She was working from a coffee shop when the message she’d been waiting for came through. DeGarmo wanted to meet; he finally thought he had something for her. Her expression stilled; not displeasure, but certainly something guarded as she swiped the message away and sat back in her chair, hands wrapped around her coffee cup. Contemplation furrowed her brow, and she stared at her work screen, but her thoughts were all inward. She remembered what Jay had said that night by the lake, about the powers he feared were involved. They’d never spoken of it since, and so much had happened in the days afterwards that perhaps his desire for answers had buried itself under the trauma. She wouldn’t blame him for that. But her sense of the shadowy game being played above their heads was too insidious to ignore. Being caught unknowingly in its currents had cost Jay everything, and Natalie couldn’t let it lie. Even if she never admitted to him the dangerous game she was playing.

Her eyes swept suddenly upwards as a figure loomed over her table. For a moment fear tightened her chest at the disturbance, especially given the measure of her thoughts. But the tension fled when she recognised the man who presently slipped himself into the space opposite. Little betrayed her reaction further despite her surprise at seeing him here. A heavy coat draped his shoulders against the Russian cold, a mildly discomforted twist pursing his lips as he cleared the condensation from his glasses with a pocket square. It had been years since she’d last seen him, and though grey pierced his neatly manicured beard and new lines tightened his eyes, he had barely changed. Transported unexpectedly to memories of her distant childhood, Natalie said nothing, only raised her brows in belligerent askance. Oscar Chamberlain was her grandfather’s aide, and he was a long way from home.

“You’ve ignored calls, messages and plane tickets. Are you really surprised to see me, Natalie?”

“It's inconvenient,” she said levelly, as though men who ought to be in London showed up at her table all the time. The unexpectedness of his presence had not dimmed, but she parsed through it quickly in the moment; realised what it must mean if Oscar was here. She knew he’d be alone, that there would likely be a car idling out on the street for them. He was perched on his seat for propriety’s sake, and not because he intended to wait long for her obedience. The only irritation he outwardly displayed was in the lenses of his glasses, but it wasn’t what he was annoyed with.

In truth Natalie had been diligently avoiding this reckoning. She’d understood the moment Brandon had made his oblique threats in exchange for his permission that she’d just passed a threshold to consequence – because she was never going to bring Jay back to the Custody unwillingly. Not that she could have remotely predicted how badly things turned out. Her mother had already made Edward’s Northbrook’s fury at her decisions perfectly clear to her, but she’d convinced herself it would wane if she managed to keep her head down for long enough. This made for an unwelcome complication, and poorly timed.

“It most certainly is,” Oscar agreed, hooking the glasses back on his nose, and gesturing with one gloved hand to the exit. Natalie’s jaw tightened, but she did not argue. Instead she closed her screen and slid her wallet from the table. DeGarmo’s message burned in the back of her mind; the tangibility of answers denied. Oscar stood when she did, but was clearly reluctant to trust her trailing behind him. A smirk revealed the measure of his trust. He recalled the recalcitrant teenager she had been, clearly. She shot her response before she tucked the phone away – |Three days. Send me the location| – and then shouldered out the door.

Heya - I just want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving! I wanted to extend a special thanks to you guys for being absolutely amazing. It’s been a rough time for me lately and being here and having your support has been a big part of keeping my sanity. Everyday I’m glad I came back and started writing here again. Love you dorks (even Jaxen!)

[[continued from A Day Off]]

The bar was immense, and lined with old fashioned leather stools. Old world pamphlets pasted the walls between the wood mouldings, and there was a selection of cosy chairs and tables. But the reason Nesrin steered them in was the blazing hearth she knew was tucked at the back, since both Anna and Cade seemed particularly bothered by the cold, and it was an easy way to win favour. An old jukebox rested against one of the walls, one of many curios in the decor as the eye roamed. The place had an old world feel, starting right from the sign above the door: The Apothecary.

The barman glanced up as they spilled in from the cold winter afternoon. “Welcome to the Apothecary,” he said. His accent had a delightfully authentic lilt of Irish, and the slight boredom of one enduring a quiet day-shift as he assessed his new customers. His gaze lingered naturally on the two beautiful women, and Nesrin used the opportunity to shrink back unnoticed as his attention passed over her.

“I’ll have whatever you’re having,” she said to her companions, not aimed at any of them in particular, then added as she plucked at the front of her hoodie: “I’m just gonna try and clean this up real quick.”

In the bathroom Nesrin considered what she knew – about Kallisti, about Nox, and how Wicked was in their orbit. Her suggestions always had a bit of longevity to them, but nothing she could guarantee would still be to her benefit days later. There was always the chance, though, that he’d already be kindly disposed to her. And if he really had accessed the coffee shop’s camera to check out Cade, then he was exactly who she needed on her side.

She ran the hot water and pulled the hoodie over her head, dumping it in with one hand. With the other she shot an encrypted message, from Bode to The Wicked Truth:

You helped me out so I'll help you: let yourself get outbid, you don't want the trouble that comes along with this thing.

Hi, I'm Gio's wife.     Nice to meet everyone!

I've been roleplaying for a long time, and I'd like to give this place a try.

The thing is, because I've rp'd in so many WoT settings that are more in the Third Age, I'm having trouble wrapping my head around what's going on, and even making a character.  It's a "Can't see the forest for all the trees" kind of feeling.

