(no subject)
((OOC: Seto and Marik get together for lunch to compare research and make plans. Back dated to Monday, July 30th.))
The late afternoon sunlight shone off the burnished silverware and prismed through the crystal water glass onto the linen tablecloth where Seto sat waiting for Marik to join him. The two of them had arranged a meeting to discuss how their separate research was going, to coordinate and summarize and exchange ideas.
Seto waited with the indrawn air of one whose mind is far from the time and place he finds himself in, while he gazed abstractedly out the window.
It was a clear and pleasant afternoon, which was convinent for today’s schedule. Chrome tires pulling up to the destination of choice where he was to meet Seto. Marik was anxious to know the results of Seto’s findings and he was sure Seto felt the same about his own research.
Walking into the cover of the restaurant, Marik politely asked the host to escort him to where Seto would be sitting. Following the small brunette Marik eyed Seto further ahead. As they weaved through the restaurant’s tables finally reaching where Kaiba sat .
Seto looked up from his revere as Marik was shown to his table and he nodded at his companion as the man took his seat. "Good afternoon," he greeted Marik. "I'm looking forward to this." Seto had already looked over the menu and now gave Marik the time to do so as well.
“Same to you , I am looking forward to this as well” he said taking a seat opposite to Seto. Glancing over the menu quickly, he decided he’d just order something small, with a drink. His thoughts about the preempting conversation dulled his appetite. Looking up from the menu Marik moved his focus to Kaiba. “ I’m ready when you are” meaning to order their food and get down to the reason they were here.
Calling over the waiter with a nod of his head, Seto and Marik placed their orders and were brought coffee and lemonade, respectively, with a basket of fresh rolls.
"I must admit, my research has led to nothing conclusive, yet there seems to be some common elements that continue to appear the more I look," Seto began. "It is impossible at this time to identify the figures conclusively, though there are some obvious guesses." His tone made it clear what he thought of obvious. "I imagine things will fall more into place when we find wherever the words on the eye lead."
Seto had been so intrigued by the figures that he had not even started researching that particular piece yet.
Marik listened carefully. Everything Seto had to offer was being processed, any little thing he could think of could connect with his own research, and in turn lead to a clue as to where to go from here.
“I see.. well in my research I’ve concluded two possible destinations for our next clue. One is the main city in Egypt, which is Cairo or, the one I’m leaning more towards, Jerusalem.” Grasping the cool glass in his hands, he took a sip of his lemonade while he waited for Seto’s response.
"At a first glance, it seems we need to take the eye somewhere and hold it to the sun at a particular time of day, against a particular wall," Seto offered. The words of the puzzle were burned into his brain, but he had largely ignored them, in favor of thinking about where his interest lay... in the two figures. "How do you read the instructions?"
They were interrupted then, the waiter bringing Seto's fettuccine and Marik's fruit salad. The meal was eaten around their conversation, merely a side note to the real business at hand.
"Well the western wall, I doubt would be talking about anything as far west as the states, so I did research and there is a wall in Jerusalem called Western Wall, at the Temple of Mount. Now as far as the eye shinning off something, perhaps it’s the sun on the temples’ Gold dome. I’ve brought a picture of it for you to see.”
He pulled out a small picture out of his left breast pocket and handed it to Seto. “ This is Temple Mount”.
"How incredibly gaudy," Seto said dismissively, after studying the picture for a minute. "It seems you've gotten quite far," he said, voice leveling. "Quite impressive." Handing back the picture, Seto pulled his datapad from his jacket pocket. "I won't be clear to leave the country for two more weeks, though."
“Yes, I must admit that it’s not the best of architecture but, then again they didn’t have the foresight of sleek lines, metal and glass like the architects of today.” Grinning Marik took the picture from Seto and placed it back into it’s folder. “ That is for the most part is what I have on destination.”
Grabbing his own datapad he looked at his schedule. He wasn’t exactly free at the moment either, so it was good that the trip there would be held out till then. “ That’s fine” he said in regards to the two week delay. “Will it just be the two of us?” he asked taking another cool sip of his lemonade.
