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Current Events [P]

Postby Indigo » 02/18/2017 9:29 PM

Image

There was a river outside the city—not exactly nearby, but a reasonable distance away, and Rexus would have had to close the shop today anyway in order to meet the detective so he might as well make the trip out here. He had been here before on occasion, though not for some time, and on last examination the river had not, to his knowledge, contained any spirits; but he hadn't been looking for them specifically, and, well, it had been a while. Besides which, it was the closest body of water to the city that he knew of, and he couldn't imagine Glory would have bothered to go very far afield in search of...whatever it was she'd wanted.

Possibly he should have asked the detective to come to the shop, but there was always the chance that Glory would show up and find out what he was up to, and while he wasn't entirely sure what the consequences for that would be he was certain he wouldn't enjoy them. Not that she was likely to sic her spirit on her brother, but there were plenty of other things she could do in retaliation.

He had arrived a good half hour before he was to meet the detective; he had intended to arrive exactly on time, but traffic had been better than he'd expected and now here he was. He hadn't bothered to get out of the car, as standing around was not notably more productive than sitting around, and now sat staring out at the river. There was absolutely nothing remarkable about it.



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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby zapdragon555 » 02/21/2017 1:27 AM

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Occam wasn't spectacularly late, but he was late enough for it to be noticeable and highly unprofessional on his part. When he arrived at the river, his dark hair was mussed so much it looked like he'd just tumbled out of bed and thrown on a coat. On closer examination, it actually did look like he'd forgotten to put a proper shirt on. Those were definitely pajamas, the shirt at least. It was a wonder he'd remembered to put on shoes at all, but at the very least, he was finally there. Just under an hour late. Great first impression material.

"Oi there!" he called to the Lucain sitting on the riverbank waving a black-gloved hand in the air as he ran haphazardly towards him. He nearly slipped on a wet patch of muddy grass on his way, but made it all in one piece without any tumbles. A miracle. "I am, first of all, so sorry for the wait, Mr. Flint," he puffed, scratching at his stomach to try to chase away a stitch in his side. He blinked, looking down at himself and at the shirt he was wearing, then quietly zipped up his jacket without saying anything. "I'm just thankful you're still here. That means you're a keeper." He said this with a grin, like it was a joke. It wasn't. He needed money, and he needed this case, whatever it was.



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby Indigo » 03/09/2017 5:29 PM

[Wow this sure is late, what is time anyway amirite. Uh. Also...does Occam have a last name.]

Rexus stood as the detective approached, and tried not to look too skeptical. He didn't know what he had been expecting, exactly, but "someone who looks like they spent more than thirty seconds getting dressed this morning" was so essential to those expectations he hadn't even consciously considered it.

Then again, he was hiring the man to track the business dealings of a river spirit, so he didn't have a lot of room to criticize.

"Yes, well," he said, and then stopped, because he couldn't think of a polite way to finish the sentence, and it wasn't the detective's fault that things were the way they were. Except possibly the issue of timing, but Rexus was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Better late than never." He cringed a little hearing himself spout such a platitude. "Disaster can strike at the most inopportune times." That wasn't much better, but at least it was less trite.

"Now..." He should probably at least try for some pleasantries, but he'd spent the wait trying to tease out the puzzle of what Glory could possibly want from a spirit and his head was too full of that to contain anything appropriate to say. Ah, well. "I should have asked you this before, but I've had so much trouble finding someone who'd take a case of this nature—how much experience do you have with...nature spirits?" It came out more uncertain than a normal question would be, as he realized he wasn't sure that was actually a real term. He was much better with dead things. Hopefully the detective didn't expect him to be too knowledgeable.



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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby zapdragon555 » 04/05/2017 10:56 PM

[Heee does not but if I wanted to be funny I'd go with Rayser or something similar. Puns ahoy!]

If Occam was perfectly honest, he was prone to taking cases without even fully reading over them, he was so desperate for work and money. However, Rexus' question visibly threw the frazzled detective off guard. He blinked owlishly at the Lucain, his eyes sliding sideways to stare at the river, then back to Rexus, catching himself with a flash of a grin. "Well! I... I've dealt with spirits before, certainly--who hasn't, in this day and age?--though I have to say, nature spirit is a new breed to me," he mused aloud, exuding a confidence that must've been very practiced.

