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[Sierra]

<El-Cideon> After taking one more night in Leningrad to allow Uliana (who is very quiet and seems astonished just to be outside in natural light) a chance to rest and get cleaned up, it's with some relief that everyone leaves the oppressive grayness of Soviet Russia behind and hops a boat back to England. The first stop there is Erin's house, at which you find two letters waiting. The first is from Walker:
<El-Cideon> "Be advised that the left hand and the right hand have finally begun to coordinate. German intelligence has quietly distributed your names and likenesses to their police and it is highly likely that German agents abroad will be given similar information and be told to watch for you, if not act to eliminate you. Additionally, your friend Rena has been charged in absentia with treason and can expect to be greeted by a firing squad on her return. Please exercise caution and discretion when traveling." (more)
<El-Cideon> The second letter is from Selene: "Hello all! I assume the neverending fight against wickedness and arcane thievery proceeds splendidly and in dazzling style? I am sure you have a wide array of new and unbelievable stories for me when next we meet. I hope that this is soon, as I have a personal matter to resolve which I cannot comfortably share with my own circle and which I fear may call for some of your own expertise. Please call on me next time you visit Paris."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Well, I never wanted to go back to Germany anyway. So drab!" Nadia moans after she finishes reading the letters for everyone with an interest. "On the other hand, Paris does appeal... and doesn't Rena have some unfinished business there, too?"
<Yomi> "It does feel a bit sad that after trying to get rid of assassins, we still have them after us," Yomi agrees, frowning.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Well, at least these ones are backed by a government rather than just being ninjas for hire," Nadia looks on the bright side.
<El-Cideon> "We'll just hit them until they stop attacking us, like we did last time," Rena says with a shrug. "I did miss a date in Paris after we left, yes. I imagine he is not still waiting at the cafe, though."
<Nadia_Chekova> "We'll find you a better one," Nadia shrugs, unconcerned. "Is there anything anyone wants to do while we're in England, though?"
<Yomi> "I've been thinking about finding a place for myself," Yomi responds. "I can't keep on staying as Erin's guest all the time."
<El-Cideon> Uliana has no comment, having wandered into Erin's guest rooms, found a soft bed for the first time in decades and made use of it.
<El-Cideon> "It is true that there are not enough beds here for us," Rena observes. "Although I do not mind sharing one."
<Nadia_Chekova> "I suppose it is a bit cheap, but it's not like we're ever in one place long enough to justify settling down," Nadia muses, wondering if she should do the same.
<Yomi> "It's not like I mind, either, but it would still be nicer to have something of your own. And we can't keep on troubling Erin forever."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Well, if you're looking for a place why don't I come with you to make sure the landlord doesn't take you for a ride?" Nadia suggests. "Maybe if I see something nice myself I might do the same. Or we could even share if we find a nice place big enough?" she offers that last part speculatively.
<Yomi> "Oh, that would be nice!" Yomi exclaims. "And... and we can even have an address for our mail to be delivered to us!"
<El-Cideon> "No one sends me mail," Rena points out.
<Nadia_Chekova> "That's because you don't have an address," Nadia retorts, perking up at Yomi's enthusiasm. "I'm sure you've left a trail of smitten admirers across the globe just wishing they knew how to contact you."
<Yomi> "Give it time! Nadia is right, once you have an address you'll have lots and lots of mail!"
<El-Cideon> "Well, people do stare at me a lot. It would be useful if they knew how to find me."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Lets make a day of it, then?" Nadia suggests as she stands up. "I'll ask Erin and Suzume if either wants to come along as well - Uliana surely needs her rest."
<Yomi> "Oh, definitely." Yomi nods. "And if you can check, discreetly, that Erin is not scribbling over the walls again?"
* Nadia_Chekova nods as she heads off in search of the two witches...
<El-Cideon> Erin is busy unpacking; the various mad ramblings from the train journey lie prominently heaped on her dresser, but she seems lucid enough by this point and the walls are mercifully unscribble upon. Suzume is Erin's kitchen perusing the witch's selection of tea.
<Nadia_Chekova> After asking Erin and presumably being fobbed off with an excuse of unpacking and watching over the other Russian, Nadia pokes her head into the kitchen. "Yomi, Rena, and I are going out into London today to see the sights and look for a place for Yomi to live. Do you want to come along as well?"
<El-Cideon> "This is where you all live, is it not? That makes it where I live, so I should learn my way around. And it is best to do that with a guide, isn't it? Yes, I'll come with you."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Great! Come along then, we're all just getting ready to leave," Nadia returns to the living room. "Erin's busy and wants to watch over Uliana, but Suzume will come along." Of course, since they're all foreigners then her hopes for a guide will be somewhat dashed, but Nadia is confident she can bluff her way through. She has been here before, after all!
<Yomi> "Great! What are you looking for in a house, Suzume?" Yomi asks excitedly.
<El-Cideon> "Am I getting one today? It's very sudden. But it should be in a respectable neighborhood if I do. If I am going to stay there for a very long time then it should have enough room for children. I suppose those are the important things."
* Nadia_Chekova valiantly resists the urge to pinch Suzume's cheek at how adorable she's being.
