Enzo threw the hood of his sweat up around his ears and his hands deep into the pockets of his coat. The cold air instantly evaporated the beads of sweat from his face the moment he found himself in the alley behind le Baccarat Maison. After that, he'd turned right down the alley, then took another right at the first street. He walked aimlessly since, too lost in the blizzard of his own thoughts to care where he was going.

Once in a while the spires of the Kremlin would peek between the buildings that loomed overhead. Whenever such a glimpse was caught, Enzo would gasp and quickly turn the other direction as though the Ascendancy would see his thoughts like a beacon blazing in the city.

Such was how he found himself swallowed by the halogen glow of a this neighborhood. All the city seemed the same to him, and as such, Enzo largely ignored the details of his surroundings. Until he paused at an intersection and noticed about thirty flyers stapled to a pole. He blinked like he used to when English was still incomprehensible, but his eyes knew before his mind what it was the advertisements portrayed. Prostitution and stripping were legal in the CCD, a policy that made him uncomfortable, and the realization gave him cause to further investigate the area.

[[OPEN]]
Bas shut the engine off and the deep rumble of his Camero came to a stop. He looked in his mirror one last time, checking his collars, and then opened the door and got out. He was wearing a flashy silver jacket and loose knotted tie, a silver-blue button down shirt underneath. He work thick soft-wool midnight black pants and charcoal grey boots. He never went anywhere without his boots- whether black or grey or brown or blue. You just never knew when you needed your heavy soles and steel toes. Like tonight.

He prayed and the power flooded into him, suddenly making the night come to life. The air around him felt moist with the cold, and he could almost see crystals form from his breath. The thrum from Kallistis could be felt through the cold air and the ground and walls. The sky seemed a roof of clouds, fringed silver-blue by the light of the full moon. His own jacket and tie also seemed to glow. By the door two bouncers stood, mostly watch those who walked by. He took one more breath and let the power go. He could call on it a moment's notice if he needed. Just knowing it was here was enough.

He was alone. Which reminded him and he checked his wallet to see if Nox had texted. It wasn't a big deal, really. It woulda been cool if he made it. It had been a few weeks ago since they'd first gotten together. And that thing in the tunnel was fucking awesome! Ninja girl and her sword, Nox and his fire whip and him and his explosives. Those zombie-things had never stood a chance. He wanted to practice with the man again. He had a feeling that he was going to be needing to use his power more and more. Ayden had healed his hand. It seemed there was a lot more to using it than just blowing things up. It needed finesse and delicacy. Like with a woman.

And if he had Nox there as a bit of back up that no one knew about, so much the better. Nox wouldn't care. And it wasn't like there was any real danger, not to the two of them.

He went to the door and the man eyed him for a moment- his gopnik tattoo on his neck just peeking out- but then let him in. Was a time when they wouldn't have let him in. Indeed, they might have tried to rough him up. Course that just woulda made him try harder to prove he could get in. But over the last 5 years things had changed. His clothes and demeanor said he belonged there. Plus, he'd been there with Roman a couple times. The influence and money of the Mordvinov's was not something to sneeze at. Course, if the man had known who he was there to meet, he might have called for reinforcements.

Once inside and past the walkway and coat check he was in the main area. The lighted up stage dominated the room, demanding attention. On it, two women danced in time and rhythm to each other, one of them in a red and golden fringed low-cut short-coat that was vaguely familiar- and that gave tantalizing glimpses of flesh underneath, seeming to stalk the other woman in red, who seeing her come for her, would spin about this way and that way, evading her. It was a hunt, with the woman in red's dress calling to the other woman, teasing her, pulling at her, yet avoiding her at the last. Nearly avoiding, as each pass took away more of the red dress, revealing more and more flesh. But the hunt was the thing, the chase, and the tease. And the hint at plump breast, the glimpse of taut thigh and the flash of rounded ass. He watched for a bit, appreciating the difference. This was not his normal strip club, with its promise of immediate sex and exposure. This was tease, atmosphere. It was foreplay.

