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Ray Ray... pauses for a moment. The confident and calm demeanor on his face softens, and he takes a deep breath before - surprising himself a bit - reaching out and patting the guy's shoulder. "Buddy... you may have dodged a pretty big bullet." A brief moment is shared. Ray does his best not to recoil from the act of, for the second time today, physically comforting someone, and then returns directly back to form, like a light switch flicked from on to off and back again. "Anyway, hey, look at the time," he says quickly as he retracts his hand, not actually looking at any fashion of time-tracking device. "I should get back with my colleague - listen, part of our outreach initiative was to let people know that the app is having some issues here in your area, so since you don't have an account already maybe give it a week or two before signing up. And always be wary of anybody who wants to meet you alone, at night, in a dark place, or wearing a spotlight. But otherwise, just remember - if you want to slide in their DMs, make sure to check out Slidr! Take care!" Unless the man has anything else to add past that point Ray turns his attention to the direction where he left Leo and Sally, making sure they haven't disappeared anywhere, and begins working his way back toward them as swiftly as possible. Will give Ray a pause here to let the conversation between Sally and Leo play out a bit in his absence My Second Re-Reg fucked around with this message at 05:23 on May 4, 2024 |
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May 4, 2024 00:28
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| # ? May 6, 2024 06:31 |
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To Leo (part 2) You pause at the last insinuation, trying to quickly think of an answer, as you notice the two of you have been mechanically walking towards the end of the bridge. Suddenly, a man bumps onto you. You are keeping all your attention on Sally, and are halfway to mumbling an automatic apology when your sixth sense alerts you of something being very wrong. Your hand shoots to your front pocket, finding it suddenly very... light. You turn around instinctively and are confronted by a wide smile, stuck to the face of a man who looks like he'd steal a horse from under you and then sell it to you back. He makes no attempt to conceal the wallet he's holding a few feet from your face. "Lost something?" he says. "Leo, old friend, what a chance meeting!" You recognize the tall, bony guy in front of you instantly, of course. His name is Carl and he's a good old sleazeball - one that'd roll with your Carnival for a good while, mostly profiting on tales and sleight of hand, before leaving in a hurry once he'd made too many known enemies. He used to claim to be an elf, half-fae, quarter-native and who knows how many other things. You've never found how much truth there was on his stories, but you suspect there's about as much of it as there are legs on a clam. "I heard you left the Carnival" he smiles at you, still taunting your wallet on your face. For some reason, he's got a bright green mohawk now, and has sharpened his canines into resembing fangs. "Bet there is a fascinating story right there!" Realizing something, you turn around again. No sign of Sally. Of course. To Ray You are carefully keeping up with Leo and Sally when you notice the exchange between the two. Thinking fast, you try to turn around to block the man's path - but that means you lose, for a second, sight of the woman. When they finally move off your line of vision, she is nowhere to be found. Shellception fucked around with this message at 22:11 on May 4, 2024 |
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May 4, 2024 20:22
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To Simon You mumble a "good girl" of reassurance to Miu as Yuko walks you off, Chris having disappeared somewhere or other. Once in the walkway, you do notice a familiar man sitting on a bench by the street. As you walk towards your colleague, you also notice the big, orange cat sitting by his legs, and wonder what are the chances this house has two very similar cats around. Not many, you reason, Neko doesn't look like he enjoys competition. A stray thought you'd never thought would make sense also crosses by your mind. "Can cats read?" Shellception fucked around with this message at 21:28 on May 4, 2024 |
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May 4, 2024 20:28
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Leo Leo looks around hoping to see Sally but of course, she's nowhere to be seen. "Goddammit..." Leo mutters. "I needed more information from that woman." "What the gently caress are you doing here anyway?"
