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 Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 10:51 am
"That's luck for you, ah?" said Cesc with a half-smile as the gambler started to walk with them. Surreptitiously, he eyed the man, trying to see if there was anything on him--an amulet that looked strange, a trinket; hell, a bug even that wasn't supposed to be there. Anything not man-made could be a fel essence, right?
That's when he heard the popping sound, his ears immediately swiveling toward the noise. While Rami managed to shove whomever was closest to him, Cesc grabbed the man by the arm and did what he'd already done once that day--he went up instead of over.
"IS ANYONE INSIDE?" he called down to his group as the delivery truck careened by, and he landed quickly as soon as it passed, depositing Rami back on the ground.
A part of him wondered if he should take the four-leaf clover out of his backpack for the general safety of the group...
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 6:33 pm
"Nice to meet you, Rami!" Vesna beamed, and then shrieked as the delivery truck came towards them. She felt herself getting pushed out of the way, and then was grabbed up by Lorenzo, who frantically checked her for scrapes and bruises.
"How's your body?" he asked, already pulling out surgical thread. "Are all your limbs still attached?"
Vesna was looking past him, at the truck. "I'm okay," she said distantly, and heard Lorenzo let out a relieved sigh. He turned to look in the direction of her gaze and for the second time today, let out a Latin swear under his breath.
Reaching for his emergency bag, he went to examine the truck, announcing, "Did anyone see a driver? I'm a licensed necromancer prepared for emergency resurrections, if there are any casualties, I may be able to revive them."
Since Lorenzo seemed to be taking action, Vesna relaxed ever so slightly. That was right- he could fix anyone who died. "Where's Claire?" she asked fretfully, refocusing now that her attention was torn away from the truck.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 7:49 pm
A name was an excellent start.
"It's nice to meet you," Claire chimed back, and smiled as a bit of her tension dissipated. Still, though, she was not fully off edge and noticed over Rami's shoulder how Cesc's gaze was darting to and fro, likely looking for some abnormality. Claire took advantage of her position behind and to the side of Rami to do the same, but nothing stood out to her - a puzzled frown crossed her lips. The compass had clearly pointed towards the group, and here they were - where could it be?
There was not much more time to muse on it as a loud pop made Claire jump. The shrieks and cries of people jumping out of the way of the runaway truck drew her attention and her legs felt like jelly as she tried to move out of the way, but someone gave a forceful push and she toppled out of harm's way, curling her legs in with a screech to miss the tires. Her heart was pounding and she sat up dazedly as the truck continued on the way. Vesna, just across the way with Lorenzo, called out to her, and with a wince, Claire glanced upwards to spot Rami and Cesc.
"I-I'm okay! Are you alright?" Claire called out, climbing to her feet shakily and rushing over to join them as the airborne duo landed. She shook her head. "I couldn't see anyone from where I was --" She chewed her nail nervously, glancing towards the path of destruction. "We should go make sure though." Her stomach turned at the thought of what they might find, and she hoped - beyond hoped - that nobody had been inside.
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 6:34 am
The truck came to a screeching halt on the pedestrian walkway, just mere inches away from ramming into the concrete wall that lined the plaza. It did however, totally ran over Rami's little gambling stall. If they did not get away in time, they would have been seriously hurt.
"Holy s**t!!" Rami cursed aloud as he was suddenly lifted off his feet. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he watched the truck ran over his stuff. Just as soon as his feet were lifted off the ground, he was placed back down again. "s**t! ********> He cursed some more as he ran to inspect the damage. The table was in three different pieces and the chair is beyond repair. That was too close for comfort. "What the hell is going on today?!" The man cried in disbelief.
A little further up front, the truck driver came out of the passenger side door, seemingly unharmed. A little shaken yeah, but generally alright. A few concerned civilian had went up to check on him. The air smelled of burnt rubber as black tire tracks marked the truck's path of near destruction, and one of the front tires were totally torn to shreds having popped in the middle of traffic.
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 10:40 am
Looking at the shattered gambling stall, Cesc's brow drew low over his eyes. This was not a time for tricks and acting and fun. This fel essence, whatever it was, was out for some serious bullshit awfulness. He turned toward Rami.
