SunfallE

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]I did not clarify a time since I figure we are still on the two months deal, which is long enough for Lucia to have enough equipment for her search for information to begin in earnest. I meant to get that post up last week. >_> Oops? Anyway, time for the next bit of fun via the info from Gavrie or Chris. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][SIZE="3"][B][CENTER]Analyst?[/CENTER][/B][/SIZE] Now that Lucia was finally starting to acquire the equipment necessary for what she wished to do, having the ward set up by Phaidra and Sarvel was even more important. It still grated on her nerves just to think about how irritating Sarvel had been with her talk of tea and useless conversation. But it would have been even more irritating to come back to her place and find the precious equipment gone. Losing it would have been quite a setback so she had merely held back the desire to tell them to get lost and did as requested. The few minutes lost to the conversation and preparing and drinking tea was a small price to pay in her mind. It was also easier to accept now that she had gotten to see it in action. Even those delivering the computer equipment she had bought had been unable to enter her place unless she did as Phaidra instructed by placing a faint spiritual trace on them. It wouldn?t stop another Shinigami, but the others serving in the city had no reason to be in her place. Before they had left Phaidra had also taught her another trick, a means to make it so humans, even those who were slightly more in tune with their spiritual energy, could not see into her place from outside on the deck. Lucia could have gotten a special coating applied to the floor to ceiling windows that did the same while keeping harmful sunlight out. But the application of her own spiritual energy was relatively simple and had the same effect. So now not only could humans not enter without her permission, they couldn?t see inside either. The only thing she did not care for was a slight violation of policy on her part in setting up the lab and computer equipment. Lucia had replaced and supplemented certain aspects of their programs with her own. They were programmed to keep anyone from being able to break into them and she was fairly certain that no human could, but modifying them to work with human equipment was something she was not supposed to do. Her communicator was different in that the technology was so completely and utterly different that even if it fell into human hands, they would not be able to figure out just what it was. They had no means to turn it on or even realize it was more than a really strong crystal type of material. Human computers were powered by something other than spiritual energy and though she could put layers of security into the programs themselves, it was not so easy to make it where one couldn?t turn them on. She had been unwilling to take the time to alter them that far, it would have been a waste of time. At the same time, unless someone from her world actually knew what they were doing, she had kept to the same basic interface that humans used so that on the surface it looked to be the same. It would take getting into the actual code to realize that it was not. Ruby had lectured her several times over that particular detail but Lucia had disagreed with it. The Council had not cared if she or the others died, so why should she care about following the set guidelines? Lucia had been given no choice but to accept service and working on the human side of things. It was one thing to have that freedom of choice taken but yet another to let them treat her own life so callously. If preserving her life and that of the others meant bending a few rules to do so, then she would do just that. They had no justification or grounds for halting her research and placing a level one seal on her so it only seemed fair that she actually do something that could be grounds for the punishment she was already under. Oddly, it was a thought that she found amusing and comforting at the same time. She looked to Ruby who was over on the recliner that was back in its rightful place facing the windows and the view of the lake. Ruby was still curled up fast asleep, something she often did after they got back from getting something to eat. Lucia smiled slightly at the sight. They often did not agree on things, but she couldn?t deny how much her presence helped to keep her from feeling totally alone. It was hard enough to not be able to continue her research; it would have been even harder to do without Ruby. Lucia laughed a bit at the odd slant her thoughts had taken before she went back to working on her lab which was coming along nicely. Now that she had the better equipment, or at the very least the start of what she wished to set up, it was becoming much easier to track down information that was harder to obtain. It would still take time, by human standards that is. One, two or even twenty years was nothing to a Reaper. Or a vampire for that matter and she was positive that there were others in the city besides the Count. The only question in her mind was to wonder if any of them would even talk to one such as her. That was something she would have to be very cautious about. She would not take the risk of attempting to gather information that way. Unlike Nathan she lacked the ability to move quickly. She would have no defense against someone like the Count. She found it hard to believe that he was the only vampire who was that powerful. And since she was pretty certain they wouldn?t be interested in telling her how to protect herself from them; she would take her time and steer clear of any vampires for the time being. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='ledzepplinrules;814593]The biggest problem is how arrogant Americans are. We think we are better than everyone else[/QUOTE]We are arrogant and think we're better than everyone else? Well that's news to me. lol[quote name='ledzepplinrules;814593]when we are secretly being led by a facist government trying to take our rights away. [/QUOTE]Uh oh... that was suppose to be a secret? >_> And here I thought everyone knew how fascist our government really is. I guess our arrogance fooled us into thinking others didn't notice! Oopsie? :D[QUOTE=ledzepplinrules'']While proclaming how much we support other countries yet America has done so many under handed things during the course of the past one-hundred years which is why I am ashamed to not only call myself an American, but also a human being.:animecry:[/quote]I'm sure we're not the only country to have done underhanded things. I find the idea of feeling ashamed to be American kind of silly really. Not that you don't bring up valid points I'm sure but they all seem to be generalizations instead of any tangible issues. ^_~[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Lady Asphyxia'][FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Of course, I'm paying what is equivalent to $6.5 a gallon for petrol, which sucks. [/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]If a waiter went from making $3 an hour to $17, I think the whining over gas would be less relevant. What makes that ironic is even though other countries pay more for gas, America depends on the trucking industry to deliver everything. We run the risk of bankrupting the owner/operators and driving the cost of living up even more. Over a gas price that other countries are tell us are something we need to quit whining about. They don't see it as the crisis it really is, they don't see that the wages don't even come close to increasing along side the cost of living. The average American can cut back on driving where those in the trucking industry... don't have that luxury. They have to drive more if possible to make up the difference. This is only one of the problems we face, other issues have been brought up as well. So yeah, in conclusion I agree that the economy here is one of the biggest issues we have and yet certain parties are telling us the lie that increased prices is good for us when wages aren't going up in a meaningful way. o_O I suppose you could say it's good for those who are making more profit, but not for the rest of us. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]And the person who does not like poetry wins, nice. ^_~ Congratulations Allamorph. It was a well earned victory in my opinion. I'll also echo the sentiments of others here, it was fun and you did a nice job of hosting the poetry contest Sabrina. I certainly hope you do something else in the future. Events like this are lots of fun. And as Indi pointed out, the Anthology needs more attention, we wouldn't want the resident Basement Cat getting bored would we? =P[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Haha, cute guys. >_> I can't help it if people like Indi and Allamorph are meaner than I am. =P Anyway, even though it was expected that Jared was going to be picked up, the event of having a guest poster is one of the surprises I was alluding to. It also indicates that like I said we are getting close to moving into the wrapping things up stage. In the mean time you all can sit back and see what Indi and Allamorph are up to because other than to give the go ahead I have no clue what's going to happen either. It's completely up to them to determine Jared's fate. o_O And as Aaryanna pointed out... in her spoiler tag... [[SIZE="1"]that's a SD reference for those of you who don't know what she meant[/SIZE]] That has me kind of feeling sorry for him. Well... maybe. XP[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]In answer to the title: neither. Though I do get it from time to time since it's cheap, the truth is that I just don't really care for ramen. At least not the instant kind. When I do get it, I end up adding vegetables or shrimp or something to spice it up since it's kind of meh without the extra help. Plus, when I was in college and at times lived on stuff like that because it was so cheap... I got utterly burned out on it. I think I've had ramen all of three times this year since I don't eat it very often. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]I [I]did[/I] initially start posting in Tahoma, but I switched to Arial really quick because [FONT=Tahoma]Tahoma is just fat.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Same thing with Verdana.[/font][/FONT][/QUOTE]Well everyone knows that Lucida Sans Unicode pwns [FONT="Arial"]skinny Arial[/FONT]. =P Putting that aside, I think the biggest change in my posting since I joined is using less smilies like Aaryanna mentioned. That and I try to avoid having sentence fragments. >_> Grammar is evil. [spoiler]Waits for Allamorph to sail in and correct her grammar, you know you will brat! =P[/spoiler] @Matt I think it depends on the teacher. I've had some that were pretty useless and others that did wonders for improving my ability to write. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='8bit;814186][FONT="Tahoma"][COLOR="DimGray"] I made it about the legalization of marijuana so I could, you know, involve other members that [i]don't[/i] smoke and maybe have a friendly, civilized debate with them. But apparently that won't happen.[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]All I see is people getting perhaps a bit heated, but far from being uncivilized. ^_~ Considering how heated discussions can get around here at times, I think this thread has been very civilized. [QUOTE=Rachmaninoff']I'm actually in favor of decriminalizing it in the sense that some of the penalties don't need to be as harsh as they are. If marijuana offenses are considered less of an affront to civil society than violent crimes such as murder, rape, or kidnapping, or even less of an affront than other drug offenses, then then they don't need to be penalized as harshly if not more than offenders of said crimes. Take this document here for the state of Utah: [URL="http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/pdf/col_sanc_pdfs/state_details_pdfs/UTAH.pdf"][U]Collateral Punishments for Marijuana Offenses[/U][/URL] I don't agree with some of the fall out of having a conviction on one's record. Moving to decriminalizing the punishment for possession is something I do support.[/QUOTE]I agree with this completely. It's kind of absurd that the punishment is more severe when the crime itself really isn't. I may have no interest in it being legal, but the current system for dealing with an offense needs an overhaul in my opinion. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Aaryanna;814037][COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="Book Antiqua"] It only goes to volume 11 but I understand that it's now off of an extended hiatus and running in Japan again. So hopefully that means we'll see volume 12 over here soon. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]I was really glad to hear about that too since it really bugged me how it left off on a cliff hanger in volume 11. I really want to see the end of it one of these days. lol[quote name='Sabrina'][FONT="Tahoma"]o_O Considering that he was more than willing to [spoiler]kill both Risa and Riku...[/spoiler'] XP[/FONT][/quote]Yeah... XP is right. =P As much as I enjoy the anime they really softened Krad up a lot. Which I don't like. However! Seeing the anime first is how I always recommend people approach this series. That way the manga is great because you get all the extras instead of going... I can't believe they left so many things out! So you will enjoy reading the manga. You're going to love all the stuff that wasn't in the actual animation. =P[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Aceburner: Aspiring detective who fell hard. =P[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]I suppose if there was nothing else I could get use to it... but I'd just about rather turn into a vegetarian first. I know it's upbringing, my instinct to go... gross! But I don't find the idea of eating bugs all that appealing. XP[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='DeathKnight'][color=crimson] Hopefully Obama does the right thing, denies her a V.P. slot, and marches straight on to November.[/color][/QUOTE]That's what I want to see since I really don't want her in there at all. I'm pleased to see that Obama is in, but to drag Clinton along would be a mistake in my opinion, for the reasons Retri already pointed out.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Sabrina;813683][FONT="Tahoma"]That Lucia was just doing it to get what she wanted. ^^ Otherwise, that would have been out of character for her... at least that's my reasoning. [/FONT][/QUOTE]Oh your reasoning is correct, and I'll be elaborating on that a bit in my next post since Lucia was[I] not amused[/I] by Sarvel being so stuck up. However, when is she ever amused? :animeswea [quote name='Sabrina'][FONT="Tahoma"]I didn't even know Sarvel was going to be so [I]uppity[/I'] until I was writing the post. [/FONT][/quote]Heh, I know the feeling, sometimes I have a clear idea of what I plan on doing and half-way into the post, one of the characters takes over and it ends up being something totally different. lol Anyway... I do sort of have a post in mind, but I'm not sure on the timing with Nathan or rather Chris thinking of checking into a previous incident. There is also the matter of what Gavrie passed on to Nathan. So if I post... I'll probably leave the time a little vague, it's more to solidify what Lucia is up to, as far as building her lab goes. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]No worries, I know that everyone, even those who were done with school sooner were kind of burned out a bit. ^_~ So the delay is more than understandable. Also, some events are about to start rolling that will mark the beginning of the end since we are almost to the two-thirds/three-fourths mark of the storyline. If all goes well... we will have this wrapped up by the end of the summer. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Darren']Hahaha... :animeswea Oh man, I remember when I was actually [U]forced[/U] to debate about this topic. Let me tell you 8Bit: It's a losing battle. But other than my debate, (which was in the arena thread anyway) I was only around to give my opinion on one marijuana thread, which I didn't because I had just lost miserably to SunfallE in the OtakuBoards: Survivor contest of the same topic.