Rein Initiative
Posts 134
Power Level 31
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Post by Solomon on Dec 12, 2016 23:47:53 GMT -7
With efforts in regards to Aurora Disicio already underway, it was time to set in motion plans for his other case; Unhallow. Solomon had had everything he’d needed to begin prepared for the past week or so, and he so happened to have a bit of free time this evening. Unlike Aurora, step one was not to approach the person herself. Given Unhallow’s apparent untrusting nature, a defter introduction, by means of someone who was trustworthy, would hopefully cut some corners and save some time. Besides, he’d been meaning to formally introduce himself to the fellow he had in mind for a bit now. After some preparation for the meeting, Solomon departed. The teleportation was made fairly easy due to the fact that Solomon had actually been to the lawn chair-laiden rooftop before. With a word, the grass vanished below his feet and he touched down on the edge of Geataland’s tallest building. It was a nice evening - it’d been chilly enough for snow earlier in the week, but the present weather only required a jacket to be comfortable outside. A few clouds hung in the sky, and the sun was setting slowly behind them. It would’ve been a fine evening to finish setting up that small cabin he’d bought out in the mountains. Hopefully this meeting would prove a worthwhile alternative. Solomon paced onto the rooftop, scanning for the expected resident and, upon finding him, changing course towards. A spellbook floated at either side of him, a few sets of pages lit in both. Mostly for show over anything else. He would stop at what he considered to be a comfortable couple of meters away, but began speaking not long after he spotted the Keeper. His expression rested at a slightly tired neutral, and spoke with a voice to match. “Good afternoon, Geata. My name is Solomon, and I’m with the Rein Initiative. I want to talk with you for a moment about Unhallow - specifically, I’ve been assigned to help her and I want to ask for your assistance in doing so. I understand you consider her a friend?” Geata
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The Keepers
Posts 357
Power Level 31
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Post by Geata on Dec 13, 2016 0:17:07 GMT -7
Geata was using the day to do general maintenance on his various lodgings. His house needed dusted, as did his room in the boarding house. He performed a couple chores at the Panda base to keep people off his back for napping in the empty rooms. Azoth's manor had a butler to do the work, but Geata was unused to that and pitched in every once in a while when he had the free time. Today he had helped with organizing the pantry after a grocery run and vacuumed the upstairs rooms. By the time that Geata finally got around to Geataland, it was getting late.
The block of territory needed little done, luckily, just a little bit of litter picked up here and there. Even so, Geata was starting to feel the effort of helping clean multiple places of residence all day. He had been debating the truth behind the assumption that powers were supposed to make things easier when an unknown appeared before him. He simply waved at the man as he tiredly looked him over. Something about him seemed familiar, but Geata was sure he'd never seen the man before. He set about trying to figure it out as the man introduced himself. The mention of the Rein Initiative helped Geata reach a realization.
"Oh, I've heard of you," he said cheerfully. "It's a pleasure, Solomon. You already seem to know who I am - you Reins are very well informed, the Keepers would be jealous if they knew - but I'll go ahead and skip the introduction. You're the one who's going to help Unhallow? I wish you luck, good sir, as you have your work cut out for you. I'm happy to help however I can, so I suppose the most important question for right now would be if you have anything in mind already."
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Rein Initiative
Posts 134
Power Level 31
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Post by Solomon on Dec 13, 2016 1:10:47 GMT -7
Solomon was glad to have caught Geata in a more… hospitable mood. The lack of threats, or obvious outcomes as he seemed to want to term them, was certainly an improvement. With any luck he’d keep to that pacifistic mindset he claimed for himself and this meeting would go smoothly. Geata’d already agreed to helping faster than was expected; hopefully a good sign, and something that made his answer a good bit easier.
“So I’ve heard.” He mused, taking the Keeper’s cordiality as an invitation to take a couple steps further. “Presently, Unhallow is in need of some positive influences in her life. You are already working towards that with yourself, correct? I would ask you continue to do so - try to become friends with her, show her she doesn’t need to push people away from her. She also needs some such influences from outside of the Keepers, however, and my intent is to fill that role. The issue is Unhallow doesn't trust non-Keepers. Unless, that is, another Keeper approves them.” He saw no reason to stall the main point with Geata. Solomon smiled and his voice became cheerful. “I’d like for you to hire me as her tutor. She will be needing one after she’s stopped attending high school, and would allow me to help her in several different ways.”
