Derren Krenshaw

The Last Kings of Orion

Antoine watched Ms. Weber leave, smile growing into a wide, heavy yawn that left him both tired and refreshed. An odd combination, but a pleasant one, suitable to follow the odd conversation that had just been held. Refreshing to speak with someone who had reason to shy away from cryo-techs like himself, but instead chose to dash fears grown from almost two weeks of rumor. It was a weight he had never felt as much as his fellow techs, but could still very much appreciate it being lifted from his shoulders.

"Alright now, Mowzer," His cat looked up from his comfortably-curled-up position on Antoine's lap, otherwise unmoving until his Human shifted beneath him. "Yes I know, but we can nap in a bed. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Mowzer sniffed, but stood and stretched, strutting ahead while Antoine closed the door behind them.

Like every room in the Copernicus, his was very, very small. A bed dominated the entirety of the far wall, beside a circular 'window' that would display whatever scene he desired. Cupboards lined one of the free walls, a long desk covered in papers, books and his personal tablet stood before the other two, curving between bed and door. He kept his room sparse, though looking through the collection of papers, books and magazines would clue anyone into who resided here. Language study, medical articles, texts on surgical advances and heavy tomes detailing every aspect of the cryo-beds and their computers for his reference. A quiet room for one who had spent little time in it so far, yet Antoine found it easy to call it 'comfortable'.

Yawning again as he prepared for his long-awaited nap, Antoine quickly checked a set of drawers under the desk by his door. The medicine he had been carrying with him today was stashed neatly inside, along with what he had left back here.

Still short, how could that be? He'd have to take some time later and search his room. One would think it'd be hard to lose something in such small quarters, but still...

A third yawn interrupted such unneeded thoughts, reminding him again of what was important. Bed, sleep, Mowzer already understood. The cat sat regally at the head of his once-made-bed, staring at his human in quiet order to provide a more suitable mattress.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming." Chuckling at the sight, Antoine made his way over and collapsed gratefully onto it's soft surface. He could change when he got up, he could do a lot when he got up. But now? Now, as Mowzer stepped onto his back and curled up once more, Antoine felt the desire to do nothing but close his eyes. And so he did.

On Winding Roads (Lillian & Derren )

"Right... of course." Smile taking on something of a nervous hue, Alexi nevertheless agreed to her offer. Belly full and the worries of the earlier day fading with the oncoming exhaustion, he couldn't muster enough concern to truly balk at the suggestion. She had brought it up before, after all, and if he had wanted a chance to refuse, then would have been the time to speak up.

Perhaps he was becoming too prudish. The scribe could clearly imagine how Charles might react to such a suggestion, and indeed found it easy to picture himself responding in a similar way. But it seemed like that 'him' was a far younger one, and the picture painted in his mind bore an almost condescending tint, as if looking back on the poor soul he once was.

Maybe he was too self-conscious, but neither would earn him more than a sore day tomorrow. Rationale remained as solid a bastion as ever for Alexi's oft-conflicted thoughts, and he planted himself firmly behind it's walls once more now.

"Back certainly, if sitting on a horse most of the day is any worse that in a chair, I'll need it."

He certainly would, that fact helping more than a little as he began to unbutton his tunic. Part of him mused that he should have done a better bathing job first, but he worked to push that thought away. Some thoughts would not help right now.

Instead... instead he thought of the light, the strange, flickering flame he had glimpsed before. What were the stories he knew? Seastars? No, Seastars he knew, the trickster-demons of the sea. False, dancing lights to lure the unwary, they shimmered like stars just below the water's surface. He remembered them from his childhood, the cautionary tales he fell asleep to each night, and even the time he had snuck out to see them for himself.

But these lights had been dancing flames, not stars, hiding in the darkness of close-growing trees. A cousin? Some land-based demon who used the same tactics?

But to what end? Sure the forest was not altogether safe, but he had made his way through once, somehow. He didn't recall seeing such lights that time, either. A trick of the setting sun? Or... something to do with the seasons? Seastars he knew about, but what he saw earlier... it could be anything, couldn't it? The chance of a demon, had to be slim.

Slim was still a danger, but as the memory of that flickering flame danced in his eyes, that danger seemed oddly far away. What was a little danger? He had made it through more dangerous situations today alone, what could go wrong?

Dancing, flickering, entrancing flames, he simply could not get them out from his mind.

