Paige Kennedy

Paige plopped a bag of buy-one get one burger specials on the slick metal table and tossed the handcuff keys into CT’s lap. The orange-jumpsuit clad computer hacker exhaled a breath of thankful astonishment and quickly fumbled with the key before vigorously tearing into the bag. “These are from the same diner?!” He questioned anxiously pulling the paper wrapping away and taking a very large bite. He leaned back and chewed happily rocking in place as his jaws worked through the massive chunk of greasy delight he’d bitten away. “Oh my God…” He proclaimed, still chewing on a mouthful. “You are the best… the food here is shit.” She handed him a large soda to wash it down and took a seat across from him. He immediately sucked down several gulps and for a few moments the small conference cell in SCPD headquarters was quiet save for CT’s voracious eating.

She didn’t need to check the clock again. She’d already looked several times before entering the room. The weather outside was shit and turning worse by the moment. If she didn’t get out of downtown soon, she knew she would likely be spending her day at City Hall for at least as long as it would take for Milo to come pick her up, if he could make it, in which case if he couldn’t, she would be spending her night at City Hall on a rock-hard bench in the courtroom. Fuck that. Uncle Sam had thankfully seen fit to at least supply her with a nice four-wheel drive Suburban, not that it would do a lot of good. According to the weather, nothing short of a tank would be suitable once the storm set in fully. Still, being from Florida, she hadn’t done too badly driving in and only had to lay on the horn one time when someone refused to let her cut them off at the ramp coming from the freeway.

Putting a cup of coffee down in front of her, also from the same diner across from Club Aether, Paige retrieved a small folded paper from the inside of her jacket pocket and placed it on the table as well. She let him enjoy his meal a bit longer and savored the warmth of the room. Still only being a few weeks into Sol, she wasn’t adjusted to the cold and kept her headband on while inside.

“So, you won anything yet?” CT asked. He had already completely scarfed one burger and was licking his fingers before lining up another one.

“Maybe…” Paige said looking him in the eyes. Unlike when she glared at him before, he seemed intrigued and accepted the small piece of folded printer-paper with one hand while holding his second burger in the other. Taking a bite, he unfolded the note and started reading. Paige watched as his mouth stopped while his eyes narrowed and continued to scan.



“How did you get this?” CT said looking up at her over the crease. He was no longer amused.

“Like you said,” Paige replied nonchalantly folding the plastic tab back on her cup. “I’m a pro.”

CT’s eyes returned to the paper despite him knowing exactly what it said and his mouth began moving again like the slow wheels and cogs of an old machine restarting as he dealt with some conflicting emotions. What she uncovered could mean a significant amount more time behind bars for him, but at the same time her quick use of the few skills he’d taught her was about the most insanely attractive thing he could imagine. The room was quiet again as he sucked air through the straw and shook his cup to rearrange the ice.

“Just tell me what you know about this, particularly the art show.” Paige said. There were a whole range of questions she had based off the transcript, but being pressed for time against the snowstorm, she had to cut to the chase. Ever since Monday, she couldn’t shake the sure-feeling that Shannon had got the better of her and she was hellbent on finding a way around having to rely solely on the gangster-queen for information. It felt like a wall that she and Milo couldn’t get around, like they were pieces being placed on a chessboard, which was just the way she knew Shannon intended it. She’d thought about it near constantly, often unable to sleep until Milo jokingly suggested they use the hacking skills CT shared just to see what came up. She wasn’t going to tell him the “Federal” in the chat transcript was her and based on his reaction, she was sure he didn’t know either.

CT shifted nervously, but resumed his rapid-chewing. He took another big bite before speaking: “Look, I’m not trying make things worse for myself here.” He looked around the bleak room, empty and clean save for the table bolted to the floor. “If I tell you, are you gonna be able to protect me here?”

Paige smirked a little. “This is just the city lockup, you haven’t even made it to the pen yet.” She said with some amusement. Seeing his terrified reaction though, she knew she would have to relent a little. In order to talk, CT had to be made to feel smart and important. Two concepts that were not entirely lost. “The more you can tell me, the better I can make things for you, CT. Now what were you going to do at the art show?”

“Nothing at the show, that stuff is boring as hell.” He was nearing the end of his second sandwich. “But it’ll be full of stuck-up pricks with lots of money looking to buy crap that looks like somebody threw-up on a canvas.”

“And that’s where you come in?” Paige said giving him a very practiced look of false intrigue. She had to agree with him about modern art so it was easy to add an empathetic tone. At least what Sio created looked like actual art and she was regarded as a bit of an outcast.

“Like clubbin’ baby seals.” He said with growing, smug grin. “These idiots have so much money, they don’t even realize it when I skim off 20-30k? You follow? I just add it in as processing fees on their bank statements.”

“What’s with all the bank stuff?’ She asked. She had to admit, he was crafty and the more she could pad his ego, the more he would spill.

“Oh that?” CT said looking back up towards the top of the page. He leaned back and rubbed his stomach contemplating a third burger, but thinking better of it. “That was just me talking shit,” He admitted though feeling his oats, he was ready to do some boasting: “See, I had this idea, back in high school actually, about how you could rob all three major banks in Sol and get away with it. It was beautiful.”

Paige’s eyes widened slightly and her gaze snapped up from the paper between them. “Wait, what did you just say?”

“About what?” CT said facetiously. “Me in high school?” He shook his head in theatrical reminiscence playing off her sudden concern. “Man, I was such a player, you would have loved me back then-”

“No, about the banks, you fool.” Paige snapped cutting him off.

“Oh,” He was surprised slightly how the playfulness had so quickly evaporated from her tone reminding him that he was indeed in prison and she more or less had control over nearly every facet of his meager comfort level. “I mean, I just cooked up this plan where you could rob all three and get away with it, it’s not as hard as you think, dīvide et imperā.”

“StarBank, Millennium and First National.”

“Yeah, that’s it.” CT confirmed. “Except I think Millennium was called something else back then, Century 22 or 55 or something like that...” He sat his styrofoam cup on the table slightly deflated at how the conversation was going, but a little intrigued himself at her intense interest in his old bank robbery fantasies. “That was years ago, you couldn’t get away with it now.”

“Why not?”