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The Keepers
Posts 357
Power Level 31
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Post by Geata on Dec 15, 2016 16:58:00 GMT -7
A certain sense of irony was not lost on a tired Geata that he was the one chosen to present Unhallow with a tutor. He wasn't attending school anymore either, and last he checked there weren't any supers offering to tutor him. Had he spent the day relaxing, he likely would've said something about that just for the sake of being difficult. However, he hadn't spent any time relaxing and was somewhat tired as a result. Thus, he currently found the prospect of learning more about how the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell to be tedious and wasted effort. It wasn't like he had learned much of anything useful from school anyway, so he was happy to simply let the situation slide. He'd just grumble about it to someone else later, if he decided that he was going to inform anyone of his helpfulness to the Reins.
"A tutor, eh?" Geata asked thoughtfully. "Yeah, sure, that'd probably be simple enough. I'd imagine you already have an identity in mind, as well as most other potentially pertinent information?" He paused, thinking further still. "What exactly is it that you're hoping to accomplish? I understand the end goal is to get her away from the Keepers, yeah? What I'm meaning is, how are you intending to accomplish that?" He trailed off at the end, unsure if that was the best way to phrase his question, but decided to go with it. If it was wrong, he could ask again once he figured out a better way.
"Oh, also!" he added as an afterthought. "Would it be alright if I asked a favor, Solomon?"
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Rein Initiative
Posts 134
Power Level 31
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Post by Solomon on Dec 15, 2016 18:50:37 GMT -7
Geata caught on quick. Solomon had intended to dance around actually pulling her from the Keepers until he gathered more information on Geata’s opinion towards the move. His correct assumption and lack of opposition therein again simplified matters considerably.
“I’ve already given you my initial tactic, but you’re asking for the longer term strategy, correct? Obviously we can’t remove her from the Keepers without replacement, and it’s not realistic to expect her to live a normal life, given her powers. Nor can she live entirely alone.” Solomon paused. “I intent to recruit her to Rein. We can offer her actual protection and can put her abilities to use for all of society, not just whichever Keeper is manipulating her that given day.
“Incidentally, I’ll be using my civilian name and face. It’s the most convenient to use with her, and I don’t mind giving it to you, so I see no point in crafting a new one. I go by Stine Dagny - I’ll look different, by the bye, but it should be fairly obvious it’s me.” If only because he wasn’t a Keeper and was going to Unhallow’s house. “You’re free to tell her whatever story you think is most convincing, including that I’m from the government. I’ll be informing her of that at some point anyway. With cases such as this, I tend to find the less detailed the excuse, the better. If you would like a detailed story, however, I would be happy to provide you with one.”
A favor was actually one of the things he was going to offer should Geata express hesitation in helping. He saw no reason not to hear him out.
“A Keeper asking for a favor? How unexpected.” He said teasingly, following with an open gesture. “By all means.”
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The Keepers
Posts 357
Power Level 31
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Post by Geata on Dec 15, 2016 19:59:05 GMT -7
"Yes, exactly," Geata said with a nod. He was pleased to find that he had succeeded in getting his point across. It didn't sound like it would really be worse than Unhallow's life with the Keepers, so he had no issues. Also, if she joined their ranks, the odds of her ending up on the Rein hitlist were immensely slimmer. "That sounds good, yeah. Probably wouldn't even be too difficult if you could convince her that the Keepers aren't the optimal faction for her. That's a pretty smart move." He didn't know how much of the idea could be credited to Solomon, but something told him that the mastermind would receive the compliment, one way or another.
He also noted that since Aurora had yelled at him about how secret identities were to remain secret because reasons, half of the supers of note that he had met had simply given away their identities. And she said that he was loose with his identity. Geata didn't really care, though, and was more interested in how he'd look different. After Anonymous, he was immediately suspicious of shapeshifting, but less so than mind reading. Either way, he needed to wait and see how different Solomon's appearance would be before passing judgement, though.
