Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rose swallowed, the closeness of Anolani's scent doing its best to disrupt her senses. Cutie? All the same, it felt good to be praised, on an instinctual level. The cheek-pat raised a host of conflicts. It was demeaning. It was possessive. It was complimentary. It was done by a superior.

It left her frozen.

It took until Morgan spoke to get Rose to snap out of her daze. A position on the Dominator. The opportunity to associate with the top Cabal agents around. And... it was true. She was alive, and her patron was not. And she had had no real defenses against the Lucifex... then again, it had been mostly pinned before she had even been able to wake up. It was chance more than skill that had left her alive.

You're supposed to be here.

Really?

Cheer up, have a drink.

Well... fine then. If they were going to insist, it wasn't as if she could disobey them. They could all kill her in an instant. Still not wholly convinced, Rose at least set her shoulders and turned to Anolani, her features finally relaxed. "Thank you. I can't say I agree entirely, but..." She faced Morgan, still speaking to Anolani, "... I'll at least accept the mission." The were nodded once, and that was that. Her effects were all she needed. Let's kick some Hive a**.

Anolani had a Cheshire grin on her face. The look on her face was one that said I could kill you if I were so inclined. She nodded at the man's words and thought about what she'd need from her small home. Change of clothes, flask of water, my poisons, antidotes... Before she knew it, her glass was finished and it was time for her to leave. "So where are we meeting tomorrow?"

Anolani felt her breathing become strained, ragged - she felt it stop entirely, and demon or not, she needed oxygen.

"You sure we need her?" Callyx Meridias asked, picking up the choking demoness in a single hand. "She can't even stop me from choking her."

"Meridias, how many people can stop your kinetics? Really?"

"... You. And... no, wait, I killed him. So just you. Still, look. She doesn't even have the strength to struggle. And that impudent grin. Makes me want to-" Anolani felt the hand tightening on her.

"Meridias, behave yourself. She'll learn proper respect in time. And she has her uses."

The Demon-Minor grunted noncommittally and dropped Yarah, who gasped for air as Meridias released his magic. "As you say, Captain."

"Local Sage temple at noon. They're going to gateway us to the Necropolis, where the Dominator is docked," the Captain responded, repressing a smirk.

Anolani felt the slight push from Victor and raised an eyebrow at the nudge. She owed this man nothing, so why listen? Then again, he did help during the fight. That alone merited some attention. "Alright, we're off."

The two left the building rather quickly before Anolani stopped outside the building. "So was there any reason you wanted to get out of there so quickly?"

Anolani listened and gave a slight smirk. "You owe me nothing." She ran a hand through her hair. "Good night then." She left to head home. Hopefully, the next day would be better. At least I'll be more prepared.

Johnstone, on his way home, passed Victor, who had paused to enjoy another cigarette. Victor recognized Johnstone's particular flavor of mana right away; still rather flamboyant.

"Hey," he called softly. "Come here." He pulled from his cig and waited.

Victor looked a long time down his nose at that extended hand, cigarette smoke curling gently in the still night air around his head. His arms crossed in front of him as he looked down his nose at that hand, he thought.

His blindfold and the dark night made it hard for Johnstone to see his expression, though it could be said his face was hard to read to begin with. Victor was a master of hiding his emotions, though not always controlling them.

That hand in front of him. What did it mean?

The Resurrected was patronizing him. He didn't think that the Unified were on the same level, but he still put out that hand as though he did. He was trying to trick Victor; playing him for a sap. When crunch time came, Johnstone would undoubtedly look down on Victor, underestimating him, and then the Unified would strike the Resurrected down, like the b*****d of a snake he was, for all the ridicule that he and the rest of his kind had thrown down at Victor and his.

But...wait. Victor looked again. Johnstone's aura, while it was twisted as all Resurrected were, was different. There was a sort of weird light inside it. Victor had seen it before: the two souls weren't totally synchronized yet. Not a big deal. But there was another gleam there. It wasn't the darkness that most people had...in fact, it was sort of...well, what was it? Victor didn't want to make a conclusion at any point, but it was almost like a noble spark. Sort of the opposite of any other person in the Cabal.

Damn it! Victor couldn't hate him solely on principle now; he wasn't a regular Resurrected. Only time could tell.

He shook Johnstone's hand, though grudgingly. His lip even curled slightly at the touch. "Better. I think. And...you?" He swallowed as he asked. It was hard.