“Well for one thing, SCPD is double what it used to be.” CT said matter-of-factly. He’d lived in Sol most of his life. “Haven’t you seen those guys? They’re like friggin football players now.” He turned his gaze away from her towards the ceiling considering the logistical puzzle again. He rather liked the mental exercise. “You could still probably do it I guess, but you would have to be willing to sacrifice a few flunkies to pull it off, like pawns on a chessboard, ya know?”

“Yes, I get that CT, but how would you actually do it?” Paige asked barely able to mask her impatience. She was leaning forward slightly and glanced up to see an SCPD officer giving her a concerned look through the small window in the entrance. The weather was getting worse.

CT thought back about his original plan briefly. “Well the first part is easy,” He said, still thinking. “You just gotta get them moving, classic-style, like blow up a car or call in a bomb threat at a school, preferably on the west side, that way you can get the bridge traffic between you.” He scratched at the stubble on his beck a bit. “The next part is the hardest, you would have to hand the teller a note at each separately and at the same time, but no guns needed. Just a note. All three have a silent alarm the teller can trigger so they’re definitely gonna hit that so no need to come in all wild west style and scare everybody.” He finished off his soda and shook the ice again looking for the last few drops. His tone became slightly more methodical than playful as he envisioned his plan. “You only want to take as much as you can carry, so one person, one bag, big bills and you get away on a bike… or a moped.” He glanced up at Paige with a smirk.

“How do you get out of the city?”

“Daedalus seaplanes can land in the harbor,” CT continued. “You’d just have to have a wheelman that could fly a plane.”

“Or your own plane...” Paige said. Her thoughts drifted to Marlin and their conversation from Monday.

“Yeah, well you’re gonna need that anyway for the last bit, a business jet or something.”

“What do you mean?” Her glance narrowed inquisitively.

“Your crew isn’t gonna get away on that little prop-powered, tourist plane, not enough range,” He said. “You fly it out to Catalina Island where there’s a long runway, ditch the seaplane and you’re out of this hemisphere in less than an hour. They’d never catch you.”

“Catalina Island?”

“It’s basically this big rock in the middle of the ocean a couple miles off the coast.” CT said crossing his arms and considering the final parts of his brainchild. “It was like an army-air force base back in the day, couple people tried making it into a tourist thing, but it never really caught on, runway is still useable though.”

Paige shook her head and glanced away at nothing in particular. She was working it out for herself having never heard such a scheme concocted seemingly out of pure boredom.

“What’s got you so hemmed up on that?” CT asked. “I figured you’d want to know more about the art show-”

“How many people have you told this to?”

“Oh, I dunno.” CT shrugged. “I used to bring it up at parties back when I was a kid, chicks really digged it, just like you are now.”

“Yeah…”

“Like I said, you just couldn’t do it nowadays.” He pursed his lips slightly. “There’s just too many cops in Sol, you’d have to be willing to settle for just one score to really have a statistical chance of success and on top of that you’d have to make the hit on the day before the armored truck runs.”

“What do they publish the bank runs here?” Paige cocked an eyebrow of disbelief.

“No, they’re not quite that careless, but they are predictable.” CT said. “What people don’t realize is that the armored truck is mostly for taking money out, not bringing it in. Once the physical deposits hit a certain level, the system automatically puts in a pickup request.”

A firm knock reverberated on the hard metal door. Paige looked up seeing the guard giving her a more than slightly concerned look. She glanced around the table again. There was nothing but CT’s trash and the singular printed transcript. She stood up, but hesitated slightly in her thoughts. Her legs defiantly stayed with the broad section of her churning mind that wanted to keep asking questions even if it meant a night on a hard bench in City Hall.

“Hey is all this gonna help me at all?” CT pleaded. “I mean, I really laid it all out there. I should get something, right?”

Paige looked hard back at him knowing she had to go. Her legs relented and she moved around the table swiftly and rocked him by the shoulders with a firm grasp, looking him firmly in the eye with her blazing olive orbs. She planted a large kiss squarely on his forehead. “CT, you have no idea.” She said and ruffled his hair before opening the door and took off down the hallway.

Tags for those mentioned:
@PrinceAlexus@RoccanIronclad@Almalthia

Team tags:
@MissCapnCrunch@Rodiak

Milo Ventri

---

---

Milo felt the buzzing of his phone, he let it go for a minute as he sat on the front stoop of the shop, cigar in hand, watching the storm worsen. Paige hadn't called and was presumably still at city hall. Milo flicked the butt of the cigar out into the snow and went back inside where he pulled out his phone and looked at the message, it was Vika, he looked at it confused, they hadnt spoke since she had left. Milo read through the message, he couldn't help but remember when they had first met, a slightly intoxicated, yet very spunky woman with a striking visage, however when he opened the picture she sent the girl in it was barely recognizable, Milo sighed, one of the things he had learned was that trying to be who you used to be doesn't make you as good as just growing on.

"Glad you're happy, I know you were self conscious of the cane, though I will say, I still think you were prettier before. As for the project I had been working on..."

Milo pulled the blade out, he had still finished it even though he didn't really know what to do with it. It was a sword cane, royal blue with a snowflake design up to the handle. He took a picture and attached it.

"... It was just something I had made for someone, someone not around anymore."

Milo sent the message, part of him still felt bad for how things between them went, he swore he saw something, but he needed someone to get him back I to the swing of things, someone to show him life moved on that hanging on to what you were was not the way to go.

@PrinceAlexus

"A-Ash, are you s-sure that w-we're going to the right place? W-We should have been there by now..." The short blonde stuttered out through clattering teeth. Despite being dressed in a over sized gray sweater with a navy collared shirt underneath, orange pants, navy blue beanie, and fluffy earmuffs that worked as headphones (because of course they did), Capella was pretty sure he was freezing his ass off. Here he was, walking out in the terribly cold and snowy weather with one arm holding and equally trembling Toasty, while the other was latched tightly onto his taller companion, Ash's, arm so that he wouldn't get left behind or fall to his immediate death.

Why was he with Ash, you might be wondering?