"Got it, Mr. Dagny. I probably won't need more than to say that I found a suitable tutor and did a background check, but it never hurts to have a few spare details to help a story pass scrutiny, in my humble opinion. As for the favor, I'm admittedly happy to say that it's probably nothing along the lines of what you'd expect."
Geata paused for a moment, for reasons other than dramatic effect that totally existed. "Last time I spoke to Unhallow, I noticed she didn't have any lights on in the house and it was absolutely freezing in there. There's a chance she simply prefers it like that, and she assured me that nothing was wrong, but it never hurts to be sure, am I right? I'd like to ask that you find out if she's got power in her house and, if not, help her with getting that on. And I certainly wouldn't object to you helping her with other utilities should she be lacking those as well."
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Rein Initiative
Posts 134
Power Level 31
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Post by Solomon on Dec 16, 2016 0:00:09 GMT -7
“I’m hopeful but not optimistic. I’m expecting it to be an endeavour.” Solomon said honestly. “Again, anything you can do to befriend her and push her away from the Keepers as a whole would be appreciated.”
He’d already thought of some details for a brief bio should he need one, and so extra details were pretty readily available. “Call me a newcomer to the city with experience who’s looking for work and has experience working with supers. A freelance writer who teaches on the side. You can call me a super if that simplifies matters, and say I have regenerative abilities if she’s concerned about hurting me. None of that is technically false, so I’ll be able to work around it without trouble. If she needs more, come up with whatever you want and I’ll patch holes later. You’re a Keeper, so you’ll be fine at it, I’m sure.” He gave Geata a trusting smile.
Winter was coming, and Unhallow didn’t have lights or heat? Solomon was mildly curious if an illness would have any effect on Unhallow’s powers, but the sensible thing to do with powers like hers was likely not to test for any increases in adverse effects. Besides, the operation would be a failure if she caught pneumonia and died before he could recruit her to Rein. Even if people didn’t do that as often nowadays, it would be best to decrease the risk as much as possible.
“I’ll see what I can do.” He concluded.
Solomon reached into one of the inner pockets of his coat and drew out a small slip of paper and a pen. After making some quick marks against the back of one of his spell books, he pocketed the pen and paced the rest of the distance between them.
“Here.” He said, offering out the slip. “That’s my phone number and the correct spelling of my name. Page me if you need anything or have any questions, and please let me know when you talk to Unhallow and what time you set up.” Taking a step backwards, he drew the spellbook containing the teleport spell in front of him and let it flip open to the glowing page. “Feel free to ask my assistance for anything. I cannot guarantee I can or will help, but,” he gave Geata a light smile, “it never hurts to have more possible allies.”
He turned like he was going to leave, but hesitated to do so and asked, “Do you have any other present needs or concerns?”
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The Keepers
Posts 357
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Post by Geata on Dec 21, 2016 23:29:31 GMT -7
Geata chuckled slightly. It at least sounded like Solomon was informed about the difficulty of the task. Of course, when one is working with a mind reader, there's very little reason to not know about one's target. It certainly wouldn't be an easy job, but, then again, Solomon had mind reader help. If there was anyone who had a shot at it, the Reins probably stood a decent shot of being those people. Just as long as Seraphim didn't go anywhere near Unhallow, that is.
"Got it," he said in regards to the provided list of details. "That probably ought to be enough if she does question it more than expected. And, uh, I'd not put too much stock into my being a Keeper, considering how recent of a development that is." However, he liked to believe that he was a moderately decent liar, so he expected he could probably play his part well enough. He was still hopeful that Unhallow wouldn't question everything too much, though.
Geata accepted the slip of paper and glanced at it curiously. "I'll be sure to keep you in mind, Mr. Dagny," he said, somewhat distractedly, his volume decreasing to a mumble. "Funny, I was thinking 'Stein' like at the end of 'Frankenstein'. Names are weird." He couldn't quite say why he was so interested in the proper spelling of Solomon's name. He decided to chalk it up to tiredness and a lack of seeing the name spelled that way before.
