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Post by Kai Rose on Dec 28, 2020 0:02:33 GMT -8
"We'll get it later," Kai said, flashing the Golden Hind a bright smile. He was just so exciting to be around, wasn't he? "Working security? Naw. I don't do wall runs when I'm working. I just wanted to see the tiger and happened to twist the timeline when you got killed the first go around," she bantered with a grin. How was it not The Best to talk to this guy? She looked to the crew. "Mr. Chasseur, I have the pleasure of introducing my good friend Ivory," she gestured to her friend and his Courtmate first, "my partner in this investigation, Linden," to the Ogre next, "and Agrippa, who has been kind enough to help us out as a liaison from your Court." She gestured back to the Gate. "Was that what you invited me to hunt? What even was that?"
Her heart was pounding a little. She snapped her eyeline off the Sunset Prince, looking to the calming presence of Lancelot to slow the rush a bit. God, Spring was powerful in this one...
"Yes, I'm hoping we can trouble you for a chat. We're wondering what information the shooter provided once he was taken down, and I need to see the room where it happened so we can do some forensic work and try to figure out who popped the guy forward with such perfect timing."
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Post by Agrippa on Dec 28, 2020 22:44:41 GMT -8
A mile long smile wavered only slightly as Agrippa winced at the horn injury- the hand unoccupied by the notepad floated up to brush against their own horn, as if to assure themselves that the sympathetic pain they were feeling really wasn't their own. Upon a second introduction by Kai in as many minutes, the unicorn nodded and eagerly accepted the handshake from the Sunset Prince.
"Good morning!"
Their grip purposely fell just short of Buck's. They were trying to balance being polite and being appropriately enthusiastic. They waited for Kai to finish before adding with the subtlest hint of apology
"Hopefully what we get out of this for you will be worth the interruption."
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Ivory
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Pres 4 (Regal) - SL 1 (Noble) Fairest Hunterheart
Posts: 588
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Post by Ivory on Dec 29, 2020 17:05:24 GMT -8
Eyes widen at the Sunset Prince's arrival, mouth lightly open in awe. She had never gotten past the door at Mabon, so this was as close as the Pale Dragon has ever been to the figure of her interest.
As he closed the gap, vaulting over the rail to join the group, the paragon's Mantle was felt more abruptly. Ivory's form perked up, her lips parting in a wide smile as she breathed in deeply, the exhilaration inherent within Buck's sphere take over blooming within
At the handshake, Ivory is more than happy to accept it, though the satyr's grip is admittedly far more firm than hers.
She's about to introduce herself before Buck nods to her, noting her desire from the Mabon Feast. A look of genuine, welcome surprise hits her features.
"You know me, sir?" she asked.
Then Kai dives in. Pushing forward straight into business, eliciting a slight frown from the Draconic. Ivory understood, of course. They weren't here for the pleasure of engaging Buck, but to come so close...
Another time. That and seeing Ivory among those investigating his attempted murder could win her some attention from Buck himself. This was beneficial, regardless of whether the established court warmed to her or not.
Lacking the sense of Kai, Ivory's eyes remained on Buck, the sensational feeling of his Mantle guiding her only to silence as Kai spoke. It's not that she was unengaged, she was just enjoying riding the wave.
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Post by Buck Chasseur on Dec 31, 2020 1:17:02 GMT -8
Ivory's own surprise gets a throaty laugh, "Yes, yes I do! We talked for some time, but I suppose you were marvelously drunk to not remember."
Still chuckling, he swiftly gains a crystalline glass with an amber liquid, despite the early hour. He nods and points a finger at Kai's mention of the cat. "Sir Icarus is surprisingly less of a bore than I expected. I suppose that is why he isn't Onyx." He winked at his motley mate, who seemed to ignore the comment; Lancelot's attention trailing from the Hedge and back.