"I can assure you, I'll blow this case of yours wide open. I have a very high rate of success," he said, looking earnest. In truth, he hadn't gotten many cases. He'd gotten so few, that the only ones he'd gotten had hardly been cases at all, regardless of how well-solved they'd been. He had, at least, read a tiny bit of the case file--enough to know that the two people involved were siblings, one of which he was talking to. "Mr. Flint, what can you tell me about your sister, as a person?"



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby Indigo » 04/24/2017 1:01 PM

Occam's apparent confusion at the question did not fill Rexus with confidence any more than his appearance had. He was beginning to rethink this whole endeavor. Of course it was really too late to change his mind at this point, but he briefly entertained a pleasant fantasy wherein he'd hired a different detective who had arrived on time and was already halfway to solving his case by this point. Briefly, because he couldn't imagine what the conclusion of this particular mystery might be, which was, after all, why he had hired someone else to take care of it.

But at least Occam had dealt with spirits of some kind before. Though possibly he meant the dead kind, in which case he wasn't much better off than Rexus himself, but there was no point in dwelling on that; Rexus shoved the thought aside to the extent that it was possible to do so.

"My sister," he said. "Well. She's always been rather flighty, or maybe I should say impulsive—making decisions without fully considering the consequences, that sort of thing. She'll take terrible risks without thinking if there's a chance of getting something she wants out of it." He was painting a somewhat unflattering picture of Glory, he realized, but her negative attributes seemed more relevant to the issue at hand. But he also didn't want the detective to think badly of her. "Of course she's not just…there's more to her than that. She can be very loyal and very…but I'm concerned that she might have done something rash. She's made some sort of contract with a river spirit—this much she's told me herself. I don't know what she got out of it, and I don't know what she gave up, but I'm certain it wasn't an even trade. Spirits are tricky even if you're experienced with them, and she isn't. And she won't tell me anything herself, because she thinks I'll interfere, and that's not a good sign, is it? Which is where you come in." He really should have explained all this to start with. There was a reasonable chance the detective would just laugh at him, and he'd be back to where he started.



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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby zapdragon555 » 05/03/2017 2:15 AM

From what he was gathering, Rexus' sister was prime real estate for risk. Hopefully, this meant there would be some sort of reliable trail to follow, as risk-takers often left. Even so, listening to the man describe his sister made him smile slightly, his eyes barely shining.

All this talk of spirits was starting to make him nervous, though. This guy wasn't kidding, huh? Occam had half wondered if he'd just been bluffing about the spirit thing, or maybe meant it in a metaphorical way. Sadly, it seemed no alcoholic spirits were involved. Just... spirits. Actual spirits.

Occam suddenly looked a little bit uneasy. "Sooo," he began, folding his fingertips together and gesturing towards Rexus with a kind of forward tilt. "If I'm hearing you right... I'm supposed to convince your sister to drop this whole demonic contract business. Friend, you realize I'm a detective, not a priest, right?" He paused, recalling just how much he needed money, and flashed a fast smile. "But I'm always willing to try anything once. Do you know where she is?" he asked, the smile fading back into something a bit more serious. At the very least, they should start moving. Occam was curious about all of this, as much as he hated to admit it. Spirits were intriguing. And terrifying.

[Omg also I forgot to properly ask--is Rexus in Lucain form? Or human form? I was assuming the latter but if I'm wrong please tell me! I just wanna make sure I'm writing accurate haha <3]



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby Indigo » 05/07/2017 11:04 PM

[Oh he's in Lucain form, sorry for not making that clear.]

He couldn't quite hide his surprise. "No, no, not at all. If she won't listen to me I very much doubt she'll listen to a stranger, assuming she didn't think I paid you off in the first place. Which I suppose I would have." Not to mention the ethical implications of hiring someone to talk his sister out of her life choices, which were...well, murky, he wasn't really sure what it implied now that he thought about it, but the idea didn't sit right with him. "No, I'm hoping you can help me track down this spirit and find out what the terms of the contract were."

It sounded a little ridiculous when he said it out loud, but mysterious contracts seemed like the sort of thing a detective might deal with, even if they were usually of a more mundane nature. Not that he knew all that much about detectives. Perhaps the smart thing to do would have been to call up a dead one ahead of time and get an idea of what he'd be dealing with, but he didn't like to use his skills that way, and anyway he hadn't thought of it before, so there was no use dwelling on it.

