Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

[Sebastian]

Bas needed to change. The suit was nice but wrinkled and dirty- sleep sweating in it did that kind of thing- and he wanted fresh clothes. And a shower.

As they walked down the sidewalk back to Kallisti's to get his car, he said "Listen. You mind if we swing by my place so I can get changed?"


She was game. They passed the street corner where char still showed on the street. He shrugged sheepishly and looked at her with an embarressed grin. "So, uh, I guess I had some trouble last night. Nice of you to help me out."


She was funny. Always ready with a quip. He felt comfortable around her. Pissed him off, though, that he'd done that thing with the fire. And with the whip. He needed to hang out with Nox again. Get some practice with this stuff. Training or whatever.

He laughed to himself at the image of them sparring like at Gracie's but using the power instead. Actually, it was a kind of cool idea. Start up some kind of club or something for people like them, to learn and stuff.

"Hey, so I can't see stuff you do and you can't see the stuff that I do. But you think that you could describe it? Cuz I don't really know what I'm doing. I'm just thinking it'd be good if some of us..."
he waggled his eyebrow at her "special folk could kinda help each other out. Pyotr'd be up for it, I'm sure. And I have another buddy who's got some cool tricks up his sleeve that'd probably join. You game?"

[Aurora]

Aurora walked with Sebastian to his car, the walked past Kallisti's, she'd seen it before, curiosity sparked as to his reasons for visiting such a place. But she didn't linger too much on the thoughts lest it give other thoughts. Aurora stopped short of the car as he opened the door for her. It was an American car, one she remembered seeing speeding down the highways back home. She had a distinct memory of her father saying something about it, the stats of the car. Considering Aurora really had no clue about it, and didn't seem to care, she could only suspect her brother was the recipient of the stats....

Her brother? That was a new memory, something new and strange to add to the pool of recollections. It was the first memory she'd have of a sibling. She tried to remember, tried to recall his name, his face, his voice, anything, but the only she saw was a goofy grin like the cheshire cat from the archaic cartoon her mother made them watch as children.

Sebastian asked her about changing. She probably should have done the same, but really it didn't matter. Inside the car the seats were leather and cold in the Moscow weather. But it didn't take long for them to warm up. It was such a nice car. Almost made her want to get into cars, so she could have something other than the mysteries of magic that they had in common.

They passed the corner where Bas had thrown the fireball, he thanked her for helping him, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity. "I really don't know what that parked car did to deserve such ire. I suppose we'll never know."
She grinned at him.

And then the conversation turned into the only thing they really had in common, the nets of magic they wove. Aurora nodded and frowned all at the same time. "I don't think it works like that. What I do, and what you do, while technically the same, they aren't, it doesn't work the same way."
She was almost positive it could lead to disastrous ends. But she couldn't remember why. Stupid memories! That damn plane had to crash!

Aurora smiled. "But we can try. I think helping others is probably a good thing."
She knew that it was a good thing, and probably exactly what she would do in any situation, not just with this guy she met on the side of the road out of his mind. "This the same friend who has the whip you can't quite get yet."


Aurora grabbed the power and coiled it around her hand, the air, the fire, it was simple. She smiled. "I guess it just takes practice? Like I've done it a million times over and over in my mind."
It was meant more as an observation to herself, but maybe it would explain her ease of doing it. Aurora let the power go and the whip vanished like it never existed.

"There are five different elements, threads, whatever you want to call them. They are different colors, they do different things. Blue is water, green air, red is fire, brown is earth and yellow is the essence of life, spirit, ether, I don't know what else to call it. You can heal with it, throw a fireball, make a glowing orb of light."


A memory flooded into her mind. She spoke absentmindedly about it as it came to her. "I remember one experiment, we were trying to make sound go in one direction. The weave itself was easy to create, but you would stun yourself with it. So we wanted it to go one direction. The internet is a wonderful tool for understanding things you don't quite grasp. We created a shape, that sent the sound going in only one direction. Stunning the person in front of you, leaving you free to continue on with your fighting. It was a great discovery. We never did figure out how to do the same thing with light. A directional flash bang bomb, how awesome would that be."
The enthusiasm was her own, but she knew it paled in comparison to the other part of the we, whoever they were. She missed her memories, maybe this mysterious man would be the answer to her questions. If not she'd have a whole ton more.

[Sebastian]

Bas felt that chill again and looked at her. That whip coiled in her hands. His mouth fell open. "Are you freaking kidding me?!?"
He shook his head grinning. "It's me. It's gotta be me then."
He was teasing.

