Allamorph

[FONT=Arial]Right. Not [I]entirely[/I] finished with the scene, but I thought any more in one post might be a bit extravagant. No title because [COLOR="DarkRed"]indifference[/COLOR]'s still covers it. :animesmil Anyhow, I'll elaborate more on Victor later. Race, descent, personality, alignment, the works. And don't worry about the familiars. They'll catch up fine. [quote name='Premonition][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"']But I will get to it, I promise.[/COLOR][/quote] Hey, I was just worried 'bout ya, is all. (Why is it that it always gets really quiet around here when I'm not talking? I'm not used to that; it makes me nervous.)[/FONT]

"Indeed," Nathan replied, giving the fairy a thoughtful look. "Actually," he continued, as if he had just decided something, "I have a favor I'd like to ask of you." He turned to Isen. "I need you to see what you can dig up on 'Death Whispered a Lullaby'. It sounds like a song of some sort; try starting there." Isen nodded. "I'll see what I can do." "I'd like you to go with her," Nathan went on, turning back to Astera. "That is," he added, "if it doesn't bother your partner too much." "I don't see a problem with it," Adrian said. "O-okay," Astera answered uncertainly. "I don't know how much help I'll be...but I'll do my best!" she finished brightly. "Excellent," said Nathan. "I'll leave you to it, then. Adrian?" Without further ceremony he dropped through the floor, and the other shinigami followed suit. --------------------------- Nathan was privately glad it had been Adrian that had come for him. The man was considerably more observant than most, and decently intuitive to boot, qualities that Nathan appreciated in a counterpart. His utter disdain for, well, basically everyone, Nathan was more than willing to overlook, especially since Adrian kept it well out of sight most of the time. It crossed his mind briefly that it might be nice to know where he stood with Adrian, but the curiosity quickly passed. It felt nice, Nathan decided, to have another person on his flank. Adrian had unconsciously fallen back a few paces from him as they'd walked, and Nathan's right side felt somehow less vulnerable, more secure. He'd missed that feeling.... "So where exactly are we going?" Adrian's blunt voice cut sharply into his thoughts. "Oh, yes." Nathan spoke forward as he walked, letting his voice carry itself back to his partner. "Information. I want to find out a little about who I'm dealing with before I start making any significant moves." "So we're going to see a person. I assume you know them well?" "Yes. We know each other." Nathan's amiable tone altered almost imperceptibly with the statement, and Adrian remembered it. They walked for a while longer in silence. The late hour meant that there was very little traffic on the road, and so the pair traveled in the middle of the road—though even if any cars had come that way the shinigami would have passed right through them, so it didn't really matter. Nathan navigated the streets with peculiar ease, as if he needed no landmarks to get to his destination, and Adrian followed warily behind. As they progressed further into the city, an unease began to settle over him, and he moved closer to his blue companion. "We're being followed," he murmured. "I know," Nathan replied in the same hushed tone. "Just let it be." "But...." "And do me a favor?" Nathan asked, grinning back at the other shinigami. "Don't do anything rash, hmm?" Adrian gave him an intense look, but nodded anyway. "Thanks. Now then," he continued in a louder tone of voice. "Let's keep moving, shall we?" A blur came from the right side of Adrian's field of vision, and their path was abruptly blocked by a tall, burly man. "And just where might da two of you be goin'?" he asked roughly. His voice was gruff, and he leaned imposingly forward as he spoke—and his body gave off the unmistakable aura of a vampire. Adrian tensed. "Oh, I'm sure you wouldn't want us to bore you with our evening's menial itinerary," Nathan replied, completely unruffled. "If you?ll excuse us, though, we were just on our way to see someone." "Really?" the vampire thug inquired menacingly, his eyes slits. "Yes," Nathan answered. "I don't usually hear his name mentioned in many of the higher circles, but you may have heard of him. Victor L'Envers?" The brute made a quick gesture, and the two shinigami became aware of six more vampires surrounding them. Adrian shot Nathan a furious glare, but the blue grim slowly shook his head. "Search them and secure them," the heavy barked. Two vampires came forward for each one; the first pinioned each's arms forcibly behind their backs, and the second one patted them down, relieving the shinigami of their cell phones and wallets while Adrian silently fumed. Nathan's vampire looked quite surprised to see the scythe hanging at his belt. "Get a load of this!" he called snidely. "This one carries his around with him! It's a tiny one, too." "Take it," his boss ordered. "I wouldn't," Nathan admonished quietly. "I don't have to be touching it to cleave