|
Post by Steinerman on Oct 25, 2011 0:54:30 GMT -5
"This outfit . . . have I mentioned I hate it?"
"Oh shush, you look quite darling in it."
"Francis, I don't want to look darling. Darling gets people looking at you, and that can lead to bad things."
Francis Larent cast a bemused glance downwards at the newest addition to his unit. Laramie didn't look very comfortable in the silky black pants and white silk shirt that he'd picked out for her during their stay in Minervum. The top button of the shirt was left undone (at her vocal insistence, she'd said it caused too much chafing on her neck). And though she appeared completely uncomfortable in it, she was quite stunning.
All the girl needed was some nice clothing and a trio of baths to get her to shine. He thought with amusement. "What have I told you about calling me Francis, Laramie? My comrades call me Larent. And as to your clothing, you and I have to look the part of rich people."
"But you actually are rich, Larent." Laramie replied, her tone suddenly chiding. "I'm just using your family name so it makes it easier to travel through Zailleon. I'm still just plain old Laramie."
He shook his handsome head in disagreement, "Plain? Doubtful. You've caught the eyes of every boy on this street."
"Not a good thing." She reminded him with annoyance.
Francis chuckled, "Live a little, girl. You're going into a dangerous situation in a few weeks, have some fun. And more specifically, get lost for a little bit."
She stared upwards at him, eyes confused. "What?"
"You heard me, get lost for a bit. Have some fun, Bob's watching out for you in his usual way, and I have to enter some establishments that you really wouldn't like." He tossed her a few coins and a charge-card. "Here's some cash, go have some fun. Consider it more training, if you'd like. Bob says you're close-combat skills are improving, and your magical talents are as such that you don't have to scream out loud everytime someone gets furious in your general area. Go grab some lunch, I know for a fact that you're hungry."
Laramie shook her head, "You're a very odd Elf at times, you know that? Aren't you worried I'll have some sort of breakdown and kill everybody in my path to a burger or something like that?"
Francis laughed out loud, drawing stares from everyone on the street. "Please, little sister." He said, reinforcing their cover that they were brother and sister. "Go have fun." He lowered his voice, "You can get into my head if you really get in trouble, have no worries that you're in danger. But really, I need to do this alone. Go grab some food."
Laramie nodded dubiously, but did as her partner asked. Leaving him, she headed off into the shopping district, hunting for food, or at least a drink. After searching for what seemed an eternity (though her rational mind told her it had only been fifteen minutes or so) she finally found a vending machine.
She withdrew the charge-card from her pant pocket and inserted it into the machine. Which was silent for a few moments before it violently spit the card back out at her. She rolled her eyes, "Seriously?" She questioned of the world in general. "The first machine I find has to hate me?"
|
|
|
Post by The Rising Dragon on Nov 2, 2011 18:35:05 GMT -5
"So yeah. That's the real reason why the Guyana Prospect disappeared, I guess."
"No way. That's just creepy! And he had to hold out on his own until the Order showed up?"
"Well he had Relayia with him, but I don't think she was much help. She's no Amatlan, whatever she acts like when it's time for dinner."
A feminine giggle carried on the air, drifting to Laramie's ears, as two teenage girls approached, both looking engrossed in their conversation.
The redhead was brushing a strand of her auburn hair back over her shoulder, letting her hair brush over the soft red vest that covered the black shirt she wore. Each step of her stocking-clad legs caused the pleated white skirt to swish about, very likely drawing plenty of eyes if the two girls had been among the throng of bystanders on the Imperial City's streets. Also with each step she made, a small locket bounced against the teenager's shirt and ample bosom.
"So when is he supposed to be back?" the blond-haired girl with her asked.
"I have no idea. All of those archaeologists need him to even get there so he may be a while," the redhead told her.
"Hmmn." The blond turned her head forward and looked up slightly, pursing her lips. Unlike her friend, she was wearing a faded yellow-orange tank-top over a white shirt, but like her, the denim cut-off shorts showed plenty of leg. The fashionable leather boots on her feet contrasted with the tennis shoes the redhead was wearing. Both girls, however, shared the same bright blue eyes, and while they wore urban apparel, they looked like they belonged out of town, especially here in Kallagulia.
Both girls glanced over as they heard Laramie's muttered frustration over the vending machine, and the blond pulled her hair back into a bunched up ponytail. The redhead angled course automatically, heading over to Laramie's aid, forcing her to follow.