Can someone point me in a couple of threads to read, maybe some key characters to check out to help me get started?  Just to kind of help break it down.

She had time now. It's not like she didn't make her own hours anyway. Between school and work and the shop she had a lot on her plate, but one of those things was also learning how to channel. It was an important part of her work, actually.

They hopped on the metro and made their way down to the Red Light District. It beat walking in the bitter cold of the beginning of a Moscovian winter. It wasn't even at it's peak yet, and Ilesha was already missing the warmth of her shop and apartment.

The Red Light district was never quiet. But it wasn't as bad now as it would be in a few hours when all the clubs opened and all the workers hit the street. And Kallisti wasn't far from their stop.

The front view was on as always and she wondered what was headlineing but she didn't make her way to see the marquee.  Instead she took Cadence down the side alley and rapped on the side door.  It took a little bit before someone peered through the camera and then there was a buzz. No words, they knew Ilesha.  And she had been here several times before opening.

The man greeted them. "All the girls are in the lounge practicing." He said.  He made a double take at her guest but he said nothing. He was probably used to famous people coming into Kallisti and not making a big deal out of it.

They were back stage and the girls and guys costumes and gear wear all in disarray back stage as they hurried about looking for things. Juls and the others weren't here they were out front in the empty lounge practicing. Could be any number of things.

The lounge was emtpy, it felt strange walking into a should be crowded room full of music and people noises to the giggling of children. Not just Sterling but a gaggle of kids Ilesha didn't know.  Juls noticed her first. "Ilesha. How wonderful.  You brought a friend."

"This is Cadence, she's like us."  Ilesha said.

Sterling came over with a big grin. "I know you." she took Cadence's hand and tugged her to the middle of the room.  "Juls, is showing us how to weave fire and illusion.  Come."

A dark haired girl sat next to Sterling and looked a little shy though she wasn't much older than Ilesha she seemed a bit more resevered. "Who are all these kids, and can they all...."

"No, these are all Nox's strays. He's not in town, and Sterling brought them all over for practice. Olivia is the only one who can channel, she's a healer. It'll be good to have her around as soon as we can get her to open up with the other. The kids all had it rough."

Ilesha had never actually met Nox. He was hard to miss at Kallisti, he did everything -- except bartend, though he was often found behind the bar as much as he was in front of it. "How does he even have any time?"

"He barely sleeps. Avoids his nightmares. And Ashton and Liv and Liam all help out with the younger ones." Juls pointed out the names as she said them. [color=#red]"I need to get back there or they'll wonder where I went."[/color] She laughed softly and made her way back to the stage and started dancing and showing weaves of fire and illusion. It was pretty.

Ilesha joined Cadence next to Sterling. "You okay?

It was a strange feeling to want solitude but also crave company at the same time. It was how Eddie felt that night as he found himself in Manifesto. He wasn’t as rich as some of the people here, but he was certainly well off. He approaches the bar. ”Id like a scotch please - old enough to order its own scotch.”

The drink was brought to him and he turned around to watch the other club goers in their nightly activities. People came to places like this for a multitude of reasons, to escape, to meet people, or to find some one night fling. For Eddie, tonight was a distraction. Sometimes in life you needed a change of pace. That was Eddie, and now he needed a break from contemplating the choices he could make. 

Eddie thought he knew what he wanted. He had sent in his resume. The only thing left to do was wait. So he waited and observed. For now it would suffice.

Edwin Roland Dean

Age: 27

Origin: London

Occupation: Soldier, Currently Seeking Employ with Pervaya Liniya Security

Pyschological Description: Edwin always enjoys a good joke and loves making others laugh, but turns serious whenever on assignment.  He takes his work very seriously. Outside of work, he prefers to go out and socialize, often enjoying a glass of scotch.  He has a tendency to act rashly in situations, especially if people he cares about are involved, often not thinking of the consequences of his actions beforehand. He can also be moody, sometimes feeling very down without there seeming to be a reason why.

Physical Description: 5’9” tall, he is athletic and always has his brown hair cut short. His eyes are brown.

Supernatural Powers: Learner

Current Strength: 0

Potential Strength: 25

Biography:

Edwin Roland Dean was born in London on January 9, 2019.  His father was a military man, and it was his plan to follow in his father’s footsteps.  He studied hard in school, working to get good grades, but also kept his physical fitness up through sports and exercise (mostly track and soccer).

At 18, he joined the military.  Through his training he was found to be skilled at marksmanship, hand to hand combat, and urban operations. After basic training he was assigned to a British unit and served until he was transferred to Moscow in 2043.  In Moscow he felt like he was stagnating.  He kept his skills up, but didn’t feel like he was getting anywhere and decided to seek other options.

Edwin considered remaining in the employ of the state, looking into the potential of moving to more specialized forces.  There were a multitude of options to consider, but eventually he decided his change of pace needed more of a change than just branch of service.  He learned of Pervaya Liniya, and seeing their mission to protect people rather than things, he made the decision to see if he could enter into their employ.  He sent in his resume and is awaiting results.  If it is refused, he’ll pursue other options.

Past Lives
In the 3rd Age, Edwin was born as Ignis Caleum, Warder to Kira Valyrios, Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah.