Chaldean Chronicles: Cadence of the Lostgrail

@TheInsanityThatLiesOutside

(I’ll respond when I get home)

(no troubles im only pinging you to add you to the thread lmao, we should probably finish off the interaction in the cryolab first)

Oliver considered himself anyone man. Or woman. Or anything really. Whatever it took to get what he wanted. And right now he had something he wanted very badly and he would stoop to any level or means to get it. It was why now he had decided to take up this invite. A blind date if you will. He had his fair few dates in the past but those were all hollow and shallow in the past. Just to either get information or to turn one of them into one of his little spies with a little emotional manipulation. And this one was no diffrent. And there was also the aspect of a little fund but the heartless agent refused to consider fun as even a concept he could reach. He was a tool for his family and nothing more. As a result he was waring his best attire. A suit with some frocking that appealed to older Magus and impressed some younger ones. So here he was sat at a candle lit dinner table with the darkness all around him. Just waiting to see who would come.

10:17 AM

@RJ|Sir L/Lytus/Dude/Wolf/-/- (Sorry for taking so long i had to run my game))

And who should enter the room, in a cute little strappy oriental dress, a transluscent jacket, and some really nice sneakers, but the new girl he had been talking to earlier before his other little mission. She brushed some of her own hair behind her ears, revealing some very nice golden hoop earrings, before turning to see who it was at the table, maneuvering her way through the other ones. A grin spread on her face. "Well look who it is! Long time no see, eh stranger?" She chuckled a little bit and headed on over, placing herself down at the the table and hanging her cardigan over the chair. She thought it would be fun at first, but she had only gotten more and more nervous the closer the time to depart approached. Things kept swirling and swivelling back and forth in her head, words that had been said to her that she wished she could forget... And she wished that she didn't deserve. (edited)

10:30 AM

decided on a different appearance for the date lol

"You again, Lexi. I think I'm starting to believe that seer about the fates." he said with a calculated gentle smile, running his black gloved hand through his thick red mane. "Seems yours and mines are rather intertwined to meet each other so soon." He tapped his fingers on the table in a rhythm. "Though I wouldn't consider us both strangers. I do think both of us have at least aquatinted ourselves with the other, haven't we? Or... might you consider ourselves not to that level yet. Heh, if its the latter... then allow me to attempt to rectify that." There was a certain flowing tune and charm to his final sentence. Practiced and tested on so many in the past.

10:38 AM

@RJ|Sir L/Lytus/Dude/Wolf/-/-

"You've definitely said that a lot, huh? Must be quite the charmer... But it was a joke, y'know. I don't consider you a complete stranger of course. I know a thing or two about you, even if we're not entirely familiar, y'know?" She'd met his kind before... Or at least, as far as she could tell. She had no idea of his exact deal or motives, so she was giving him the benefit of the doubt for now... But she could tell... Someone that says that kind of thing enough to say it with such a perfect inflection says it for a reason. "Fate, hm... Maybe one could even call it karma, you know?" Yeah, karma... Maybe that was a result of karma. Being surrounded by the people she defended to her last breath, even when she shouldn't have, and being a possible target for them.

10:47 AM

@TheInsanityThatLiesOutside

"Well then let this be a chance for you and me to learn a bit of each other." he said. "Karma?" Oliver raised his eyebrow as he reached for a glass of wine with the hue of crimson blood. He took a small slip of the wine but a droplet remained at the edge of his lip against his pale skin. Almost like a vampire that had just taken his prey of the evening in a way. "I still recall a fraction from my eastern studies long ago. I think it roughly translates to God's Will in Japanese I believe? Or in Sanskrit the literal translation of action. A guiding force in all life I would suppose. And said guiding force brought us both together. But do forgive me, I'm sure in my description I've made a multitude of errors regarding the east. A fault of myself I can barely tolerate now." He clicked his tongue as he made eye contact with Lexi. "There's no excuse for a Magus being ignorant. So please, do feel free to correct me on my errors I just made."

10:56 AM

@RJ|Sir L/Lytus/Dude/Wolf/-/-

"Karma, in the most practical sense is... Well um... Simple terms, it's basically just what goes around comes around. Sensei said from Sanskrit it means... Action. Good intentions and actions lead to good karma and good consequences for you in the future, down to your rebirth, and vice versa with bad intentions and actions, bad karma, and bad consequences... In the end you get what you give. So says our scripture, anyway." She giggled a little nervously, her smile almost a grimace as she rubbed her arm, watching him taking a sip of his wine. She herself had ordered some pink lemonade. She refrained from substances that clouded the senses, after all, as she did from excessive eating, so she had ordered a medium meal. Enough to sustain her and nothing more. A hearty and fancy soup, was what she had chosen, with croutons and dumplings.