your soul from you. But go ahead, though, if you really want to." The vampire hesitated, then sneered at the blue-haired man. "I dont take orders from pricks like you," he spat, grabbing for the scythe. The instant he grasped it his entire body seized. His mouth flew open, his eyes bulged wildly, and veins stuck out on his head and neck. Snarls came from some of the other vampires as they watched their ally struggle against the invisible force that held him down. Nathan's eyes were locked with the vampire's. Adrian thought he saw a look of cold satisfaction flash across Nathan's face, but it happened too fast for him to be certain. At last managing to release the scythe, the vampire collapsed to his knees, clutching painfully at his chest, his breath coming in laborious wheezes. "Like I said," Nathan stated matter-of-factly, "I wouldn't advise it." And then the vampire behind him delivered a harsh blow to his neck and he, too, was driven to his knees. "Cleave that, ya asswipe!" Adrian was by now almost beside himself with pent-up frustration. He started to struggle, calling mentally for his own scythes. "The hell with this!" "Adrian." It was a command. "Nathan, I don't fuckin–" "No." Though he wasn't sure why, Adrian ceased fighting his captors, contenting himself instead with ferocious glares at those vampires nearest him. The head vampire approached Nathan, who appeared to be either still in pain or studying the asphalt. "Not so fun when it happens to you, eh?" Nathan didn't answer; the heavy stepped closer. "So, ya still wanna see mister L'Envers?" He pronounced it 'il-envers', as though it were plural. Nathan's head shot up. "Hunh?" he inquired intelligently. "Oh, oh yes. That's what we came here for, after all." The thug glowered at him. "Bring 'em," he ordered. "We'll take 'em to mister Il-envers, all right. See how he likes 'em." His cohorts grinned nastily. --------------------------- Victor L'Envers was a refined, androgynously attractive vampire, with baby-blue eyes and smooth blond hair that flowed elegantly behind his ears to his shoulders. At the present he was dressed in a casual burgundy suit and a white, ruffled dress shirt open for the first three buttons, and was seated at a cherry-stained wood dinner table, his legs crossed at the knee, pleasantly engrossed in a bowl of lobster bisque. A knock came at the door, and he paused, surprised, his spoon halted halfway to his lips. "Who iz it?" he called. "Sorry ta interrupt yer dinner there, mister Il-envers, sir," came a voice through an intercom panel by the door across the room. "Got some visitors ta see ya." L'Envers frowned. "Bring tsem in." The door opened, and Nathan and Adrian were shoved roughly inside, arms still bound behind their backs. They were quickly flanked and held firmly in place by vampires. The lead thug approached the table. "Found some rodents wanderin? around the place," he said. "Thought you might like ta see 'em." L'Envers looked up in displeasure. "And for tsis you disturb my...." His voice trailed off when he caught sight of the shinigami captives, and he stood up abruptly. "But what is—what is tsis? What are you doing?" he demanded, appalled. "No, tsis is terrible; you must release tsem at once!" "But sir?" "No! No buts. Untie tsem, Phillip. Give tsem back tseir tsings. I will not have my guests treated so crudely." Adrian noticed that L'Envers' Rs tended to disappear into the back of his throat when he spoke, and that he had a thick French accent. The lesser vampires obeyed, and soon only the shinigami where left in the room with Victor, the vampire in charge retreating with an "I'm terribly sorry, mister Il-envers. I didn't know...." "Hard to find good help these days, eh Victor?" Nathan seemed completely unaffected, as usual. "Yes, unfortunately," L'Envers replied. "It iss tso terribly depressing how poorly tsey've been educated. Tseir French is offensive to tse ear! "Il-envers", indeed!" "Well, they are Americans, Victor. Kind of a dull-witted breed, mostly." Victor sighed in resignation. "Yes, tso true." He seated himself again and resumed eating his dinner. "Tsey have no mind for tse finer tsings in life. Bisque?" he offered. Nathan glanced at Adrian. His partner?s face was a stone mask. "No, I think we'll pass this evening," he returned, smiling gently. "Oh, too bad." Victor spread his hands appreciatively. "It is such very good bisque." He took another spoonful and directed an inquiring look at Adrian. "But who iss your friend tsere? I'm afraid I haven't had tse pleasure." Adrian, standing as if he were to be executed in front of a firing squad, didn't utter a word. His downcast eyes betrayed nothing, and Nathan knew that he'd probably get blessed down the country later for the current escapade. "I'm sorry," he answered for his partner. "This is Adrian. He works the city as well." "I see." L'Envers' brow furrowed. "Iss he always tsis...untsociable?" Nathan grinned. "He has his moments." "I tsee." He dined once more. "Well, it has been quite a long time, Nassan. Tell me, what can I do for you gentlemen tsis evening?"