He was here to work though he certainly didn't mind mixing work with pleasure. He'd looked around immediately as he walked in, taking in plush couches and chairs, tables and stands and partitions, all angled to direct one's attention to the stage. He saw two men at a table and then, on the other side of the partition, there he was, Mikhail. The men were studiously avoiding looking in Mikhail's direction. Bas smiled. He hadn't come alone. The fact that Bas had said something.

He sauntered over to the table and Mikhail stood up and gave him a bear hug. It had been a few years since they'd seen each other last. "Bas, old friend. Good to see you." The tattoo on his neck had been covered by the black turtleneck sweater he was wearing. Mik snapped at one of the waitresses walking by. "Another glass, platinum ice, and lemon slices." He remembered.

Bas looked at the girl- she would have been pretty if not for her too bony shoulders- and said"Unopened chilled bottle of vodka. Top shelf please."
Mordinov was paying. And it was good to look prosperous, which they were- very much. Mik's eyes flicked to the opened but chilled bottle on his table, still pretty full, but said nothing. Bas wasn't so stupid as to drink from a bottle that he wasn't sure of. Neither was Mik, despite feeling insulted. But he didn't say anything.

"You look good. Mordvinov agrees with you, I think." Bas smiled and waitress returned with the glass, lemon, and bottle. He tore off the silver lining and opened it and then poured the thickened liquid into his glass and over his cubes and lemon. The sweat immediately formed around the glass and he took a sip. Warmth spread throughout his body and he relaxed.

When the girl left, he said, "You look good too. Put on a little weight, it looks like."
A wicked smile. "Too many pirogis and too much desk-work, my friend."


Mik's look darkened. But they had never really been friends, even when they ran with the same crew. And now that Mik was with the Stoya family, well...Still, they both were there for the same reason. A dialog between the two. Kolomov was out. The blood-feud between Mordinov and Kolomov was forever. But Stoya and Mordvinov could coexist. Vlad's death and the scrambling of his family had left a lot of vacant territory. They didn't need to fight. Mik laughed though it was a bit forced. "Yes, well. The girls don't seem to mind it." Then he eyed Bas and his look was hard. "And I still have the hammer. I know you remember that."

Bas' own smile showed perhaps a bit more teeth than he'd have liked. A hammer is right. Damn, but that man's arm was something. His eyebrow had swollen up so much that it had had to be cut just so he could see. Course, he got him back later than day. They'd broken each other's noses and bruised each other up enough back in the day. In a way, it's why this meeting was good. They knew each other and what they were capable of. They were fiercely loyal and knew it. And they respected one another. He touched his eyebrow. "Yeah, I remember."
He could see the other men through the partition. He was still careful though.

"I hear that you had a nice chat with Vlad's uncle."
Mik nodded with a tight smile. "Looks like he decided to move out of a few neighborhoods."
He raised his glass in salute.

After a moment, Mik answered. "I heard the same about you." He laughed. "Vlad's family seems to be in a generous mood, I would say." He looked around and then said almost conspiratorially. "Stoya thought maybe we should ask Viktor Kolomov here as well. Divide the city up between the three of us. But I mentioned that after what had happened with Boris and Niko, maybe that wasn't such a good idea."

Bas laughed out loud. No, that wouldn't have been good at all. The feud between Kolomov and Mordvinov went back to Roman almost getting killed. That didn't just go away. And Bas had killed Niko and then Boris in the same day. Course. the official cause of death was heart-attack. "Hey now, Boris was just unlucky. Not like I magically reached into his heart and crushed it until he died."
He laughed. That had been exactly what he'd done. And Ayden had seen and laughed. Damn his luck there! Engaged, of all things.

"I think the two of us will do fine for our families. Kolomov can go fuck himself."
He raised his drink and Mik clinked glasses immediately. He turned his attention back to the stage, as did Mik. There was a new girl up. She took part of his attention. But he was also thinking about what territories the boss wanted and what he was willing to part with. Preliminaries out of the way, it was time to get down to it.

In a minute, anyway. She had the nicest, roundest ass. It deserved his attention.


Edited by Sebastian, Oct 14 2014, 08:43 AM.

