Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Dour, is it?"

The thin, dreadfully-familiar voice cut through the idle chatter like a masterwork blade through silken drapery. Damnatus' grim, overbearing presence followed his questioning, coming up right behind the tiny frame of his seer apprentice. It was one thing to make jabs at someone, even as light as they were, when the person in question was not present - it was entirely different when they walked in on the accusers. This was quite vividly the case when the subject matter happened to be a rather dangerous - and mentally-detached - warp sorcerer. Damnatus began to appraise the situation with a cool, neutral demeanor, but those skilled at reading others would digest hints of the man's true feelings hidden beneath the facade he put up.

Such individuals would note that the psyker's true mood was far from pleasant.

Damnatus passed by Rasilyn's frame, his movements slow and purposeful. Despite his appearance behind her, the warp seer did not receive any of her master's current attention, which had shifted from Rivven to the other feminine figure in the small group. The sorcerer's mutilated vision washed over Raien, punctuated by a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"And indeed," he gestured at the young woman, as if proffering the choice words she had stated earlier, "'tall, dark and grouchy'. My, my, such praise I receive behind closed doors!" The psyker made sure to enunciate every bit of Raien's regurgitated words very carefully, as if to mock her right back.

Of course, Damnatus was no fool, and everyone in his company knew this. His attitude was never a pleasant one, and Raien was just as likely to say far less kind things to him direct to his face during arguments. To even think that he was even remotely upset by these words would be to invite utter foolishness into the mind. No, there was something far more to the sorcerer's mounting choler than these pokes and jabs, and when Damnatus once again shifted focus back to Rivven, his expression grew just a tad bit more intense - and it would have become clear as day.

"Do forgive me, but I'd warrant that many persons would become as 'grumpy' as I when faced with so many significant surprises." Damnatus now continued his strides, carrying him closer to the soft-spoken arcanist. His moves were not threatening, as Rivven was someone Damnatus operated with from time to time, but the movements did suggest that he was far from pleased. With a solid clop, the corrupted psyker came to a halt in front of the man, and gave him a curt nod - a gesture that seemed overly, if almost forcibly, polite.

"And what a surprise, indeed! Well-met, master Rivven, and do tell - where is he?"

Raien smiled at the smaller girl and took pleasure in her excitement when she received the coins, maternal instincts drove her to dote on the seer like she were the child of a close friend or her own. Kids weren't exactly in her nearest future but she knew she'd make a good mother at some point.



Rivven's unexpected laughter was more than a relief, she found herself joining in, with more of the humor directed at herself then anything. She wasn't sure to what extent he and Damnatus worked together but she knew them to be associates of a sort. His question was innocent enough, expressing and expounding upon her earlier sentiments, but she was already feeling guilty. "Well-"



Well damn.

Speak of the proverbial devil. The sorcerer chose one hell of a time to walk in and Rai was seriously regretting her choice words, but the question was: how much did he hear of their conversation? At first, it seemed like he had only caught Rivven's trailing question -



Nope.

Rai had no such luck. Karma was certainly eager and ready to dish out the appropriate lesson for her earlier remarks against the man. She scowled, knowingly.



She sighed. Like there was much she could say in her defense?

"Oh geez. I was just teasing. Don't make it out to be worse than it was." Rai turned to face him slightly, but not wanting to meet his full on gaze and avoided staring too long as his obviously displeased visage. If she didn't see the man's frowning face than she could ignore it and keep a cool head about her, especially in front of Rivven. She hated to have a tiff in front of their guest.

Along with his ill-pleased expression, Rai found herself only half listening to whatever it was he said afterwords, finding it easier to keep her calm and let the notable annoyance just wash right over her. It wouldn't be the first time and certainly not the last she was sure of that much so what point would there be in making a fuss over it.

Instead of bothering with his words, Rai offered up the bottle in her idle hands after Rasilyn presented the note.

"This is yours too by the way. I took care of the bill. Think nothing of it." She thrust it towards him, with a face that was not necessarily smug but one that seemed to put emphasis on the last line, suggesting that he should almost thank her for being generous enough to take the debt herself as opposed to tacking another expense onto what would presumably be a large invoice for the hotel.

Latent. It wasn't just another tiny port town, it was -the- port town. Not only was it positioned ever so well on the Gaian continent it also featured some of the best market opportunities one could hope for. That made it a natural target for people like Raymond Ambercombe. Raymond, or Ray as he called himself, was one of those people just didn't have a whole lot of practical skills that many people really wanted. He could cook, clean if need be, and run a cash register. What Ray lacked in practical application he made up for in an intrinsic knowledge in the darker side of business. Mercenary work, smuggling, Blackmail, all things he was perfectly capable of doing and had done on several occasions. These things and more drew him to the coast, to major port cities where laws were just a little more lax, security just a little less tight, and money flowed a whole lot more freely.