[FONT=Arial]I don't have any long-standing nicknames; with a name as simple as mine, it's kind of hard to make anything. I've gotten a few recently, though. Shades: I wear sunglasses. I forget I'm wearing sunglasses. Not much to tell there. Hollywood: Umm, I grew a beard...and apparently, that makes me look like Tom Green. (I swear, the next person that tells me that is getting a fat lip. :animeangr) But no, I went for the Ba'al (a Goa'uld from SG-1) approach: [CENTER][IMG]http://www.blogtower.com/_photos/baal.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] ..except that I've got a bit more coverage on the flat part of my chin. But yeah, not sure about that one myself, but it does sound cool. Skip: This one's kinda pathetic, actually. The story's funny, though. All right, so I play trombone, and I've been playing in my church ensembles almost since I first picked up the horn. When I moved up to college, a good ensemble was the first thing I looked for (along with, of course, a good, truth-teaching church, and luckily the one I hit was both?but that's not important). It had been a couple of weeks since I'd joined it, and it so happened that I was embarrassingly late for a Wednesday night rehearsal. The only two stage entrances were basically wing doors, which meant that I could either walk across the entire stage to the pit entrance literally in front of God and everybody, or I could try and sneak in the other wing. As I stood looking through the door's window, I reflected that the only people that I would be trying to avoid were all in position to see me anyway, and so I said to myself "Frill it." (I'm a nerd. I say stuff like that.) So I threw the door open and ran full-tilt across the stage. Flat out. Leaning back, arms pumping, knees high. Carrying a trombone. The director stopped mid-sentence and stared, mouth open, following me all the way across. He told me later that everything he had been about to say had flown completely out of his head, and staring had been all he could do. Other members of the choir told me they were surprised that anyone actually had the guts to do something like that in front of him, and even more so that he hadn't killed me yet. And because the third trumpet is a bit...touched, he decided I should be called Skip. There's this awesome Korean kid I know named Jiwon that'll go absolutely off on you if you say the phrase "Hot Pocket!" around him....[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Hey. I should have something up in the next couple of days. I'm going to try to bits-and-pieces a post whenever I get the chance, until it's ready. I just don't have the time right now to sit down and crank out what I want to do. I [I]do[/I] have something in mind ? and [I]muchas gracias, [COLOR="DarkRed"]indifference[/COLOR], mi amiga[/I] for setting me up ? just give me a chance to throw it together. I'm wondering where [COLOR="DarkRed"]Premonition[/COLOR] wandered off to, and I'm still hoping [COLOR="DarkRed"]Starwind[/COLOR] is alive. I should probably check.... Later. -A[/FONT]

[quote name='Vicky][SIZE=1][I]Quiet you. ¬_¬[/i'][/SIZE][/quote] [FONT=Arial][I]Oh rly?[/I] :smirk: [B]Q:[/B] How do you kill a blonde? [list][*][B]A:[/B] Put a scratch-and-sniff sticker on the bottom of a pool. [*][B]A:[/B] Hand her a knife and ask her a question. [I](der, der-derrr!)[/I][/list] [B]Q:[/B] Another way to drive a blonde crazy? [B]A:[/B] Put her in a spherical room and tell her to sit in the corner. [B]Q:[/B] How does a blonde drive [I]you[/I] crazy? [B]A:[/B] She comes back later and tells you she [I]did[/I] sit in the corner. A man is driving on in Louisiana when he sees a blonde some distance off the road, waist deep in bayou, carrying a high-power rifle and surrounded by alligator corpses. Curious, he stops the car and calls out to her. [B]"Hey miss! What'cha doing out there?"[/B] She replied: [B]"I'm hunting alligators, but I'm getting really mad. I've shot eight so far, and not one of them has been wearing shoes!"[/B][/FONT]