Well after having a pretty fun lunch meetup with him yesterday, they came up with the 'great' idea of heading to The Coffee Pot for a midday snack or sorts. Hearing that the place had cake, Capella was all for going to a place like that after his classes. Fortunately, or more like unfortunately depending on how you looked at it, classes were inevitably cancelled due to the apparent weather that was currently assaulting them as of now. He questioned maybe postponing his meetup with Ash to a different day or just having him come over, but it was actually his mother who insisted on him still going, claiming that if they left early enough that they wouldn't get caught up in the storm. Geez Capella couldn't tell if she was being really nice or really oblivious...

Well regardless, here he was now with Ash, walking who knows where to who knows what.
"M-Maybe you took a wrong turn? O-Or maybe we already passed it on accident?" He then added when he didn't receive a proper response from his new friend. Eyes reflecting the shimmery white snow falling around them, Capella released a disgruntled huff only to trip over who knows what mere seconds later. Shouting out at least one curse word in his native language, Capella let out a distressed cry right after tightening his grip on both Ash and Toasty. "I swear if I die from falling, I'm gonna haunt you for eternity! You'll have to take care of Toasty too!"

"Jeez Capella, that hurts my poor feelings," Ash spoke out, clutching his chest with his free hand. Well, mostly free. Between Capella clutching onto him and fumbling with his phone in his other hand, he still had to be all dramatic and act like he was hurt by Capella's skepticism. "You should have more trust in my awesome navigational skills. Let me tell you - yours truly was in boyscouts before." And thus Ash went into another story, talking without properly looking where he was going.

In hindsight, that might well be the reason why they weren't there yet. The Coffee Pot was nowhere in sight. And the weather wasn't helping their cause. He should have actually checked the weather beforehand. He really should have. A black turtleneck and his favorite jock jacket, an orange white combination, should have done the trick. But it didn't. He was cold. Really cold. But looking at his trembling companions, he tried to hide the fact.

"I'm pretty sure Toasty would be the one taking care of me-"

He stopped in his tracks. Finally, his phone had stopped acting up. The navigation was screwed up since he went out today, but he wasn't sure why the signal was so bad. As he tried getting good directions, an ad popped up on his screen. Along with an address. It was nearby.

["MAID CAFFEE RESORT IN YOUR AREA. WAITING FOR YOU. ONLY THE BEST SERVICE. MAID CAFFEE RESORT IN YOUR AR3A"]

His eyes flashed with a flame of a thousand suns. His mouth opened up in shock, as if in slow motion. Time might have well stopped for that moment. There was a heart flutter somewhere too. A vicious grin had appeared on his face as he looked at Capella. He was oblivious to the gift the heavens had sent them. Hah! Soon the weather is going to be the least of their worries.

"My friends. Change of plans! There is an even better place here than an old, rusty, dusty coffee pot. Couple more minutes and we're there, trust me. Heaven awaits!" He shook Capella a bit, squeezing him as if giving him a hug. "Ain't no couple of snowflakes gonna stop us, right Cap? ONWARDS!"

_{#PuddledAshes Ash Carson @LostBrotherGrimm, Capella Xing @Tenma Tendo}

---

Some time, Ashton had been working hard in building that house... though of course Marine found her and demanded the tall firefighter to actually take a break instead of just finding more work to do. So today Ashton thought she would go and check out a cafe she heard some of the guys at the station talking about. The start of her search started around 7 am. Now the skies were clouded and dark and fluffs of snow were raining down from the sky, making it hard to see really anything.

The tall firefighter was dressed in blue jeans, a gray long sleeve shirt with her boogie board hanging from her neck and a her favorite black jacket with white fluff trimming on the hood. Wearing fingerless black gloves on her hands which were shoved in her jacket pockets, and a red bandanna on her left bicep with a golden griffin upon it. Her hood was placed over her messy dirty blonde hair, her amethyst eyes squinting as she tried to see where exactly she was going.

It seemed the storm was getting worse and soon it would be nightfall. Ashton wouldn't have much choice but to find a place to shelter for the night from the storm. She had no idea where she was, nor could she retrace her footsteps back home with the amount of snow that was falling. Such a shame she wasn't able to fine that cafe. She could go for a cup of cocoa. Blinking a little, to her surprise she saw three figures out in this snowstorm. Uh oh, that didn't seem good. With a storm like this, honestly no one should be out here. Ashton was at least resilient and it wasn't her first time being out in a snowstorm. So of course like a good hearted person would, she walked toward the two of them until the 7'0 firefighter stood in front of them.

Taking her hands out her pocket, she greeted the two with a cheerful smile upon her deeply scarred face and a gleeful wave of her hands of greeting. Tilting her head to the side, her the androgynous figure gave a questioning look with a hint of concern as if to ask if they were alright. Two boys and a dog were in front of her, the blonde kid being a bit unstable on his feet, being led by his dog and his human companion it seems.

---

Victoria was lieing on her bed checking out on her laptop to arrange a visit to thr University campus and maybe even talk to a few students, she had leaned alot on her travels and so, maybe there was a opertunity to help out, especially maybe the female students in such a normaly male dominated sector. At least her day would be different and would be intresting to see what she missed out on her path, and the difference between the self taught and education systems paths.

Sending a email she hoped they would like the idea and would let her, especially with the fact she worked for a local, well not always popular but they where known for there security levels and abilities to defend there systems. She had done a rather wide mix of things and hoped at least it might help one person.

Nothing her phone vibrate on the bedside table ans gave a quick glance out the patio doors to a rather snowed in balcony and a rather white scene outside. The snow was making it harder ans harder to see things on the tables and piling up of the deeply set back windows. Old House, thick walls, the windows where set back for warmth, and that was most welcome now. The message was Milo... Well that was diffrent, he made Vice feel almost... Guilty, but a various wide array of feelings. At least he was polite. The sword stick was downright amazing, was she really not that person? Maybe, was it too diffrent that she was black haired?

Thankyou, truely, but im glad I Don,t quite stand out so much, this is my natural colour. Well bar the highlights. I just sped up the process abit as I'm impatoant. Some of the attention was not always as posetive as yours.

Its beuterful, your truely talented at what you do. Thankyou even thinking to make such a thing. I'm sure Youl work out what's best to do with it.

And. Not around in one way, but always in my memories, and your kindness not forgotten. Your a good egg Milo, Your yolk is good.

Ps. Whoever gets you be a lucky woman.

VDR

Victoria was not sure how even to think about what he made, it was amazing and she thought it was a probbly rank up there with gestures of intent if there ever was one at the time. That would not happen, what do you do when it was made for you at a time, but you are not that you. And things change yet its not something that suit someone else.... Leave it to Milo to decide what to do wit it.

