusement as he set down the glass, eyes focused lazily between its rim and the man across. "And how have you been judging merit for membership?"
Oh hell, they had him. Mickey hadn't known Dunsirn terribly long, nor was he especially good at... you know... all that dip and sway of words and innuendo and tics and what-not, but it was just... something in the bond. Good nose for employers and the like, for knowing who and what they were - probably why he was so picky about 'em. Only a few were really up to specifications.
But damn it. So easy? Ugh. Sliding from his perch onto the cushions of the actual seat with a slight thumping noise, the demon gave up all pretensions at hiding and let go the Discipline--no, not sulking, just a little peeved. Because from this point he didn't really care how much Dunsirn was going to bait it out, pretend to be inquiring when he was already in on the deal. Ugh. Posturing. Took too long.
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Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 2:46 am
"Observation mostly," Muraki confessed with a wry smile. "After all, the Nest-- the quaint name given to our primary residence-- is home to one of the most accurate sources of information about individuals in this community." The Lists though... there had been discrepancies discovered recently, though that wouldn't be mentioned to Ramon. At least not yet. "Beyond that, we have our inner circle discuss who would and would not be an asset to our group and why. It's fairly oligarchical, truth be told."
And Ramon was being investigated to see if he too would be a candidate to sit with that conference. Not that the necromancer needed to know that yet either.
And the other chose to make himself visible? That caught Seishirou's eye, the onmyouji blinking slightly at the sight of the other. He hadn't actually expected to get another look at Mr. Young before the contract was signed, but... ah well. Time to call Kaine up.
Moving over to his liquors, Seishirou carefully mixed the drink which would call the fox. Soon.
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