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 Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 2:40 am
"Aww... I'm bad with numbers..." Mr. Black said in responce, rolling his eyes and throwing back his head before letting out a hearty chuckle. "Don't quote me on the exact amount, of course, but I do remember the ballparks of what they sent me."
James reached up with his left hand and scratched thoroughly at the back of his head for just a moment, a thoughtful expression upon his face, before he looked back to the blue-haired man.
"From the blueprints we pulled from the records office in Barton, recreating the structure exactly as it was in a constrained timeframe... let's say... three months? With the basic costs of materials, as well as the additional machinery and personell needed for the work, in addition to all the basic things like pay for near round-the-clock worker pay..."
He looked up, trailing off at the end, and stared into the deep blue of the cloudless sky for a moment before he continued again.
"368 million, I think the number was. Quite a hefty sum... but you get what you pay for, after all."
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 2:47 am
*Enki cocks an eyebrow at the large number. It seemed pretty sttep, even for a building of this size. Enki is a very, very wealthy man, but that is a very large amount of money, it wouldn't leave him with a whole lot more after the building is completed*
Yes, I can pay it, but may I go onto an installment plan? As you understand, that is a very, very large chunk of money...
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 3:08 am
"Yes, this is true!" James said in responce; his arms folded across his chest as he had been in thought earlier, but now they seemed much less... thoughtful.
"...which is exactly why they sent this with me, as well..." he added; taking a few steps around to the side of Enki, and walking along the edge of the pier as he reached inside of the right breast of his jacket and pulled out another contract, much like the first.
"You see... well, I suppose you don't just yet... I represent a corporation that is hoping to expand their market a bit into the Gaia area. Of course, for that they require vendors, storehouses, factories... all of the essential basics to supply and demand. In short, to do more than import product to local vendors, the corporation went ahead and instructed their local representative... a.k.a... me... to remedy this."
He paused for a moment, realizing that he had simply prattled on for a long while about meaningless details on the matter, and tapped the folded edge of the papers to the side of his head as he shook his head slowly with a grin.
"...I'm sure you don't care about any of the details..."
"This is a bill of sale, just awaiting signiature, for the property rights to the Dead Forest. The company has expressed an interest, and as it stands it is essentially just wasted space. So... all things fair, here, there, and all that... they have asked me to make a generous offer on the property so that maybe we can carve a small chunk out of that bill, there..."
Mr. Black took a few steps forwards again, heading back towards Enki from where he was now standing at the water's edge.
"How does 200 million sound? Generous enough?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 1:28 am
*Enki can't help but narrow his eyes a bit at the proposal. They are asking to buy the Dead Forest from him, but why. Being a Gaurdian, Enki isn't too thrilled with the idea of a construction company building a forest*
And what is it that your... employers plan to do with the Dead Forest?
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 1:56 am
"Well, I wouldn't be in charge of that part of it, but I'd imagine that they'd very likely put up a big fence to make sure people don't absently wander in and get themselves killed. "If you're going to play environmentalist on the matter, then I can assure you that the place wouldn't become flat within the next six months. From what the hubub around town says, that batch of trees there is home to many types of plants that can't be found anywhere else in the world... and the contract there transfers the rights to the land to a company that makes medicine. The math should be rather apparent." (( Ahem... Enki Leviathan *Enki isn't too thrilled with the idea of a construction company building a forest* Actually... I'd be quite interested in seeing someone build a forest. Especially if they used no wooden construction materials. xd ))
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:17 pm
Julio went through town with his carbunkle friend on his shoulder, seeing the streets so lively and bussilent and not a cloud in the sky made him happy. He looks at each shop and store, people coming and going and families having fun together and caring about one another.
((moms forcing me off I am SO sorry..she just cares about her stupid F&^@ing bingo...tomorrow?))
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:46 pm
((That's fine. We'll spar another time then))
*A store bell chimes overhead as Sierra pushes the door to the dress maker's shop open, readying to leave.
Looking over her shoulder to thank the elderly seamstress again, she starts in surprise, thrusting a delicat hand out to brace herself as a small 5 year old human girl runs into her, clutching at her full skirts.
A warm smile breaks over the woman's features as she gazes down at the child affectionately. Keeling gracefully, she tousles the girl's tawny brown hair and tweaks her nose playfully.*
"There there Miranda, what's the matter?"
*The child gazes up at her, her azure eyes bright with mixed joy and sorrow. She clutches at the elf, and her words tumble out in a hurry*
"Please don't go Miss Sierra! I want to hear more stories about the faeries of the wild woods! And I want to see more magic! Oh please don't go I'll miss you!"
