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Post by Anthony Cartwright on Feb 3, 2022 23:06:53 GMT -8
Anthony mirrored Henley's grin—the Spring Mantles contagious and the strange adrenaline kick of risk when stirring with Autumn. He wasn't bothered by the request, having become well-versed on the weight of words among the Fae well before he met Nate, and knowing what he was agreeing to when the Nymph had asked for protection. Honestly, the whole venture had been a continuous escalation of his life being impossibly interesting, and he was beginning to understand Ivory's Avowed lover—Evelyn—and her innocent smugness about the whole affair. That and experiencing Spring first hand gave context to his adoptive parents' loving but dramatic impulses.
The crazier things got, the more his life was making sense.
The fact that he was valuable for not being magical had him eager, taking the Ocean's 11 styled briefing as serious as the whole business with the Curse. He gave a shy smile to Victor and tried not to stare at the stretched uncanny leather, gave Gavin a more familiar fist bump (having picked up on the Razorhand's careful nature around his hands), and did openly stare at Yuan as he flushed with embarrassment and tore his attention back to the documents the Autumn Fairest was handing him. To the Playmate, the mundie already seemed familiar with everyone and was somehow awkward with the one Kith who was supposed to be the social darling.
"It's not on the itinerary, right?" he clarified, showing the lack of documentation, "So I assume this is under the table? Like am I needing to get a passcode to like a-" he chuckled despite himself, knowing he sounded stupid but every hangout had been more convoluted than this, "-a secret occult auction? Or is there like a spooky dealer in forbidden wizard shit for only the Serious Buyers?" He flicked the scar where the iron ring had been implanted, taking the time to reassure Gavin he was getting regular blood tests. He was seeing where Nate was drawing the line in how bold he wanted Tony to push the envelope. He also suggested Henley actually wire him the money so the accounts would just be traced back to the Congressman's Son if anything was traced from the auction.
"...The stuff of prophecy? I mean, sure, I can add it to The List."
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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 Feb 4, 2022 22:22:42 GMT -8
The Playmate did a quick assessment of the space: Nate, Gavin and now Anthony were relatively close to each other, body turned toward one another to form a half-circle that invited Victor into their fold.
Yuan was stand off to the side. He nervously rearrange his hair while trying to convince himself that he had nothing to worry about.
Instead of letting his mind wander on things that would only make him feel like shit, the Beast pulled out his burner phone a typed a number he knew by heart. He waited for the line to connect before firing off a conversation in rapid Mandarin. He gave a slight nod to Henley, signalling that things were put in motion.
"Here's the thing. My contact says that- Anthony, was it? That Anthony is going to stand out, and the he's going to be tested. He's going to be on everyone's radar." He gave the young man a once over look. "How are your acting skills? You can't come off as suspicious in any way. And you also can't be perfect." Obviously. "They'd know you're a plant," he added, careful to cover up his inner dialogue.
It irked Yuan than someone else was being sent it. That he was asked to sit back and simply coach. At the very least, he was going to enjoy drilling Anthony on proper etiquette like a merciless task master.
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Post by Anthony Cartwright on Feb 5, 2022 18:03:27 GMT -8
Cartwright shelved his nervousness as he absorbed Yuan's instruction with a neutral expression as Henley spun his curse. It might have been information overload as Victor got back from contacting his own people and explained the rules of the shadow auction, where the mundie would have to gain an invitation to the hidden menu by proving he's a serious buyer through presentation alone. Kan Jiang met with the senator's son a few hours before the event to continue prep and for Henley's equipment to be wired and tested for continued communication, with the Tony's inflection to key phrases being hammered to meet the needs of a tonal language. The general chatter of the evening kept the Playmate's focus as he found some enjoyment of feeling secure with the social pecking order, interjecting on the mortal's behalf to get things rolling. However, Anthony quickly picked up on the flow of things, apparently learning-by-doing as he slowly amassed a social clique of swapped stories and an earnest charm of just how sheltered he was packed in a never ending fount of self aware sarcasm and bizarre experiences that had shaped his life. A few of the younger Triad members started fact checking the eccentric details and Tony rapidly found himself being cast as an exciting oddity of its own, switching to English as they sought to accommodate rather than force the outsider to filter everything through Jiang. Being boisterous, uncouth, and distinctly American about his athletic flexes went over well to diminish suspicions of being a plant, reminding hardened criminals that they were dealing with someone young, privileged, and without a leash. The warding properties behind the ring scar gained some attention, and by the time he was talking about goetia he was getting pulled to share drinks with other occultists, grabbing a bored Gavin's attention as the Death's Head moth snapped his attention from a suited woman with a sharp hairpin through her auburn bun. Yuan leaned away with a slight annoyed frown as the Autumn tugged on the mic to start encouraging caution and perhaps if it wasn't too much trouble for Anthony to keep an eye on her. As they conversed, there was a quiet beat of fear as she showed insight into Tony's experiences and prodded on themes of the truly supernatural. Henley felt that that was enough, directing Cartwright to make some distance as the mundie smoothly broke away, but not before he was handed a keycard. This was when the meeting went dark as Jiang hit the limits of what was appropriate for his rank and Victors connections took over to keep an eye on the auction itself while Tony gave up the earpiece for privacy purposes. A couple of hours stretched, with tension mounting as the Changelings ordered takeout and checked their phones, with Victor running updates to Tony being fine and dandy, followed by a sigh of relief as it was confirmed that he had secured the mirror's purchase. Tony re-established contact once the auction had closed and he was reunited with his equipment, though he didn't respond or seem to react to the questions and prompts from Yuan, threading a more intimate conversation with the auburn haired hostess as they were flanked with an older man that Jiang worriedly whispered was head of security of the Black Dragons. It went for another hour, with the man asking personal questions about Tony's life and his interest in the item under the social pressures of mutual alcohol consumption as more and more dangerous high rollers joined their corner and the expectation to match the pace of your superiors. Drunk but alive and being networked among mafia giants, Tony made his escape with other juniors to an after party, though Jiang noted he was looking a little green around the gills. By the time he was back among the Lost, his professional mask dropped of bottled terror--Apparently the woman who had been pouring on attention had more than one set of hands large strong enough to put him into a vice grip. He managed to describe his experience with an eight foot fall being of fluttering moth wings for a head, mechanically offering details as Gavin dug alongside accumulating cold sweat from supernatural tampering of his psyche.