Nox hung up the phone quickly, he didn't want to get cold feet. He wasn't exactly sure why he was so nervous, his sister was alive. But Nox really didn't want to do this alone. He called Aria. She picked up and answered groggily, "Hello?"


"Aria. I need to ask you a favor among other things."
She told him to go ahead and he continued on. "I called my sister. She gave me her coordinates, she's alive and in Moscow. I can't do this alone, can you meet me at my place and come with me? We can finish our conversation on the way."
Aria agreed and Nox hung up the phone. She'd be an hour, apparently Aria slept through the day, she had to do the morning thing, he wondered how that worked for her. He gathered that she hunted at night, but he wondered if there was more to it than that. She was a special breed of Atharim. Which made Nox wonder why Sentients were on the list of kill on sight unlike the Furia. Some of the less important, yet important facts had come back to him. But Nox wasn't like his sister, he didn't remember every fact he'd read about the monsters. But to his surprise he remembered a whole lot more than he thought.

There was nothing really to do while he waited for Aria, he could be nervous and such but that wasn't going to get him anywhere. Nox decided a small body weight work out would keep his mind off of things, and still give him a chance to shower before Aria got here. He wouldn't mind keeping her waiting if she got her earlier. He grinned at the possibilities. But he didn't have high hopes, she'd shot him down the first time, she didn't look like the type of gal who was in it for the guys she saved.

Alright...so this year I'm doing NaNoWriMo...anyone else doing it. I've tried it in the past and haven't succeeded. This willbe the first year I do. 50,000 word novel in 30 days...I got this.

This year I have the advantage of actually being confident in my writing. Thank you First Agers!!!

Anyways - if you're gonna do it - post here. I'll post my profile later so we can be writing buddies :-)

Anyone else - as someone who had done this before (well tried to). It can be quite the undertaking. Encouragment is appreciated :-)

Any dreamwalkers who want to jump in on Who Told You That You Were Naked by all means feel free

As always the Dream seamed so surreal to John. Teeming with crisp sensations with a backdrop of a 'what if' kind of foreboding. It had been over ten years since his first experience here, at yet he still felt like a child in a laboratory. Well, maybe more like the lab rat.

He still wasn't ready to physically step back into the dream even though it felt so natural and exhilarating. Bear's warning still resonated in John's mind, "You truly know nothing, Bear sent to him. Forcing this place to your will. You come too strongly! Do you understand that a moment's slip on your part will cause the pressure of the ocean to crush you before you could blink?"


And then there was that encounter with the Regus. Why didn't he kill me? John had no doubt that pound for pound Armande could beat the brakes off him. John was no stranger to killing, but he was well aware of when he was overmatched. Unless the Regus was equally aware that it would have been a short-lived victory. A general is sort of useless on foot in the trench.
No, Armande must still believe that even though they left 'agreeing to disagree' that John would somehow further the cause of the Atharim.
"Then you say you have no interest in involvement in political disputes, but are willing to brand the Ascendancy as a monster you would hunt." What an enormously conflicting statement. How disappointing Mr. Smith did not think more clearly what he spewed.


"You condone the elimination of potentially thousands of people, if they conform to your definition of evil, but yet detest genocide. When does war turn into genocide? If the enemy is evil? Or if the enemy is simply your enemy?"


Fucking Armande. He hit the nail on the head. What was my qualification to judge? How do I know whether I am on the right side of this conflict? I even attempted to convince Jensen James to engage supernatural creatures in what may become an apocalyptical struggle. Where is the line between right and wrong drawn? And where do I sit in relation, or should I say where do I sit positionally in relation to that line?

As John's mind wandered, visions floated in and out of the dream, always at his periphery. Visions of the monsters that he had slain, of the Regus, of the Ascendancy. Of God.

When did you judge? Why do you judge? What right have you to judge? Did I not declare My creation to be 'Very Good?' WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE NAKED?


The voice boomed in his head. It permeated all around him. But how do you answer such a severe line of questioning? With your balls hanging so low that they drag on the ground!