He snapped back into reality when he heard Solomon talking again. "Um, actually, yeah, now that I think about it," Geata said hesitantly. "Listen, I know you're the person who killed that Gluttony guy. I'm not judging or anything like that, I just want to make something clear, just in case. I'm assuming Unhallow probably won't need to worry about meeting the same fate as him, given how you're trying to recruit her and she's not leaving piles of bloody corpses in her wake. Still, if I'm wrong and you end up hurting her in any way, I won't hesitate to tear you into so many pieces that nobody will ever be able to find them all. So please, for simplicity's sake, don't do anything stupid."
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Rein Initiative
Posts 134
Power Level 31
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Post by Solomon on Dec 22, 2016 17:36:52 GMT -7
Geata’s response gave him pause. Solomon had been wondering how far that had spread and how connected to him it was. He’d known Geata had known of the incident, at least, but it was interesting to hear he was aware of his involvement. It was also interesting that Geata had been so friendly and willing despite this knowledge. Perhaps he’d simply struck a good first impression with Geata, or it had something to do with his given lack of judgement. Out of everything, that had surprised him the most. Geata had taken him as the sort to care about that sort of thing, considering his apparent keenness to bring it up (Solomon had hopes it wasn’t going to become a recurring topic, but at two for two they weren't very high) and what he’d gathered of Geata’s views on death and violence. He supposed if one had a girlfriend as prone to killing as Azoth’s reputation suggested... Regardless, it seemed he’d found means of conversing pleasantly enough with the Keeper. Hopefully future interactions would be as simple as this one had been.
Though Geata’s threat made him chuckle. It was almost cute, hearing he’d be ripped to pieces by a teenager Solomon suspected had yet to even figure out the extent of what his powers could be used for. He had no doubt Geata could do it, especially if he caught him by surprise, but if tasering someone was the most violent Geata had ever gotten outside of a dragon, he wondered if the self proclaimed pacifist would actually be able to follow through on his word.
He looked up at the boy, wearing an amused smile. “Geata, if I intended to hurt her, I would’ve just done so already. I wouldn’t have had any reason to come speak with you.”
He turned back out towards the city. “You’re correct. There’s no need to worry.”
Solomon’s book flashed, and an instant later he was gone.
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The Keepers
Posts 357
Power Level 31
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Post by Geata on Dec 23, 2016 15:38:10 GMT -7
Geata was keenly aware that he wasn't being taken seriously. That much would've been made apparent just by the infuriating smirk that the older super sported when responding, but the laughing at him made it very clear. He could understand not taking him seriously, honestly, all things considered. But to blatantly disregard and openly mock his words? Just because he didn't have a kill count in the dozens within his first few months in the city didn't mean that he couldn't be a force to be reckoned with if he felt the need.
He watched Solomon disappear with only the slightest bit of curiosity about the nature of his powers. He was too busy being irritated to do more than vaguely realize that he'd been presented with three different power types that Sol could utilize. "Intentions can change," he muttered. "Pretty easily, too. All I'm saying is that you'd better pray that your mission parameters or whatever stay the same." And, speaking of intentions changing, Geata decided that he could stand to leave the litter be for a day. If people didn't want to believe that he was capable and willing to do what he said, he needed to be prepared for the inevitable person who completely disregarded his words.
Geata had found little reason to use his powers offensively, excluding during dragon attacks. That didn't mean he didn't practice, though, when the mood struck to him. Between dragons and the fact that he'd eventually get involved with a fight with a super that he wouldn't be able to win through trickery, it would've been suicide to neglect the less pleasant uses of his powers. As far back as when he first started slaughtering rats for Aurora, he was working towards getting comfortable with the thoughts that accompanied his preferred method of murder. It wasn't particularly exciting, but hopefully it would be quick and painless. While he doubted he could ever bring himself to simply kill for the sake of killing or simplicity or anything, he also doubted he'd have many issues actually performing the deed should he feel the need. Afterwards was likely a different story altogether, but that was a bridge to be crossed later.
For now, though, it was getting late. He had moved up from turning rats into innumerable little specks, and was now at the point of breaking what were probably numerous state laws about poaching. What manner of unlucky beast would be turned to a very fine powder (before the blood got ahold of it, at least)? Only time would tell. He only had a few more hours of energy left, at best, but luckily the woods and mountains weren't too far away as far as he was concerned. And so he made his own departure, via portal, to go and stake out the night's hunting grounds.
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