[/QUOTE]You know, I should have just linked to my final argument in that debate that Sandy dragged us through. I hadn't thought of that [[SIZE="1"]because it's been long enough that I'd forgotten about it[/SIZE]] Lord knows I certainly researched and typed up more than enough for that paticular challenge. :animestun[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"] And by 'got into' do you mean began using chronically because I've used it a certain number of times and have yet to experience a loss of interest in anything besides perhaps listening to my room mates complain to me about my existence.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]You're just naturally cranky so I think it protected you from getting addicted. [I][SIZE="1"]*ducks*[/SIZE][/I] Anyway, my opinion hasn't really changed and there's no need to re-hash what Rach already posted. Plus I've seen how it lead to further destructive behavior down the road in more than just one person. I've lost lots of friends over the years to it. If someone smokes it I'm not going to try and do anything about it, but if they move to legalize it and it's left up to a vote, my answer will be no. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]The newest arrival to sector nine was not on the list of ships expected. It did not follow standard procedure and move to join those who were already there, choosing to stay in place where they had emerged from hyperspace. When challenged to identify themselves and their purpose a code was issued in response. Those tasked with monitoring all incoming traffic were satisfied that they had the necessary clearance to be there and the ship was left alone. A short moment later a transmission from the newly arrived ship was sent directly to William?s ship, the [I]Astera[/I]. William himself was on the bridge when the transmission was received, he was preoccupied with reviewing some reports but halted immediately when his communications officer informed him that they were being hailed by the [I]Chevalier[/I]. William shut down what he was working on before looking up, his expression one of anticipation. ?[B]I?ll take that call in the conference room.[/B]? ?[B]Yes sir.[/B]? He stood up. Offering no explanation as why he was moving to the conference room just off the bridge. Once inside he took a seat at the table, activating the built in computer terminal in the table. Then once he had locked the doors and secured the audio only channel he answered the incoming transmission. It took only a moment for some additional codes to be swapped between the two parties, to verify that the [I]Chevalier[/I] had not been compromised before they moved to the reason why they were there. ?[B]Thank you for coming so quickly Sauvage.[/B]? William said sincerely. ?[B]You?re welcome sir.[/B]? It may have been audio only, but the sound of man?s voice gave the impression that if he had been there he would have been standing at attention. ?[B]Now, as requested, everything has been done according to your specifications Sauvage,[/B]? William explained. ?[B]How much does the Commander know sir?[/B]? ?[B]Other than to know that he is in the hands of the New Alliance, Jared Scorer has been kept in the dark.[/B]? ?[B]Excellent sir.[/B]? Sauvage replied, going silent to wait for William to continue. ?[B]Now I know you are already aware of this, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to get the information that Jared Scorer possesses.[/B]? William waited patiently for the tiny delay in the communication since it was clear that Sauvage was not on board the [I]Chevalier[/I]. William didn?t need him to explain that since the sensors on the [I]Astera [/I] had picked up Sauvage?s incoming transmissions to the [I]Chevalier[/I], just as they picked up the outgoing ones with his responses. For this assignment, it did not bother William that Sauvage had sent his aide Salier to retrieve Jared. Something he also knew without being told since the codes also identified who he was dealing with through the [I]Chevalier[/I]. And they indicated that it was Salier. William would not have bothered to contact Sauvage if he was not the best choice for this job and as such he did not question how he chose to go about it. ?[B]I understand sir.[/B]? ?[B]Right, now just give me a moment to send you the coordinates? for opening a transport door in Jared?s cell.[/B]? ?[B]Thank you sir.[/B]? William smiled even though Sauvage and his aide Salier could not see his face. He did not envy them the task of getting information out of Jared Scorer. He was certain that they could since he was also certain that Sauvage would have told him upfront if he felt the task was not obtainable. A tiny part of him wondered about it but like many things he shoved the thoughts aside. He didn?t need to know at this point. A moment later, the connection was made between the two ships, his side into Jared?s cell, the other side?s destination one of their own choosing since he had not requested the coordinates. William did not need them since Salier would be the one handling the transfer. With the transport door now open in Jared?s cell, William waited patiently for them retrieve the Commander. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][B]Indi:[/B] I?m not quite sure what your poem is trying to say, but it seems to be indicating that like death some things can?t be avoided. No matter what we do we can?t avoid ?its harsh rule? is very fitting to that theme. I?m not sure what I think of the refrain but other than that I enjoyed reading it. [B]Allamorph:[/B] Your poem is pretty straightforward and the meaning pretty clear. I can just about imagine coming face to face with those eyes you speak of. It seems a bit old fashioned [[SIZE="1"]not sure how to explain that[/SIZE]] but still flows quite nicely. [B]Kathy:[/B] I like the theme behind your poem the best. Some of the rhyming seems a bit awkward though since you?ve ended up with ?apart? & ?part? in there twice. I think that distracts from it a bit. Anyway, judging this kind of poetry isn?t exactly easy; I know so little about it. For the image of feeling like I could literally see those eyes he spoke of? I vote for [B]Allamorph[/B].[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Matt']One thing I am curious about, is why so many people love FF7. I just can't seem to understand why so many people think it is such a great story.[/QUOTE]One thing I'm curious about is to wonder why you care if people like the rpg? Or why it would matter if they did do a re-make? If someone enjoys a game, whether or not you think the story is lacking is irrelevant. It's the person playing it who matters. If they enjoy it, good for them. For the record, I don't think it's the greatest game ever, but I did enjoy playing it, flaws and all. And I for one would find a re-make interesting and would probably play it, just for old times sake.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]For me filling my car runs between $25-32, it just depends on how empty my tank is. I have a smaller car that gets good mileage so the tank is small. I do miss only paying around $15 to fill it though, that extra bit just keeps adding up. [quote name='MistressRoxie'][color=#9933ff][size=1]I know that a lot of truckers are up in arms about the price, because it makes it even harder for them, when they don't earn a whole lot by their job to begin with.[/size][/color][/QUOTE]That would depend on whether or not they were an owner/operator. For those truckers who belong to a larger corporation, it's the company that pays for the gas not you. Those stops to fill up are preplanned in advance. You just get a set amount per mile you drive and with all the shipping going on... making money was never that big of an issue. At least it never was for me, but then I was doing runs for Wal-Mart and there was never a shortage of work. Now I haven't checked since I quit driving a few years ago, but when I did, Diesel was always pretty close to the same prices as regular fuel. If anything, the gas increase is going to put those independent owner/operators out of business and that's when it's going to be a serious crunch on the trucking industry. You want a real crisis, just think about how just about everything comes into your towns via truck. And I do mean pretty much everything, if that stops... all it takes is a mere 2-4 days for stores to empty. At that point things will get crazy. If the government allows the increase in gas to bankrupt a huge percentage of the trucking industry, that's going to get nasty real quick.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]I'm in the mood for DNAngel so I'm listening to this song from the vocal collections CD I have. [URL="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=qfnd_VzdDPg"][U]Whenever[/U][/URL] it's a great song even if I have no clue what's being said. I just like how he has a fairly smooth voice that's enjoyable to listen to. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Sarvel is a snot. [I]*nodnod*[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]Oh definitely. So very stuck up. I think Lucia was completely caught off guard by that one. Social behavior necessary? [I]Never![/I] Hahaha! :catgirl:[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][CENTER][B][SIZE="3"]Signs of the past[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] Every time Lucia returned to her place after taking care of either work for the humans or that of a Reaper, she found herself almost expecting to find the same thing she had when she had come back after leaving Nathan and Isen alone in her apartment. It never crossed her mind that they would have actually done anything. Even now the memory just made her want to sigh with exasperation? [CENTER]------------------------[/CENTER] Like always, the timing for interrupting her work was perfect for interfering with something important. At times Lucia wondered if the seal let them see more than just her location, keying them into whether or not she was with others. She knew it did not but it didn?t change the fact that they seemed to be gifted at choosing the worst possible moments. She had barely gotten a chance to talk to Nathan before the call had come. After the brief spat with her keeper and turning down an assignment, she didn?t dare do so again. Normally she wouldn?t care if they showed up again, but now she did. If they knew what she was up to? that was something she was unwilling to risk. ?[B]They never leave you alone.[/B]? Ruby complained as the two made their way back to her place, hours later. Lucia just nodded; by now Nathan and Isen would be gone, it had not occurred to her to say anything to him. She had been too annoyed over hearing that Phaidra had been granted what she wanted and over the interruption from being given another assignment. ?