<big>"I said it! I judged your creation! Right or wrong, I ate of the tree! And with the Knowledge of Good and Evil there comes the responsibility to know right from wrong. And with that knowledge comes the burden of judgment. So mutherfucker, I said that I was naked!"
</big>

And reality quivered.


Edited by doulou, Oct 1 2014, 10:17 PM.

Pyotr woke up the next day to a slight hangover. He didn't think he had enough to warrant one, but then again, Pyotr didn't drink much. Waking up next to Michelle had been a surprise and Pyotr still couldn't believe that he had really left with her. Turns out it did happen and that she took Nox's "take care of him" comment very seriously.

The night had been fun. The morning after, slightly awkward. The text from the night before had been from Yegor - and he was informing Pyotr that his childish way of getting back at him was to tell Michelle his "secret." Michelle didn't look at her Wallet until waking up. That led to a slightly awkward conversation about Pyotr's sexual orientation. She wanted the truth and Pyotr saw no reason not to tell her he was bisexual. There was no sense in lying about it.

She believed him...and was okay with it. After all, it wasn't the double-zeros any more and Putin wasn't running the show anymore. She didn't care, but said she wished he hadn't tried to hide it. He didn't explain that until recently he had been completely confused. Sometimes he still was. He texted Jensen one time when she had gone to the bathroom. Sunday after Mass, he was going to tell him that he'd discovered this about himself. He knew Jensen would understand and be supportive.

Michelle had to work today and he didn't envy her. The headache wasn't that bad, but still he wished the sun wasn't so bright - and the stupid snow made it worse. She got ready and Pyotr got dressed. He was going to walk her to work today before heading to Gracies - he had to meet Charlie today.

They walked and talked on the way to the Kremlin. Pyotr almost laughed when he saw the look on Yegor's face when he saw them. Pyotr gave Yegor a sort of "what's up" nod. It felt good to drive the "you're an asshole" knife in deeper.

Michelle caught it and chuckled before giving him a slight kiss on the cheek and going into work. He hoped Yegor wouldn't give her any issues, but Pavel was there today - Pyotr sent him a text to ask him to keep an eye out. She'd be okay.

Then Pyotr went home to shower and get ready for his workout. Hopefully it would be a good day.

Memories were such fickle thing. Nox remembered things, some things were completely random, others were very specifics, like the fact that he had this awesome power. He could reign in control of this amazing light, and create some pretty devastating things. At first it was just this trickle of power. A weave of air to push a man backwards. But as Nox sat in the tunnels of the underground, he could see so much potential. Strands of fire and air glowed in front of his eyes. He fashioned a whip from them that he could crack from the ends of one tunnel to the end of the other. The flames and the air licked the sides of the tunnel, but never extinguished. The feeling of holding the power was intoxicating. He wanted to draw upon it, drink it till he was full. But he never would be, he could feel the doom of doing so before even trying. This power was devastating, he knew that, for himself and to others, but Nox loved it none-the-less.

Everything was so clear, so vivid, every sight was so detailed, every sound so crisp, every smell vivid. Nox bet food tasted it's best while holding the power so close to hand. The world turned on above his head, as he dove deeper into the tunnels with his ball of glowing light. He wasn't searching for anything specific, but he wanted a fight. A real fight - the guys at the local gyms were not what he was looking for. Sure Bas was a good fight, but the danger in the ring was not for him - there was none. And he couldn't logically use his ability in the arena of someplace public. He felt the definite desire to keep his ability secret, so the depths of the underground city is where he sought an opponent. One could only imagine the horrors one would find down here.

Emily checked her make up in the mirror one last time before adjusting her tie. She wore a black business jacket, white shirt with a black tie, and a knee length black skirt. Black suited her mood just fine. She was still grieving, and she was more nervous now than she had ever been. She left the dressing room and took a deep breath. She had called for the press conference. She didn't hate the press, and her reasons for avoiding them had been simple - she was grieving and stressed. She couldn't think straight. She wanted them to have real answers. Eventually the press sought out her board and even her employees. Thankfully, they had been trained well to say "no comment."