"That was a hydra!" He said, offering the Polychromatic a torn tooth the size of three fingers pressed together. He pried it from the gorgeous shotgun, which shimmered in a cast geometric pattern of bismuth.
"I heard the Arrayer and Sage Escort bragging about bagging one of its heads for the Ashen Hunt, and I couldn't exactly just let that sit. Offer still stands, however. I heard tell of a Huntsman sniffing around the Goblin Market. Seems like something more worthy of our time than just messing with a dream of frustration." As Kai spoke, he busied himself with prying a second tooth from the gun, looking down the...scope? It was odd the piece had one at all. It looked more like a blunderbuss. An annoyed sigh quietly escaped his lips as he spun it back to the holster.
"Not much- information, that is. He's a bit addled, even asking that I put him out of his so-called misery." The Runnerswift shrugged, showing how much he cared about fulfilling that particular Desire. "Insistent that he had to murder me. But is simultaneously quite upset at the notion." He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something witty, but his expression managed to stay serious with the topic, clearing his throat as Lancelot gave him a levelled stare.
The Unicorn gets a friendly clap on the shoulder, "Helldiver? Good morning to you too." How the Sunset Prince had so rapidly picked up on their Kith was a mystery. "Know anything about ghosts, planeswalker?" Lancelot shakes his head, and Buck smiles, "Right. Don't want to be confusing. That question is unrelated."
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Post by Kai Rose on Jan 1, 2021 21:59:25 GMT -8
Kai shuddered a little bit at being reminded of how not a bore Icarus was. "I wouldn't know, sir. Honestly, I showed up and was subjected to the Eye of Sauron, if you remember," she said, a wash of anxious brown flowing through her crystalline skin before returning to a more neutral cyan. The tooth was offered and she accepted it, peering at it with impressed eyebrows. "I... wow. That's so cool..." She didn't say anything else about the hunt right away. No, she stared at the epic tooth and the epic story and wow everything about this guy was so epic --
A pulse of gold started at her core, near her heart, and she was reminded of why they were here.
"Let's talk about that hunt later on, shall we? Right now I'm hunting the person who wanted you dead, which seems like a priority target, yeah?" She flashed him a smile. "If he's insisted that he has to kill you, but doesn't like that idea, that tells me that someone put him up to it or some nonsense is probably happening to his mind. Could we speak to him? Alone to start would be best, I think."
Magic nonsense with the mind was something Kai had some experience with.
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Post by Agrippa on Jan 2, 2021 5:55:55 GMT -8
Agrippa failed to keep the glimmer out of their eyes, even as Buck put enough force to their shoulder to nearly throw them off-balance.
"I would love to talk about them, once we're done with this investigation!"
Judging by tone and expression, the beast was more than sincere- they would be disappointed if the conversation never happened. They chanced a glance towards Lancelot, hoping dearly that their adhesion to the investigation would assuage any disapproval he might have towards Agrippa's own enthusiasm. Again, Agrippa nodded as Kai spoke.
"The shooter didn't mention accomplices?"
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Linden
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Presence (3) Steady
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Post by Linden on Jan 2, 2021 15:18:44 GMT -8
As Buck's mantle rushed into the space like a tide, Linden's heart fluttered from the sheer exhiliration. It made them want to run fast, jump high, headbutt someone as hard as they could. It felt a bit like the best parts of being drunk: anything was possible, anyone was a potential friend, the outcome of actions were much less important than the fun of taking them.
He must be so much fun in a fight.
Even through all of it, the looks that were passing between Lancelot and Buck caught their attention. So much nonverbal communication, they were a little envious of such an understated show of intimacy. But as the conversation finally turned to the person Kai was hoping to speak with, the stare Lancelot set the Sunset Prince's way made them curious.
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Ivory
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Pres 4 (Regal) - SL 1 (Noble) Fairest Hunterheart
Posts: 588
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Post by Ivory on Jan 2, 2021 21:33:30 GMT -8
There was confusion and then relief decorated on Ivory's face as Buck had spoken of some past meeting. One of which Ivory had no recollection, but in which she apparently had made a good conversation.