Quietly, he mused over his memory of the flame, pulling his tunic free to rest it on his lap. His back was pale, barely touched by sun and never by wound. Much like the rest of him, light skin hugged tightly to the flesh and bone of his form. Mind swiftly vanishing elsewhere, following a lovely light, Alexi relaxed, allowing Katherine to do what she needed to help him, without worry.

Masques and Daggers (Derren Krenshaw & Igraine)

Souma found his lips curling in a wide, toothy grin. There was no reason to hold back before Galina's quick tongue, their conversation returning oh so quickly to the way it had been before his sister's arrival. Who could jest and joke over such things as she did now? Who could switch so easily, so naturally, to fit the scene around her?

His mind was already moving, roaming over plans and suggestions he and Daisuke had been discussing until now. What they might need, where they might get it, what they might face, the best times to strike. The list grew shorter the longer he pondered, until the perfect choice stood clear and alone.

"Free, just waiting, yes." Slowly, Souma rose as Daisuke returned to the room, cups in hand. Accepting his own tea, he waited for his fist to offer Galina hers, before speaking again.

"Just out of city. Daisuke will bring nearby, be ready when need leave." He gestured after his Fist, who was already moving towards the door. "Bring tea, will help with cool night."

~-~-~

The cart shut out much of the cities light's and sounds as it moved, the rhythmic bounce and steady creak as it was run down the roads furthering the illusion of being removed from the rest of the world. No one outside would know who it was who sat within it's confines, and none inside would know who was watching them as they passed.

Two, separate worlds that ignored the other. It was perfect for a pair of spies thought dead by the world.

Within that small, secluded world of the cart cabin, Souma shared his knowledge of the target with Galina. What had started out as a series of shacks setup just outside the 'official' city boundaries had evolved into an enclosed compound of it's own. More and more buildings had sprung up around it, sometimes built into the very walls surrounding the center, camouflaging their target from the unwary. Over time, shacks and hovels had been replaced by stronger, more expensive buildings as the city grew, driving out the original occupants in favor of those much like the Takahiros. Wealth and influence gained from smuggling, gambling and racketeering, the clan that resided in that hard-to-find, makeshift mansion had done well for themselves, operating where the law couldn't be bothered to go.

'Rough' was the word to describe this chaotic outsprawl from the city, but a riper target was hard to find. Many of the goods smuggled into the city came through yakuza clans such as this one, not powerful enough to gain a hold in the 'legitimate' businesses within the city proper, but longing for a taste of that wealth. Souma and his kin had held such a position once... but the similarity bred no sympathy for the clan he and Galina traveled too now.

As a Takahiro, there was no need for the competition brought by other clans. As a freelance criminal, if they couldn't stop him they had no right to complain. If he had any misgivings about the target he had chosen, it was that it would not directly harm the nobility he had always worked against.

But this was how his clan had begun to move up in the world. And having been brought back down and left alone, Souma felt it fitting to return to the basics.

"This will be... quiet task," The cart slowed, signaling their approach to the outskirts of their target. Souma nodded towards Galina's rifle as he spoke, "Quiet weapons only, Daisuke will keep rifle safe..."

"Have tools to help, your throwing arm strong, yes?" A grin widened across his lips again, recalling vaguely the throw she had made with his old knife before. A hand opened up a compartment in the wooden seat between them, drawing out twin bands of metal spikes, along with what appeared to be whole eggs. Still more tools lay inside, lengths of rope and metal bars bearing hooked spikes on one side. A few wooden stakes, a spool of wire and set of barbed hooks completed the kit. "Spike to injure, spice to blind, have preference?"

The Last Kings of Orion

"I suppose not." Antoine shrugged along with the words, honestly not feeling all that tired at the moment. Perhaps it had something to do with the sudden entrance of Ms. Weber, and the conversation that had followed until now. Quite an unexpected -and enjoyable- event that had all-but driven rest from his mind.

Though, then again, he had already been up long enough today. A full shift done just in time to attend the meeting, it felt closer to 'dinnertime' than 'lunchtime' in his mind. One of the interesting little things about life in space, maybe? No stable star to create a reliable day-night cycle... sure they did all they could to replicate it aboard the Copernicus. But in the end, there wasn't much that could stop someone from living different 'days' from someone else, so long as they were present for the work they needed to do.

It was a fun thought, like having his own, personal time zone, and it brought another chuckle escaping from his lips.