"Yeah, that machine's always been a bit of a problem," the redhead announced, making herself known to Laramie. "It's always eating people's money."
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Nov 2, 2011 18:57:10 GMT -5
Laramie squeaked involuntarily and spun, surprise clear on her face over someone speaking to her.
She speedily recovered after realizing it wasn't some Stamarian soldier come to take her away. Before her stood a pair of pretty teenagers, who'd apparently taken notice of her annoyance over the vending machine.
Her mind raced with how to react, the training she'd been given in the past few weeks wasn't exactly going to be helpful in a social situation. And she wasn't nearly good enough at mimicking behaviors to try for Francis' suave, rich and elegant character. So she smiled awkwardly and nodded, "Well, at least that means it doesn't hate me in particular." She said, her voice a little on the shaky side.
She wanted to suddenly crawl into a hole and hide, realizing how frightened she sounded. She hadn't noticed how until just now. It had all been a sort of quiet background until they girls had approached her. She spoke again, this time her voice more sure as she tried to reassure herself that there was nothing dangerous at the moment.
"Sorry, I'm new to this city, do you know where a different vending machine is? I've been searching for almost twenty minutes now."
|
|
|
Post by The Rising Dragon on Nov 2, 2011 19:02:59 GMT -5
"Don't worry about it," The blond said cheekily, waving a hand. "Once you know what to do, searching is pointless."
"Rayne, can you do the honors?" the redhead asked of the blond.
"Sure," she said, gently guiding Laramie out of the way of the machine and standing in front of it. She placed her hands on her hips and cricked her head back and forth, warming herself up before she put one foot forward and started hopping, as if anxious.
The redhead grinned. "We know a cheating technique for these things."
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Nov 2, 2011 19:08:53 GMT -5
"A . . . cheating technique?" Laramie asked, confused.
A few dozen yards away, hiding behind a box, Bob Rasven rolled his eyes at Laramie's naivety. "We have got to get her out more." He muttered before going back to keeping silent watch over his young charge.
Laramie, meanwhile, looked clearly dubious as to what the blond girl was doing. Her ability wasn't helping much at the moment, either. So many people in her general area had caused her to lock down on her mind, trying to keep from being overwhelmed. Before she'd met Francis, she doubted she could have pulled it off without all of her concentration. But now that he'd given her a few weeks worth of training, she found blocking others' emotions to be relatively simple.
|
|
|
Post by The Rising Dragon on Nov 2, 2011 19:15:57 GMT -5
Rayne suddenly pivoted, spinning about lightning-fast as her leg swept out.
"Hissyyyaaaaah!"
Her booted leg slammed hard into the side of the vending machine, causing a dull metallic rang as the plating wobbled. A heavy CH-THUNK sounded as the machine deposited a single canned drink into the slot.
With a crafty smile, Rayne handed the drink to Laramie. "The machine's pretty old, so it's easy to loosen the springs."
"Of course, you can't really choose what you want to drink, but there's always a catch," the redhead said, shrugging.
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Nov 2, 2011 19:21:42 GMT -5
Laramie's eyes widened in shock. She'd guessed, at most, that Rayne would use some form of magic on the machine. She hadn't expected the blond girl to simply kick the old thing.
She eyed the drink in her hand dubiously before glancing back at the other two girls. "Did you break it? Aren't you going to get into trouble for that?" She asked, her tone clearly worried.
|
|
|
Post by The Rising Dragon on Nov 2, 2011 19:34:16 GMT -5
"It's just old, not weak," the redhead remarked. "And there's no cops around, there's not too many people out this time a day in Kallagulia anyway."
"Well, your sister said she'd skin you if she caught you kicking it again," Rayne pointed out, glancing at the redhead.
"Well, good thing I wasn't the one kicking it, huh?" she grinned back, causing Rayne to give her a flat look.
"Sure, Mesia, just let me take the fall this time," she said, sighing. "You're so noble."
"You love me anyway," Mesia shot back, throwing her a deceptively sweet smile. "Besides, Kalia hasn't gotten out of the barracks yet, we've still got plenty of time to ourselves still."
She spun back to Laramie, causing her skirt to swish. She held out her hand. "I'm Mesia. Mesia Dragonheart," she said. "This is my best friend, Rayne Tamriel."
