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Post by Blaze on Aug 25, 2021 23:42:30 GMT -8
"Two new acquaintances. My lucky day."
The two men looked almost like polar opposites of each other - both had something birdlike about them, but that's where the similarities ended. Age, appearance, even the vibe they were giving off were completely different - it felt like being a character in an ad with a 'before-after' image. Still, the Elemental is nothing if not professionally pleasant and gives a polite chuckle at the bearded Fairest's joke before answering his question.
"I ran in the archery contest - even managed to win, good to know I still have my edge with me. Summer should be pleased with the offering of sweat and blood." She gives the younger man a solid handshake and a smile back, although the shocked look prompts the shadow of a question to appear on her own face, but she smothers it quickly and follows with something else, knowing the middle of a social event is not always the ideal setting for deep diving "I'm Blaze, by the way. 'Sofia' in the mundane crowd."
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Post by Victor on Aug 26, 2021 5:05:32 GMT -8
And near as quick as there was one, there were now two. Victor didn't bother hiding his surprise, brows raised as he straightened up and took a step back, adjusting to face the both of them. As comfortable with strangers as he was, the Chimera wasn't used to being swarmed- his presence wasn't one that would generally be described as magnetic, after all.
"Bother? Its nice to know this thing was worth the effort to dig out. Had to move half a cabinet to get to it."
The corners of his lips disappeared behind the black feathers in his mustache as he grinned. Regardless if the compliment was genuine or simply a conversation starter, Victor appreciated it all the same- if he had to be knees deep in socializing, there were certainly far worse people to have taken notice of him. He took Yuan's offered hand and shook it with a grip that was friendly, if not a tad bit too firm.
"Victor. Not to be mistaken with the victorious-"
He turned his smile to Blaze
"Now that, that would be you. And congrats on that! If you sweat for it you earned it square."
For a brief moment the Fairest looked as though he would pat Blaze on the shoulder, like rough men do when congratulating each other over beers. The action was however, reconsidered before his hand lifted even a quarter way there, and fizzled out into a vaguely encouraging waved gesture instead.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Aug 26, 2021 6:09:16 GMT -8
They each shook his hand, which in turn allowed Yuan to sneak a little peek into their psyche.
“It works with your complexion,” he further reassured Victor. “It’s very nice to meet the both of you. I’d say I’m surprised we haven’t met before, but I’m not exactly a regular either.” His Mantle swirled around him, small white parachutes swaying as he moved back to step out of personal spaces.
“Blood? Did you shoot someone?”
He hadn’t seen much of the competitions, cooped up as he had been in the first aid station. He’d seen the aftermath, but Blaze looked conspicuously unharmed for having been in a Hedge Duel, if that was where she had live targets.
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Post by Blaze on Aug 29, 2021 2:18:50 GMT -8
The Sprite didn't think much of Victor's gesture - to her, it was just a part of the usual social song and dance that people do, including at sports events like this one. An act notable as part of a whole, not necessarily in itself.
"Thank you. I'm just glad I was able to support the Season in my small way."
There was no boasting in her voice or features, there wouldn't be even if she had the energy for it. Blaze's humility appears to be genuine, but it never crosses the line of sheepishness. She knows her place, and the place of the Courts, but she is also aware of her worth, even if the displayed skills are no longer the main part of who she is.
"Wayland." She confirms to Yuan as if that's the most natural thing to do "It was an archery contest, and she did almost have me a few times. I mean, it's high Summer, some violence is inevitable - she's fine, though."
The arrow didn't pierce anything important, and besides - there was a first aid station just outside of the arena.
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Post by Victor on Aug 29, 2021 6:26:27 GMT -8
Yuan's further compliment roused from Victor a deep chuckle steeped in incredulity. He shook his head but said nothing of it- denying compliments never worked, and the Chimera wasn't in the mood to fend off white lies about his appearance. Thankfully he wasn't the one telling the most interesting story at this circle, so the spotlight was moving before he even had the chance to wrestle it away from himself.
"Ah, some Spring's attending to her I'm sure."
He waved dismissively, speaking reassurance with a confidence he had little business wielding
"And yeah, adding a little blood to this sort of thing helps spice things up. Live targets wouldn't be my first thought for an archery contest, but I'm not surprised and I can't blame 'em."
Victor shrugged his shoulders and straightened back up, turning an eye to Yuan
"You haven't had the chance to step up to the plate yet, have you?"
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 1, 2021 14:35:50 GMT -8
Was that judgment from the Fairest? The way he looked at him, the implications of his words. Because he looked too clean, too well put together. Like somehow that made his job less important. With a practised gesture, the Beast tucked stray hair behind his ear and shook his head.
"Not really. I'm one of those Springs you just mentioned."
His Mantle swirled around the little group, bobbing peacefully in response to Yuan's statement. It was always the same - let Spring patch people up. The Beast smiled, flashing pearly canines and dismissed the thoughts. They had no place in polite conversation. He brushed off the comment as a joke, choosing not to linger on bad impressions and giving his new companion the benefit of the doubt. Companions. Blaze seemed to have the same careless attitude toward bloodshed.
"Our job has become more difficult lately, so we have less free time than we used to."
He turned to the Winter Courtier, concern plain on his face. "After the Ritual Incident-" No, that was a bad topic. It would kill the mood.
"What about you? Will you be participating?" he asked the Fairest.