"Perhaps I should follow Mowzer's lead, he does always seem to know best." Grinning wide as ever, Antoine held Ms. Weber's gaze easily, extending one hand for her to shake. "It's been a pleasure, Ms. Weber, really it has. If you need to at all, feel free to stop by in the future. I'd be happy to help with anything that might come up, or just lend an ear."

He chuckled again at a sudden thought, other hand scritching a loudly-purring Mowzer behind the ear.

"Or if you're looking for a tag partner again, there's a good chance you'll find Mowzer around here."

The Last Kings of Orion

Oh, might as well pop in for the role call.

I am still here and here to stay : D As for my characters, well...

-Antoine is finishing up his conversation with Pauline and will probably be taking a nap afterwards, unless woken up/distracted/etc. Mowzer will be taking a nap, and no one can stop him, though they could try.

-For future events, fairly open. Antoine's got more people to meet and some people to meet again, so he'll be playing socialite until things really start to hit the fan. What is ultimately in store for him will depend on how things go, and I think I'll leave it at that. Whatever path we end up taking, for better or worse, Antoine is along for the ride.

-Mowzer does what Mowzer wants... and that probably won't change much. There is a chance that, eventually, he may find a chance to settle down somewhat in the future, but we'll have to see how events might affect that.

On Winding Roads (Lillian & Derren )

"Right, thank you." Alexi accepted her offered bowl with a somewhat embarrassed nod, politely turning down her offered flask as he set about digging into the stew with gusto.

It was... decent. Not Locust quality -though he'd hardly expect that from anything cooked on the road- but certainly not 'bad'. Charles would probably refuse to eat it, and a younger Alexi might have agreed, but it seemed years of humble living really could change a man. He worked his way quickly through the bowl, it's contents slowly appeasing a hunger he had woefully underestimated until now. It added it's very own spice to the meal, and before long Alexi had shoved any judgments on the stew's taste far from his mind. It allowed him to relax a little... and then a little more, as he looked up to hear the works Katherine spoke next.

"Oh, well that's very good!"

Alexi's reply were completely genuine, a warm smile crossing his lips at the thought. Sure, she had tempered the statement, intentionally or no, 'as late' telling him there was a good chance they wouldn't be on time either way. But the fact that, despite their overlong break before entering the woods, despite the ambush they narrowly escaped, despite moving to untraveled footpaths? They had apparently made decent ground.

That was a good thing. That was a very good thing. And if anything it made the stew taste even better.

"With a meal like this to help me along, I should be fine for tomorrow." His smile widened along with the words, quietly hoping the words came across as well-meaning as he intended -unlike his poor jests earlier in the day. He turned back to his bowl quickly enough, though, it's contents swiftly draining as he devoted himself to proving those words true. No, not bad at all, certainly a meal he could be thankful for.

And on top of preparing this for both of them, Katherine had managed to set up the tents and make this little clearing seem... actually comfortable.

"And I'm starting to see what you were talking about earlier today..." He took another break to look back up, his hunger sated enough to slow his pace. It wouldn't do to end up throwing up his dinner because of carelessness... he had been careless enough for a while yet. "You certainly do seem at home on the road."

Masques and Daggers (Derren Krenshaw & Igraine)

Ai's gaze narrowed at the lightness of Galina's words... and it only got worse from there.

As the Russian Spy continued to blithely tempt fate word after word, the Takahiro Matriarch appeared more and more ready to do fate's work for it. Her frown deepened, lips drawing into the tightest, thinnest of lines while her hands on-so-slowly slipped into the folds of each other's sleeves. Her entire body tensed, a last courtesy allowing the daring Galina to finish all she had to say, before Ai delivered her-... her...

Ai's form paused, head turning slowly to regard the form of Souma beside her. Sitting still and tall, one hand lightly grasping the cup he had been offered, he remained as he had been since Ai sat down. Calm, still, waiting to see what would come from this unforeseen meeting.

Except, for the wide, unrestrained grin. Except for the free arm clutched tightly around a tightened stomach, just below a chest straining with unreleased mirth. Except for the occasional burst of air from his nose, that he tried to hold back for her benefit, but only seemed to invite a greater rage that Galina had endeared.

"...Brother..."