His ear twitched as another, more pressing thought came to mind. "I don't expect you to confront the spirit itself about the matter." He had some doubts about this man's ability to handle such a confrontation, anyway. "I need to know what it took from Glory before I decide how to deal with it in any case."



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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby zapdragon555 » 05/22/2017 11:01 PM

[No problem! Now that I think about it I feel like you mentioned that, oops lolol]

Occam blinked at Rexus' insistent explanation. His smile fell away for a moment as he listened, truly listened, to Rexus' intentions for him. Tracking down a spirit was considerably more out of his range of expertise--a generous word--but... surely there was something he could do to get the ball rolling on this case.

"What it took from her..." he echoed in thought, bringing a hand to his pocket and pulling out a phone, beginning to type some arbitrary notes in a simple text editor app. "I see. That, at least, is a reasonable place to start. Do you two live together?" he asked, after a moment. "If not... where does--or did--she live? I'd love to have a look around, to start. See if there's any stones I can uncover, or things that could jog your memory. Since you know her best, you're my best asset in this case, especially now."



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby Indigo » 06/04/2017 1:04 PM

"We do," Rexus said, and hoped his relief wasn't apparent in his voice. His expectations for Occam's reaction had declined rapidly as the conversation went on; the fact that the detective seemed to be treating this as business as usual served to reassure him a little about his bizarre request, if nothing else. "It's back in the city, actually. I would have suggested we meet there, but I was worried she might come home unexpectedly—wait."

He went and dug his phone out of the car—it was a model carefully designed to be operated by paw, though he still sometimes had trouble not pressing multiple buttons at once—and composed a message to Glory, requesting that she come home immediately. That should buy them most of the day at least, possibly more if she was with a friend who would accommodate her whims, which was reasonably likely.

"There we are," he said to the detective. "You should be able to investigate unhindered. Did you drive here, or...?" He had mostly been paying attention to the river, truth be told, and then to Occam's state of disarray.

[...I have no idea how to handle this transition.]



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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby zapdragon555 » 07/22/2017 2:01 AM

Occam eyed the phone as Rexus texted. He put a curled, thoughtful fist in front of his mouth to hide the giggle that threatened to bubble out of him. Despite having lived in Evelon all his life, he'd never quite get used to seeing those paw-accommodating phones. Delightful little things they were. He hoped it wasn't horrible of him to find it somewhat cute.

He blinked at the question, expression unguarded, and let out a small, nervous chuckle. Don't mention the bike. Don't mention the fact that you rode here on a bike and then parked it under a tree somewhere and-- "I... walked!" Damn it, that's worse! "Yeah, I... I live... well... close? To here?" he said, the utterly obvious lie painted over his face in neon lights.

"That being said... if you have a car, I would not say no to using that. If it's not too much trouble, of course!"

[They can just arrive at the house in your next post, if you want!]



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby Indigo » 08/17/2017 10:57 PM

The bookstore was in decent shape; Glory had clearly been in a hurry to get out of here, but at least she'd remembered to lock the doors and she hadn't knocked over either of the displays. Rexus walked straight through it without stopping to get to the stairs, in the hope that the detective wouldn't examine it too closely. It was unlikely to contain any clues, and he was rather hoping not to have to explain the hidden necromancy room. People could be touchy about such things, and with good reason, he would be the first to add. It would be simpler to avoid the subject altogether.

He climbed the stairs and opened the front door, and could not suppress a sound of dismay. Glory had clearly been in the middle of something, or several somethings: about half the couch cushions had been removed and piled on the coffee table next to the lint brush, and the vacuum stood plugged in near the kitchen doorway, so she must have meant to do some cleaning even though she hadn't finished the job.

There were also several open textbooks on the floor, and crumpled notes, which offended his sensibilities much further. Especially the textbooks. Rationally he knew no one would have been home to do it, but he allowed himself the indulgence of internally screaming Someone could step on those!

He stepped over one of them and nudged it shut. "I'm terribly sorry about the mess. I can't imagine it will make your job any easier."



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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby zapdragon555 » 08/28/2017 10:12 AM

Occam sauntered in with as casual of an air he could manage after just seeing a four-legged creature drive a car--the car he was in, no less. Lot of trust there, not that Occam was speciesist in the slightest. Not at all. He even had his own Lucain form, which he totally used, all the time, definitely. Paws just seemed a bit unwieldy sometimes.