She had to markvek slightly at the idea of how somthing so beuterful could turn to deadly, it was a rather apt thing whwn you thought about some animals and it balenced what would be a pretty inappropriate thought. Milos message left her, somewhat confused but not in a bad way, it definitely was good to reconsider things sometimes and takw some time to think.

Lieing back and resting, she kne her sister had returned but wanted some time to relax out the way. They each had a private bathroom, living room and bedroom set up. The living room was abit smaller and so, but cozy and she had room to have photos about, mermentos and little bits that now she was here for a while had been worth bringing over.

@RoccanIronclad

Joel Nicolosi

By Thursday at 2:37am, the week had not been a bad one, relatively speaking, for Joel Nicolosi. Behind him, the chassis of Sio’s Corvette was mostly completed, thought the untouched body still occupied his lift. The suspension, new engine and transmission were assembled, but not quite complete which was considerably more progress than he thought he’d make in such a short time though it was usually much easier to strip and replace than to repair. In his living room a certain gift from Marlin’s grandfather occupied a nice place next to his painting of Senna at Monaco. He’d had the signed note framed as well to accompany it. The small lighter and the scale model both occupied a handsome space on the desk area of his massive toolbox. He grinned thinking about holding the wheel in his hands the same way as his idol. The small package was the most thoughtful gift he received in years and it took a lot to impress him. He had some ideas in his head on a classy thank-you note that he could write to the old man.

The kerosene powered space-heater blasted along happily behind him keeping the shop at a tolerable temperature with a loud roar and Joel sat in a lawn chair watching the first snow begin to fall and coat the road. He never cared much for the winter months, but the scene was nice. Every once in a while a car would pass and the light coming out of the shop would cast a shadow behind the car as he saw his reflection in the glare of the passing window. It was too cold for the guys at the fabric mill to walk to work so he had mostly sat alone reading emails and listening to his regular late night programming while the news broke in at the top and bottom of the hour with the continuing forecast of impending doom for all in the City. He yawned. The shop was getting crowded behind him and he was curious about either buying another shipping container and paying a company to fab them together or building an addition to the shop. With his newest acquisition from Japan, he only had just enough room to work on Sio’s car and had to be careful about where he put things to save space. He replied to a few estimates and scrolled on.

Sitting next to his chair were two cans of Rebellion energy drinks which had fueled the majority of his evening. He’d only drank them occasionally before, preferring Red Bull, but the new orange ones they were pushing were rather tasty and addictive. His meeting with the Operations Director for the rally-team had gone well and they had a date set for him to meet the rest of the team and drive a few rounds on the practice stage they had set up at Mount Atlas. Starting at the Observatory, the course wound down and around the mountain switching from the paved roadway to the zig-zagging hydra of old, dirt logging trails that ended in a close dash by the Lake and the old Hunter Lumber Mill. The Director sent over a video of the stage for him to study as well several cases of drinks and a big box of t-shirts, sweatshirts and other merchandise. He saved the girls’ stuff for Sio and sent two of the British themed, energy shots to Marlin as a gag. The flavor title Within Treason featured the logo, “R” over a Revolution-era American flag. He grinned, sometimes he just couldn’t help himself.

Thinking about the ladies was always nice. Being on less awkward terms with Marlin was good and meeting Dustynn had been a decent surprise as well, though he could tell she wasn’t exactly the type to bring back home to mom and dad. Marlin fit that bill a little too closely and he was glad his mother hadn’t really had a chance to meet her or he never would have heard the end of it. She’d only seen the pictures and he was swiftly able to talk around her probing questions. No, Sio was becoming the most involved he’d been in a while. She was young, but she at least liked to challenge him some; though he could tell when she was full of shit and didn’t know it. It was still fun. He took another long swig from the remainder of the can seeing the newspaper carrier’s car come around the corner up the street and decided to mess with her some. He took a picture of her chassis sitting on its new wheels and tires so that it was painfully obvious he’d done some major work without her being there.

I got back tonight and it looked like this, not sure what happened

He was sure she was most likely asleep and laughed his ass off as he hit send.

Joel's Shop Radio


Mentioned tags:
@PrinceAlexus@Almalthia@MissCapnCrunch

THOMAS LANCASTER

Solaris Universatas - Thursday Morning

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The 12-inch rims was rolling through the aisles of the University's Library, gently disturb the tranquility of the area. No blames were sent though. It was, after all, a polite reminder not to fall asleep during long hours of studies and research that could become tedious extensively.

The wheelchair stopped at the PQ section of the library before making a ninety degrees rotation into the smaller quarter. Wedged on two sides were all books, collected from the most brilliant minds in history, past or present. Within these dozens of books contained merely a fraction of humanity's intelligence and knowledge. It was a poetic reminder of how lowly and humble a person's understanding of the world is.

The man in the wheelchair knew exactly what he was looking for. The Nature of Consciousness, written sixteen years ago by a particular neuroscientist. She is not very well-known, but her worked had once been the center of debate for scientists of the age to discuss about the different theories of consciousness. Thomas had had some skepticism about each theories, as each served to explain only a part of what we are. A good theory is characterized by two factors: the first being the ability to explain large bodies of existing observation using as few arbitrary elements as possible, while the second being capable of predicting future events with those same elements. Most of these theories did explain specific events and observations, but could not for some. That could mean the theories were completely wrong, or they had a role different from what we imagined. And that was what he was going to find out, or hope to find out. That's probably the most interesting, but not for everyone, part of this job, as you are not at all stuck with a nine to five jobs where you do tasks you all know too well day after day. This job was like any adventurer's dream, and without dangers: travelling into the unknown. Yes, there are possibilities that you would run into a dead end, and you won't likely know if you do, possibly for an entire life. One life wasted into something worthless. It could happen. But in the name of science, it is worth the voyage.

"PQ 39.1 R212 2002 c.2"

After a bit of search, Thomas found the book he needed. And, thankfully, it was on the second stack, perfectly within his reach.

Upon grabbing his book, Thomas rolled over to the desk nearby, where he intended to spend a few hours reading the book before going home. Jeanie said she would be making taco tonight, so he better not miss it.

