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Post by Evangeline on Oct 27, 2009 20:25:29 GMT -5
"Joanna can be said to be operating in diminished capacity and not in charge of her faculties." Dmitri stated, "And if she's currently not mentally responsible, she can be held for her own safety and that of others, although some questions will be raised. Ian, as you said, is a minor and his case is a bit less complicated. Custody would revert to his father or other family members."
"Which is why we have to get this over with quickly before too much damage is done." Elena broke in. "So we might as well get started."
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Post by elizar on Oct 27, 2009 20:36:17 GMT -5
"And after what he said about his grandparents, I very much doubt that Bree's going to let them get their teeth into him again." Sandra said. "Just how much of that was true and how much was just BSing us?"
"How far should I proceed in the temple?" Jonathan asked as well on the radio to Elena. "How big of a risk and that."
Gideon winched slightly as realizing that the 'private' conversation hadn't been that private. A common mistake once you hadn't needed to check the channels for a while. But Gideon realized that he should be the paranoid sort that would do such a thing.
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Post by Evangeline on Oct 28, 2009 17:27:31 GMT -5
"There's going to be a certain amount of hyperbole involved, of course." Dmitri shrugged. "Teen boys are just as much drama queens as the girls, in their own way. Bree looks to be intent on separating what is truth from what is BS, and she's pretty good at that. Now that she's retired, she's freer to act in certain ways."
"I'd say, as far as your gut feeling tells you is safe." Elena said. "I'd stop short of "the line" for now."
"We'll need to stay in sight of each other, Gideon" Kelora warned, "Just in case Yuki and that Russkie show up."
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Post by elizar on Oct 28, 2009 18:06:33 GMT -5
Minnie had been close to Elena as she heard that last one.
"You sure you want to tell him that?" She said after she confirmed Jonathan wouldn't hear it. "He doesn't get the heepies jeepies because of that immunity of his. His guts will go further than yours."
"Of course." Gideon answered Kelora. "Viktor may no longer be a problem because of his chemical castration, but I think Yuki's going to be all over me once she even gets the faintest whiff of me."
"At least we do know that Gideon and Arataki helped develop those locks." She flicked a blade towards Ian. "Or else he would have added in his rant that it were his grand-parents. She knew that Ian wouldn't hear her from where she was. "Nor does he look scarred from abuse. I have to take all that with a grain of salt. He ran away for a reason, but that reason is still unclear to all of us."
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Post by Evangeline on Oct 28, 2009 20:20:46 GMT -5
"It is possible to subject a child to prolonged abuse without leaving physical marks." Dmitri observed, "We may be looking at a lot of psychological issues here, and much of the damage has already been done. If there is to be change, it will be up to Ian to take a look at himself, accept that his grandparents were flawed beings with problems that they failed to engage with, and decide if this is the direction he really wants to go. I don't think he has that necessary self-detachment and sense of objectivity just yet."
They were now nearing the base, with Bree keeping a close eye on Ian. Rihanna was keeping a firm hold on Joanna/Liriel, who seemed to have gone into a veil-eyed state again.
"His common sense will have to do." Elena seemed resigned. "And it's the best he has to work with. But, a relic hunter's judgement has to be pretty good."
"That disgusting woman." Kelora snorted. "If it were not for the children's sake and putting a stop to that overpowered jackass, I wouldn't breathe the same air with her."
The other humans in the party were doing last-minute gear checks and looking warily at the borders. They had already figured out where the game trails were.
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Post by elizar on Oct 29, 2009 6:55:13 GMT -5
Sandra cast a glance back at Liriel. "I just hope she doesn't have much juice left before we can disengage her extra personality." She said. "I don't have that much love for users."
"Time to go!" Jonathan called on the radio for everyone. He sounded a bit too eager. The reason for it was that he had gotten into the relic hunting gig to figure out more about himself. Most users shied away from him as he was unnaturally 'silent' around them, like some sort of automaton. He looked at the body-changing sphere as an opportunity to get couple of more facts added to his list and cross out some questions as well.
"He may have qualities that make him good for the job, but I'm afraid he has some flaws as well that would have crossed him out of a list of candidates for this mission." Minnie said to Elena.
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Post by Evangeline on Oct 31, 2009 16:41:42 GMT -5
Annalise turned her head. "I'd say she's pretty much spent." It was too easy to forget that even while Annalise was in human shape, she still retained many of the innate senses of her true species. Bree smirked, just a little, in Sandra and Dmitri's direction.
Finally, they were on the air station grounds.
"Everyone is flawed." Elena answered. "No exceptions. Jonathan would have come into this situation sooner or later. If he was bound to do it, better that he has some backup."
<<< Sorry for being slow here. Rather hectic yesterday and today >>>
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Post by elizar on Oct 31, 2009 19:55:32 GMT -5
Sandra silently admitted defeat and helped herding Ian into the small lockable paddock in the hangar that was made for him. She looked at Bree sympathetically, it appeared that Sandra was not one of her biggest defeats. Ian seemed to be a testimony of the fallibility of Bree.
"I guess you're not happy about how his grandparents managed to fool you." Sandra said to Bree once assured Ian wouldn't hear.