*Looking like she's about to burst into tears, the small girl flings herself at her newly made friend and burries her face against her, sniffling miserably.*
*Sierra sighs, smiling down at the girl and wrapping her up in her arms, lifting her into the air, and settling her on her hip as she strokes the wild strands of sandy hair back behind the girl's ears*
"There there Miranda, I can't stay right now. But I promise I'll come back and visit you."
*The salt and pepper haired seamstress, walks over to the pair, looking distressed, she makes an apologetic gesture, her face pinched.*
"I'm sorry M'lady... Ever since her parents and her brother died, she'd been terribly lonely, and there are very few children for her to play with."
*Holding the sniffling Miranda close, Sierra smiles brightly at the shop keeper, a haunted pain shining in her luminous eyes.*
"Really Mrs. Gesten it's quite all right. I had a lonely childhood myself... she's no trouble at all."
*Sierra had spent the last two nights as the only guest of the elderly dress maker and her orphaned grand daughter.
Mrs. Gesten had fashioned Sierra one of the most gorgeous gowns the elf had yet to own, and yet it wasn't overly extravegant.
As payment, she had done small jobs for them. Using small magics to charm household items and make their lives simpler. For example, she had cast a charm on the old woman's bed, that her old bones might always be warm. For the child she had made a number of enchanted toys to entertain her.
She had also spent great lengths of time regailing them both with enchanted tales that had captured Miranda's immagination and set the child to asking her a plethora of questions about the Faeries and other magical beings.
She gazes at the child, remembering the pangs of loneliness and the misery of her own youth.
Setting the girl down on the floor, she wipes her eyes dry, for she had started to cry.*
"How about I make you an extra special gift... Something that promises I will come back to visit you my little one, and keep you company in the meantime?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:27 pm
*Miranda's eyes go wide with wonder, her worries forgotten for the moment, As she bounces on the spot, excitement taking it's hold*
"Ooohh!! A Magic gift Sierra?! You promise?!"
*Sierra spares the girl a laugh as she nods enthusiastically, glancing up a moment to see the seamstress smiling at them.*
"A very magic gift. Just for you, and you only my dearling."
*While the little girl jumps up and down clapping her hands and squealing excitedly, Sierra looks up at the Child's guardian*
"This will also be a gift to you, for it will watch over her always and protect her with it's life."
*The old woman's mouth formed a small 'o' of curiosity, but if she was about to ask what the elf meant, all questions flitted from her mind as Sierra closed her eyes and seated herself cross legged.
Her spell circle blazed to life beneath her, and she started chanting in the melodic and poetic language of the elves.
Both of the human's stared at her with rapt fascination, they hadn't seen their guest do anything like this! For Sierra had only cast small charms, very minor magics, something any apprentice could do.
Now she called her power to her, and the magic of an ancient adept thrilled through her body, as she put a greater magic into work.
She weaves her hands in an intricate pattern, shaping the spell with both words and gestures. An orb of pulsing red light forms between her palms, growing in both size and intensity as she feeds power into the spell.
It begins taking form, slowly and then more rapidly, until the light looked like a dazzling shadow of a small hunting cat.
Opening her eyes, her pupils drowned in golden flame Sierra holds her hands out to either side of the light.
Gradually the red aura fades, and the creature materializes. It indeed looks like a hunting cat, but with a fluffy and silken, tawny coat. A gold collar graces the cat's neck, with emerald runes carved into the metal, emerald like the striking green eyes that the feline opened to the world.
The elf says something to it in her language, and the cat nods it's head in ascent to it's creator, then pads over to the little girl, who's mouth is hanging wide open, her eyes buldging with amazement.*
"This is Hogosha. His name means Guardian or protector, and he is yours to keep and love forever."
*Miranda shrieks in delight, and throws her arms around the cat's neck, the feline standing at about 3 and a half feet, nuzles her cheek affectionately*
::You are my one and only Miranda. I was created just for you.::
*Both of the human's jaws dropped, their eyes growing even wider as the child draws back to stare at her new pet.
Hogasha sitting obediently beside the girl, while Sierra laughs happily at their reactions.*
"Hogosha can talk to you both through mind speech. While he won't talk to you very much Mrs. Gesten, he will be able to alert you if there is ever any danger. He will however chat with you as much as you like Miranda. Take good care of him for me."
"Thaaaaank yoooou!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Sierra!! Oh thank you! I love him!! I'll take the bestest care of him I promise!!"
"That's a good girl."
"But m'lady, We can't afford to pay you for such a gift!"