The Press Room was set up like a stage - a raised platform at the front with a lectern on top with a curtain behind it. The Shale logo had been lowered from the ceiling. There was a backstage area and as Emily entered, her board of directors went on stage and took seats. Her assistant, Andrew stood out of view of the crowd. He wouldn't enter until she did.

She approached him. "Are you ready?"
he said.

"I don't know. Am I doing the right thing?"


Andrew gave her an encouraging smile. "Emily,"
Andrew had known her since she was a little girl - using her first name wasn't unusual, but it was the first time he had used it since she had taken over. It got her attention. "I saw your parents build this company from the ground up. Trust me when I say they'd be very proud of you."


Emily could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes at the compliment. "No crying - you'll smear your make-up."
he said with a smirk and Emily let out a short laugh and wiped her eyes. "The sooner we start...."


"...the sooner it's over. Let's go."
With that, Andrew turned around and walked on stage, Emily following with a smile and working up the courage to shake hands.

Emily waved and moved to shake hands with the board members. Each one rose to take hers. The applause from the crowd along with the clicking sound of cameras added to her nerves. The board members knew she was nervous and each one gave her an encouraging smile. They had decided to have the board sit behind her - a literal symbol that they were all behind her. She moved to the lectern.

She waited with a smile for the applause to diminish and spoke. "Members of the press, board members, honored guests, colleagues, and friends. I thank you for your patience as this meeting comes to order. Shale Industries has lost a pair of visionaries and we have needed the time to grieve that. For your patience, we thank you."


Emily could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and she thought of Andrew's little joke to force them back. "The death of my parents has been painful, but it has brought us to thinking about what they stood for. They were businesspeople - and they felt that is was important to use their success to help others. Shale Industries wants to restate it's dedication to helping the underprivileged get training and jobs and stretching out a hand to those who need to be picked up. Believing the family is the most important unit in society, Shale Industries is announcing 'The Orphan Project.' This initiative will work to make sure that orphanages are properly staffed and will seek to find ways to speed up the adoption process so that orphans can find loving families more quickly."


More applause and camera clicks. Emily's smile was genuine and she couldn't help but feel proud. "The Orphan Project" was her idea. She looked at her notes, and the smile disappeared as her heart saddened. The people in the room noticed the change and for the first time since the conference had started, the room became silent - even the clicking cameras had stopped.

"Shale Industries was founded under the principles of helping those in need, and today, we see that. The crisis in Sierra Leone and the tragic bombings in Mexico City cannot be ignored. There are people there suffering, so Shale Industries has decided to pledge one million dollars to both Sierra Leone and Mexico City to aid those affected and to assist with rebuilding in the name of Martin and Victoria Shale."


The silence was broken once more by applause and cameras. Emily waited once more for the noise to die down. "The question remains: What will become of Shale Industries. We pride ourselves on our philanthropy, but also on our innovation. Shale Industries will continue to remain dedicated to bring our customers the finest products we can. A product can always be improved and we are continually looking for those improvements. Our employees show their dedication to their work daily - it is why we've seen so much success. With that dedication, we will continue to research new technologies, develop better software, build more bridges, and continue to provide you with the finest products for the best price."


A slight pause. "I know some of you doubt me and I do not deny that I have large shoes to fill. I remember though, that the success of this company was not built only on my parents' shoulders. The men and women behind me were there - many of them from the beginning. Our employees are dedicated. All of this has made Shale Industries what it is today. To all who work under the Shale Logo, I thank you for your hard work and dedication. I know that with your work and dedication, Shale Industries will not only continue to be successful, but it will continue to grow. I'm confident in the future of Shale Industries. Thank you."


Emily ended her speech and more applause rang through the room. She shook hands with her board members again and went back to the lectern. Doubtless there would be questions, but Emily was feeling confident now and wasn't worried.




Edited by Emily Shale, Sep 27 2014, 11:59 AM.

Seems zeta boards did an update yesterday while the servers went down.

Tweet button on all threads should make Asc's life a little easier.

And a multi-login option.. yay! Maybe I won't post as the wrong character anymore? (yeah right, I know I'll find a way to screw up hehe)

There are a few things on the admin side for you too Asc