"Apologies, sister," Souma managed to speak the words without his mirth escaping, though the respect evident in his voice was marred somewhat, lighter than it should have been. Standing apart from them all, Daisuke kept his own features straight, impassive, but something glinted in his eye, something he kept very much to himself. "It's... ah, well..."

He averted his gaze in the end, free hand raising to cover his eyes as another fit of laughter threatened to escape. "...She's not lying."

Ai's response was a deep, heavy sigh, shaking her head as she took the rest of the eel for herself, pointedly ignoring Galina across from her. She lowered her chopsticks to lay them across the now-empty bowl when she was finished, looking towards no one present in the room... but a now-calmed Souma understood who the words she spoke were for.

"You're fine with this, aren't you?"

Quiet words, but he caught them without trouble. His features calmed, though a smile remained, warm enough for both women seated at his table.

"I am." He took a small sip from the cup Galina had passed him, a subtle nod towards Daisuke sending the Fist away to fetch some tea.

"I see..." Ai stood, finally catching Galina in her gaze once more, offering her a slight, grudging bow, before repeating the gesture deeply towards her brother. "Thank you, for the meal, Brother. I will meet you, when you return, yes?"

"Of course." Still seated, Souma responded to her bow with a quiet nod, relaxed now that the tension had fully passed.

"Be safe." She left with those words, Daisuke somehow reappearing in time to open the door for her, to trade a quick, quiet word before she disappeared into the streets. He vanished as quickly as he had appeared, the quiet swishing sounds of a brush heard if one strained their ears.

"That... went well..." Souma shook his own head, lowering his cup and leaning forward to observe the remnants of his lunch. A slight frown crossed his lips at the sight, but he dispelled it with a shrug, retrieving a small bowl. His gaze met Galina's as he lowered the bowl before him, smile growing as he recalled what had just transpired.

"Risky words, Galina." He finally allowed himself the luxury of amusement, a quiet chuckle echoing behind the words. "Know more about yakuza, than I thought."

Masques and Daggers (Derren Krenshaw & Igraine)

Ai sat quietly as Galina explained herself to the Takahiro Matriarch, frown remaining firmly in place. Still as a porcelain doll, she watched the Russian Spy speak, Souma forgotten beside her. No glance aside, twitch of the face or quiet fidget of her fingers betrayed her feelings, locked firmly behind a disapproving facade.

That was the responsibility of a clan head, to betray nothing. Openness was a luxury allowed only when among true family, and no one else. That was something her father hadn't learned, and while it hadn't been the fault that had killed him... She could not risk the same weakness.

As such, she remained still and silent, even after Galina had finished speaking. Her eyes bored into the Russian's own, seeking out any hint of falsehood, any attempt to evade or avoid the truth. Even her brother would be hard-pressed to stop her, should she find a reason to take offense to Galina's words. Siblings or not, Galina had done too much on her own for Ai to suffer much more, something Galina seemed to understand implicitly. Nothing in her words rang false, no hesitation gave reason for suspicion. So, after a moment more of silence, Ai finally sighed, shaking her head as she reached out to down Souma's cup of Sake.

"Chopsticks please, Brother." She reached out with one hand, turning to look at Souma only when he did not immediately comply with her request. He sat there beside her, eyebrow raised in quiet regard, as if what she said was somehow surprising. Ai's eyes only narrowed in response. "Please, Brother."

After another moment's pause, Souma shrugged, placing the lone chopstick he still had in her waiting palm.

"..." Ai's lips drew into a tight line, glare wavering not an inch from Souma's own, impassive gaze. She did not move, the two siblings continuing to dare the other into blinking. They held that pose until Daisuke came to the rescue, quietly retrieving the second chopstick from the mats where it fell, wiping it with a clean cloth and placing it gently before Ai.

"Demidova... has the spare." Daisuke followed the words with a slight bow, as her gaze switched to him, stepping away to retrieve and clean his own utensils.

"Of course..." A second, heavier sigh escaped Ai's lips, before she pulled the bowl of eel closer to herself. Souma remained quiet during the exchange, eyes flicking between her and Galina. He broke his vigil only when Daisuke came to his side, the Fist offering his own now-cleaned Chopsticks for his Boss to use. Ai, meanwhile, sampled the food arrayed between the three of them, speaking up again when she had swallowed down a dainty mouthful of ramen.

"Galina, then..." Her gaze came back to rest fully on Galina before her. "Russian asking to help Souma, yes? I see..."