Or so he thought...

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Whilst cleaning the kitchen inside the two's apartment, the young woman, with her long, silky and lustrous black hair suddenly leaned over to slid her phone out of her pocket. It was buzzing her lap. A short whistle of the birds made it clear it was a text message notification. Taking it out of her pocket, she turned it around before pressing the home button, lightening the screen as power surge through the phone. It was Thomas.

'Sorry to miss out on your taco night today, but I am currently occupied with my professor about my paper.'

"Again?"

The lady chuckled amusingly and with a small bit of salt. Looks like Netflix is gonna be her companion for the night.

She noticed she could scroll down in the message, as there was more

'I may have found it this time.'

'Hmm...'

That statement left her in thoughts for a while. The weather seems to be getting a lot colder tonight...

Capella attempted to shoot the taller man a nasty look, but he quickly halted his actions since it meant his face would be more susceptible to the water crystals berating them from up above.
"Ah gee, sorry if I hurt your 'feelings'. I just tend to get a little...pissy when I'm freezing my ass off in some stupid fucking weather we could have avoided." Despite the vulgar language, his voice was high and childlike, almost as if he was trying to mock him. Well at least it was safe to say that Capella wasn't afraid to be open with Ash and be himself around him. It was also safe to say that the teen would freely roast the man whenever he had the chance to, or when he truly deserved it. "Oh woooowwww, Boy Scouts?" Capella gasped, unintentionally sucking in a shaky breath in the process. "Is that what's gonna be written on my medical reports under 'cause of death'?" He questioned genuinely as he attempted to use Toasty as a cloth to wipe his face. Unfortunately that only earned him a bark of defiance, the near death experience of tripping on the curb, and a face still covered in snow droplets. Great...j-just great...

Despite his prior snarky and rude remarks, Capella let out a genuine laugh, one powerful enough for him to forget about the cold for a moment. Obviously Toasty would be the one wearing the pants in their relationship (well any relationship honestly) should something happen to him. Why didn't he think of that? The sudden halt had the blonde jump in surprise, his head turning to 'look' at Ash.
"What's wrong?" He frowned, arching an eyebrow as he waited for some kind of response, and straightened upon receiving one. And while he felt a brief desire to strangle Ash for shaking him around a little, it was quietly quelled by the semi-hug he was rewarded with. "Eh, I'm down so long as the place has cake. Onwaaaaaarrrrrrddddddds." He trailed as Toasty howled along, attempting to scratch up Ash's jacket in the process.

Even though he would much rather give up and find a warm place to sit down, Ash's charisma spurred the boy and his dog into action. Some might say that this type of personality would be annoying to be around, and Capella could agree sometimes, but Ash just had something about him that made it less annoying and more enjoyable to see what he would do next. Not that Capella would actually say something like that out loud; he'd only known the man for a day and could safely say that he likes their current relationship: The Over Dramatic, The Snarky, and The...Toasty?

They continued down their destined path, relying solely on Ash's phone to guide them to 'heaven'. Still under the assumption that 'heaven' would have cake there, Capella did his very best to keep pace. That is, until Toasty started pawing at his face, mushing his cheeks together for some odd reason.
"S-Stop..." The blonde frowned at his adorable pet, and frowned even harder when Ash stopped moving as well. "I wasn't talking to you, dude." He mumbled with an exasperated sigh, completely unaware of the lanky woman standing directly in front of them.

---

---

Ethan smiled at the message that Victoria sent him. He replied back with a simple statement. Of course we're still on. The traffic is a little slow because of the weather but I'm almost there.

Focused on the road he turned off and wondered if he should just go pick her up. The snow was coming down thicker but still melting in spots. About five minutes later Ethan pulled in and parked. Snagging his phone out of his coat pocket he texted Victoria again. Shall I come get you? Or is the goddess of madness afraid of the snow?

Despite the seemingly neverending barrage of snowflakes, Ash laughed his heart out as he saw Capella try and wipe his face with Toasty. He clutched at his stomach as he gasped for air, like a dying seal. He was genuinely having fun, even if there was the looming possibility of death on the horizon. "Nah, but the reports might say 'froze to death, but at least they looked damn handsome while doing so'." he replied, pondering the matter of heaven for a bit. "Of course there's gonna be cake there. And pie. And all other sorta sweet SWEET peopl-... I mean, stuff to order. And I swear, if the demon overlord here scratches my jacket up too, I'll introduce him to my sis, so she can squeeze him to death." he glared at the pup.

Ash was definitely having a good time, no matter how odd of a pairing the two were. He himself was never the best person to lead someone somewhere, so it was nice seeing Cap trusted him with then task. Rookie mistake. Ash spun on his toes, sliding on the wet surface before coming to a halt, bumping nose first into the chest of a significantly taller person in front of him.

Ash stood there.

Cap stood there.

The person stood there. Menacing. Hands slowly reaching out of the pockets. Were they gonna get mugged?

All three of them in silence.

Ash gulped when Toasty let out a noise which brought him back to reality. Bless you, Toasty. In a swift motion, he grabbed Capella's arm and started running, into the first alleyway he noticed. Smart. And into the first, seemingly abandoned building he had found an open door to.

Even smarter, Ash. Good job.

_{#PuddledAshes Ash Carson @LostBrotherGrimm, Capella Xing @Tenma Tendo}

---

The three of them stood there, standing in silence. The blonde kid seeming a bit confused at the sudden stop or at least not noticing her at all. His friend however was staring at her, seeming frozen in place until the dog made a sound. Ashton wasn't sure why they were quite reacting like this, was she that surprising to look at? Amethyst eyes blinking as the slightly taller boy grabbed his friend before making a dash to a alleyway. Standing there for but a moment, the tall firefighter briskly walked after the odd trio. Her long legs carrying her with ease. Ashton figured that if she bolted after them, they might get more scared.

Listening to the rush of crunching feet against the freshly deepening snow and the creek of a old door, Ashton continued following as she came upon a old abandoned building. Why does she get the feeling like she's seen something like this in some horror movie or something? Was she the 'killer' in this story? Considering the 'kids' sorta ran into a run down place like this. In the middle of a snowstorm. With basically no one else around. Where it be somewhat difficult to get a hold of the cops and if the storm worsens, throw off cell service.

