RP:Wings for Hire
Part of the Unforeseen Consequences Arc
Vailkrin Plaza
This magnificent plaza, also paved in black stone, is adorned with elegant, wrought-iron streetlights to augment the silvery glow of the moon above, lending it a slightly brighter aspect than many places in the Dark Lands. To the west lies a short path leading to a busy shop of some sort, all manner of shady individuals streaming back and forth from it. To the east is a sheer rockface with a steep, broadly-cut stone path winding upward to a towering structure above. Below this stands a massive monolith hewn from the same dark material, but with one highly polished face upon which has been carved an the inscription highlighted in pearlescent moonstone. One might like to pause for a moment and read the inscription. To the north is an official-looking building, with City Guards stationed around it. Placed around the square are several benches and cafe tables, offering rest to those who've patronised the district's shops, with plenty of room left for public gatherings.
Satoshi occupies one of the numerous benches located on the plaza's perimeter, a position that affords her a fair view of the center's comings and goings while keeping the kit relatively out of immediate sight. Although she's not going to any pains to hide, enough time spent in the Assassin's Guild and in Vailkrin at all, has bred into her a certain desire to not draw all attention to herself. And so the foxkin reclines in comfort upon the bench, tucked beside an obscuring lamppost and enshrouded by a hazy aura woven from Vailkrin's ambient fog and her own natural frost. Most that glance in the bench's direction take little to no notice of the mist-bound fox, a handful writing it off as one of the city's more Ethereal citizens, while a few of the magically-attuned denizens give brief pause to scrutinize the frigid essence. By now, most of these spell-weavers have crossed the aura's icy path before and are familiar with the presence of "Vailkrin's Ghost", an observer rather than an interloper. Thus, Satoshi is left in peace to engage in her favorite sport of People Watching.
Celiann had replied to the very fancy little letter with a location to meet in. The clumsy vampiress was still clutching onto a number of scrolls and books - maybe more than usual - as she wandered into the plaza, quickly checking the cafe tables and the benches for who she was looking for. She had met this Satoshi before, even gave her a look of utter disdain before! But she knew never to cross that very specific line of: 'I tolerate you' or 'I will murder you'. Once the frigid aura clad woman was spotted, Celiann lifted a hand to wave at her - dropping a few scrolls in the process. After spending a good few minutes trying to pick them up; dropping more and then picking them all up and bundling them to her chest, she made her way over to that bench. "M-M-Miss S-Satoshi," she offered a polite smile, "th-thank you for r-replying." Not one to wait when it came to urgent business, she passed one scroll along to Satoshi. "I am n-n-not sure h-how aware y-you are of V-Vailkrin's situation, b-but that s-scroll should s-summarise the recent going ons..."
Satoshi, although she isn't immediately aware Celiann is the one she's here to meet, finds her attention on the little vampire almost instantly. When you're here to people watch, frantic, over-burdened scholar types are always a good bet to watch. Oh how right she is too, when Celiann sends a few scrolls tumbling to... wave? At the kit? It doesn't take much to put two and two together, so that by the time Celiann has collected her dropped belongings and approached the bench, Satoshi has shoo'd away all but a cloak's worth of fog and lifted her own hand in greeting. "Mouse Ginavi." Slip of the tongue, I swear. The scroll is accepted silently and placed upon Satoshi's lap before she simply turns her gaze on Celiann and waits. No move is made to speak beyond that greeting, nor to read the scroll. The foxkin is curious to see what this seemingly anxious creature makes of prolonged silence. Will Celiann's personality make her clam up entirely? Or maybe she'll fidget, shuffle, and nervously await a word to break silence? Will the nature of the scholar win out, seizing the chance to ramble to a captive audience? For Satoshi, how Celiann reacts will define a great deal about the little necromancer--because unfortunately, the fox never outgrew a cat's tendency to simply stare with infinite patience.
Celiann did hear the 'slip of the tongue' remark but merely offered a smile, as if to say it was no big deal. Truly it was more of an intimidation thing, Satoshi could call her such free of any consequence. Most people could, actually, she was just too mousy. But when she realised Satoshi was not reading the scroll, she looked to her and was met with a very intense; patient stare. She remained silent for a few moments, opening her mouth as if to speak and then saying nothing. But her eyes drifted upwards to the void and she finally spoke - almost confidently - to the woman, "M-Miss S-Satoshi, d-do you f-feel hungry?"
Satoshi lets a smirk flicker across her features. Yes, that simple question coupled with the skyward gaze is answer enough for the kit. Following Celiann's eyes, Satoshi looks up too, searching for those theorized patches of star-eating nothingness. It's a difficult thing, to try and settle your gaze on the absence of something, and it leaves the magus feeling uneasy when she turns her attention back to the necromancer. "Tell me." In two simple words, Satoshi has placed a variety of meaning. That she has limited information on this matter, that she wants to know more, that she entrusts Celiann's own words over reading a summarizing scroll. And that she's been made aware of a lack of hunger within herself by that single question. For while Satoshi is typically well-fed, she has been a predator from birth, ever haunted by the voice of hunger--sometimes a whisper, sometimes a scream, but always present. For a few months of her unlife she'd been gifted with silence, a blessing for a sacrifice, but in time the voice had returned, as dutiful as ever. And now, she's all too aware of the silence again, and the dangers that entails.
Celiann kept her gaze skyward, knowing exactly which stars had faded and the ones that were currently fading and being swallowed up. "W-We d-d-don't feel hungry, S-Satoshi," she said rather matter-of-factly, "n-no hunger at all, until w-we leave. V-Vampires on the s-streets: emaciated, s-s-starving - some dead - and c-c-claiming that they just 'don't f-f-feel hungry'." Finally, she offered the woman a glance before pointing to the ever dark sky. "This... This v-void, it is n-n-not just some t-tear in the f-fabric of our d-dimension. It's... It's like a d-door," now she eased her scrolls off her lap and stood up; moving her arms and hands as she spoke, "the t-t-thunder storms; the l-lightning. It's like a s-signal! The d-dead r-rise without a n-necromancer; stronger th-than I h-have ever seen. They h-harass the c-citizens, only growing w-weak when they l-leave Vailkrin." She frowned, before gesturing upwards again, "I... I w-want to g-get close to it."
Satoshi's expression is a mixture of surprise and apprehension. "And you want the Eyrie to help you get closer?" As fluid as water the uncertain look melts away, leaving behind an eager smirk and eyes alight with excitement. "I like it~." Rising to her feet then, Satoshi offers her left hand to Celiann, while the other clutches the scroll--too tightly, by the way it's been crushed in on itself. "Give me three days to gather some flyers and mounts suitable for the task, and we'll have you up there. Any information you have about what we might expect, send it my way. Otherwise... well, prepare for adventure, Mademouselle." Okay, that one was totally intentional.
Celiann gave a tiny nod in confirmation, "Y-Yes." But then the woman seemed eager to go and she felt a wave of relief wash over her. "Oh! G-Good, I sh-shall also p-prepare. Um, y-yes. If th-they are v-v-vampires, p-please w-warn them appropriately." A quick shake of the hand and an overlook of that name, before she rapidly collected her scrolls and near bounced out the Plaza. She was easily excited.