[quote name='Vicky][SIZE=1']And by the way, Chuck Norris jokes... worse jokes in the world. Sorry, they just kinda suck.[/SIZE][/quote] [FONT=Arial]What, you didn't actually think we were using them for [I]humor[/I], did you? I tell you what, it is [I]so hot[/I] over here.... [indent][I](how hot is it, A–?)[/I][/indent] Thank you. It is [I]so hot[/I], I just saw two trees fighting over a dog. [I]*rim shot*[/I] I've also temporarily stopped riding my bicycle because I'm afraid that if I crash on the sidewalk I'll cook to death. [U]Insult one-liners:[/U] "You're about as stimulating as a mouthful of sawdust." "She's the only woman in the world who can walk down a bowling alley while the game is on." "He looks like the third day of the Lost Weekend." "Is that your nose, or are you looking through a periscope?"[/FONT]

[quote name='Gavin][SIZE="1"']I think you're probably right that it's a joke Crystia, I mean only seven cases of fraud involving members of Congress ? That can't be right. :animesmil[/SIZE][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Hey, that's only seven [I]arrested[/I] for fraud. That's not including the times they got away with it.[/FONT]

[QUOTE=ChibiHorsewoman][color=#9933ff][font=lucida calligraphy]Finally an Irish joke: q: How many Irishmen does it take to screw in a lightbulb? a: Fifty-one. One to hold the lightbulb and fifter to get drunk enough to make the room spin.[/color][/font][/QUOTE] [FONT=Arial]I've been searching for these light-bulb jokes for three days, and finally found them under my fridge.[/FONT] o_O [FONT=Arial][B]Q:[/B] How many Charismatics does it take to change a light bulb? [INDENT][B]A:[/B] Ten: one to change the bulb and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.[/INDENT] [B]Q:[/B] How many Neo-Orthodox does it take to change a light bulb? [INDENT][B]A:[/B] No one knows. They can't tell the difference between light and darkness.[/INDENT] [B]Q:[/B] How many Calvinists does it take to change a light bulb? [INDENT][B]A:[/B] None. God has predestined when the light bulb will be on. Calvinists do not change light bulbs. The simply read the instructions and pray that the light bulb will be one that has been chosen to be changed.[/INDENT] [B]Q:[/B] How many TV evangelists does it take to change a light bulb? [INDENT][B]A:[/B] One. But for the message of Light to continue, send in your donation today![/INDENT] [B]Q:[/B] How many Independent Fundamentalists...? [INDENT][B]A:[/B] Only one; any more might result in too much cooperation.[/INDENT] [B]Q:[/B] How many Liberals...? [INDENT][B]A:[/B] At least ten, as they need to hold a debate on whether or not the light bulb exists. Of course, even if they can agree upon the existence of the bulb, they still might not change it, to keep from alienating those who might use other forms of light.[/INDENT] [B]Q:[/B] How many Catholics...? [INDENT][B]A:[/B] None. They use candles.[/INDENT] [B]Q:[/B] How many guitar-playing worship leaders...? [INDENT][B]A:[/B] Only one. But soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.[/INDENT] [B]Q:[/B] How many members of an established Bible-teaching church that is over twenty years old...? [INDENT][B]A:[/B] Thirteen: one to change the bulb and twelve to gripe about how much better the old one was.[/INDENT] [B]Q:[/B] How many United Methodists...? [INDENT][B]A:[/B] No one knows that either, but the following statement was issued on the subject: [I]"We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that a light bulb works for you, that is fine. You are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your personal relationship with your light bulb (or light source, or non-dark resource), and present it next month at our annual Light Bulb Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including incandescent, fluorescent, three-way, long-life, tinted, and energy-saving ? all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence."[/I][/INDENT] [B]Q:[/B] How many youth pastors...? [INDENT][B]A:[/B] Youth pastors aren't around long enough for a light bulb to burn out. (Personal experience verifies that remark. :animesigh)[/INDENT] And finally, [B]Q:[/B] How many Southern Baptists does it take to change a light bulb? [INDENT][B]A:[/B] [U]One[/U] [U]hundred[/U] [U]and[/U] [U]thirty[/U]-[U]four[/U]. [I]*deep breath*[/I] Seven on the Light Bulb Task Force Sub-committee, who report the bulb to the twelve on the Light Bulb Task Force, appointed by the fifteen on the Trustee board. Their recommendation is reviewed by the Finance Committee Executive of five, who place it on the agenda of the eighteen-member Finance Committee. If the FC approves, they bring a motion to the twenty-seven-member Church Board, who appoint another twelve-member review committee. If they recommend that the Church Board proceed, a resolution is brought to the congregational business meeting (Special Called, if necessary). If their report to the congregational business meeting supports the changing of a light bulb, and if the congregation votes in favor, the responsibility to carry out the light bulb change is passed back to the Trustee Board, who in turn appoints a seven-member committee to find the best price in new light bulbs. Their recommendation of which hardware has the best buy must then be reviewed by the twenty-three members of the Ethics Committee, to ensure that this hardware store has no connections to Disneyland. They report back to the Trustee Board, who then commissions the Trustee in charge of the janitor to ask him to make the change. By then, the janitor has discovered that one more bulb has burned out.[/INDENT][/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE][COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I swear, you two are trying to drive me nuts! >_> After all that work on my post too.[/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Well, the loser should have run faster. His fault for dying.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]As long as we're saying the same thing. :p[/FONT]