He listened to her explanation fascinated as he drove to his apartment. He pulled to a stop when they had arrived and he shut the engine off. The deep bass rumble disappeared.

He turned and looked at her and then prayed and seized the power, weaving a single thread of each type. Now that he knew what they were- well more than fire anyway, that one had been easy-he looked at each one. It wasn't like looking with his eyes. Well it was and it wasn't. The threads didn't block his view of Aurora. Now that he thought of them that way, he could see that he was weaving those threads together like a loom made cloth.

But then something occurred to him. "Yeah....this is a bad idea. My whole thing is blowing shit up. I'm pretty sure you don't want me practicing with you here in the car. Come on."
He let go of the power and opened his door.

The building was only a few decades old and was in the nicer part of the red-light district. Didn't have that industrial soviet era architecture of the places he grew up in. The building was owned by the Mordvinov's and only their people lived in it. It was nicely maintained with a doorman out front (and a couple guys with guns in the room next to the entrance) and cameras everywhere. They walked up the carpeted stairs to the second floor and Bas let them into his place.

The apartment was medium sized with white, slate black and deep maroon the dominant color. The kitchen was a bit warmer, with some beige and soft blues and silvers. "Make yourself at home,"
he said gesturing to the dark brown leather couch. "I'll be just a minute."


He went down the hall to his room- maroon, brown and black- and started stripping his clothes off. From his room he called out "So who is this guy you're afraid to meet? Why are you living in that ratty apartment? Doesn't seem your style."



Edited by Sebastian, Nov 25 2014, 02:03 PM.

[Aurora]

The car stopped in front of a building with a door man, but yet it was still in the red light district, things were a bit more upscale here, probably well beyond her means. Not that she could afford much anyway, so that wasn't saying much. The cash in her account was menial compared to what this place probably went for. Thankfully she was pretty certain this was not Sebastian's little hidey hole, or anything like it. Though the security seemed top notch, she noticed the little things, the cameras, the men in the security room. This was not an ordinary place of residence. Aurora would wager a guess that it was mob related. What was she getting herself into? A friend like this could be good but yet very dangerous, and yet Aurora was not afraid. It was almost comforting and she had no idea why.

Sebastian had been playing with the power, yet she saw nothing, felt nothing, must be nice to know when the other was doing something. She laughed at his comment. "I don't think you'd blow up your own car. However it is parked, we should get out of it quickly."
She grinned at him playfully. "My brother likes to blow things up too. Must be a boy thing."
Another brother memory. How very odd, all of a sudden, he kept popping into her mind.

The apartment was nice. She rather expected a mess for a bachelor pad, but she didn't see a thing out of place. Aurora wondered if his had a house keeper on top of a doorman. She grinned as clips of movies she'd seen on the road with her father, the mobster movies, the way they lived, played through her mind. She supposed it had been based in reality, at least someone's reality.

The couch was dark brown leather and she nearly melted into it as she sat down. It was beyond comfortable. Sebastian had strode off into the adjoining hall and into his room. She didn't dare try to sneak a glance his direction. Her thoughts kept heading in a direction that was more than friendly and it was not what she typically did. He called out to her asking her about the mystery man. She sighed. "He called me out of the blue. His number doesn't show up on my phone. But he acts like he knows me. Call me paranoid, but that's just a bit too coincidental for my liking. Someone's been following me around lately, I've been trying to throw them the slip for a while, didn't figure they'd come looking for me in a rat trap, as you say, it's not my style."
She grinned. "But I think it's time I talk to Mr. Mystery before he comes a Mr. Stalker. There's just something about him, calls to me, and yet I'm so very upset by the fact that he exists at all. Annoyed by his presence, but somehow I also miss him. Don't ask me cause I have no explanation."


He came out of his room just wrapped in a towel as if about to head into the shower, frowning. "Hmmm...ok. Well, I'll make sure this guy doesn't doing anything."
He grinned "I could blow him up."


Aurora blinked and she was sure her jaw dropped as she looked up and saw Sebastian standing there in practically nothing. Tattoos scattered the pristine skin, the most prominent being the year written clearly on his chest. She grinned, established 2018. She couldn't help but chuckle softly to herself. She didn't exactly hear what he'd said as she admired his body, the tattoos being the least of her admiration.

Aurora shook her head, finally grasping what he'd said. "I think blowing him up might be a little drastic."
She grinned at him, "And FAR too messy."