"Yeah, Yeah." Ray sat inside a private cabin he had rented in what many called The Floatilla, chatting away on a prepaid cellphone. In front of him was a small end-table on which sat a small notebook filled with notes. Lists of prices, names of contacts and his most recent writing for a large order of automatic weapons that he was supposed to ship into this very city.

"500? I could do 500 if you're willing to pay. You gotta understand though that such a large order will-..." he paused as the muffled voice on the other end barked back demands. "No, I can't have them by Thursday, nobody could! I could probably have them by NEXT Thursday or that weekend, if I'm lucky...Well you're gonna have to wait if you want them all in such a large package..." he was getting frustrated. He hated clients that demanded he do the impossible. He was an arms dealer, not a miracle man.

"Yeah, Next Thursday. Down at the docks, same pier as last time." and he flipped the phone shut and tossed it unto the notebook with a plastic thunk. He couldn't help but rub his face with his hands, gently massaging his eyes. Sitting in his dimly lit cabin wasn't helping his eyesight any, thought youth was doing well in carrying him through. He looked to the bathroom door on which hung the black tactical vest he always wore, inside which was stored his sidearm.

"Maybe some fresh air would be better than more beer." he mused idly as he stood up from his sitting position on his single person cot, his knees popping loudly and causing him to stumble for just a moment. Quickly he regained his composure and hobbled over to the sink, turning the faucet on and splashing his own face with ice cold water. While refreshing it didn't do much to rid his face of that overworked look. Instead of drying his hands he ran his fingers through his hair, allowing the excess water and his fingers to somehow straighten out his matted hair. Satisfied he grabbed the vest and slipped it over his shoulders which fastened to his form with the proper application of a few velcro straps. On his Right outer thigh was strapped his sidearm, a black semi-automatic pistol whose serial number seemed to be written in Russian. Wallet, phone and keys came next and were easily stuffed into his jeans pockets and without another word Ray slipped out his cabin, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Out he went, out through the noisy and shady bar on this particular Floatilla vessel and down unto the docks, eventually heading up into the outer limits of the city. Perhaps something better would be going on in the streets of Latent.

((It suddenly occurs to me that John once beat up a Spear and walked away scot-free. Guess his fghting skills will be tested sooner then i thought twisted ))

The trip down the road from the Stadium was a quiet one. There was not much to say when you're riding a roaring chopper down a busy street, and John only now started to wonder if he should've given Hono some headwear. Not that she would've gone anywhere - the possibility of her falling off would've been minute compared to what he would've done to save her.

They coasted down the busy road, easing into traffic and watching the people walk by on the sidewalk as they waited at a stoplight. John recognised some police-like uniformed figures patrolling the street - Lantian Shields doing their duty. He narrowed his eyes as something triggered in his fractured memory - color=blue]Was it here? I fought some ice-elemental...what happened with that?

The nostalgia was lost as suddenly as it came, and the light turned green. The throbbing monster between his legs grunted into life once more, and they took off, coasting down the road, looking for some establishment in which they could eat, drink, and reminisce...

But he sighed. He had no idea where anything was in this damned place. Irritated, he pulled the Triumph over to the side of the road, pulling his bandanna off of his face and half-turning to the woman clutching his waist, calling out over the thundering bike. "Do you have anywhere you'd like to go? I have no idea where a good place is."

She probably wouldn't be able to hear his perturbed grunt over the rumbling Thunderbird over her last comment, but she could probably feel it as she pressed to him. He had been through a lot of changes this last year...

Not bothering to pull his bandanna over his face again, he coasted down the road, looking left and right, before finally pulling into a parking lot outside the Fallen Star Tavern. Flipping the bar out with his foot as the massive engine died, he allowed Hono to disembark first before he threw his leg over the chopper, taking off the bandanna and tucking it into a pocket.

He double-checked the locks on the clasps on the bags on his bike, before walking towards the Tavern. "Better place then any, i guess..." He muttered dismissively, putting his hands in his pockets as he approached the door and held it open for Hono, looking back out over the parking lot and street as a couple walked out of the Tavern, smiling and chatting.

He was being wary - he had kept to himself mostly these past three years, and hadn't exacty stayed connected with society - big cities bothered him a little now....he wasn't as used to the hustle and bustle as he thought he'd be. Not to mention that niggling feeling that he'd done something a long time ago here...he couldn't remember what it was, but it was enough to make him keep an eye open....

He had noticed a few places of note that he needed to visit. Decker's Arsenal had caught his eye as he'd rode in...he would need to visit that place soon. But for now, lunch!