Yeah it did feel somewhat like a horror story.

In a way, she found it amusing. Still though, Ashton hadn't wished to scare them.

By what she saw, their clothes were too well put to be somewhat living a place like this. Well, either way she better keep trying to make sure they are alright. After all, never know who might be squatting in a place like this.

Casually walking through the door, Ashton gingerly used her right foot to push the door close to at least block some cold air. The tall figure's hands shuffled in her pockets to pull out her badge so she could let the two boys know that didn't mean them no harm.

"To think the weather was nicer yesterday..."

With the supprise snow warning in Sol, Reya had to take another day off from work, and after checking on her brother at work, take shelter back at Club Aether. Cause while Ryan and his co-workers were lucky enough to hold out at the restaraunt they worked in, she wasn't up for freezing her ass off walking back home. So it had to have been her own luck to have been invited inside .

Sitting in one of the chairs by the stage, Rei rested her head in one of her hands as she texted Rai, silently hoping that he would be okay.

---

Victoria smiled at the text and found her heavy winter coat with hood, winter boots, scarf and gloves, there was a small break in the snow and she intended to makw it before the snow came back with a vengeance where they where.

Zipping up a warm coat she wore in Russia, with a diagonal split flag or Russia and UK on one arm, and Polar star on the other, in mostly blended in monochrome patches and a snow flake below the polar star logo. Underneath she had warm jeans, and a slightly daring top that cut lower and exposed abit more of her pale skin, minis the bra but she could get away with it, and anyway this looked far more suitable for a date. And it was definitely a date. Maybe abit daring but it showed she was taking it as a date.

Cold date.. But that's why she had a coat and a light layer for inside.

Her family back in a Russian would tease her forever if she was stopped by a clear gap in snow, and worried about getting tiny bit of cold. The gap would be fine and should be able to make it.

Heading out, she gave a quick message to say to she on her way before nipping quickly past Xia and Marlin, with a quick wave.

Il walk it, see you soon hon.. Not say no to a lift home.

Im half Russain. I'd never leave fearing snow down!

VDR x

Heading out, the show was OK at first and she enjoyed the feeling to fresh snow Beneath her boots, walking in the now and being free. There was a reason she declined the lift. This was somthing that was harder, now she had a alittle more freedom, why not use it. Victoria was not quite as fit as she needed to be but made it, slightly less steady to the end bit forced herself to do it, she could do it. Just took dome effort.

The snow did however return quicker than expected and with her scarf pulled up and hood down, a somewhat cold Victoria made it into the light house, a warm fire burning logs, a quaint little pub and rather nice place in general. Log beams and copper items abound, thick walls with old fashioned windows and lots of old pictures and paintings of Sol city in the past. Pulling off a thick coat and putting it on the back of chair glad of the seat near the fire, and her warm gloves and scarf, winter boots where not so glamorous but she could feel her toes, and that would not be so in heals.

only a alittle bit cold ... It's worse than Moscow...

The goddess of madness has made it Ethen , but will her date resist her charms. Though?

Leaning over giving him a kiss with a little wobble and getting closer than planned though a cheeky smile remained, she sat back down and and stretched her feet out closer to the fire to warm them back up properly. They kept her warm, just nice to be warmer. Ordering a double vodka and coke to help warm up, she wondered what would happen, but ignored it and decided to just have fun and make the most of it.

you look good, I'd almost say you looked like a rock star.

Adding her bit quietly, she leaned in abit to talk so they could have there privacy. Guessing how they both probbly did not want to be quite caught together yet. That would just be a bunch of trouble. Smiling and thanking a waitor who brought her a drink. It was pretty quick, the service here was rather good. Her ice grey eyes almost sparkled slightly as she was enjoying herself for first time in a few weeks.

Thanks.

So, bar night club riots. How you found the city? It was nice to meet you but rather not use what they call a "mattress". I can think of better places than a jail cell to use one.

I'm curious, of all the women that night, why Me? Not in bad way, just a curious thought.

Talking and some rather loaded flirting between the two of them. They both knew what they where like to some degree, and both wanted to have fun, kick loose and enjoy a date. Whatever happened was anyone's guess, who knew.

Live for the day. And worry about tommorow when it comes.

@Almalthia

---

---

Siobhan had woken up that morning in a foul mood. This is what not enough sleep did to her. The text from Joel was enough to set the fire in her blood roaring back to life that she had just managed to get down to a simmer. It had taken everything she had to keep her head level and not call Joel and take it out on him. Don't know what happened my ass. But Joel wasn't the reason she was ticked off.

Bradley had tried to make sure that they were on for that stupid race and claim in changing the wager. Luckily there had been some cooler heads that had opted for a delay with the weather being what it was. Stupid frat boys. Siobhan decided that she'd appeal to one of the brighter crayons in the box and was here at the university since the guy worked here. Opening the door that said in gold lettering Head of Business Marketing James Harrison.

She wasn't dressed up per say but the black fleece lined leggings under the bright red calf length tartan skirt paired with a white Peter Pan collared long sleeved shirt a black loose bow and chunky black boots that disappeared under the skirt gave the impression. Siobhan had tossed on a black aram tam and as a statement she wore Joel's jacket he had given her.

Sitting behind a desk is a young man with a smile on his face. His light brown hair has a bit of a curl to it and it's is a touch too long so looks tousled carelessly. He is dressed as if he walked out of a Norman Rockwell painting. He rose coming around the desk and gestured to a pair of chairs across from the desk; that upon closer inspection is littered with papers strewn across it. “Good morning Miss Murphy. I trust you found the office easily?”

“Yes quite. Your directions last night were impeccable...Mr...?”

“Ah yes. My mistake introductions must be made. Bernard. Bernard Gatlin.” He looked her over as they shook hands. “Remarkable how you change so effortlessly from one facade to another. Last night your attitude and outward appearance just screamed ‘tough' and it's almost a 180 this morning.” She was amazing with her mass of curling Titan hair looking like she stepped out of a story from Scottish history. Like some avenging angel. He covered his attraction quickly but the absolute chameleon she was stunning.

Siobhan nodded and smiled sitting in the plush leather chair; not missing the tongue and cheek statement nor the appreciative flash in his eyes. “Siobhan, please. I can say the same for you Bernard, but this atmosphere suits you better. So I'm a to the point girl so let's get to it. Small talk is overrated.”