[QUOTE=2007DigitalBoy][COLOR="DarkOrange"]One thing I dislike about many of the anime I see or games I play is that there is so much time spent explaining things or meandering about when none of it will matter once the heads start rolling. Now, I don't really watch action shows, as I'm a fan of characterization. As such, I've never really liked fantasy or sci-fi stories because they spend so much time specifying every little thing about the world they live in. As a matter of fact, that's something I left very ambiguous in this rp. I've never realy said what time this story takes place in - it looks pretty modern, but then it could also be in the future. I also never really specified countries or even if this takes place on Earth. I'm not trying to direct or rush by saying this, nor am I criticizing the way anyone works. This is just my way of saying, don't be afraid of skipping the details and going strait to the drama. I can't wait to see this thing explode into some real action.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [FONT=Arial]Apparently I was posting when you made this comment. I see what you're saying, and I share the opinion in general. Lack of detail is what made Bebop appeal to me so much ? well, that and the music. But what I was driving at earlier is that we can have drama without having immediate bloodshed. Timewise in the story, we're only something like two days in, maybe three. Maybe. It doesn't really make sense to have multiple skirmishes occurring just after a kidnapping of this nature, especially given the infancy of the RP. There's a plethora of other things we could throw in just now that don't necessarily focus on the [B]picayune[/B] (poke @ [COLOR="DarkRed"]SunfallE[/COLOR]): drama between shinigami; miscellaneous footwork; group brain-pickings; solo tracking work. You see what I mean? I'll admit I'm eager for some combat as well. It's why I tossed in that ridiculous car crash thingummy ? self-fan service, if you will. I just tend to shy away from gratuitousness, is all, so I'm a little leery of vamp-killing this early in the story. 'Course, Nathan can't control his counterparts' actions....[/FONT]

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy][COLOR="DarkOrange"']monsieur, Lunar is an RPG series. A popular one, too. Been around since, like, the SNES or something.[/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Case in point. [quote name='SunfallE][COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Besides, figuring out how to kill a vampire with an [E] rating takes planning. lol That and I don't want to rush the chapter too much. lol[/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote] It [U]can[/U] be done. It's also somewhat easier than straight-up slaughtering them, since one isn't required to broadcast in HI-Def, if you'll indulge me the comparison. Think of it as an instance where you don't tell your audience the whole truth. Just a piece of it.[/FONT]

[QUOTE=SunfallE][COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"] Also, I'm not planning on any bloodshed just yet, right now the vampires are just poking fun at how helpless they perceive the Shinigami to be. :p [B]EDIT[/B]: Also Lucia's character in the Panotipcon was nothing like she is in Lunar. lol [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [FONT=Arial]And nothing like she is now, I surmise. (Having an extremely limited budget pretty much confines me to [as] airings; consequently, most of my current knowledge of anime is either Wiki or hearsay.) Yeah, I see the fun-poking happening for quite some time to come. I still think somebody needs to be French.[/FONT]