[B]It doesn?t matter. As Nathan said, we have all of eternity to deal with things, even if it?s being spent?[/B]? Lucia cut it off as they got closer to her place. By the feel of things, Nathan and Isen were gone and Phaidra hadn?t returned either. It was just as well, she needed a moment to calm her nerves. Both her and Ruby sailed into her place and then froze at the sight that met their eyes. [I]What the hell? [/I]Other than where all of her lab equipment was the rest of the place had been completely re-arranged. Not that she really cared where her furniture was, but the sofa was in the center of the room standing up on its side like a lone statue. She stared at it and the chairs from the small kitchen table that were surrounding it in a circle as if giving audience to something she didn?t understand. And the fridge had been brought from the windowless back area out into the main room over by the windows overlooking the lake. The recliner was sitting on top of it, along with the blankets that Ruby liked to curl up in when she slept. The whole thing made no sense at all and for the longest moment she just stared at things, trying to make sense of what had happened. That is until Ruby, who she thought had been shaking in irritation burst out in laughter, the sound echoing oddly through her place on account of the furniture being moved. It was more than just a simple laugh as she kept doing so, barely stopping to breathe between snickers. ?[B]Stop laughing Ruby.[/B]? Lucia snapped. ?[B]It?s not funny![/B]? But that just set her off even more and she fell off of Lucia?s shoulder, barely remembering to float in time to keep herself from hitting the floor. ?[B]I?m? sorry,[/B]? She gasped out before she fell on her side, her paws curling up as she continued to howl. ?[B]It?s just so?[/B]? She lost it as she laughed even harder, barely taking time to catch a breath between each bout of laughter. Lucia glared at her and then stormed off to start taking the kitchen chairs back to the room they belonged in. It made no sense, why in the world would Nathan and Isen? She halted yet again upon finding her bed sitting in the middle of the kitchen where the table would have been. [I]Oh for the love of! [/I] She dropped the chair on the floor and ignored the bed in favor of checking out the rest of her place. The kitchen table was where her bed had been and as if to mock her it had been set up as if she would be having dinner there as the dishes were all set up for serving a meal. She wondered just how much time the two had spent, time that she now had to waste on putting things back. The sound of Ruby?s laughter still echoed through the place and when Phaidra returned along with Sarvel, she was far from amused, something that she seemed to pick up on as she merely helped Lucia put things back in place, but it was clear that even she was holding back the laughter. [CENTER]-------------------------[/CENTER] Lucia shoved the memory out of her mind; she had been spending the past week setting up some of the new equipment she had purchased, in addition to putting the final touches on the communicator she had told Nathan she would make for him. It had taken longer than expected since she had needed to re-write the recognition program for keying it to one?s aura to lock the device. Hers was locked to her alone since Ruby had no need or inclination to use it, but it occurred to her that Nathan might want Isen to be able to use it, so she had set it up to allow two users if Nathan wished it. And even then, the level of access was something he could choose, all or limited. She set it down after sending a message telling him it was finished so he could come and pick it up. The very first program upon turning it on would tell him what he needed to do. She didn?t even need to be there for him to get it. She would be though; there was no way she was ever going to leave him alone in her place again. Not after last time. Then she put it out of mind as she began the process of setting things up so she could do more than the basic information gathering that she had done so far. Other than a bit more on what she had gotten when they were searching for the Count, she hadn?t gotten much. With the new equipment she would be able to do far more, though that raised the question of humans breaking into her place to steal things. Lucia had already decided to not rely on human means of security. Normally she could do so herself, but without the resources or rather the time, she couldn?t effectively set something up; she just didn?t have the time to devote to something like that. For now she could put spiritual tracers down that would let her know if someone entered but that was about it. Lucia made a note to contact Phaidra who had her own place now, to see if there was magical means of warding her place to keep the humans out. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]>_> Nathan and Isen are hooligans and that's all I'll say until my post goes up. XP I was going to get that done yesterday but got sidetracked by other personal matters. So I'll probably do that later today, along with something else that has been vexing me. And yes, I intend to make that moment when she gets back a flashback, even if it's only indicating that they moved into the next day. I'll probably leave that kind of vague too unless someone has a specific time frame in mind they'd like me to indicate. If so post nao! [/FONT][/COLOR]