11:06 AM

She wasn't very good at hiding that she wasn't entirely... Buying it. @TheInsanityThatLiesOutside

"Bad actions, bad karma, bad future," Victor placed his drink down. He'd ordered himself some Foie Gras and Caviar alongside his Bordeaux that had already arrived. Expensive mayhaps but he rarely ate anything but stale MRE rations when he was on his own. Cheaper, efficient, and he'd long since stopped caring about the fact it was like eating a tire. "If that's the case then I suppose I'll get what I've been giving. I should have supposed, it's inevitable for someone in my line of work and after the terrible things I've done. Then I guess all there's left for me at the end of the road is to see what fitting fate befalls me." He sighed and looked dejected, resting his chin on his palm.

7:39 PM

@RJ|Sir L/Lytus/Dude/Wolf/-/-

".....Well, if you start to give better, you'll start to get better. That's really the only advice I can give you there, hehe... The thing is the road doesn't end. Not until you've earned the end of the road and your rest... The punishment for bad actions is to keep going through the suffering of life over and over... And that kind of thing. Again, that's just according to my scripture, a lot of people think it's a lot of old hokey, you know?" She shrugged gently and rested her own chin on her interlocked fingers, leaning a little closer to him, looking him right in the eyes. "And you can start doing better any time, you know..."

He wasn't one to back down as he, too, learned forward closer to her face, locking onto her deep blue eyes with his crimson ones. "Old hokey tends to have a nasty way of becoming true. The very foundation of magecraft can easily be seen as old hokey yet," he snapped his fingers and sparks came flying out, "It's rather real even despite the modern age sweeping away Mystery. So don't be surprised if it pops up when you least expect it." "With what I've done, Lexi?" the edge of his lip tugged. "How could I even start doing better? You have a suggestion for a filthy scoundrel like me?"

4:22 AM

@RJ|Sir L/Lytus/Dude/Wolf/-/- home finally

"First of all, enough of the downtalk, mister. Now I can't tell exactly how remorseful you really are, maybe you aren't at all. But if you do want change, it's way easier than you think. Mindfulness, compassion, it's as simple as just like... Thinking on what would bring joy and good karma to all involved in any kinda scenario." Her face became a lot more serious as she dropped any pretences she had going on. It wasn't good for her to lie about her doubts, either. She looked to the side after a while of staring into those crimson gems of eyes. "And... Whatever motives you might really have here, if you're looking to gain my trust so I'll do stuff for you... Don't bother. We're fighting to save the world together at this point, you just have to ask."

5:04 AM

@TheInsanityThatLiesOutside

He had to give her this. He relented and leaned back slightly from the leaning, crossing his arms. "You got me. Plain and simple. Wasn't really trying but impressive regardless. We are both fighting to save the world. Me in particular to restore my family back to existence, you for your own reasons as well I'm sure. I help you, you help me. That's the way the world of ours turns." "As for being remorseful... its rare for Magus to be remorseful for the lengths they went to reach the root. I've known families that experimented on hosts of live human subjects, knowing full well the suffering they were enacting, and they still did it." he sighed. "I never had the stomach do protest it... but I always hated it. I always wondered if we could do things differently. Is that grey really enough to save my soul?"

"It's not that impressive, I've just... Fallen for this game before." She shrugged a little awkwardly, glancing down at the table now as they still awaited their food, her voice having the slightest tinge of bitterness in it as her smile turned a little sorrowful. Seems the girl wasn't all sunshine and smiles after all. "Eighteen years of it." "I'm doing it because the world deserves saving, so do a lot of innocent people out there... And in general it's the right thing to do. A few different reasons. And if you're doing it to save your family, and to try and bring that back to its prime... That's fine, you know? You can do that..." She rubbed the back of her neck, looking up at him with a bit more of a sheepish smile. "And no, of course the grey isn't really enough to save your soul, at most it's enough to keep you on this plane... But like... If you want to start picking up good karma, you can start by being kinder to yourself. Start protesting it. Start sticking up for whatever it is you believe in. That's a good intention... Just that much and you'll be well on your way, believe me."