He laughed. "Maybe. Maybe not. Messes can always be cleaned up."
He pointed to the kitchen with his chin. "Have anything you want. Watch TV. Whatever. I'll be out in 10.
He turned around and walked back down the hall to his room.

Ten minutes wasn't enough time to make a decent cup of coffee, so Aurora continued to stay where she was as she watched him leave the room. Her mind wandered from her thoughts on his body to the conversations they'd had, and landed soulfully on the thought of her brother. She sighed, and wondered, if the mystery man was her brother, why didn't he say that then? Why the mystery? Why not 'hey sis, where ya been?' There were too many questions, she was thankful she wasn't alone, though it wasn't the first time she'd not been alone when he made himself known. What was different this time?

Aurora knew actually what was different. Her frustration was. She wanted answers, and this man, whoever he was he had them. It was time to meet him and Aurora wished it was today, and not tomorrow that she'd meet him. Thankfully there were other things to occupy her time and her mind.

(with Bas)


Edited by Aurora, Nov 25 2014, 02:04 PM.

[Sebastian]

He padded back to his room and into his shower. When he was done he decided to put on a deep green suit, a clot red silk shirt and onyx tie. His shoes were a deep maroon.

Satisfied, he came out of the room. Aurora was still sitting on the couch. "You ready?"
At her nod, they went back downstairs. He peeked his head in the security room. "Sup fellas. Anything new? Anything I should know about?"


One of the guys, Andre, looked at him with a grin. "You didn't hear? Your buddy Mikhail from Stoya freaked out yesterday at Kallisti. He pulled his gun and held some people hostage for about an hour. His men couldn't even get him to calm down." He looked at Bas innocently. You didn't have anything to do with that did you?"

Bas laughed. There was no love lost between Mik and Bas, that was for sure. But that wasn't his style. If he had to, he might bash someone in the back of the head. But that was only if he had to. Course he wasn't going to admit that he had been freaking out too. "Nah, man. That wasn't me. I think he got some bad stuff. You ask me, it was the Kolomovs."


Andre nodded and looked at he Aurora, shaking his head and grinning. "Another one, huh?"For some reason, instead of chest puffing out like a proud rooster, he wanted to leave. He didn't like them thinking he was with Aurora that way. Still, he had to maintain his image.

He laughed. "Hey, I make friends easily."
He looked at Aurora and suddenly felt embarrassed. "Well, we gotta go. See ya man."


They walked to his car. "Sorry about that. You know how guys are."

[Aurora]

Down stairs Sebastian checked in with the guys at the front door. They informed him of a 'friend' who went crazy. Aurora grinned and wondered if they had been smoking the same thing. Sebastian was a curious man. She should run for the hills, avoid him at all costs, but she was drawn to him by some unknown reason. He was familiar yet not. Aurora knew she hadn't known him before, but it felt like it.

Aurora blushed when the men implied she was one of Sebastian's latest conquests. If only. Her blush deepened at her thoughts, but was thankful that they were leaving. He apologized for their behavior and she grinned at him. "Oh do I now?"


He opened the door for her and she smiled at him and sat down in the fine leather seats of the 2020 cherry red Camero she'd admired before ever stepping foot in Moscow. The memories of her dad and her brother skirted her memories and she smiled. And knew that meeting this man of mystery was going to answer a lot of questions.

Sebastian sat down in the drivers seat and Aurora watch him as he deftly put the car in gear. Aurora had never learned to drive a standard, it looked too difficult, and she didn't have the patience for it. The purr of the car was a nice silence breaker. She looked up and watched Sebastian's face as he drove through the streets of Moscow. "So where you taking me?"

[Sebastian]

Bas loved the way the leather seats molded themselves to their bodies, the way the engine rumbled to life and the way the vibration went deep into your gut. It was almost primal as he revved the engine, a masculine roar. It gave him a sense of power to drive this machine, to dominate and control every aspect of it, to make it slave to him.

It was very similar to how he felt about the power. Less and less did he view it in a religious context. Though he still prayed, it was rote. He felt no less loyalty to the Holy Mother, no less devotion. But he knew his power was not a personal gift from her. Part of him felt a bit let down at this idea. But part of him- now that he could admit it- was glad. Because he had absolutely loved the feeling of sheer domination when he held it.

It was like this car, only a billion times more powerful. And it fought him, forced him to master it at all times, writhed in his grasp. That fight made him feel more alive than at any other time. He felt that same rush like when he was face to face with another guy, the tension elevated, both looking at each other, waiting for the moment to act. The longer it went, the higher the tension and the more rapture he felt, waiting for that moment to let fly with a punch or a kick. It was like that, only more, so much more.