"I'll help him." Minnie said. "If I managed to see through the tricks without the coral ring, I wonder how the tricks will appear when I do have it."
((It's alright.))
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Post by Evangeline on Oct 31, 2009 21:42:59 GMT -5
Bree was silent for a beat or two. Her lips and jaw tightened and she swallowed before speaking. "No. They were accountable, but this is as much my mistake as this is their responsibility. I can't go home until there is some sort of resolution here."
At that point, her body seemed to show a slight tremor, a momentary passing weakness.
"And we'll have your backs." Elena said. Julian and Teru were making last-minute checks on their equipment and shielding glamors before proceeding.
"Ready?" Kelora called out to Gideon.
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Post by elizar on Nov 1, 2009 5:34:16 GMT -5
Remembering that Bree was dying, Sandra lowered herself slightly in sympathy. "Are you alright?" She asked her.
"Ready." Gideon said as he came to Kelora.
Jonathan entered the area of influence and noticed no difference. He didn't bring up the mage-ring as it would look kind of strange if he was looking through it all the time, and it was also a bit different from anything else.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 1, 2009 14:17:16 GMT -5
Bree was well aware that however well she was hiding it at this point, her actual condition was evident to anyone else with a CV aircraft's nose. "I'll manage," she nodded, "The doctors told me that I might have another good year in me, but the prospects aren't so good after that." Death was no stranger to Bree, who had seen many casualties throughout her career and had buried her best friends in the service, and then her husband. "However, I've been warned not to take chances."
Cyrus and the doctor followed Jonathan, and the Amberites filtered in, each on their own course, to avoid a conspicuous clump of energy. Kelora pursued her own path, keeping them in the range of her senses but not hanging too close. There were few people at the periphery, as the sculpted landscape had its limits at this point.
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Post by elizar on Nov 1, 2009 16:15:33 GMT -5
"Too bad that reset button didn't reset everything." Sandra sighed and looked to where Ian was kept. "You don't have to tackle this on right now. Annalise can perhaps chip away whatever Caesarion may have put into him, take away some stubbornness that no mortal may get through." She said.
Jonathan wandered around for a while, glad that the glamour was working so far and people left him alone. He noticed the gap where he could get inside the body-changing sphere without being obvious about it. He took a deep breath in preparation, looked around slightly, then headed in.
Minnie was at a secluded spot where she could look over the temple grounds. She knew that the spot was most likely used for some other purposes than spying, but she didn't dwell very long on that. She just hoped she wouldn't have to surrender it to some couple or couple + onetwothree...
Gideon had also found a nice spot as well, where he knew that Yuki wasn't hanging around often. But he noticed the traffic of CVers from where he was.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 1, 2009 18:45:10 GMT -5
Kelora raised her nose and read the scents on the air, sorting out those of Viktor and Yuki and determining that they were not in the immediate area. There was perhaps one CVer for every ten humans at present, at least, the ones who hadn't crossed the line. She found a nook and settled herself in neatly, folding her blades flush against her dorsal to reduce her profile.
Elena watched as Jonathan entered the transform zone. She had remained within line-of-sight, but without being too obvious about it.
"She'll have her hands full with both of them." Bree noted. Her stance seemed to relax a little. "That's the drug pump kicking in. Long as that's going, I can deal with pain problems."
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Post by elizar on Nov 1, 2009 19:29:33 GMT -5
Jonathan looked at himself. His hands were the same, the hair felt the same. He was even in the same clothes. Well then, this attacks the mind to find an image. One fact confirmed. He thought to himself. He continued onwards to upstairs, passing where a couple didn't care much about the audience.
Feeling a bit curious, Jonathan continued up until he found a spot where he could observe. With a quick motion, he brought the mage-ring to his right eye, and as quickly dropped it down to his pocket and turned around.
Well, now I don't have to go wondering how that inter-species relationship works. He thought to himself as continuing up to the third floor.
Sandra headed outside with Bree and somewhat guarded her until they got to a secluded place. She kept herself low sympathetically and body language said that she still recognized Bree as a better, an alpha.
"You think we should give Ian a chance to calm down for today?" She asked. She sure wasn't going to pressure Bree into talking with him, though the sun had not reached the highest point in the sky yet.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 1, 2009 21:07:47 GMT -5
Bree glanced back at Ian, who was still glowering over the top rail of the barrier set in front of his stall. It was part of a portable setup maintained for offenders of CV species who occasionally found themselves in the lockup.
"I think for now, that would be a good idea." Bree concurred. "He may settle down towards the evening. It'll be best if he figures that talking is his decision. The trick is setting down the conditions that will encourage him to make that choice."
Elena followed Jonathan and Minnie in a leisurely, "indirect" fashion, her eye never fixed directly on them, but keeping them in the peripheral. Cyrus was mingling with the crowd, restraining himself from rolling his eyes at some of the goings-on that put him in mind of the fall of Rome. Elena parted ways with the others at that point, pretending to admire some tapestries as she ascended to the third floor, seemingly oblivious to the indiscreet couple.
So that hypothesis bore out, she thought as she saw that Jonathan was unaffected.
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