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Nov 2, 2011 19:52:08 GMT -5
Laramie extended her free hand and shook Mesia's hand tentatively, still nonplussed about the kicking of the vending machine. "Nice to meet you, Mesia." She said politely. "I'm Laramie, Laramie Wis-" She caught herself almost too late. "Laramie Enign." She corrected with another awkward smile.
|
|
|
Post by The Rising Dragon on Nov 3, 2011 15:22:58 GMT -5
If either girl caught the slip, neither of them made any mention or sign that they'd heard it. Rayne only smiled, saying, "A pleasure to meet you, Laramie."
"So you doing anything today, Laramie?" Mesia asked. "You look like you're in need of better clothes."
"I'll say," Rayne remarked, taking in the girl's outfit. "It looks really nice, but that's something boys wear."
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Nov 3, 2011 15:45:59 GMT -5
Somewhere, Laramie was sure she heard a small chortle. She had to resist the urge to pick up a rock and throw it in Bob's direction, much as she wanted to.
She shrugged, glad she had something to focus on in the answer to the others' questions. "Didn't really have any plans besides waiting for my brother to finish up with his business meetings for the day." She glanced down at the clothing she currently wore, realizing that she looked quite out-of-place in the city. Most of the women wore fashionable dresses or skirts, it seemed.
She smiled lamely, "I guess I've never really been comfortable in anything but pants." Realizing that probably made her sound even more odd, she quickly added. "And they're a gift from my brother, so I thought it'd be good to wear them today."
|
|
|
Post by The Rising Dragon on Nov 3, 2011 16:09:31 GMT -5
"It's nice of your brother, true--gods know Rua never gets me any nice clothes--but I can think of plenty of pants that'd look better on you," Mesia said, giving her a once-over with a careful eye. "And it shouldn't stop you from getting something really nice to wear. What'd'ya say? Me and Rayne can help you find you some new threads."
"Well, if you're allowed to shop, that is," Rayne said, clasping her hands behind her back and looking off to the side. "Not every nobleman gives their little sisters total freedom, from what I've heard."
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Nov 3, 2011 16:31:37 GMT -5
Laramie shifted her weight from one foot to the other, working out the idea in her head. In all her life, she'd never been "shopping" for new clothes, not really. Francis had taken her shopping in Minervum, but that was more him picking things out, asking her if she liked them or not and then telling her to go try them on.
On the other hand, he had said to have fun, and going out shopping for clothing didn't sound like a bad way to spend the next while. It would be an experience. Yes, she nodded, having decided. "Yes, I'm allowed to shop." She agreed, smiling faintly.
"And maybe most noblemen don't allow it, but my brother and I are close, he trusts me." She added on, realizing at least that part was true. She'd only known the two DarkOps personnel for a few weeks, but in that time she'd found herself uncharacteristically drawn to them, and knew for a fact that she trusted them with her life, and she was almost as sure that they did the same of her.
"So," she questioned brightly, "You two seem to know this area, where's a good place to shop?"
|
|
|
Post by The Rising Dragon on Nov 7, 2011 2:33:23 GMT -5
"We know plenty of places we can go to," Rayne told her.
"But we kinda need to know how much you wanna spend. Or how much you're allowed to," Mesia finished.
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Nov 7, 2011 2:43:29 GMT -5
Laramie's face went blank for a moment. Of course, she hadn't even thought about how much she should spend. A errant thought popped up in her head, maybe she should use her ability to actually ask Francis? But no, most sentients got headaches from her getting into their head, better to ask the one creature she knew didn't mind.
A quick effort later and she'd slipped into the outer section of Bob's mind, it was hard to tell exactly what he was thinking, but she knew she could get the general gist of it. He was perhaps the oddest creature she'd ever come across, his mind was a frightening mixture of cold calm and sudden, raging storms. He also didn't seem to mind her invading him in the slightest.
She caught a glimpse of amusement from him, he was enjoying the entire escapade thoroughly. And he seemed to think whatever she wanted to spend was a good amount. A quick, thoughtful query revealed that he wasn't worried about their budget, which she found a little odd.
A mere second later and her face came alive as she was once again fully concentrated on the two girls next to her. "Well, brother did say to have fun." She said, truly grinning for the first time in several days. "And he gave me one of his charge-cards. I think I'm pretty well set for just about any amount."
|
|