The large man smiled as he stroked Hono's hair, happy to have her with him again. "The feeling is mutual, hon..." He rumbled.

Honoraven was the type of person who didn't care if you were five feet or ten feet tall, had two heads and bellowed all your words - she loved you for who you were, and John loved her for that. She was a good foundation to come off, motherly to the point of giving you the clip on the ear you deserved. Sweet as sugar and sultry as satin...John noticed the eyes on her as they entered the tavern together, feeling the smug tinge of protectiveness welling up in him as the eyes assessed her, then him - then back to their beers.

The Tavern was a bustling, thriving place - the bar was packed and the tables were packed. Some kind of sport was playing on a big-screen TV at the other end of the bar, a band crooning some type of song underneath it, drowned out by the talking and chatting of the crowd. The crowds were a mixed bunch - rough and tumble types were milling closer to the bar, whilst the trendy and family-types were sitting at the tables, eating their meals. This wasn't the kind of place where a mater-de sat you - and John almost worried he wouldn't spot a place, before finally seeing out in the corner of the Tavern, a table that was just being cleared of dirty plates and getting a quick wipe down before someone sat.

Grabbing Honoraven's hand, John pushed his way through the crowd, having to shove a few patrons from his path, before coming to the table. He nodded a thanks to the barmaid as she placed a menu in his hand and scurried off, before pulling a chair out for Honoraven, seating her before moving around the table to sit at the chair in the corner. He pulled off his jacket before he did, the warped and scratched metal left arm looking like it needed a bit of a polish as he sat down, scratching the shoulder a little.

"Hope Max gets here soon...I'm quite hungry." He grumbled as he scanned blue eyes down the menu, before passing it to Hono. "I'm gonna grab a drink from the bar. Want anything?"

John was laughing out loud as he placed his arm around Raven's shoulders, giving her a squeeze as gave her a friendly shake. "All the more reason to ply you with alcohol, my dear! I have missed your dulcet tones! I'll be back in a minute."

The large man stood and walked through the crowds to the bar, managing to make his way to the bar itself to try and catch the attention of one of the bar staff. He stood almost head and shoulders above most of the patrons in the Tavern, and it wasn't easy to miss a metallic hand waving for attention. "Two beers and a glass of white wine, cheers!" He called above the music and chatter as he pressed three gold coins into the barmaid's hand.

He leaned against the bar as he tried to soak up the atmosphere and relax a little. People were rubbing against him, jostling and pushing...the static energy itself was a little too much for him. He looked left and right, trying to see if anybody was looking at him, before placing his right hand into a puddle within the bar towel, closing his eyes as began to absorb a little energy from the people leaning against the bar's metallic lining through the beer dregs spilled atop the bar. The hair on his arm stood straight up as it slowly trickled into him, the people he was....well, stealing from, starting to get a little drowsy. It was only when someone spilled his beer that John yanked his hand from the bar-towel, a large palm print left smoking slightly in the material. The results? A number of people would be reaching their alcohol limit quicker then usual today - or it would seem they would've, at least.

"Here you go!" The barmaid suddenly said to him, placing the drinks down upon the palm print itself, frothing beer sloshing in wooden tankards whilst the sparkling white wind sat elegantly in a bulbous wine glass. "Anything else?"

"Nope! Cheers! He replied, taking the beers in one hand and gingerly clutching the small wine glass in his other. Navigating the tavern with drinks was a little harder then usual - his head was spinning from the sudden influx of power, small as it was - but he managed to plonk down in his seat with a minimum of fuss, placing the wine down in front of Hono and placing both beers down in front of him. "To your health!" He cried, holding the beer in his left hand aloft, before placing it to his lips and tossing it down his throat, inhaling the beer through his beard, some of the contents spilling out as he drew the dregs out from the bottom of the tankard before slamming it back down on the table, wiping the froth from his beard with his other hand. "Woo....wow, didn't realise how much I've missed that..."

John grinned an evil smirk to the crimson-haired beauty sitting across from him. He leaned back in his seat, the wooden chair creaking menacingly as he did, and let out a low, husky breathe. He eyed the woman up and down In her seat like an animal sizing up a meal, raising his tankard to his lips to mask his low groan as he did.

"Too many things, Raven..."

He cleared his throat before taking a drink from his mug, looking away from Raven into the crowd around him. He's been away from women too long...and he couldn't tell whether it was Raven's natural beauty or his long sabbatical that was churning his blood...maybe it was both.

He looked back to her, his lust subdued in his eyes, his voice low.

"You look...exceptionally beautiful. I must admit...its taking all my will to...stay seated."