*Sierra smiles at the elderly woman and rises gracefully to her feet.*
"It's a gift, there is no payment needed."
"Thank you!! If you ever need anything, a dress, gown, for you or anyone you hold dear, you just come to me and I'll see you have the best!"
"Thank you, you do me much honor. Now that you have Hogasha though... I must be on my way... There is someone very special to me that I must find."
*The child who had now scrambled atop her pet's back chimes on boisterously*
"But you will come back and visit us? You promise Right?!"
*laughing Sierra hugs them both, and scratches the feline behind the ears.*
"Aye dear heart, I promise."
*With a few more heartfelt goodbyes, the elf maiden made her way back out into the busy streets of Latent, ready to make on her way in Search of Vahn.*
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 5:43 am
Grumbling a small bit, Marina rolls onto her side and slaps unhappily at her mercilessly chirping alarm clock. Finally managing to hit the right button, she stuffs her head under her pillow and pretends it's not time to rise. Can't be. She only just got in bed... a few hours ago.... 7 maybe?
Okay, I'm a terribly lazy girl, sue me!"
Sighing at the fact that she has indeed had a decent rest, she rolls herself out of bed, literally. Upon landing in a sheet tangled heap she sits up and yawns. Then she wrangles the sheet free of her limbs and climbs to her feet. Sluggishly she makes her way to her chest of drawers and digs out a clean bra and pair of underwear. Then she trudges off to the bathroom.... Cold water might help.
Fifteen minutes later she reemerges scantily clad in her under garments and slinks over to her closet. Boredly she flings open the door and begins rifling through her assortment of skirts, tops and jeans. After a moment she settles on a small light colored jean skirt and a pale pink tee shirt that reveals most of her tummy and is adorned with small rhinestones arranged in a chick design. Quickly she slips into the clothes and wanders her way back into the bathroom.
Leaning in to see better she rummages amongst her make-up and finds some black eyeliner, which is thinly applied and some white eyeshadow which also goes on lightly, giving her eyelids only a small amount of color. Annoyed for no reason at all with her mascara she leaves it alone and pulls out a few small pallettes of face paint. Carefully she uses a small fine tipped paintbrush to swirl lines of various pinks and reds over her face. Then she accents the lines with black. The final result is an intricate design of pink and red flowers seeming to grow around her left eye. Finally she snatches a small tube of lip gloss and adds a light pink shine to her lips.
Satisfied, she flicks her brush through her hellishly straight teal hair then makes for the door. Pausing only for a moment, she slips a pair of white sandals onto her feet and grabs a jean purse before she leaves the apartment.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 5:59 am
((I dun think I liked the blue color... so now ... it's black))
Humming in a soft alto, Marina weaves her way through the early morning crowd. Merchants preparing for a day of business and others, whose only reward for rising early is that they like it, mingle in the streets. Flashing a bright smile to all she meets, Marina walks at a slow pace, even pausing a bit to browse at early opened stalls and to smile flirtaciously at any cute men that stray across her path.
Upon reaching the small cafe she waitresses at, the teal haired girl produces a small hair band from her purse and begins drawing her hair back into a simple ponytail as she makes her way back towards the kitchen. As she passes the bar counter, she snatches a doughnut and then disappears into the kitchen.
First order of business is to clock in with none other than the cafe's owner, Rochelle. Sauntering into the bosses office, Marina plants herself on the edge of a chair and smiles as she nibbles at the doughnut.
"I'm here" Marins grins happily at her boss.
"I can see..." Rochelle, a small thin framed woman with short blonde hair, returns Marina's smile.
"I'm early too" Another smile and bite of the pastry.
"I see that too..."
"You should give me a raise"
"You should get to work"
"Oh...right. Off I go!"
Grinning, Marina exits the office and snatches a small white apron from the wall hook. Quickly tieing it around her waist, she also snatches up an order booklet and pen. Carefully tucking the pen and notepad into her apron she once more makes her way into the front of the cafe and gets to work, smiling, flirting and taking orders.
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:21 pm
It was sometime around midnight, a time when most people would be in bed asleep and he was free to roam the city without much worry of being spotted. The only people that were likely to be out at this time were the kind of people he hunted. Why did he hunt people exactly? Was he a bounty hunter? Perhaps a thug looking for easy prey, or maybe a vampire looking for his next meal. Either way, he was out and he was on the prowl as he moved through streets and alleys of the town.