The bookstore was interesting, and he'd want to have a look at it later, but Rexus seemed to have a set route. For now, he followed. Occam's eyes drifted around the messy room, brows raised in surprise. "Oh, no, hey," he began, as Rexus started attempting to clean. "It's okay, seriously. In fact, messy room is alright--leaving it untouched gets us the rawest form of evidence."

At the very least, that sounded like a smart thing to say. Really he just felt uncomfortable for Rexus to spend any sort of effort cleaning on his part, when Occam's own apartment consistently looked like it housed a particularly energetic tornado. One that had a lot of respect for leaving things in semi-organized, sensible piles and stacks.

"So she left in the middle of cleaning?" he managed to glean from the vacuum and lint brush. He picked up a textbook and squinted at it, flipping through it a bit. "And these books--do they belong to you? Her? The bookstore back there?"



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby Indigo » 08/31/2017 11:30 PM

"Mm." He had no reason to doubt the detective's expertise—well, all right, in fact he had a few, but if he dwelled on them too much he'd waste everyone's time, and the thing about evidence made sense, anyway. Not that it kept him from twitching a little every time he had to step over something abandoned on the floor.

"The beginning, I would say," he replied, "but yes. The books are hers. Ours. We don't sell these downstairs—too expensive to get ahold of, and hardly anyone buys textbooks these days. It would be a waste." He barely restrained himself from launching into a complaint about people buying all their books online these days, because Occam didn't need to hear it, and anyway Rexus had been known to order a book or two from time to time. It was inevitable in some cases.

He reached for the couch cushions, to put one back, and then stopped himself; if this counted as evidence then he didn't want to disturb it. There might well be more to be found in Glory's room, and he'd fully intended to bring the detective in there, but now, faced with actually performing that breach of privacy, he found himself uncomfortable with it. Well. He'd wait until Occam asked—maybe it wouldn't be necessary at all, and if it was, then it wasn't his fault. He was only trying to help.

"Er..." Hospitality took over. "Can I get you something to drink?"



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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby zapdragon555 » 10/08/2017 12:43 PM

Occam looked lost in thought as he stared at the textbook, finger curled in front of his mouth in musing. He looked up from the mess to stare at Rexus for a few seconds, then nodded and smiled. "Yeah, actually, a drink sounds pretty fantastic right now," he admitted. The run from his bike (shit he'd definitely need to go back and get that) to the bank of the river had winded him, and now the dust was starting to get to his throat a bit. "Thanks so much."

He waited for Rexus to leave, then set the textbook back down where he found it. He slowly moved through the messy room, picking his way over things (and stepping on one or two, blast it), until he spotted another door. He glanced over his shoulder at the kitchen door, then stepped closer to it, his hand reaching for the doorknob.



But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair



"Tomorrow will be a good day."


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Re: Current Events [P]

Postby Indigo » 11/08/2017 3:03 PM

Rexus puttered around the kitchen for far longer than he felt he ought, unmoored by the act of leaving someone alone to inspect his home. This was something he normally tried to avoid, truth be told—necromancy was not a popular occupation no matter how good your reasons, and while he kept his workspace well hidden and out of the way he still worried there might be something he'd missed up here—but it was necessary if he was going to get to the bottom of Glory's predicament. He just had to keep telling himself that.

He returned to the living room with a glass of water, since the detective hadn't specified what he wanted and Rexus hadn't thought to ask, to find Occam with his hand on a doorknob. "That one's my bedroom," Rexus said, "you'll want the other one if you want to investigate her space. Though it may be locked." Which hadn't occurred to him ahead of time. The thought of unlocking and entering someone else's private space made him shudder a little.

He tested Glory's doorknob. It wasn't locked. He tried not to look too relieved.

Glory's room was less of a mess than one might expect; for all that she was unorganized, she spent most of her time in common spaces or out of the house, leaving her little opportunity to leave her room in the same state as the rest of the house. The messiest thing was the desk, scattered with pens and pencils and old tests, a couple of notebooks poking out of the pile at odd angles. Her coat had been tossed on the floor in front of a low bookshelf that held mostly DVDs. She'd made her bed, also not a surprise: if she was a perfectionist about anything, it was sleep.

Rexus hung back, not wanting to disturb any important evidence. "There you go. I hope you find some insight in all of this."



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