Bernard smiled and nodded pleasantly surprised by her unflinching forthright nature and ability to verbally fence. Unlike most of her sex. Impressive. His mother taught him to comply with a ladies wishes, especially a pretty one; and inclined his head to her sitting in the leather chair adjacent to her. “So not all of us in Bradley’s circle agree with the change in winnings. See we share the winnings and frankly none of us want seconds and Bradley doesn't share his girls. So we can be persuaded to intercede on your behalf if you double the amount.”

Siobhan crossed her ankles and tilted her head. “Meaning you'll postpone the race and talk him out of this harebrained idea. So double the amount or play sacrificial lamb? You really leave me no choice Bernard. Done, 10,000 in cash if he wins.” Siobhan reached out and shook his hand smiling. She checked her watch and saw that it was only just after 9:40 am. “Well then I guess we're done here.”

“Yes I suppose we are Siobhan. Nice doing business with you. Let me know when you're ready. Best of luck, we're actually pulling for you. Bradley needs to be taken down a peg or two.”

“Likewise and thank you Bernard. Have a good day.” Siobhan rose and smiled feeling much better. Bernard rose and walked her to the door. He shook her hand at the door and lingered a bit watching her covertly. He turned back to the desk glaring at it realizing the highlight of his day just walked out the door.

Siobhan texted Joel back knowing he was probably asleep. Must be the evidence that we've needed for years to prove that there is an alien invasion happening. Don't touch anything!!!! We need to contact Bill Moore so he can corroborate the story. Let him chew on that for a while. She'd call him later. No doubt that he'd be working on Karen and she wouldn't mind the view. Besides she wanted to know what he was doing with the offers she had skimmed about his racing career.

She went down to the library and decided that it was providence that made her bring her camera with her. Architecturally the library was one of the best to photograph hands down. It had a blend of old and new. Arriving at the library she smiled at the shelves of books just wandering through to the windows that overlooked the courtyard between the Arts Building and the Sciences Building.

The university was laid out with the library, food court and administrative offices in the center of a wheel. The dorms on the outside and the spokes wings that were alternately open air hallways or closed hallways. All leading to the center. It was a marvelous design and Siobhan pondered how to get a bird's-eye view of it.

Off in artist la la land she squeaked as she practically tripped over something hard. Bracing herself as the object rolled back and solidly hit a table. Unfortunately this left her balanced precariously leaning back her arms on armrests and rocked back on her heels. Siobhan tried to look over her shoulder to no avail since she couldn't really see past her hair because she'd left it down. Looking down it seemed like she'd basically fallen on someone in a wheelchair. “Sorry can I get a little help here? I'm not going to be able to hold this position for long.”

The blonde tilted his head thoughtfully at what would in fact be written on the line underneath the words 'cause of death'. Of course Capella automatically assumed he was handsome, but he never really thought about what he nor Ash actually looked like since he never had the luxury to know for sure. Judging by his voice, Capella could assume that the other was tall with striking features. Maybe a buzz cut? Toasty never liked those so that would explain lot. Or maybe he was a hat guy? Cat shaped eyes with seafoam green irises? No, almond shaped and midnight blue. NO, slanted colored like copper pennies! Most of those colors he thought of he didn't have any recollection of what they actually looked like, but it was fun to guess. A smug smile pulled at Capella's lips before he brought his attention back to Ash, who was acting a bit weirder than normal, and that was saying something.

"Uh...huh..." Why did it feel like Ash and him weren't on the same page about this? Eh, they rarely seem to be on the same page of anything, specifically when it came to Toasty sometimes. Shaking the pup around to stop him from doing anything he would regret, Capella felt his the need to tilt his head even further than before. That's right, Ash did have a sister...did she like dogs too? Judging by the description, he couldn't quite tell. Before he even had the chance to ask more about this sister, Ash came to an abrupt halt, one Capella didn't really get. He didn't hear any cars so it wan't them walking down the street or anything like that. They just stood there...in the cold...doing nothing...

And as if on cue to Toasty, Ash suddenly grabbed his arm and was off, dragging the poor teen along with him.
"H-Hey, wait! I can't-- S-Slow down!" Capella shouted in surprise and shock, stumbling terribly to keep up with the taller man. Toasty took this chance to jump out of Capella's grasp and instead bolted beside them.
Tripping gracefully near where what he assumed was the flooring of a building met with the ground outside, Capella cursed himself as he limped alongside Ash, grumbling at he own self pity for a moment before speaking up. "Is this heaven? It's still cold...and I was promised cake and pie..." He mumbled grumpily as the sound of a door closing had him quirk a brow.

It wasn't until he heard Toasty barking in front of them (and running around in circles in attempts to catch his own tail, paying no mind to the stranger, but he didn't see that of course) that the boy instinctively scooted behind Ash a now weary look gracing his features. Clutching tightly onto the back oh Ash's jacket, Capella braced himself for the worst.

Ash huffed and puffed as he made sure to check his surroundings for anything useful. There. A piece of wood, what was once presumably a plank. He had seen far too many horror movies to make a mistake here.

"I had seen far too many horror movies to make a mistake here."

Proclaiming it into the cold air, he looked at Capella. Maybe he should give the guy some context as to what was happening. "Not heaven yet, but remember that cause of death we've talked about? I sure hope it won't say 'killed by a tall basketball player robber' or whomever thar guy was. Can you imagine that?" Ash sighed. "Some guy cuts us off, not saying a word. Hands in his pockets. Dressed in black. Middle of nowhere? With this weather outside? I wasn't going to let them kidnap us or something."

As he said that, the door creaked and the figure stepped inside. Oh no.

"Oh no?" Ash let out a confused groan before noticing hands were still in pockets, fumbling around there, as if searching for a pocket knife or a gun. His heart had started beating loudly, but he knew well running was not a feasible option. For all he knew, they had nowhere to go. Even if they did, Ash wouldn't be able to manouver the unknown building well and fast enough with Capella.

""L-Look YOU! Jason, Freddy or whatever is your murder name, you can be that handsome guy from a basketball anime for all I care! I have a weapon and I will use it if you attack us. Plus we have Toas-... Inferno here too! You're clearly outnumbered, so if you wish to rob us, you've found wrong people to mess with," Ash turned his head towards Capella, still keeping his eyes at Ash. "Don't worry, I got this," he whispered.