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Post by Henley on Feb 5, 2022 18:29:10 GMT -8
Henley gave Yuan's shoulder a squeeze after the comms went dead. "Nice work. Very nice." His voice was low and thankful. It was all he could manage right about then.
The two hours of waiting to find out whether or not he'd gotten Tony killed through sheer confidence in him were the hardest part for Henley. Once the comms went dead and they were left relying on texts through Victor, Henley spent most of that time squeezing a little grey elephant stress ball and sipping on bourbon. Mimosas were out the window. This was go-time, and while he was every bit a Moneypenny in this situation, he had to accept the hard reality that right now, it was Tony's time to be 007.
When the comms went back on and they got to listening further, it was all he could do to keep his mouth shut and just let their prep and Tony's natural talents do the work. Anthony was holding his own like a professional, and had achieved what they had set out for. Perfect.
When Cartwright arrived, he hoisted his glass and gave Tony a cheer. "Yes! You were bloody brilliant!" But the mask fell quickly, and as Tony explained the woman with the moth head, he looked to the other Lost and said, "Huntsman. Or worse." He stood up and paced, squeezing the ball once more before putting it on the table.
"Gavin, want to call someone to run what he just told us about the creature by them, while Victor checks the mirror over to make sure it doesn't have a tracker on it? If there's a confirmed Fae entity there, we need to get scarce. Yuan, can you call Bastille and let him know we've got the item -- and that we'd like to come with him to present it?"
That left him with a little bit of time to do the necessary aftercare. He leaned in and put a hand on Tony's shoulder, offering him a bottle of water with the other.
"You did a huge thing today here. Truly, Tony. You witnessed the truth of the trap... and because you are an exceptional mortal man, you talked your way past something we would have had a world of trouble with. How are you doing? That must have been... well, fucking terrifying."
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Post by Gavin Graves on Feb 5, 2022 21:36:11 GMT -8
"Sounded like you were paying attention to some of my ramblings there mate. Good work." He offered as reassurance before setting to the occult debriefing, recording the exchange for later translation to coded notes.
Even though everything seemed to be going very well, Gavin was cautious. Now that the item was in Freehold control, they could all take a moment to plan next steps. There was no immediate rush.
"We've completed the mission. That's fantastic. We should take a beat and get things firmly under control. We know this was part of a trap, and we know there was a powerful Fae being at the center of it. The Trap was baited with an item that used to belong to Saturday and it's bound for him by way of Bastille. We are not gonna make a b-line straight to Saturday, nor Bastille. Yes, I'm going to make some calls, but hold off on pushing for any meeting or particular move until we get a better handle, yeah. We could put the show on the road so we aren't sitting in one spot though," Either the mirror was being watched or it wasn't. Taking some time to set up countermeasures for the case positive shouldn't hurt. Given all the other arrangements put in place around the item, he was pretty sure this was not the end of it.
With the added details noted out in brief he called to be a bother to Dame Chunhua once again. This time he had additional descriptions including one from viewing an intensely Fae being behind its mask. If those details didn't jump out at her as being one of Them in particular, it may be just as Henley surmised, a Huntsman. If turned out that way, he'd recommend that Bastille be notified that a Huntsman is likely involved and Mary should be read in, given the sensitivity of the project. Surely one of the Knights would have something to add before the bait from the trap would be brought to Saturday.
Even if both Chunhua and Mary somehow came up empty, Scorpio would be put on high alert: 'suspected Fae or Huntsman' followed by its description. As Saturday's bodyguard, the Paladin of Shadows would have something to add regarding his security regardless of the additional or missing input from experts. An abundance of caution was distinctly warranted.
