[Sodium_noir] Hell is Other People

[FlameFlash]

OOC: Can do on the whole CC thing.

On 10/21/07, Bill <taoveritas at yahoo.com> wrote:
>           Sodium Noir World of Darkness PbEM
>
>
>
> OOC:  FF, there seemed to be a 3 day delay between your post and my receipt.
>  Can you CC me and I'll be sure to reply more timely.
>
>       Sodium Noir World of Darkness PbEM
>
> > Aurora, JB, Jack
> >
> > [John]
> > "John Black.  Occult dealer, antiquarian, and party
> > crasher at your service."  He bowed slightly and
> > smiled, his mood lightening slightly.
> >
> > "Your friend here was just telling me the reason for
> > his celebration. I don't suppose your part of it too?"
> >
> > Again: Perception + Awareness = 5 - What is she?
> >
> > [Aurora]
> > "A small part," she returns the smile shyly and nods
> > in return to the bow.
> >
> > [Jack]
> > Vigorously shaking his head, Jack replies. "No, no,
> > no, no, no, no. That isn't true. You played a huge
> > part." He spreads his hands wide for emphasis. "You
> > saved my fucking life, darlin'. Would have been
> > pushing up the daisies if not for you and your lovely
> > companions."
> >
> > Jack takes the cigarette between his fingers and gives
> > John Black the kind of serious and profound look only
> > much liquor can provide.
> >
> > "Don't let her tell you otherwise, my friend. Girl's a
> > heroine in my book."
> >
> > [John]
> > John smiles, and raises his glass to Aurora. "To the
> > hero of the hour. May your Ancestors return your
> > generosity a hundredfold." He takes a drink of his
> > beer, and then looks around for a waiter, summoning
> > him over for more drinks.
>
> [Aurora]
> Obviously fighting a losing battle for any semblance of keeping her
> involvement with Jack low-key with strangers she accepts a beer from
> the waiter... her first true drink of the night, in fact.
>
> [John]
> > "So what will you do now? Your life has been saved.
> > You've been given another chance. Some might resort
> > to hedonism, and try to squeeze as much pleasure out
> > of life as possible. Looked down upon by society,
> > though I personally don't believe it's a bad way to
> > live. Or will you become a hero yourself? And help
> > others? Then there's always revenge."
> >
> > [Jack]
> > There's a sarcastic edge to Jack's voice as he smirks
> > at the man. "Hero? No, not I. Not me at all. Too
> > interested in the continuing preservation of my ass.
> > Revenge? Nope. No one to seek revenge of. Get revenge
> > on. Be avenged for. However you say it. That first
> > one? Hedonism? Yeah. There's a whole lot of pleasure
> > I'd like to squeeze out of life, believe me. And the
> > squeezing is going to start tonight, my friend."
> >
> > Jack glances over at Aurora, managing to wink at her
> > and blush at the same time.
>
> [Aurora]
> At this, and she attempts to hide it as she returns Jack's gaze, at
> least from John, her eyes' color shift from amber again to a
> blue-green, here, at least for the moment, she knew she was safe with
> her new friend... at least safe from harm, though that wink made her
> blush and then look to John and sip at her beer again.
>
> "You... you mentioned something of dealing with the Occult?  Such as
> artifacts or magic?"
>
> It is now Aurora's turn to look upon John, reaching out lightly with
> Spirit and then Prime to understand this man better ((OOC: Arete 3;
> Per+Aware:4)).
>
> [John]
>
> "Both, actually.  A lot of what I sell are basic supplies that are often
> used by spellcasters.  Odd and end things that can sometimes be inconvenient
> to find, especially in one location.  I run the entire gamet, from worthless
> books that broken hearted high school girls believe will bring them revenge
> to more serious wares that require special permission just to look at."  He
> shrugged.  "I only just opened the store but I've started building a
> clientelle.

[Aurora]
She nods, accepting this and taking it in, it certainly meant he was
aware of more, if his aura hadn't said that already.  She shyly looks
back to John, wondering if he was still ogling her.

[John]
John watches the interaction and smiles sadly.  He
raised his glass in a toast.  "To new friends, and the
calm before the storm.  May it last."  He finished his
drink and set the empty glass to the side.  He paused
for a moment, as if engaging in some sort of internal
debate.  "I don't mean to pry, and normally I'd
respect your privacy and wouldn't ask, but did your
need for salvation stem from forces . . ." he
hesitated, trying to pick the right word.  Deomons was
inappropriate.  Angels was stupid.  Finally, he
settled on ". . . unknown to the mundane world."

[Aurora]
She coughs on a sip of beer, her eyes shifting to grey drastically and
quickly, but she lets Jack speak.

[Jack]
Jack raises an eyebrow and mouths John's words,
repeating them to himself for clarification. "Did my
need for salvation stem from forces unknown to the
mundane world? Uhm... no, I think people... knew him.
D'you mean... he was...uhm..."

Clearly having a hard time deciphering the question,
Jack takes a deep breath and tries to access what few
brain cells he has remaining that are unaffected by
alcohol. That clarity of thought, however fleeting,
finally arrives.

"Oh, you mean magically speaking? Yeah. I wasn't
looking for salvation. More like freedom. He owned me.
He..." Jack almost says 'made me', but stops short of
doing so.

"Look. The bastard's dead now. Not by my hand, though
I wouldn't have minded a bit of participation. You
know, getting a few good kicks in an' all. But no one
has to worry about him anymore."
Jack smiles, and looks around for the current location
of the nearest waiter. The mere thought of Akril and
the horrors he inflicted were increasing his need for
enough booze to suppress those memories for the rest
of the night.

[John]

He frowned.  "So whatever it is that's come to Gotham is probably not
related to you."  He rubbed his eyes, suddenly aware that he was
starting to run out of steam.  He only needed a few hours of sleep
each night, and his fund earlier with Abby had worn him out.  He
smiled at the memory.

[Aurora]
"So whatever that's come to Gotham?" Her eyes border on black for just
a moment, returning to their grey.  "It's a storm out there, all
right, Mr. Black, one that it might be better to outrun, if it wasn't
for the fact that there's no place to go."  She sets her beer down
disgustedly after starting to take a sip, as though it'd gone sour or
warmed between then and now, or perhaps it was just her mood that
had... she fondles the belt she was wearing distractedly.

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