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Even though the [B]Panopticon[/B] cameos were already [B]Lunar[/B'] cameos ^^;;[/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]See, I wasn't entirely aware that Meredith came from Lunar. Actually, I wasn't aware of that at all. [quote name='2007DigitalBoy][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"']Really, yall are always so thirsty for blood XD it's mldly disturbing.[/COLOR][/quote] Hey, they're the one's collectively jumping the gun here; I hadn't planned on any actual combat confrontations for a while yet. Better [I]not[/I] to kill off potential informational resources right off the bat. And besides, the vampire's will be expecting retaliation anyway, so the advantage is not currently with the shini-gumshoes.[/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE][COLOR="goldenrod"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Hah! I know Lucia will, for the reasons I just talked about.[/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Hmm. I think I may need to spend some time in Nathan's head, to see how he feels about Lucia. Hooray for multiple Panopticon cameos. :p[/FONT]

[QUOTE=2007DigitalBoy][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]The way I figure, the shinigami uses the scythe to seperate the soul from the body, and then they help the soul move onto the next world however they see fit. In the case of a vampire, a shinigami can kill them, but they never die anyway, so there'd be no reason for a shinigami to go after them. Since a vampire can physically interact with a shinigami, I imagine that a shinigami could kill a vampire using their scythe to actually murder them. Wether the shinigami is willing to or not, though, ought to be it's own conflict...[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [FONT=Arial]That's pretty much the standpoint my thoughts are running from. (Peculiar metaphor, that one....) The first point is the key to it, though, but I still kinda want to let Nathan spell it out, so I won't go on about it any more at the moment. [quote name='indifference][COLOR="indigo"']...but rest assured, Adrian will end up doing a vampire in.[/COLOR][/quote] They all will, milady. They all will. And some of them will take great pleasure in doing so. :demon:[/FONT]

[QUOTE=2007DigitalBoy][COLOR="DarkOrange"]yes, of course there will be many of them doing stuff, and I'm sure not all of them work for the count. ...*tempted to create a faction chart*[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [FONT=ARial]We need some French ones. 'Cause French vampires are just annoyingly arrogant. I've know some of us have been wondering how to go about killing the vampires; I did also, initially, but now I've started theorizing about how they [I]stay alive[/I]. I'm thinking some kind of a substitutionary deal, like Tag. It boils down to the supposition that maybe it's not that shinigami [I]can't[/I] kill them, it's that somehow they [I]don't[/I] kill them. I [strike]may have[/strike] will have Nathan expostulate on the concept in a future post, so in the meantime ruminate on that. Also, do shinigami actually kill people, or do they just sever the soul from the body at the moment of death? :therock: I hope [COLOR="DarkRed"]Starwind[/COLOR] shows up.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial]Sorry I've been in intermittent contact here. I've been busy visiting my friend with MD. I cranked out that post this morning while he was sleeping, but I didn't have time to say anything else. Right. Hope I didn't go overboard with the whole 'haunting' bit. Thought it was funny at the time, but then I wasn't entirely awake, either....[/FONT]