He passed slowly into the circle of light cast by a street lamp and anyone looking would have seen what appeared to be an average sized man wearing a heavy black cloak that seemed to cover every inch of his body. The hood that covered his face moved, as if the figure were looking around and suddenly he was off again. There was a swish of his cloak and something moved at his feet just as he was passing out of the light. It was a quick view of something that slid out from under his cloak for only a second before it was hidding again. Anyone watching would have sworn it was a tail. But who could be sure?
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:30 pm
And Marina certainly isn't paying attention. Boredly the girl walks along a practically deserted street. There were only a few people out this time of night, but there is still a chance she will find someone to hang out with for a little while. Tomorrow she has an evening shift at the cafe, so she plans on staying out just a little late.
Wandering really, she doesn't make much move to look around unless something catches her attention. The faint rustle of the man's cloak and his footfalls do just that. Briefly she peers in his direction, then goes back to minding her own business. He doesn't seem like the type who would want to go find a party, so she isn't much interested.
The pale light from a pole light illuminates the girl's teal colored hair and shows the swirls of flowers around her left eye. It even refelcts dimly off the small gems on her shirt. Then she passes back out if the light.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:08 am
The figure turned to look toward the girl as she passed through the light. He saw the glitter of the gems on her shirt and that was all the reason he needed to follow her. A young woman such as herself would appear to be attractive and easy prey. He kept his distance, a lot of distance actually. So much so that it would be hard to notice he was even following her as she slipped through the shadows.
It had been easy for the girl to notice him the first time, he hadn't been trying to hide then. Now would be a different story. He had experience at being both the hunter and the hunted throughout his lifetime and he had learned well how to go unnoticed. He wasn't completely undeteactable, but it would be fairly hard to tell he was there.
Now, why had he chosen to follow the girl? Well, the reason was a simple one and he was sure that reason would reveal itself very soon.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:25 am
And the reason was soon to show itself.
Marina had quickly dismissed the man from her thoughts after they passed, and in doing so she wasn't aware of the fact that he was following her. She also wasn't aware of the fact that someone else was watching her.
From across the street a man of over 6 feet in grubby jeans and a black coat was watching her pass under the pole lights and back into the shadowy areas. He watched and then moved. Quickly he was across the street and following closely behind. Barely glancing at him as he crossed the street, Marina again dismissed the new man.
However, she was faintly aware that he was behind her, and that he was moving closer. She knows that Latent has a rather low crime rate, but a small chill travels down her spine and she quickens her pace. Hearing his footfalls also increase she panics and sets out at a run, that is hindered by her tight jean skirt.
Only seconds later she is tackled from behind. As she falls she twists as best she can to face her attacker and draws up her purse to smash it into his face. Once they hit the ground the man knocks the purse from her hands with one of his larger hands and clamps the other over her mouth.
Small muffled whimpers escape the girl's lips and as her attacker moves to grab her wrists, one hand slips out to the side and then, in a small movement, makes a motion as if she were going to slap him but her hand never connects. Instead a small splash of muddy puddle water slaps against the man's face, and then both of her hands are trapped above her head.
Struggling madly she tries to kick her legs, but as she is hauled to her feet and shoved against a building wall, the hand that had been covering her mouth moves into the man's coat and produces a small knife. Freezing still, Marina whimpers again and squeezes her eyes shut as the tip of the blade presses against her exposed stomach.
The man's voice is low and rough as he whispers into her ear. "Calm down and behave and I won't hurt you. Now just come with me and in a little while you'll be free to go. Got it?"
Trembling she simply nods.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:55 am
The thug never even heard the cloaked figure come up behind him. All he felt was the vice like grip that suddenly pulled him away from the girl, leaving her unharmed. There was a deep feral growl. "Or, you could pick on someone your own size, coward." the voice was Scottish and obviously masculine.
"What the hell? Mind your own business mister." The thug rounded on the stranger as he was released.
"Well, you see, this is my business because I'm the business of protecting." The thug didn't bother to speak anymore, instead he decided to take action, a typical reaction from someone of his nature. He lunged forward, aiming for the strangers head, but all he managed to do was catch the hood with his knife, knocking it back as he went past his opponent. He turned to make another attack but before he could even land the blow with the knife, he found himself with his arm twisted behind his back and the knife on the ground.
The cloaked figure grabbed him by the front of his jacket and spun him around, lifting him off the ground. There was a flash of white where the cloaked figures eyes should be as the man started to quiver. Anyone with a good sense of smell would have smelled the piss that started to soak into his pants. "W...w...what... what the hell... what are you?" the thug stammered, his eyes wide with fear.
"I'm giving you one chance to run. If I catch you harassing anyone else in this town again, I won't be so leniant. Now go." The figure released his hold on the thug and watched as the man scrambled to his feet and took off down the street.
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