Now that he knew it wasn't from Her, he could enjoy that domination to its highest degree and not feel like it was wrong. It almost made him want to go looking for trouble. Not now, of course. Aurora was looking at him, asking where they were going. He felt a warmth towards her, protective, like he felt toward his mom. He felt power and wanted to make sure she was taken care of.

"I'll show you a few of....our hideouts. See which one you think you might like. I can get it cleared with Roman, no worries."


He took her on a tour, to a loft, an apartment in a nicer part of town, a storefront with an apartment upstairs, and many others. She didn't seem to excited about any of them. Course he was just having fun hanging out with her.

They were running out of actual places to stay, at least apartment like. As a joke, he took her to an old warehouse they used to use. Not much these days, especially with their moving into Vlad's territory. It had a couple offices and moveable walls. A bed room of sorts had been made mostly for guys who might need to sleep while working here. But mostly it was just open space.

"Well this is it, deary. All I have left. I still don't understand why you didn't like any of the others."


Aurora smiled. "It's not that I didn't like it."
Her smile grew wider and she looked around. Bas felt the chill he now knew was Aurora embracing the power. High in the rafters a rain of small arrows fell from the sky striking the floor and leaving small singe marks as it burnt up. "This place has potential."


He couldn't help it, his mouth dropped open and he laughed. "Holy shit!"
He prayed and seized the power and felt that rush flow through him. Now he frowned, trying to figure things out. He wove fire into an arrow show near the ceiling and let it fall. It fell but not with any real speed, though it did singe the concrete when it hit and disipated.

He looked at her and smiled, waggling an eyebrown at her. "Not bad for my first time."


She grinned back at him. "My brother can show you how to do a lot more."
Her voice sounded like she was questioning her own words.

"Then I need to meet this guy."
He tried another one, adding a combination of air to the mix. This time it flew faster and struck the ground hard. He went over and saw a tiny chink in the concrete. Now this was gonna be fun.

His stomach grumbled and it sounded like a roar, what with the power enhancing his hearing. He looked at his watch. It was 4. They were gonna meet her guy at 8. They had eaten nothing since breakfast at her place.His

"Wanna get something to eat?"


Aurora smiled and nodded. "I'm famished."


"Alright. Well I guess this is your new place. Don't be surprised if I show up to try some cool stuff out. You might be able to help me out despite the differences."
Then, "You like Italian? I know of a good place."


At her nod, he let go of the power they headed out the door. "Salavatore's is great. Good folks too."



Edited by Sebastian, Nov 26 2014, 05:00 PM.

[Aurora]

Aurora mentioned her brother out loud. Memories of working with him on the arrows raining from the sky, of a singular one crafted of fire and earth and air that went through a tree. It was memories that had come back, but her brother, his name, his face and his voice, still lost in the empty spaces of her memories. It was depressing, and she missed him greatly. It was an empty space she hadn't known was missing. How could she not know? It made the questions all that much harder.

Sebastian wasn't afraid to experiment, she liked that, but she hoped he'd not get hurt. The power was dangerous. But his stomach growled and Aurora dropped the power when he suggested they go for food. She was starving, breakfast had been good, but the power and the tours had made her hungry again. He suggested Italian, it was as good as any.

They got into his beautiful car, Aurora really couldn't get over it. It was probably more expensive than anything she even owned. It make her wonder what dangerous things Sebastian was into. And really should she keep hanging around.

But she was grateful to him, the place was not someplace someone would come looking for her, and it held so much potential. The ability to help others, to learn more with in the confines of the city. It could be a good place to live, but her concern for her brother was becoming crushing. Where was he? Was he on that plane? Did he die? Was he this mysterious man? She knew without a doubt she had to see him, had to talk to this voice on the phone.

They rode in near silence, Aurora lost in her thoughts until they pulled up to a brick building with Salvatore's written in the window. It looked quaint, she could smell the wonders it held inside when a pair of elderly men left, she heard boisterous laughing inside and smiled as she shut the door of the car carefully. "Smells fabulous."


Inside was warm, the smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the room, she could smell the garlic and onions from nearly every dish. It was like walking into someplace she'd dreamed of. She'd never been to Italy or Paris, or anything famous like that, the closest Aurora had ever come to was New York City with her family. She remembered dinning at pizzeria and nearly succumbing to a coma because of the feigned authenticity of it all. But this, this was what she imagined Italy to feel like. It was not stereotypical America Italian cuisine, it was real. The owner spoke to someone leaving in Italian, his accent made Aurora smile.