"Just today?" He asked him pointedly. "I'm sorry--we're looking for something that may be causing this trouble, and it looks like you might have it. What have you gotten just today? Anything not man-made, anything new, no matter how innocuous it seems. It could be something that usually portends good luck rather than bad. I don't want you or anyone else getting hurt. Please think so we can get this thing the hell away from everyone."
There was a seriousness and steadiness to Cesc's voice. His wings were out and his ears were swiveled, listening, waiting for any other bad crap coming for them, just in case.
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 7:30 pm
Lorenzo returned from checking the truck after looking the driver over for scrapes and bruises-- he was no doctor, but he had brought Emergency Bandages with him. He stood behind Vesna and let Cesc take the lead for this one, Cesc was more familiar with the Lab, and he was also right: the time for games was over.
Vesna was still slightly panicked, but when Lorenzo rejoined the group, she felt a little calmer. She reached to play with her phone charms unconsciously, but as she did so, she felt the forgotten weight of the compass in her hand. She had been squeezing it tightly, but it seemed to still work, and she took it out now to see where it might point in case Rami wouldn't tell them or didn't know what the Fel Essence was.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 7:54 pm
Claire looked around helplessly as Rami went racing for the ruins of his gambling stand. She clutched her fingers together, looking at everyone in the collective group in turn. What was going on?
Cesc began to speak and Claire did her best to calm her racing heart. Whatever was going on was terribly dangerous, and she did not like how this was boding for everyone. She steeled her emotions as Cesc tried to get to the bottom of things by asking directly. With a glance down at the compass clutched tightly in Vesna's hands, Claire took a steadying breath and she approached the stag Raevan and the gambler, leaning up to whisper to Cesc, "You might want to get the other one out just in case, this is getting too close for comfort." After a beat, she placed her hand gingerly on the gambler's shoulder.
"Please," she urged - a simple, weak addition, she realized, and she swallowed and continued. "That was too close - you could have been killed yourself. Whatever you may have picked up might be putting your life in danger."
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Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2016 10:12 am
Rami looked confusingly at Cesc, then at Claire. What are they talking about? "Something that I had gotten just today?" He had to rack his brain a little bit. He had gotten a new pack of cigarettes this morning, some s**t from an acquaintance, and that thing he picked up in the afternoon. It wasn't entirely natural, that he knew for sure. However it was something luck related as Cesc had mentioned.
"You seem to know what you're talking about..." From his front left jeans pocket, he fished out a brown rabbit's foot.Fel Essence #70  Unlucky Rabbit's Foot
In quite a few cultures, a rabbit's foot is an amulet that is said to bring good luck. However, this rabbit's foot does just the opposite. The foot's history had been ridiculed with misfortunate and even tainted with blood, literally. The spot of blood on the foot was rumored to had belonged to it's last owner before Kyou retrieved it. The man had been met with a gruesome end in some sort of freak accident. According to information that Kyou had gathered, at least three other of it's past owners had met their end before their time.
Traditionally, a lucky rabbit's foot had to be obtained a certain way, such as the rabbit must be found in a cemetery, on a full or new moon, or it had to be killed a certain way or on a certain day or date. However, one might also believe, how could the act of killing an innocent creature just to obtain it's foot bring good luck?
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Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2016 10:34 am
Cesc's quick reflexes came in handy as he snatched the flung object out of the air, and it was the work of another second as he grabbed a jar, depositing and corking the rabbit's foot. All told, the thing disgusted him, too--blood, dismemberment and bad luck. What a…
He gave Rami a tight-lipped smile and a quick thanks and farewell: "Sorry about your stand. Glad we got this sorted."
Taking no chances--he didn't want to die, and certainly didn't want Claire to die in service of the lab, he uncorked the four leaf clover and held it gently in one hand.
"I think," he said to Claire, "we should just go back and deliver these." He frowned, looking around. "If we were closer I would just fly, but this is too far for me. But I don't want to hold this any longer than we have to. I could also take a… huh."
No. He didn't want to endanger a cabbie, a bus load of people, or a full train.
Well. Nothing doing there. He smiled a touch more brightly at Vesna and Lorenzo. "Not the taco ending I was hoping for, but hey! Let's all go out for some next time, alright?"
He started forward to give them farewell hugs, but thought better of it. Just in case the two luck essences didn't balance each other out, he preferred not to tempt fate.
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Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2016 8:02 pm
"We can take a raincheck on the tacos," Lorenzo agreed, though now that the immediate danger was over, he was starting to feel even hungrier. "I'll see you both back to the Lab before I head home. Um, you know, just in case."
"What?" Vesna asked faintly. "We're going home?"
"The sun's setting." Lorenzo said gently.
"No! We have to get tacos! And Cesc has to teach me to bake things! And I have to meet Lorin, and-- and--!!" She clutched the compass very tightly and looked appealingly at Cesc and Claire. "I barely got to do anything and now I have to go back home again?"
"We'll see Cesc and Claire and Lorin soon, I'm sure. We can get tacos some other time."
"...So I did a good job today? I can see them soon?" Vesna replied anxiously.
A faint look of realization dawned on Lorenzo's face. "Yes, Vesna, your body held up well today. You can go outside whenever you want."
Vesna's face lit up and she nearly dropped the compass as she began to scramble for her bag.
"Careful!" Lorenzo admonished.
"I have to text Eden!!" the frei insisted, and Lorenzo had to gently steer her as the group navigated towards their respective cars.
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Friendly Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2016 8:33 pm
Claire gasped when the foot was revealed and immediately thrown at Cesc; she had not gotten a good look at the offending item. Luckily the stag was quick to catch it and she leaned forward once it was dropped in its jar, pulling back a little in disgust once it registered what it was. That was a novelty she had not seen for a long time, easily since her childhood, but given what it was capable of.. the thought gave her chills. Rami had almost died because of this thing, and it had come pretty close for their group, as well - she couldn't blame the man for being glad to be rid of it.
"Thank you!" she called after him, but the words petered out as he seemed preoccupied with his own troubles. Her gaze dropped to the rabbit's foot again as the question of the hour arose - how to get it back home? The thought of driving with it made her quite nervous, but she remembered with a jolt that they had the option of the courier service, if that would work for them. The thought died as quickly as it came on, however, as she worried about a poor postal worker dropping it, or some kind of horrible accident during delivery. That would put them back at square one. As nerve-wracking as it was, it was most likely going to be up to them to make sure the job was done to fullest completion, and she nodded in agreement with Cesc and Lorenzo.
"That is probably for the best," she agreed as they walked, her words quieting to listen to Lorenzo and Vesna. Despite the bumps in the road and the scare that had started them down this path in the first place, at least they had all worked together and had something to show for their efforts. Hopefully Dr. Kyou would feel the same. The sun was setting and it would be better to hit the road while they still had daylight on their side. She was thankful for Lorenzo's offer to follow them back, although it reminded her (with a thump of her heart) of the risk the Essences they held carried with them.
"Well, I think this is moreso a 'to be continued,'" she offered with a smile. "With better things to look forward to for next time." While it was not necessarily a full parting, as they all were about to start the long trek back to Gambino with Lorenzo and Vesna following, Claire felt it best to hold a hand out to them in turn. "We'll get something worked out soon! I know Lorin will be raring to meet you both." Once the two had headed off a short ways towards their car, Claire turned to Cesc, keys in her hand, still hesitant as she asked somewhat timidly, "Would it.. would it be alright if I take the clover while we drive? Better safe than sorry."
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2016 11:29 pm
Rami could only stare in slight disbelief as the group of them just talked amongst themselves once the rabbit's foot was handed over, almost completely ignoring him. He wanted to butt in to say something, but couldn't because he had no chance to, he was just being left out of the conversation. The group began to disperse, and Rami was just left standing there on his own. "What about the tacos?" He said, but mostly to himself as he watched their backs walking away. Figures, they were just buttering him up to get that wretched thing.
Defeated, he glanced once more at his ruined stand, before rummaging through his pockets again to see if he had any money tucked away somewhere. He managed to find one single penny, which obviously wouldn't be enough for a taco. It seems like his bad luck continues, even without the rabbit's foot around. Sighing deeply, he pulled his jacket around him and began his walk back home, since he can't even afford a ride on the bus. As he passed by a homeless man near the plaza, he dropped the penny into his tin can.
Unbeknownst to the group, the clover will actually neutralize the bad luck brought on by the rabbit's foot. So their trip back to the Lab and back home were fairly uneventful, peaceful even.
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