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Post by Victor on Sept 1, 2021 17:30:09 GMT -8
Something in Victor's expression faltered at the mention of the incident, though it recovered before it could quite become plain. He shook his head, squinting almost suspiciously in the direction of the arena.
"No, peer pressure willing of course."
It was a joke- he couldn't imagine anyone actually trying to get him in on the action
"I'm no athlete, and there's a long line of autumns more deserving than me. No, I'm just here for support-"
the Fairest's eyes (if you could call either of them his own) refocused on the group
"and to talk to pleasant folk."
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Post by Blaze on Sept 2, 2021 6:17:39 GMT -8
Had this been a private setting, Blaze would just urge Yuan to spill what he meant to say about the incident, but that was obviously out of the question now. Between trained neutrality and a lack of personal connection the Sprite appears to pay the slip-up no mind and ignore it in favor of other topics.
"Thank you for your service, Mr. Yuan." she says simply and apparently sincerely "And for your compliment, Mr. Victor, you're quite good company yourself. What do you do, though? Surely cheering on others does not occupy all of your time?"
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 2, 2021 15:58:12 GMT -8
The Beast was happy that the attention was drawn elsewhere. He hadn't meant to bring the mood down, simply to explain why the attitude of 'some Spring will fix it' was problematic these days.
But there was a reaction there, an attempt to cover real feelings, something the Beast wanted to sniff out.
He nodded along Blaze's comment, playing the part of the attentive listener for the time being.
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Post by Victor on Sept 4, 2021 7:00:31 GMT -8
The question prompted a double-take
"No! Not if I can help it. I clean up other people's messes. Specialize in preventing the mundanes from stumbling across things they shouldn't. At least, that's what I do when people know to call me. Rest of the time I'm on advertising duty."
Judging both by the beleaguered tone and rehearsed quality of his sales pitch, Victor was doing the latter more often than the former in recent days. Though he paused between this thought and the next, there was no time to interrupt.
"Speaking of! Either of you know someone who's handy with papers? I'm looking for someone who can help with an ID issue."
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Post by Blaze on Sept 4, 2021 14:49:40 GMT -8
An ID issue? Something common among the Lost perhaps, but paired with what Victor revealed about his skills it took on a certain sinister quality, even if it was wholly unintended.
"You could try Mrs. Ivory? She's one the Springs, I'd assume that if someone is as involved with charities and all that bureaucracy as she is, then they'd be able to help. Or at least point you in the right direction."
Blaze was lucky to know a guy who knew a guy back in her original freehold. A couple of unsavoury favors later she was in possession of a fancy new set of papers and didn't think about it ever since.
"And as for your occupation, Mr. Victor - I hope the messes you find are few and far between." She says, smiling slightly "But forewarned is forearmed, so I'll be sure to keep your contact information handy. If I can be so forward, do you have any usual methods of handling your assignments?"
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 11, 2021 10:38:37 GMT -8
Yuan heard Cinder announce a Hedge Duel moments before the Royal Mantle of Summer washed across the coliseum. His gaze was drawn downward for a moment before returning to the conversation at hand.
"I'm familiar with Ivory. Unfortunately, she seems to have her hands full with her charity work, otherwise I would have asked for her help already." He smiled apologetically, as if the Dragon's unavailability was somehow his fault. "But aren't you Winter, Blaze? The Court of Secrets. Surely you know someone who can solidify the mundane identities of both Victor and me."
Was he going off of stereotypes? Definitely. But the thing with those is that sometimes, they were rooted in truth.
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Post by Victor on Sept 12, 2021 2:07:28 GMT -8
"The number of messes isn't a problem, so long as I'm called to all of them. You can fix up just about anything if you get to it early enough. The real problem here is that I know I'm not."
Victor shook his head, bitter edges creeping into his words as he indicted unnamed Lost of crimes they left to fester in secrecy
"Now what I do is up to the nature of the job- getting people to turn a blind eye and making sure documents and tapes get lost is par for the course, but I've run a few heists for the cause too. Mostly though I get called in to disappear the... sticky messes. Turning red carpets white before the police show up does a hell of a lot to nip mundane involvement at the bud, and not a lot of folks are willing to scrub the aftermath of their actions off the drywall."
The Chimera spoke of his work with a humor made rough by the morbid subject- he was comfortable with it, but he at least seemed to be aware that others weren't. He nodded as Yuan made clear that Ivory wasn't a likely option for aid, but raised his brows when the Spring included himself in the request
"You too? You didn't loose one, did you?"
There was no judgement to the question
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Post by Krakenbox on Sept 12, 2021 8:50:05 GMT -8
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Post by Blaze on Sept 12, 2021 11:41:46 GMT -8
She indicated acknowledgement of Victor's words with a simple nod and a face that expressed nothing much at all, like a plaster mask. This sort of dark humour that shone through in the Chimera's statement indicated he's been doing this for a long time. Should the Sun Banishers be unavailable, the Sprite will certainly keep the man in memory.
"Now that you mention it..."
This was to Yuan, spoken with a slightly distant tone that characterised most of business-related small talk in Blaze's experience. She appears to ponder his question for a moment more before proceeding, including Victor in his answer.
"The Knights of Utmost Silence might be able to help you. They're a group that specialises in this kind of work, with a wide portfolio of skills they can bring to bear." For a wide variety of clients, no doubt "And as luck would have it one of their members, Talos, is right here in Vegas. I can approach him and ask about it, or if you'd prefer I can simply give you two his contact information, so you can negotiate directly."
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