"The loss is mine," she compliments, "It's unfortunate our visit is under less desirous circumstances, but I sense other opportunities will arise."
Ivory remained silent during the final comments of the hunt, but her eyebrows do perk with some interest. She had served as a harrier during the hunt of the Mabon Feast, after all.
With Kai proceeding to the investigation, Ivory's gaze shifts to the Polychromatic. Her glass lifts as she drinks in what she had been given, happy enough for the Polychromatic to take center stage. Ivory wasn't the head here. She had come to gift her talents to Kai's investigation. What that entailed was yet to be seen.
As more bits were provided regarding the investigation, Ivory's warm features became more serious in their countenance. Without title by the sitting court or not, the will of Spring in Buck Chasseur's Mantle was clear. The need to protect him seemed clear enough to the Pale Dragon.
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Post by Buck Chasseur on Jan 5, 2021 12:49:00 GMT -8
Linden senses that Lancelot is stressed, caught between something unsaid and the Joyeux flaunting that he is treating a murder attempt as something trivial and frankly, uninteresting. The unspoken communication is a threaded warning, 'be careful with what you say and how you act.' "Lancelot can take you to him. No, Agrippa, he's bottled up and a bit of an addled mess. Clearly he was kicked into the future with precision, as was said." Buck said after a pause. "He- doesn't really have a place to go back to. He's been seen to in the guest wing, and asked to keep working in the garden." The Beast checked the Patek Philippe watch lashed to his wrist, some wear and tear on the outrageously expensive leather, finger drifting as his mind did the calculations before pointing it confidently towards the fountain area. "Just promise that you will treat him with the same dignity you would afford any of my other guests." His smile was warm, confident things would be smoothed in no time.
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Post by Kai Rose on Jan 6, 2021 14:28:26 GMT -8
Buck really wasn't at all concerned about this, was he? Or perhaps he was, but was just convinced that the man who had fired the shot at him was not actually guilty of anything. Of course, the promise asked was a complicated, broad one. Kai had already used Contracts on other guests at his home in the Mabon Feast, unconcerned about notions of psychic boundaries. That was how she had learned the details of the corruption within Spring: a single sniff. It meant interrogation was out of the question, but hey. There were plenty of more subtle options.
"Sure, Buck, if that's what you want," she agreed, then headed on her way to Martinez.
The man was just... there. You know. Pulling weeds, doing his job, whatever normal people who try to commit murder and get supernaturally stopped do. Of course, in this timeline, Buck hadn't been killed, so what was he guilty of? Conspiracy? She dismissed the thought, focusing on the task at hand.
"Mr. Martinez?" She flashed the man a smile as she approached. "My name is Kai Rose. We'd like to ask you a few questions, if you've got the time."
Glamour stirred through her nostrils as she drew in air, and with it, his hate. Where did it all begin?
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Post by Krakenbox on Jan 6, 2021 15:05:19 GMT -8
"You sure about that?"
True to Buck's statement, the man's mind is an addled mess, the scent of the vision twisting and pulling like smoke on the breeze. The intensity of the Contract and the Wizened's focus breeches the fog. The hesitation over taking the shot is overridden. This ghost has been stalking the grounds, following you home, talking to your family. Endless questions, never around when you try to prove it.
Everyone thinks its the drugs. They don't even give you a chance. The people you thought you had finally earned your respect look at you with pity, now.
You'd been warned they were here to murder your benefactor — like a vampire it had been let in.
Mad laughter claws through your psyche.
"I'm not even here."
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Post by Agrippa on Jan 6, 2021 15:36:36 GMT -8
Far from disappointed, Agrippa nodded happily at Buck's request. They didn't think they could stand to watch anything more forceful than a terse conversation, anyways. As they followed Kai up through the garden, the way they carried themselves shifted, ever so slightly. A smile turned warm and a drawing up to full height that managed elegance rather than intimidation- the quiet pleasantness of earlier was overtaken by a gentle calming grace. Again not wishing to interrupt the mission leader, Agrippa held their tongue as Kai introduced herself.