Seto took a few more bites while he turned the question over in his mind. "Actually," he said at last, "there is someone I've been planning on asking to help me with my end of the research. I believe it will intrigue him, but I have no idea if he will be amenable to a trip to Egypt." He looked across the table to the one man he had trouble reading on a consistent basis. "Did you have an associate you'd like to bring?"
Taking a fork full of watermelon he thought about it. Honestly there wasn’t anyone he knew personally that had the same interest in such things as he, nor did he really have friends he’d talk to about said findings. “Actually as of now, I don’t know anyone that I would bring along on such an excursion, but if I come across someone with similar interests I’ll make sure to run it by you.”
They finished up their meal, the talk turning to current events, the best place to get coffee and the general attitude of the population of New York. As the waitress brought the check, Seto looked over at Marik.
"I'll arrange for the jet to fly out to Jerusalem on Thursday, shall we say three weeks from this one, will that work with your schedule? A stay of perhaps three days should give us sufficient time."
Checking his data pad he saw that for the most part his schedule was clear. “ That sounds fine, and yes, three days should be long enough for to find what we need.” Placing his data pad back in his bag he turned to look back at Kaiba. “Now all we have to do is wait for two weeks to pass by.” He said with a smirk. There would never be a time for him where his excitement about all of this would escape him. This was too surreal.
Seto smiled back with that same edge of anticipation. "Then let us use these two weeks to be as ready as we can." Signing the check, Seto rose and held out his hand. "Call me if you discover something new, or if you simply want to talk things over. Otherwise, I'll be in contact with you in the middle of the week."
Standing Marik gave Seto a firm shake. “ Will do, and I will also contact you if I happen across an associate to travel along.” He gave a small grin. “ Have a good day Seto” he said turning and leaving the restaurant.
On the way home, Seto reflected how good it was to have an associate like Marik, wondered if the conclusions the man had come to would pan out, and mentally set things up for their trip. Long before he arrived back at the house, those things had fallen away, subsumed in the mystery of the statue. "Who are you?" he whispered to no one but the night.
The late afternoon sunlight shone off the burnished silverware and prismed through the crystal water glass onto the linen tablecloth where Seto sat waiting for Marik to join him. The two of them had arranged a meeting to discuss how their separate research was going, to coordinate and summarize and exchange ideas.
Seto waited with the indrawn air of one whose mind is far from the time and place he finds himself in, while he gazed abstractedly out the window.
It was a clear and pleasant afternoon, which was convinent for today’s schedule. Chrome tires pulling up to the destination of choice where he was to meet Seto. Marik was anxious to know the results of Seto’s findings and he was sure Seto felt the same about his own research.
Walking into the cover of the restaurant, Marik politely asked the host to escort him to where Seto would be sitting. Following the small brunette Marik eyed Seto further ahead. As they weaved through the restaurant’s tables finally reaching where Kaiba sat .
Seto looked up from his revere as Marik was shown to his table and he nodded at his companion as the man took his seat. "Good afternoon," he greeted Marik. "I'm looking forward to this." Seto had already looked over the menu and now gave Marik the time to do so as well.
“Same to you , I am looking forward to this as well” he said taking a seat opposite to Seto. Glancing over the menu quickly, he decided he’d just order something small, with a drink. His thoughts about the preempting conversation dulled his appetite. Looking up from the menu Marik moved his focus to Kaiba. “ I’m ready when you are” meaning to order their food and get down to the reason they were here.
Calling over the waiter with a nod of his head, Seto and Marik placed their orders and were brought coffee and lemonade, respectively, with a basket of fresh rolls.
"I must admit, my research has led to nothing conclusive, yet there seems to be some common elements that continue to appear the more I look," Seto began. "It is impossible at this time to identify the figures conclusively, though there are some obvious guesses." His tone made it clear what he thought of obvious. "I imagine things will fall more into place when we find wherever the words on the eye lead."
Seto had been so intrigued by the figures that he had not even started researching that particular piece yet.