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May 5, 2024 10:20
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To Leo (and Ray) "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that how you greet an old friend? Can't a man go anywhere now?" he retorts back, without losing his smile. "Dammit, good old Leo. Always all... business with you. You haven't changed a bit" He makes a theatrical gesture with his hand, still keeping your wallet out of your reach. "I wonder what our old friends at the Carnival would say of our... little rendez-vous. You did tell them goodbye, right?" To Ray You are close enough that you can hear the man's words now, not that they make any sense to you anyway. Your brain is tugging at you to notice something else - there is the faintest hint of a burning sulphur smell in the air...
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May 5, 2024 17:53
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Shellception posted:To Maeby Maeby Seeing her chance, Maeby takes a already rolled cigarette and gets it ignited before moving into position as casually as she can act. "Oh my God" she remarks with an exaggerated vocal fry to denote excitement, "You look so badass." She blows a hearty cloud and watches the old lady's face for interest in sharing. "I bet Gen Z doesn't know how to party half as well as you," she quips. A drug deal means dispensing social currency as much as legal tender. Maeby does her best to charm her way into a drug deal to get some Blood of the Mountain.
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May 5, 2024 19:24
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Ray As Ray gets closer to Leo and his friend(?) an acrid and familiar scent catches his attention. Ray does not pause, he outright halts in mid stride, face first alarmed and then scrunched into a quizzical expression. "Sulfur," he thinks to himself. "Sulfur bad." "Sulfur real bad." Investigate a Mystery: You guys smell that?: 2d6+2 8 Still in his frozen position Ray sniffs at the air, doing his best to figure out where the scent may be coming from and if whatever produced it is still there.
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May 5, 2024 21:23
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To Maeby The lady nods at you, clearly touched by your remark and also your offer of sharing. You both smoke for a bit in complete harmony, sitting on the grass as the dog chills by your side, contemplating the universe and all it involves and not giving a rat's rear end about any bystanders looking at you. She ends up cutting you a pretty good deal - good for her, you reflect in retrospect, as she definitely charged you more than you'd have paid for back home. But it's clearly a podunk town, and prices probably are higher here. You both finish your communion with nature with a handshake and a small vial of a sanguine red liquid changing hands. She gets up, gives you a reassuring smile and a pat in the shoulder, and goes off into the sunset with her dog following her trail. You've gained a vial of Blood of the Mountain, and some deeper understanding of the Universe and all it entrails, but you aren't sure you'll remember it later. You also feel real good. Where to, now? If you want to meet with Ray and Leo, just say so; otherwise, tell me where to go/what to do.
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May 5, 2024 22:11
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To Ray Your senses get into high alert mode as the sulphur smell enters your nose. The stranger doesn't seem to have noticed you, but you are sure that if you get any closer, he will. So you keep your distance and discretely circle them around, passing them by and then getting by Leo's side, trying to get a better sense of... ... You blink a bit, and decide to throw caution to the wind and approach them a bit more. You take your phone out of your pocket and simulate being very interested on texting - it seems to work, as the stranger pays you no attention. Your nose confirms what you were thinking. Though the smell is almost unperceptible now, it seems to be very close - as if it'd come from... Leo?
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May 5, 2024 22:20
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Ray Ray frowns again. "Sulfur is bad.... but those are questions I can ask later," he thinks, quietly doing what he can to remain both inconspicuous and close by. He positions the new stranger between Leo and himself, just in case, but otherwise hangs back, remains quiet, and watches the conversation play out.
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May 6, 2024 05:22
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| # ? May 6, 2024 06:31 |
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Leo "Sorry about the outburst, I don't appreciate being distracted from my work. I'm not sure why you're so concerned with MY status in The Show but yes, I left on good terms a couple years ago...felt like hanging up the silk scarves and doing something a bit more meaningful." He sees Ray has walked up but is hanging back, looking perturbed. Feeling a bit more in control of himself Leo presses, "so what brings you to this neck of the woods? There was a murder here, you wouldn't know anything about that would you? I'll also take my wallet back."
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May 6, 2024 05:53
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