(Untitled)

Sep 28, 2010 15:47

Who: variaswrath and ergaleomancer
What: Xanxus is curious what this clockwork can do, Theta is curious about this city, and lord only knows how it'll end.
When: A day after Theta's arrival, a bit after their first chat over the network.
Where: Starting out near the theater, but location is subject to change.
Warnings: Who knows, with Xanxus involved. PG-13 at the most I ( Read more... )

Elizabeθ Buckley, xanxus

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No worries. We all have lives to attend to, ne? ^_^ ergaleomancer October 1 2010, 14:25:11 UTC
He certainly looked strange, but Theta wasn't against people that looked strange. Theta herself looked strange. She couldn't help but see the scars, but with a sense of propriety that in her world at least was clearly (and even stereotypically) associated with the English, she kept her eyes on his, not batting an eyelash or pausing to stare. She wouldn't have wanted him to stare at her leg, after all ( ... )

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variaswrath October 7 2010, 11:00:19 UTC
As they started out down the street, Xanxus took careful note of just how much of a problem her leg was and matched his pace to what she was capable of. It annoyed him, being slowed down, but if he wanted her to do something for him, appearances needed to be kept. Same as the small talk or filling people in, which he generally just didn't do. If a person wasn't capable of doing their own homework, he had no intention of making it his problem, but this had been part of the deal.

"The only good thing about this city is that food and lodgings are free. There aren't any shopkeepers to speak of, but everything gets replenished without our help."

At the same time, he did not bat an eye about her following him like this. His intentions never got much purer than this, but if she was useful to him she had no reason to assume he would want her to come to harm. He would, in fact, have been surprised if she hadn't followed. That was just what happened when he lead the way.

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ergaleomancer October 7 2010, 11:37:49 UTC
Once Theta got into the swing of following him, somewhat reassured that living in this city seemed to be a bit more straightforward than living in London even--no back alleys she had to navigate, and certainly no paparazzi to deal with--she sped up a bit. With her leg the way it was, she'd found out long ago that if she walked faster she spent less time on her bad leg, and that made it hurt less. Of course it tired her out faster, but he had said it was close.

"It's like the old stories of a clockwork city, then...but even I am an ergaleomancer and I find the ideal a bit...frightening. Clockworks are meant to be like human beings, not the other way around."

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variaswrath October 7 2010, 11:56:33 UTC
It's not like he would know about any story like that, but it seemed pointless to remind her. "I imagine we have a certain lack of freedom in common with the clockworks while we're here, but we don't have any particular purpose."

Truthfully, Xanxus would have preferred if it wasn't so ridiculously easy to survive in this city. It left too much trash alive. At least this cripple wasn't as useless as some out there, and it pleased him that she walked quicker than he had initially anticipated. His eyes assessed the surroundings quickly, looking for the place they needed to turn and spotting it only a block away. Good.

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ergaleomancer October 7 2010, 12:22:00 UTC
"Not all clockworks serve a purpose, either. Not one that is readily apparent, at any rate. But that's the real horror of the clockwork town..." She sighed softly, looking around and remembering by the foreign appearance of the buildings that it likely wasn't a common story any more.

"It's a children's story...one to keep them in line... When they misbehave, parents say they'll be sent to the clockwork town. It's more trouble than it's worth to recount, but...everything in town happens by clockwork, even meals."

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variaswrath October 7 2010, 12:28:54 UTC
"Making them part of one big clockwork." An interesting attempt at teaching children discipline, certainly. "While we're on children's stories... there's a park here in the city on the edge of the forest. Don't go in too deep unless you're looking to be torn limb from limb by the monsters there." Unless, of course, she managed to come around and surprise him with a clockwork that could defend her. But he doubted it.

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ergaleomancer October 7 2010, 13:42:43 UTC
She wanted to ask him if he was kidding. Surely he was. But not only was there no mirth in his bearing...he just didn't strike her as the type to tell an idle joke like that. She nodded quietly. "Are things always more dangerous than they seem here?"

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variaswrath October 7 2010, 14:00:26 UTC
Her assumption about him was right, he was by no means kidding. Even though the creatures posed no threat to him. "Not really. Stay out of the forest and the catacombs and you should be safe." The only other dangerous creatures in the city were some of the guests, and Xanxus counted himself among them. Again, not something he would mention for no reason, and the woman seemed to have some amount of common sense. After a sidelong glance at her he turned down a different, more narrow street, certain she would follow.

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ergaleomancer October 7 2010, 21:10:01 UTC
Well, that was good to know. And realistically it was good to hear it from someone who wasn't going to dance around the topic and try to play coy with information, so it all worked out. She nodded quietly, moving to follow him along down the narrower street. Streets in London could get very narrow, so she wasn't unnerved at all.

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variaswrath October 7 2010, 21:55:05 UTC
He continued in silence, which didn't bother him in the least. Passing another few houses, he stopped in front of a shop. The storefront window was dusty and dirty, the paint where the name had been barely visible anymore let alone legible, but there were a few watches as well as jewelry laid out for display that indicated what it had once been.

A gentle push opened the shop's door that set off the clear sound of a bell to anounce the presence of a customer, revealing a dusty but otherwise well-kept interior, and Xanxus held the door open for Theta to follow. The workshop itself he imagined would be in the back, possibly an apartment above or below. But this would be her place, and he waited for her to enter and see if it was suitable.

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ergaleomancer October 7 2010, 22:19:36 UTC
Seeing the watches made Theta's eyes light up, and when the door was opened for her, she hurried inside to look around. She picked up one of the watches and wound it, watching it carefully. After a tense moment, she finally gave it a gentle shake. "Hello?"

When it stayed silent, she huffed a little. "Shoddy workmanship, but..." She set it down and went into the back to poke around the workshop. The squeal of delight carried through the whole shop. One by one she tested the machines, making sure they were in working order. They weren't exactly what she was used to, but they would -work-.

"This is PERFECT~! Thank you so much! I would have spent weeks to find this place."

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variaswrath October 7 2010, 23:12:39 UTC
She had seriously expected clockworks? He huffed a bit himself, seeing her expression, but her gratitude amused him.

"You're forgetting I didn't do it for free," he replied, though not in bad humor, as he sauntered into the workshop area and leaned casually against the wall.

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ergaleomancer October 7 2010, 23:21:54 UTC
It was still hitting home how different this place was, and the quietness of the clockworks was utterly unnerving. For that matter, all of London resounded with ticking coming from -everywhere-, and it was unnerving that this place didn't. ...She'd soon put that right.

"Of course. A mapping clockwork...I'll start work on that immediately."

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variaswrath October 7 2010, 23:57:58 UTC
He nodded at that. Immediately was just soon enough in his book, and she seemed like the type to work tirelessly on any project she got into which was certainly a plus.

"Is there anything else you want to know or need help with?"

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ergaleomancer October 8 2010, 01:08:27 UTC
"I'm just going to take stock of the supplies I have..." She looked around in the back, nodding quietly as she looked through everything, right up until she opened a drawer...and scowled.

"I need gemstones...there's only quartz here...that's not good enough." She continued to look around for a moment more, then nodded again. "Rubies or Sapphires at least, diamonds are best. And rubber. Other than that...I've got what I need. It's not a setback yet, though, as I won't need those until later on. I can begin work while you work on getting me those."

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variaswrath October 13 2010, 12:16:15 UTC
As he watched her he crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited in silence. When she spoke up again he simply nodded.

"Shouldn't be impossible to come by. I'll need a few days at the most."

He pushed himself off the wall before asking "no more questions then?"

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