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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 4, 2014 16:46:53 GMT -8
Inka, Florence, and their new vampire charges approached the tourist piers and the Harlan Aquarium. Florence tapped a button in the giant luxury SUV and a security guard came hustling out of a side door. He unhooked a chain from a post and let them drive onto the paved portion of the pier the aquarium sat on. He then rehooked the chain behind them and ran ahead to roll up a gate and let them drive in the side there. Florence nodded to the man as they drove in and he returned a good customer service face. He remained outside on the dock and closed the gate. Inka said, "You are welcome anywhere in the aquarium," and they pulled into a special alcove as far as possible from the commercial loading dock, and got out. Florence- "Home sweet home. Don't worry. There's good AC upstairs to keep out that smell."
Courtney- "Lead the way..."
They entered a blank concrete stairwell. As of yet, this did not look like a home. Everything they'd seen was brutally spare utilitarian accessories to a business. They could hear a dull roar of HVAC equipment in the distance and a fluttering sound from the fluorescent lights and the clack and clip of their feet on the stairs. A notable exception was Inka, who floated above the stairs like a ghost. It seemed so strangely natural. She moved in pace with Florence.
She returned to land when they'd reached the third floor - the stairwell seemed to only go up one more flight to the roof. Florence showed them into the residential part of the building, and there was a palpable sense of relief from the industrial austerity that had oppressed them on the way in.
The dim lights blossomed, filling the place delicately in a way comfortable to vampire eyes. The wood of the walls and furniture was warm and dark, the upholstery dark green crushed velvet, the floor shiny hardwood. The style was a classy blend of luxury from the last two centuries and well-maintained. The only sign of chaos was a shaggy knitted blanket piled onto one of the couches, with oversized needles still in place and balls of yarn beside it.
Inka leapt onto a chair and settled in. It was arranged near three others by a window. The curtains were opening automatically onto a starry sky as Florence went into a mini-bar and started preparing some glasses. Courtney sat down awkwardly. Florence came back with glasses of blood and sat down as well. Florence- "What do you think? Could be worse."
Inka- "I've seen worse! Heehee."
Courtney- "Mm, yeah. Very fancy."
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Post by Kristi is prescribed skeletons on Feb 4, 2014 20:25:43 GMT -8
Trevor sat down.
Trevor - "You said something about 'interesting creatures' before."
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 4, 2014 20:47:43 GMT -8
Florence handed a glass of blood to Courtney and one to Trevor. ((If he declines it, Courtney quickly accepts it to supplement her own.))
Inka- "The spirits! The world of the beyond. As a Lepponen, you should be able to see them. But to wake up this thing, this sight, you need to do something... To see one in pairson?"
Florence- "It's real easy. We'll get to it tonight. First, hm, you guys have a lot of catching up to do. Where do we start?"
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Post by Kristi is prescribed skeletons on Feb 4, 2014 21:25:29 GMT -8
Trevor - "Ah, I was wondering about my live collection. If I am allowed personal quarters they could be kept there. If this is あの。。presumptuous I'm sorry."
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 4, 2014 23:34:43 GMT -8
Florence's face fell a little. Florence- "The more evidence we leave of something planned in your disappearance, the more difficulty we will have."
Inka- "Nonsense! We should think of something. What is a living collection, Travor?"
Her pronunciation was close to accurate, but at beginnings and ends of sentences frayed some.
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Post by Kristi is prescribed skeletons on Feb 5, 2014 5:15:18 GMT -8
Trevor accepted the glass to be polite.
Trevor - "My 'bug collection', I mean."
Trevor preferred not to call it that given none of his little ones are hemiptera.
Trevor - "Nobody has been in my apartment including my landlady. People would not know if something went missing from it."
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 5, 2014 15:50:44 GMT -8
Florence- "No friends from school aware of this?"
Inka- "Aww!"
Courtney- "Mm, doubt it would come up when the police investigate. They're pretty lazy."
Florence- "This is true."
Inka- "So... maybe we tell each other our stories, the way we can learn?"
Florence- "Some stories are longer than others. Courtney, maybe you can go first?"
Courtney- "I don't know what to say. I was born and raised in Islingwode and went to Bunnington for graphic design. I wanted to be a band promoter, but that won't be possible because too many people know my face and I'm dead."