He came to them, they were next in line. "Buongiorno" He was not the slightly plump Italian you'd see on the pizzeria signs all over the US, he was tall and thin, his hair was graying at the edges. He had a smile that made Aurora grin, he was happy and polite. He took her jacket from her and Sebastian's too. The girl who ushered them to their seats was nearly as tall as he was. It was quintessential Italy, Aurora was in heaven.

Aurora looked at the menu and couldn't decide what to have. She looked to Sebastian, and back to the menu. By the time the waitress came to take their order she still had no idea, she grinned up at the woman. "Have the chef surprise me. I can't decide."


The waitress smiled back almost in glee. "Our chef shall be most pleased to hear you say that."

Aurora smiled back. The request must be rare, or he truly loved to make people whatever he was in the mood for. After Sebastian ordered she grinned at him when the waitress left. "I love this place."

[Sebastian]

"Yeah, this is a good place. Their lasagna is killer. You'll have to try it."
He got a glint of tease in his eyes. "Hope you like squid cuz that what you're getting."
He winked at her. "But I'll let you try some of mine if you want."


The food came and they ate, talking of nothing much. He told her a few funny stories- well they were funny to him anyway. Stuff he'd gotten up to as a kid. Good times with Roman.

She told her own stories but there was something off about her. Half the time she was talking it was almost like she was just remembering, as if his words were prompting her. Mentally he shrugged. Wasn't a big deal either way. She was just different.

Cool though. He'd gotten some wine and was enjoying the slight buzz. He wasn't going to hit it hard, that was for sure. Last night was still with him. Mostly it made his meal taste better.

When he was finished, he asked for the check and then paid. Looking at his watch- he wore one even though it was kind of unnecessary since he had a wallet. It looked cool, after all. An accessory. After all, what did a tie do after all? Just add flair, color. Style. His watch- silver with a black face and just hands, no numbers- was another piece of that. So checked his watch and it was around 7.

He looked at her with a smile. "You ready to meet your mystery man? We can be early and I'll make sure my guys know what's up, just in case things fall apart."

[Aurora]

The waitress brought Aurora the most delicious smelling thing in the world. She had no idea what it was called and the waitress didn't enlighten her, the chef must not have said. She wondered if it was even on the menu.

Bas told stories, Aurora liked his stories, and the sound of his voice. She had to continuously push thoughts from her mind. He'd ordered wine, Aurora wasn't exactly pleased with that, but she kept her thoughts to herself.

She told stories too, but they just came to her, they were mostly about her and her brother. He was a hot topic on her mind, she wasn't exactly sure why now all of a sudden. And then it dawned on her why. Here was a man sitting with her, who was awful playful, handsome and nice to her. And very much reminding her of her brother when she wasn't day dreaming about other things.

She grinned as she nodded her assent to leave to meet the mystery man. "As ready as I'll every be."
She let him open the door of the restaurant and the car for her. She put her hand on his and smiled at him. "You remind me of my brother, I'm glad you are going with me to meet this man. I hope he has the answers I'm looking for."


"That's cool. I don't have a sister, so you'll do."
Aurora smiled at him but it made her prior comments mean that she was looking at a lost cause. She sighed after her shut the door.

It was a long drive to the Little Kremlin, it was a plain brick building with no sign hanging over the door. The only thing that said it was a club were the two men outside it wearing a dark suit.

Sebastian nodded to the bouncer and told them she was expecting someone. To let a man in who knew her name. This made Aurora nervous, she wanted to take Sebastian's hand, not because she wanted to hold it but it was a comforting gesture. A memory flooded her memories, holding hands with her brother and weaving strange intricate patterns trying to get things right. They couldn't see each others weaves, but they knew, just new what they were doing, they had discussed it, leaving him frustrated but they held hands. Aurora smiled to herself, she didn't need him anymore to do this, to create things with the power. It was an amazing realization, maybe losing her memories had been a good thing.

Inside the club Aurora felt even more uncomfortable. It was a bunch of guys hanging around pool tables, there was a room full of video games. The chairs were all leather, Aurora ran her fingers over one as she passed it. It was a fine leather, soft to the touch. It smelled of smoke, but it wasn't over powering.

Sebastian lead them to a table for four. Pytor was coming too, she wondered when he'd be here. She took a seat and ordered a beer. Sebastian got up and spoke to a few people, Aurora assumed it was to tell them what was going on. She looked around, there were a lot of guns peaking out of coats. Aurora wasn't sure exactly about all of this, this could go south fast.