8:41 AM

@TheInsanityThatLiesOutside

"Hey, I've run my fair of manipulations before for the greater good and protecting those I care about from harm, doesn't justify what I did, but for eighteen years?" he leaned forward to her, an empathic look playing across his face. "That's... that's just cruel. I've done my fair share of manipulations but it was always to carry out my missions so that I could protect those I loved and try to place my family in a better position, so they could become better. I hurt people, but never for the sake of just hurting people. Eighteen years... there's a point where it just loses all benefit and becomes cruelty. Becomes inefficient and a waste of resources unless..." His voice was soft, delicate, and understanding. "I don't want to become that type of person, Lexi. I know I'm no saint. But I never want to stoop to that level, maybe picking up some good karma with what you said is the best choice..."

5:13 AM

@RJ|Sir L/Lytus/Dude/Wolf/-/-

"...I'd love nothing more than to believe you on this one, Ollie... So for now I'll do just that. As for the whole eighteen years thing... That's what happens when you're the child of a monster, ain't it?" She gave another somber smile, and sipped on her lemonade, gently placing it to the side. Once more she was in a position where she didn't know what was real... She hoped this was. "I mean, I doubt you're that kind of person. Like you said... You did it for a reason and not just... Your own sick enjoyment, right?" @TheInsanityThatLiesOutside

"To the sins of our fathers... or in my case Masters and Handlers." he made the effect of giving cheers before taking another sip of of wine. "No, I'm not that kind of person. Maybe the overall cause I did what I did was flawed but I never did it for my own enjoyment. We Agents are... hollow people in some aspects. It's not a stretch to say I don't think I've actually done anything I've ever enjoyed." "Well, save for one exception..." he slyly suggested.

7:03 AM

@RJ|Sir L/Lytus/Dude/Wolf/-/-

"....Me being the exception is highly unlikely, if that's what you're suggesting. I'm sorry, I ain't got the brainpower to do that kinda... What'd my English Teacher call it... Doublethink? Somethin' like that. Anyway... You ain't enjoyed doin' this with anyone else so... What's different here? What makes me any different from the other poor folks you did this to..." She had raised a glass with him nevertheless, but her brow had furrowed. She couldn't really comprehend anything of that sort, she couldn't think of herself being any sort of exception.

@TheInsanityThatLiesOutside

"Well for one we both know off the bat I'm a habitual manipulator. So there's no point playing any games or twisting some minds for both benefits. No point manipulation someone if they know it's happening. Much less if the person doing it is outright saying it in front of them. The proverbial mask is off one could say." he swirled his glass, "So we can both be honest with who we are. And hey, if its any benefit, I think you're cute in a genuine sort of way. Better then the artificial beauty of the men and women I've courted over the years."

5:17 AM

@RJ|Sir L/Lytus/Dude/Wolf/-/-

"Well... I got all my fakeness stripped away forcefully so now I just... Don't add anything else on." She gave a bit of a nervous giggle and shrugged, hunching herself up a little bit, the compliment somehow making her seem smaller. She brushed some hair out of her face and looked to the side, feeling a little embarrassed. "I guess in your line of work honesty's kinda novel, right? But you're right, I'm sorry, I think I'm just... Paranoid." @TheInsanityThatLiesOutside

"Oh there's nothing wrong with paranoia in healthy doses. You'd be suprised how often people backstab or gutstab you even outside of my line of work," Oliver said, "It's not exclusive to Magus and Agents like me of course. We just tend to be better at it. Paranoia keeps the senses alert, keeps the backup plans active, and provides a shield for the soul against betrayal. Of course there's always an unhealthy amount when you begin to fear every nook and cranny of this world but that's rare. Idiots like that don't survive long. Never trust anyone fully, not your mother, not your father, not your child, not even me. That way it doesn't hurt when the rug is pulled from under you and you're ready to get up again. And hey, maybe you'll pull the rug on them first."

".....You're about two years too late with that advice, Ollie, sorry." She let out another giggle, hough this one was laced with bitterness and... Almost a hint of resentment, though it was not very clear who the resentment was aimed at. At the very least there was a sizeable amount of hurt involved. After a while of silently looking away, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye and a wry smile came to her face. "So I'll be sure to do as you ask. And... With the level of trust and trustability clear... I think we can enjoy this a little more now, right?" @TheInsanityThatLiesOutside

"It would be safe to assume such a thing, Lexi," he said, "It's never too late to learn from an experience, but let us move from such painful things. Let's make this a normal date, Lord knows I've gone long enough without one. So let's start with typical date things: interests, you got any? I can tell you're already quite the fashionista from your attire."

12:27 AM

@RJ|Sir L/Lytus/Dude/Wolf/-/-