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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 Feb 7, 2022 21:41:49 GMT -8
Yuan gave the mirror a look. It was an ugly thing, dull and black. As Gavin set to rambling again, the Playmate sighed and reached out for his phone. "Good work, Anthony. You did great," he said with a smile. While he did have his misgivings at first, the Beast had to recognize that Henley's plan had turned out sound and that Anthony played a pivotal role in it.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make several calls." First, he called Jiang for a debrief, promising the man a date for his trouble. Despite the different language, it was easy to tell that Yuan was being flirty.
Before calling Bastille, however, Yuan asked Gavin a very simple question: " Surely there's nothing we can do that Bastille couldn't get done better? Don't take this the wrong way, Gavin. You're the occult expert, but I for one don't want to keep this thing around longer than necessary. If a Huntsman is really behind it we don't stand a chance if it comes for us." He thought about it for a few seconds. " Why don't you try that weird eye thing, where you smudge ash over your lids? Should give us a starting point."
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Post by Victor on Feb 7, 2022 22:12:21 GMT -8
"Mm! I can do that without havin' to owe the hobs, if you'd prefer..."
Victor, piping up from his lazy lounge, raised a grin towards Gavin.
"Can't do it all the time, but I haven't used the eye in a while. It's like havin' a coupon- don't wanna pay for something if you don't have to."
Gavin barely had to give a nod of approval before Victor was leaning forwards in his seat, scrutinizing the Mirror with a squint and frown.
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Post by Krakenbox on Feb 8, 2022 23:35:43 GMT -8
The last thing Tony wanted was to come off as delicate—it wasn't like anything had really happened to him.
The word Huntsman was self-explanatory in the name, though, and he focused on keeping his expression as composed as he had at the auction and moving through the toolkit he had been building with endless counselors since he was a toddler. The faeries darted into action and he tried to let the compliments stick as he was addressed and looking Yuan properly in the eye while drawing out his vape. Nate clasped his shoulder. His face spasmed in a flinch, with an unfamiliar jolt of panic as if he expected to be struck. The thought didn't connect with the moment, and he considered the feeling could be from any number of instances this year, though he hadn't felt particularly unsafe among the Lost until now.
He reflexively apologized and dismissed as Henley spoke; still rote from when his Changeling guardians used to crumble from his rejection. Babbling a line that it was just nerves and had nothing to do with anyone. His throat caught with the prompt to talk about himself, inhaling sharply as he swallowed tears and took another snapshot of the room. He exhaled the start of a laugh, "Haah- uh. Nothing bad happened, she- It-? Just intimidated me a bit to try and get a reaction. It looked like...flirting-? To anyone looking I think, be- because of the glamour? But she like, pinned me and it felt like a car rolling forward? Like I was going to be crushed? That was more fucked than the head exploding and- man it was funny, I tried to- Like, I had to guess where to look so I just pretended it wasn't happening?"
He shrugged helplessly, liquored grin wavering. "But things went really well. I just got to...deal with a few of those guys following my Instagram now. They just want to hang, I guess. S'weird how normal everyone was acting." Jiang had explained in a subtle, indirect way that if Tony burned the network it was his ass on the line instead of the foreigner, and the student wasn't really looking to fuck over the translator that had kept everyone safe.
As Gavin confirmed the entity was a Huntsman and primed the Paladins of Shadow, Victor's keen eye learns that the power of this mirror can only be called upon once a year, and dizzies himself trying to puzzle what 'life to what could have been' might mean, and realizes the abstract nature of the phenomena was just that in its flexible manifestations, and it was up to the witch to wield the immense consequence of fate to their clever advantage.
Bastille seemed surprised by Gavin's eager information, referring to the discretion of the letter that the details on the relationship with Saturday was clearly a Need to Know basis, and assured that the mirror's transport would be properly managed. Overall, everyone seemed very, very pleased with how the operation had gone.
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Post by Henley on Feb 9, 2022 17:35:50 GMT -8
Man. Gangsters following his Instagram, a Huntsman being absolutely horrifying and Anthony managing to actually keep it all hidden. Henley's face was a mask of empathy, but this was the kind of thing that he could only be a peer for. The mortal was going to need some proper counselling, someone who he could talk to about his psychological experiences with candidly.
"You did great work. But that's absolutely scary. I would've shat myself."
He nodded in the affirmative. Full blown pants shitting would have occurred.
"Tony, there's a fellow I know. A Changeling who is a therapist, the head of a special group of our people who provide support to our society. How would you like to talk to a professional who you can be fully open with, someone who knows about the supernatural? I bet it would be a fucking relief, hey?"
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Post by Krakenbox on Feb 9, 2022 18:36:55 GMT -8
Anthony was unsure of swapping out his current counselor for a faerie, though he was also drunk and reeling from prickling fear. It made sense, and from what he had seen most of the courtiers of Vegas were mostly human with a sprinkle of nuanced triggers that tied into legends. He couldn't really come up with any other reasons why it might be bad for him.
He said he would give it proper consideration after he had had some sleep, and thanked Henley for the lifesaver.
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