""And my friend here is a black belt in taeka...karatedo."

_{#PuddledAshes Ash Carson @LostBrotherGrimm, Capella Xing @Tenma Tendo}

---

Finding what she wanted, Ashton gave a gleeful smile as she held her badge in her right fist, hands out of her pockets with a small sense of victory. However her amethyst eyes blinked in surprise as she looked to the boy who started to rave in a nervous manner. Accusing her of being some kind of murderer while also throwing quite a bit of what was obvious bluffs. These two couldn't look anymore less intimidating. The 'black belt' wasn't properly in any stance and was more like clinging to his taller friend. And the dog 'Inferno' well... the army pups in training might be more aggressive. Although, Ashton did give a silent chuckle at the mention of a tall basketball player from some anime. She could probably honestly see that.

It was now quite apparent, Ashton was assumed to be some killer ready to rob these two boys and their little dog too. Marine would surely laughing at this, probably want Ashton to play along and scare the living pants out of them. Whatever that means. Maybe break a table in in half to show off a bit. But the tall firefighter didn't really like showing off. Course, if the boy decided to try and hit her with that piece of wood, well Ashton had a good guess she could easily catch and snatch it. The boy didn't look like a fighter. If he hadn't probably been so scared, he'd been quicker and find a hiding place, perhaps try and nail her in a sneak attack.

Ashton just rolled her shoulders, raising her left hand to brush against her bangs and knocking the hood off. Revealing some snow dusted dirty blonde hair and her deeply scarred face. Looking at the two boys, the firefighter simply tilted her head to the side, giving a amused smile before she held her hands up, palms foreword and revealing her badge.



Giving a bright smile as she looked at 'Inferno' Ashton bent down on one knee and held out her left hand to the spinning dog. Giving a soft whistle to grab his attention, her long fingers slowly beckoning the canine over.

Xia smirked from Marin's comment about her whooping Xia if she was 18. A part of Xia was ready to take that challenge but remembered, this is not about how badass she could be it's about being there and being an encouragement to a friend. She just had her many urges to answer challenges. And about the ring, Xia chuckled from her answer to the island girl. Well you better hide that shit. She jokingly said.

And nah...not much of a winter person unless I'm around it. Still will have trouble adapting though but you'll get your turn we you're in my waters of the tropics. She mentioned for her to test the warm weather someday. Now....I'm not sure if I am truly a good egg or a bad egg...but...I am a spicy one. Spice cane depend on the person's tolerance so...if you can tolerate me, we are good. She told her. And quiet bars are fine. I may need to try your suggestions of drinks...who knows...if we..uh...work our magic...we might get drinks for free... Winking towards her.

Now after jumping on her cousin's ass and getting attention from Marin again, Xia showed great gratitude to Marin for allowing her to come and stay with her so she could get a nice warm place to stay for the time being. She was not bailing out her cousin and hugged on Marin. Girl, you're a life saver. And not to worry about your family. I have plenty of issues with mine. I'm just happy I can actually get butt naked in a place without freezing my chocolate rum tush...but anywho...lead the way...

--------------------

After getting on the crowded bus and made their way towards Marin's place, Xia and her new friend did have a nice convo on the way there. One guy kept looking over at them but other than that, they made it in one piece and followed making it to this nice size manor, causing Xia's eyes to widen. Well....damn..... She stared before following Marin in to take a look around. Looked quite fancy to her. These sort of houses were not always found on the islands unless you're in the capital or the governor or someone rich. Most times, one lives in a shack or small apartment. This on the other hand, Xia felt she found the right type of friend. Not that she'd ever take advantage of her but she knew someone who seemed to live quite comfortably.

Damn! What is this place, a castle! She wouldn't be surprised if MTV Cribs have filmed here before. Fuck going back home, she'd rather move in here! Xia slightly veered away while checking the place out smirked with amazement, fighting the urge to take pictures here as to not be disrespectful by filming or documenting someone else's property. By this time, Marin spoke and Xia rushed back to Marin, breaking her concentration and heard her speak about her sister's room and about the spar. Yeah...I wanna know if I can move in with you. She laughed. This place is hella beautiful. Oh! She wanted to get something to drink and sit in front of the fire place. She saw the pair of mugs and grabbed her gently and sat in front of the fireplace and pulled out her phone and quickly filmed herself drinking the tea and sitting in front of the fireplace and winked. She spoke on the video I hope you're staying warm cuzzo.... And ended the video.

Earlier before she filmed, Xia noticed how Marin sat and quickly tried to hide her stomach. But why? She was a bit curious but she let it go while keeping in mind what she wanted to explore the house for. Do you have a game room or just games in general here?

---

---

Milo looked down at his phone as the reply came across the screen, what was it that she was trying? he hated that all of a sudden she tries to talk to him like they are friends, he had tried to open up to her and she used it to wound him, but she wants to call him a good egg, that a woman would be lucky to have him. Milo held onto the phone tightly, trying to not let his anger get the best of him and push him to say something he would regret, though at the same time, he knew that somewhere deep down, past the anger of what happened, he was still glad to hear from her. He wondered if he should even respond this time, whether it was worth while or not, but soon he did type out one more message.

Honestly Vika, the lucky one was supposed to be you.

Either way, the cane is yours, I have no use for it and the design is too specific to go to anyone else, you may not need it anymore but I still want you to have it. Just tell me when and where and I can bring it out to you.

Milo could feel more words in the back of his throat, but he knew that the more he said, the worse he would feel, he was trying to build something with Paige, and every time Vika messages him he stops and remembers when they had been together, he wonders if he had been too hasty perhaps. Milo sat back in his chair and pulled the sword from the cane, the pattern weld on the blade, mimicked the snowflake motif on the cane, he had been proud of it, though the presentation was going to be bittersweet he felt.

Milo set up another text to Paige, messaging just seemed to be the thing now, that it always seemed that Paige had her phone of at work anyway.

Hey, are you done for the day or are you still working? Blizzard rolling in, looks like a day drinking sort of day to me.

Milo sent the message and pulled out a bottle of cola, figured he would want to wait til he knew if he had to go get her or not before he got out the good stuff.

@PrinceAlexus @Pilatus