Time Nathan's "house" was actually an unused apartment on the top floor of a complex on the east side of the city. It was a fairly well-populated complex, but Nathan had managed to convince the landlord and several of the more permanently established denizens that the apartment was the dwelling place of some spirit or other, which currently wasn't far from the truth. Of course, this required that Nathan perform the odd apparitionary tasks every couple of years or so to show that the spirit of the apartments hadn't yet passed on, but as long as he got to keep his own place, he didn't mind all that much. In fact, he kind if enjoyed it; just last year he had played an intense chess match against the fifty-four year old Joel Robertson of 207B. The graying man had once been a local tournament champion in his youth and had finished in the top ten at the state level several times. Needless to say, Nathan had been very pleased with his win, if a bit disappointed at having to make Robertson lose to an invisible ghost. The apartment's furnishings were spartan: white walls, a white ceiling with a single frosted-glass light set in the center of each room, white carpet that cut off diagonally at the small kitchen area to become white linoleum sheet-tile with small black diamonds in a tessellated pattern, a dark gray futon couch and chairs. The living room was further lit by track lighting around the walls, which Nathan had had to install himself—also with an audience. He had been intensely amused by their presence, and had availed himself of some assistance from a few of them. Isen, as always, had protested her disapproval, but since he had been the only one to hear her he had taken the liberty of ignoring her. After all, track lighting is no easy beast to install by oneself. Isen was a large, sleek Russian Blue with gold eyes. Her short fur was silky to the touch, and she was almost obsessively proud of her appearance, washing herself at least eight times a day; Nathan had counted. Isen had been his familiar for as long as he could remember, and as Nathan would say himself, he'd been around the block a few times. At present, she was in a state of extreme agitation. She'd pace back and forth at the apartment's entrance in tight circles, then jump up on the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room and sit staring at the lone envelope on the counter's white marble surface, tail twitching nervously, then jump down and start the process all over again. Her eyes were dilated, and they flicked repeatedly around the apartment as she paced, picking up every detail, searching for anything out of place, anything she might have missed the last time she'd looked. She accosted her partner the instant he floated through the front door. "Where have you been?" she demanded angrily. "I have been going mad waiting for you!" "Relax," cajoled the shinigami. "I was just down at the Peregrine for the afternoon, and then I had to take an old man for a heart-attack. He was sleeping, so it wasn't a big deal." Nathan looked at her askance. "Why? What's got you all worked up?" Isen leaped back up to the counter. "This," she said flatly, touching the envelope with her paw. "We were visited while I slept," she continued. "So the big guy decided to send us a letter. I don't see what–" "It smells wrong," she interrupted. Nathan stopped and looked at her for a second. Concern crept into his eyes, and he reached slowly for the envelope, opening it deliberately. As he read the letter his eyes narrowed, until they finally closed, and the hand holding the missive sagged to rest on the counter. Isen looked at him apprehensively. "Nathan, don't do this." Nathan's expression became strained; his lips parted slightly, and he drew in a long, heavy breath. ------------------------Grant Taylor couldn't understand what had gotten into his beagle. Missy had been sleeping quietly on his lap while he watched the Giants/Chiefs game, and without warning she'd hurled herself to the floor and run whining into his bedroom. "Missy?" he called, getting out of his recliner. He could just see the tip of her nose peeking out from under his bed. "What's wrong, girl?" "Hey, Dad?" his daughter called from the next room. "Does it feel a little cold in here to you?" Grant paused. Come to think of it, it did feel unusually chilly all of a sudden—enough, even, to give him goosebumps, and the hair on the back of his neck was standing up. "I'm sure it's nothing, Meredith," he replied, giving Missy a funny look. ------------------------ Isen was considerably worried; Nathan hadn't spoken, or done anything at all, for the past five minutes. His normally calm aura was pulsing out from him in smothering waves, closing in the air and causing her fur to bristle. "Nathan, stop," she pleaded, arching her back in spite of herself. "Vampires," he murmured thinly. "I know." "Cowardly–" "They were here, Nathan." His gaze snapped to her, his expression terrible. Isen stammered the next sentence. "I-I scented them when I woke up," she told him. "I do not know how they-how they got in, and they did nothing...I believe...." She trailed off uncertainly. "They should have woken me, I do not know how they snuck in." "They didn't deliver this," Nathan said through clenched teeth. "They never just go places." He left the kitchen and walked towards the center of his living room, his blue eyes sweeping across it just as his familiar's had done before he'd arrived. They came to rest on the chess set on the lone table in the room. He stepped closer to it. A single emerald pawn was out of rank on the highest tier, moved forward to the fourth rank. Isen eyed it curiously. "I ... what?" she said. "It a message," he responded quietly. "They're saying that this is their game and they know all the players. Damn cowards!" he hissed. He moved around the board until he was facing the sapphire pieces at the bottom. He studied the board for a long moment, then reached down and grasped a piece of his own. "Queen-bishop's pawn to A3," he said. "Time."