Marik listened carefully. Everything Seto had to offer was being processed, any little thing he could think of could connect with his own research, and in turn lead to a clue as to where to go from here.
“I see.. well in my research I’ve concluded two possible destinations for our next clue. One is the main city in Egypt, which is Cairo or, the one I’m leaning more towards, Jerusalem.” Grasping the cool glass in his hands, he took a sip of his lemonade while he waited for Seto’s response.
"At a first glance, it seems we need to take the eye somewhere and hold it to the sun at a particular time of day, against a particular wall," Seto offered. The words of the puzzle were burned into his brain, but he had largely ignored them, in favor of thinking about where his interest lay... in the two figures. "How do you read the instructions?"
They were interrupted then, the waiter bringing Seto's fettuccine and Marik's fruit salad. The meal was eaten around their conversation, merely a side note to the real business at hand.
"Well the western wall, I doubt would be talking about anything as far west as the states, so I did research and there is a wall in Jerusalem called Western Wall, at the Temple of Mount. Now as far as the eye shinning off something, perhaps it’s the sun on the temples’ Gold dome. I’ve brought a picture of it for you to see.”
He pulled out a small picture out of his left breast pocket and handed it to Seto. “ This is Temple Mount”.
"How incredibly gaudy," Seto said dismissively, after studying the picture for a minute. "It seems you've gotten quite far," he said, voice leveling. "Quite impressive." Handing back the picture, Seto pulled his datapad from his jacket pocket. "I won't be clear to leave the country for two more weeks, though."
“Yes, I must admit that it’s not the best of architecture but, then again they didn’t have the foresight of sleek lines, metal and glass like the architects of today.” Grinning Marik took the picture from Seto and placed it back into it’s folder. “ That is for the most part is what I have on destination.”
Grabbing his own datapad he looked at his schedule. He wasn’t exactly free at the moment either, so it was good that the trip there would be held out till then. “ That’s fine” he said in regards to the two week delay. “Will it just be the two of us?” he asked taking another cool sip of his lemonade.
Seto took a few more bites while he turned the question over in his mind. "Actually," he said at last, "there is someone I've been planning on asking to help me with my end of the research. I believe it will intrigue him, but I have no idea if he will be amenable to a trip to Egypt." He looked across the table to the one man he had trouble reading on a consistent basis. "Did you have an associate you'd like to bring?"
Taking a fork full of watermelon he thought about it. Honestly there wasn’t anyone he knew personally that had the same interest in such things as he, nor did he really have friends he’d talk to about said findings. “Actually as of now, I don’t know anyone that I would bring along on such an excursion, but if I come across someone with similar interests I’ll make sure to run it by you.”
They finished up their meal, the talk turning to current events, the best place to get coffee and the general attitude of the population of New York. As the waitress brought the check, Seto looked over at Marik.
"I'll arrange for the jet to fly out to Jerusalem on Thursday, shall we say three weeks from this one, will that work with your schedule? A stay of perhaps three days should give us sufficient time."
Checking his data pad he saw that for the most part his schedule was clear. “ That sounds fine, and yes, three days should be long enough for to find what we need.” Placing his data pad back in his bag he turned to look back at Kaiba. “Now all we have to do is wait for two weeks to pass by.” He said with a smirk. There would never be a time for him where his excitement about all of this would escape him. This was too surreal.
Seto smiled back with that same edge of anticipation. "Then let us use these two weeks to be as ready as we can." Signing the check, Seto rose and held out his hand. "Call me if you discover something new, or if you simply want to talk things over. Otherwise, I'll be in contact with you in the middle of the week."
Standing Marik gave Seto a firm shake. “ Will do, and I will also contact you if I happen across an associate to travel along.” He gave a small grin. “ Have a good day Seto” he said turning and leaving the restaurant.
On the way home, Seto reflected how good it was to have an associate like Marik, wondered if the conclusions the man had come to would pan out, and mentally set things up for their trip. Long before he arrived back at the house, those things had fallen away, subsumed in the mystery of the statue. "Who are you?" he whispered to no one but the night.