"Baronessa Demidova was... opponent, was she not? Shizuka was... betrayer, was she not?" Ai's gaze narrowed, Souma growing tense by her side, but the Takahiro Matriarch only continued to speak. "Both dead, can't blame you, can I?"

Souma relaxed enough to refill his cup with the last of the Sake. Ai took it shortly after, draining it's contents yet again.

"Souma is, currently, not Takahiro." She gestured towards her brother, who was now regarding her with narrowed eyes. "I cannot meddle with his plans, can I? But..."

Her voice fell low, Souma and Daisuke growing tense in the wake of her next words.

"I am Takahiro. Come near clan... die. Understood?"

The Last Kings of Orion

KuroTenshi said
Antoine and Connor need to converse XD

Hahaha, it could be a fun conversation indeed : )

The Last Kings of Orion

Finished with his grooming for the moment, Mowzer looked back up towards his human and the nice one as they conversed. The two had been talking for some time already, about boring subjects that didn't seem to involve him. But as he took the time to observe these two, a sudden thought occurred. He had run, he had bathed, and now, two very nice, well-trained humans were kneeling just nearby. They obviously had nowhere better to be right now, which meant there would be no problem if Mowzer decided to...

~-~

Antoine chuckled, shaking his head as he raised a hand in response to Ms. Weber's apology.

"No need to be sorry at all. If you can enjoy listening to me talk about myself, I can certainly enjoy it as well." He chuckled some more, grin widening yet again at how simply nice this whole conversation had been so far. To think it started with the most unlikely of people tumbling over his threshold after playing tag with Mowzer!

"Let's see though... fear never really came into it, though maybe that was military bravado left over from before?" Antoine shrugged, then blinked, realizing he was going about answering her questions the wrong way. "That was the 'service' I was in before the mountain... proud medic of the French army, who traveled across Europe and Africa before coming to the Mountain."

As was proper, he puffed out his chest and lowered his voice, adopting a fair approximation of the gruff-and-proud soldier. He would have saluted too, maybe rose to stand at attention to really get into the act again, but was cut short when... well...

When Mowzer decided to interject with a sudden, sharp meow, before trotting up to sit on Antoine's legs.

"Oh-! So you've forgiven me then?" Act fading into more chuckling, Antoine paused to give Mowzer the proper scritching behind his ear, rewarded for his efforts by a deep, growing purr.

"Anyways," Still petting his cat, the medtech looked back up to Ms. Weber. "I always liked language, so I took courses in English and German while in school. That proved helpful on it's own when I first joined the military, so when I was stationed in Cairo just before the Change really started to be a problem, I picked up Egyptian Arabic to help with my work there."

More helpful than he had ever anticipated, once the Change began to spread in earnest. Too many people panicking, too many orders that needed to be given out, and too few foreign servicemen who could do anything to help. Antoine probably would have been pulled back to France had he not learned the Egyptian Dialect, ordered to join the rest of his squad who had left him back in Egypt... who he had never found again...

But thoughts like that wouldn't do much to entertain Ms. Weber, let alone himself. He cleared them away with a shake of his head, recalling it was still a few hours from when he could take his medication.

"Maybe it's a military thing, or just from running around trying to combat the Change, but I got used to doing what I could to help. In the Mountain there was less of that for a soldier to do, but plenty for medics and the like. My tour was just about up, so I switched paths, talking to the scientists and surgeons hard at work in those caves, and learning what I could. That's where I heard about the project to improve mental abilities through surgery, and the sales pitch was brilliant."

Still petting Mowzer, Antoine used his free hand to make the necessary gestures to accompany his following words.

"Learn any language faster than before! Think of the possibilities! What better skill to have, in the event of a 'first-contact' scenario!" He grinned all the wider, chuckling along with the words. "It was a grade-A recruitment pitch, and they had pretty strict regulations on allowing surgery like that on humans. Benefits outweighing harms and such, I certainly can't complain now, it's been great for me."

He really couldn't. Though his memory right around the surgery was blurry, it had been expected and hardly bothered him now. There was too much good that had come from it all- his days were so great, now! What reason would he have had, to have been afraid back then?

"But I think that's most of it, did I answer your question?" Mowzer purred a little louder, curling into a tight ball on Antoine's lap as he spoke. He seemed quite content as well, now, what fun had he gotten up to, after leaving Antoine with Ms. Albright before?