Florence- "How much do they really know about you? Maybe they'd never even find out. Or recognize you with a new style."
Inka- "Heehee. Now maybe you can tell us your story, Trevar?"
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Post by Kristi is prescribed skeletons on Feb 5, 2014 17:33:51 GMT -8
Trevor - "I grew up in a rural town called Nishiyama. Children often played in nearby forest. I spent a lot of time with insects such as cicadas in summer. I had a few close friends home, but I didn't talk about myself in class. I only insisted to help with the film using my collection because I knew August planned on using tarantulas for the film and I didn't trust him."
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 5, 2014 21:18:06 GMT -8
Florence- "He seemed quite nice to me."
Inka- "Maybe not nice enough for tarantoolas?"
Florence- "Well, that's interesting Trevor. I'm sure there's a lot more to it."
Courtney- "So..."
Florence- "In the spirit of your answers, I'll keep it brief. I was a Betanheim singer in the pre-Jazz era, just starting really, when I was brought into The Circle. I hardly remember life as a human because it was so short, but death hasn't given me too much to complain about. Now I help with running the house here and spend my time having fun with whatever interests me at the moment - dancing, sorcery, that sort of thing."
Inka- "And I was a victim of the Northern Godchurch's first witchfinding trials. Since death, I can see the spirits more clearly and now they are my very best friends! Maybe tonight you will meet Porominen."
Courtney was clearly not very comfortable with that, but didn't say anything.
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Post by Kristi is prescribed skeletons on Feb 5, 2014 21:24:49 GMT -8
Trevor appreciated Inka's understanding.
Trevor - "Courtney, you look worried. You would say there is nothing for Courtney to worry about?"
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 6, 2014 3:55:04 GMT -8
Courtney- "Er, I wouldn't say that, precisely..."
Florence- "I wouldn't say magic can never be worrying, but for Inka Lepponen to be conjuring minor divinities on your behalf - that's a pretty safe bet."
Inka- "Why thank you."
Florence- "The gifts of this lineage are actually not very powerful. All we can do as vampires that others lack is see into the spirit realm. Any influence we have is from learning magic, which is a whole separate matter. But they seem a bit related. For most humans and vampires to learn magic, they must go through some sort of crucible or face years of difficulty. We get that trick down real easy, which Thierry guessed is because exposure to spirits wakes up your magic all by itself. We can't be sure though, as there's only ever been three turned Lepponens before you guys. Maybe one of you will have more struggle with it. But we have time..."
She seemed a bit exhausted - not used to talking this much, perhaps.
Inka- "Pairhap we go to see Porominen now?"
Florence- "Mm... Maybe we're gettin' ahead of ourselves here. Trevor, Courtney... You were just uprooted from your mortal lives without a chance to 'say goodbye' ... That's bound to make you mad, or sad. If you won't be able to adjust to this, it'd be a waste for us to spend effort on you...
Inka- "I don't understand. Why would they be mad or sad?"
Florence- "Trust me. Maybe we should take it easy and sort out the rest of your mortal business, let you settle in for a couple of days..."
Inka- "Awww, I wanted to see Porominen."
Courtney- "I'm OK to wait."
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Post by Kristi is prescribed skeletons on Feb 6, 2014 19:47:35 GMT -8
Trevor also wanted to see Porominen. He wanted to make sure his collection was in safe hands, as well, and Courtney didn't look like she was ready to move on.
Trevor - "Saying 'goodbye'... What do you suggest?"
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 7, 2014 1:50:26 GMT -8
Florence- "Well, what could we do to set your minds at ease about the families you are leaving behind? Make sure an insurance settlement falls in their favor? Arrange for them to find something you think will grant them a sense of closure? I don't know... Just anything that wouldn't involve serious risk of you being discovered."
Inka- "We could get the spirits to bless them."
Florence- "That's true."
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Post by Kristi is prescribed skeletons on Feb 7, 2014 11:42:40 GMT -8
Trevor - "I don't have any unfinished business with people in my life. How about you, Courtney?"
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 7, 2014 21:00:29 GMT -8
Courtney- "I just can't even think of anything that would help... I can't imagine how they'll feel. It's terrible."
Florence- "I'm sorry. It has to be a small consolation at best, but people heal, and lives go on. Let us know if you think of anything."
Inka- "Maybe we should conjure Porominen to take your mind off of things?"
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