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Ivory
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Pres 4 (Regal) - SL 1 (Noble) Fairest Hunterheart
Posts: 588
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Post by Ivory on Jan 7, 2021 20:13:20 GMT -8
Ivory followed, wine glass in hand as the group moved to the addled man, following calmly behind Kai as she led. She was a natural.
Ivory would survey the grounds, so as not to overly crowd the man with strangers. Still, when she managed to catch his eye, the Pale Dragon would smile, her expression light and warm.
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Post by Kai Rose on Jan 7, 2021 21:01:26 GMT -8
Ivory and Agrippa made a play, opening the door. Kai, knowing well what they were dealing with, was inspired. Inspired by the Spring Court's forgiveness, inspired by the lightness, and inspired by the truth. She had smelled his hate, breathed in the disdain and the loss and the rage of being ignored and not believed...
She offered the would-be murderer her hand. It wasn't pity. Far from it. She radiated respect, trust and calm. There wasn't time to explain. Sometimes, other Lost just needed to trust that she'd know things.
"You know, we believe you, Mr. Martinez. The thing that's haunting you, this specter haunting your life, I sense it and I mean to help you get rid of it. So, let's operate from that starting point, and go from there."
She smiled. It was so genuine.
"Can you help me figure out who tried to make you kill Buck Chasseur?"
Start from the place that was the antithesis of what he hated, and see what happened.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jan 8, 2021 14:05:24 GMT -8
Martinez dusts off his gloves, watching the group approach as the pair of Emeralds radiate welcome calm. He offers Argippa a slight nod, almost on instinct. When Kai speaks her piece, a wobbly smile works its way across his face, almost like he has to fight something innate to properly follow the current situation.
With the Wizened's question about murdering his patron, he chuckles, almost choking on the sound as he rubs his face to give himself a moment. "Sh-she isn't like the rest," he said after organizing his thoughts. "She could leave... And came before." A gesture was offered, like what he was describing was supposed to be obvious.
"Mister Chasseur h-hired me after, um..." he blinked, eyes unfocused, "A party? It's really helped. Life's changed, a lot," he laughed again, looking genuinely thankful. "But the-" A tight smile was offered to Lancelot, his subterfuge out the window where the silvery Chatelaine clearly inspired caution.
"Oh, hi, sir. Did you...?"
Even as he talked, Lancelot muttered that it was no trouble, about facing and leaving the group to their devices. The Winter courtier clearly understood that his presence was blocking the man's rapidly built rapport. H didn't even need to introduce them, or explain their intent; it was a little uncanny how quickly they cracked open the man's heart. Martinez blinked away tears that were gone as quick as his focus slid back to another scenario.
"I know I have a bad history. Uh- not to be disrespectful, obviously," as he looked at the group, his confidence bounced back, continuing along freely. "I think he," he nodded towards where Lancelot had been, "Didn't trust- o-or maybe... He didn't think, maybe, I shouldn't get my hopes up?" Martinez blinked, his feelings on the Chatelaine muddy and whether he should give the man the benefit of the doubt.
"Everyone else has treated me...really well," he explained in his ramble, leaning on the tall contraption that snipped the root of the weeds. "B-but, more like..." he gestured to Kai, as if she would understand the silent communication, "Not genuine. Or, they saw me as The Help? Then she showed up. Got in my head. Kept trying to get me to tell her things, give her information on Mr. Chassuer. I felt like I'd lose everything...?" he started shaking, swallowing as he looked at the lawn.
"I tried to be loyal. She possessed staff, I think, went through them instead. Then my sister- she knew about her- S-she knew all about me. I tried a few times to fight back. Never worked. I thought the silver would work."
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