[SIZE="1"][indent][align=justify][B]?Well,?[/B] Shades observed mildly, arching his brow as he watched the possibly reformed and certainly touched Terror Stick flee into the desert. [B]?That was?convenient.?[/B] He stood at Kathy?s window until the peculiar popsicle in the distance could no longer be discerned. He had heard the entire conversation, of course?smoke diversions were nothing new to him; he had outgrown them years ago?but he had felt it prudent to let Stick do his thing. Actually, he had been planning on using A_M and her condition to reach Stick where reason obviously could not, but as it had turned out the would-be bomber had done Shades? work for him. He sighed. The atmosphere in the room was tangibly morbid. The situation did not bode well for the site?s honorary mother. Shades wondered how long it would be before the Beast?s poison had completely ravaged her, and if the efforts to save her were only prolonging the inevitable. That line of thinking was unnecessarily depressing and completely unproductive, and so he shoved it to the side. Glancing around, he spied some crumpled sheets of paper in a nearby wastebasket; with a little concentration, the sheets? molecules destabilized, and he began the slightly taxing process of reconstituting them. After a few moments, and some minor difficulty (Damocles had been right; those O2s were damnably irritating, always wanting to zip off to the nearest lung instead of going where one wanted them), the task was completed, and Shades placed the sunflower delicately in Kathy?s hair, just above her right temple. Feeling slightly better, he left her to her peace, and hoped she was actually having some. There was still the matter of the bomb to be dealt with, and so he slid hastily down to the sublevel, pushing his way through various hospital staff members milling about until he reached the chair-bound Webster, who was issuing pithy queries and commands to what looked like a staff surgeon. He noticed that Webster?s disgruntled nurse was gone, presumably relieved (in more ways than one) by the surgeon. Shades was certain no one had minded much. [B]?What have we got?? ?It?s an F-bomb,? [/B]replied Webster. Shades cursed under his breath. [B]?Frill!? ?No pun intended, I?m sure,? [/B]Webster quipped. Shades rolled his eyes, remembering too late that no one would notice. [B]?So how is it going??[/B] he asked. [B]?Hard to say,?[/B] Webster responded. [B]?This bomb is almost at the limit of my expertise. It?s booby-trapped in more ways than I care to count, and the only procedure I was taught to deal with it is extremely complicated. I should be able to disarm it, though, provided I don?t encounter anything odd.?[/B] [B]?You got all you need here?? ?I believe that is the case,?[/B] Webster answered. He went back to issuing instructions to his surgeon. [B]?All right, then.? [/B] Shades glanced to the monstrosity strapped to his teammate?s back. [B]?Nice Oxford,?[/B] he commented after a moment. [B]?Thank you,?[/B] Webster replied absently. [B]?No, really. I have to get one for myself. Haven?t read through one in a while,?[/B] Shades explained. [B]?And the last one was actually a Thorndyke-Barnhardt, so branching out would probably do me good. I do have one question, though.?[/B] Webster looked up, careful to hide his perturbation; Shades pretended not to notice. [B]?Why Oxford??[/B] he asked finally. [B]?I beg your pardon??[/B] Shades looked thoughtfully at his fellow agent?s contraption. [B]?I just wondered,?[/B] he said. [B]?After all, your call sign is Webster, so why not use Merriam??[/B][/align][/indent][/SIZE]

[quote name='indifference][COLOR="Indigo"][B]EDIT: [/B']Heh, I love your post SunfallE, you always get my characters so perfectly. [/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Okay, [I]that's[/I] just creepy. And I'm talkin' "Superman looking in the kid's window" creepy. I like the aura concept; I was actually just about to use it myself. Be warned: Nathan's aura will spike this evening. Feel free to make "if you can't feel that, you're dead" quips all you want. :p (I hate it when I write FOMNT)[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]...umm, yeah. I'll see your "unreliable groupwork" and raise you one "CSI". Or maybe back at the office building somebody goofed and Nathan didn't get the memo. It does say "team", though, which implies a team (like, duh.); I've already seen the blue man stressing a bit, so don't worry about that. Like I said, if the other guys want to have lists, then that's fine. Prior contacts works also, but I prefer to play that card in tandem with the assignation. Bottom line, Nathan doesn't have a clue partnerwise, unless somebody contacts him.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Simple answer for ya: you start talkin' to other people, they'll most likely start talkin' back ? assuming we're steering clear of the cutesy intornetz slang thingummy that pretty much just gets on people's nerves. :p (E.g.: comments like "OMG ur so AWESOME and ur site totily RAWKS!!!11", if you'll pardon my facetiousness, are basically instantly translated as "Ignore me, please-and-thank- you.") 'Course, if you follow [I]that[/I] logic, you may very well end up as that person that everybody just sighs and says "not him again" when he shows his face ... er, screenname. (And no, [COLOR="DarkRed"]DB[/COLOR], I'm actually talking about myself here.)[/FONT]

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"']? I'm just assuming all of you got the letters, and no one else.[/COLOR][/quote] [FONT=Arial]Well yeah, but the point is that IC we don't know who [I]else[/I] got the letter we got. The writers know who's who, but the characters don't, see what I'm sayin'? And you know I'm just being persnickety.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]I love how the notice failed to include a list of the recipient's teammates. :animesmil Anybody else wanna toss a list in there, that's fine; I'm gonna be rollin' from the info-less angle, since I'm already gettin' a visual and I'd rather not stop it, know-whatta-mean?. Nathan may or may not have had previous vampiric experiences. I'll find out later.[/FONT]