* Yomi nods a few times. "And it should have a skylight and get as much sun as possible to cater to Rena, too." She smiles at Nadia. "How about you?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Lots of places where I can hide things," Nadia replies bluntly and without shame.
<Yomi> "I want some space to let Ranguren out, but that's about it," Yomi concludes. "So, where do we go first?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "It would probably be easiest to ask a letting agent, so why don't we go into town and find one while we're seeing the sights?" Nadia suggests. It is nice how they can do that in Britain without fear of portals to the netherworld or assassins or monsters.
<El-Cideon> Thus assembled, the four of you set out to go house-hunting. It's a pleasant day for it, warm with clear skies. Rena seems satisfied just to be out in the sun; Suzume spends a fair amount of time asking highly-detailed questions about local etiquette to ensure she can function socially in another country. Over the course of the day, through agents, newspapers, and sometimes just walking around and seeing homes advertised as for sale, you find a couple options that seem to fit your needs. (more)
<El-Cideon> An apartment comprising the third floor of a building along a happening commercial district, with three bedrooms and a communal kitchen area; the individual rooms are cramped, but it overlooks a busy street crowded with shops and restaurants. A nondescript, red brick row house along a quiet, depopulated street; not in the best repair but cheaper for it. And a small house about ten minutes' walk from Erin's. (more)
<El-Cideon> This last is quaint, but large enough to have a room for four separate people. Two floors, surrounded by a hedge that allows some privacy and with a modest yard. It's partly furnished, the last owner having vacated in some haste due to unspecified financial difficulties, though the furnishings present are rather musty and suggest an old woman's tastes.
<Nadia_Chekova> "I liked the first one, by all those shops," Nadia casts her vote which surely will come as no surprise to anyone. "It's off the ground, too, so less likely to be robbed."
<Yomi> "It was a bit small," Yomi admits. "And having a yard to practice in and let Ranguren out would be much better. I wouldn't want to train with Rena indoors, even if the rooms were larger."
<Nadia_Chekova> "That last one does have a nice garden," Nadia admits on that topic, willing to be persuaded.
<Yomi> "It's close enough to Erin's place. I was actually surprised! We could visit a lot, and vice-versa. I bet it wouldn't be very pleasant to travel halfway across the city if it's raining or snowing."
<El-Cideon> "I would not mind living around many other people, but it would be difficult to swing a sword without destroying the walls in the apartment," Rena admits. "I would like having a garden. I spent much of my time in father's back in Germany."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Lets go for that one? It was a little bit stuffy but I'm sure we can redecorate it nicely in no time," Nadia gives her agreement to settle the matter.
<Yomi> "It would be nice to have something to do that's normal, for a change," Yomi agrees.
<El-Cideon> Given the size, relative seclusion, and furnishings, the house is on the expensive side, but you can easily afford the downpayment thanks to your various plunderings abroad. (OOC: wealth DC for a house this size is 32; as always, I will assume 10 is being taken. Decrease wealth by 2, whoever's paying, though I'm going to say you can split that given the circumstances)
<Nadia_Chekova> OOC: since Rena has no money, -1 each for Nadia/Yomi?
<El-Cideon> OOC: sure.
<Yomi> OOC: Works!
<El-Cideon> The interior of the house has, on the first floor: a kitchen with all the modern conveniences, a nearby laundry room with the same, a dining room with a long, polished wooden table, and a sitting room with a set of rather lumpy easy chairs. There is a sizable master bedroom on the second floor along with three smaller ones. Modern plumbing is also in evidence, with a full bathroom at the end of the second floor corridor.
<Nadia_Chekova> After a bit of exploring her new home, Nadia confers with the others. "So, who gets the big bedroom?"
<Yomi> "Maybe we could convert the three smaller rooms to two larger ones?" Yomi suggests.
<Nadia_Chekova> "That seems like a lot of trouble to go to. And it would be better to have a spare room in case anyone stays over," Nadia shakes her head in disapproval.
<El-Cideon> The hedge is about a man's height and rings the sides and back of the property; a flower garden once ran along its length in the back, but has grown rather unkempt in the absence of an owner. A stone patio sits before the exit from the house's sitting room; the rest of the backyard is a broad swath of grass. There is also a cellar entrance at the back of the house.
<El-Cideon> "I don't need a very large room," Rena says. "I have slept in places that were much worse than this."
<Yomi> "Likewise," Yomi echoes Rena. "The rooms here are comfortable enough."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Lets just draw straws for it to be fair, since I don't really care either," Nadia shrugs elegantly. "Anyway, now that we have the place, we ought to go shopping for essentials and new furniture."
<Yomi> "I would like to take care of the garden," Yomi volunteers. "It was beautiful once, without a doubt, and I would like to learn how to restore it and tend to it afterwards. Would you mind leaving that to me?"
<El-Cideon> "Yes," Rena agrees. "I would not mind having some new furniture. The chairs on the first floor smell like cats."
<Nadia_Chekova> "All yours," Nadia waves dismissively out the window to the garden.
<El-Cideon> "I can help you with that if you wish, Yomi," Suzume says, having tagged along to look around the place. "I have some experience maintaining my family's garden, and Kurou's. Not that I would want to do everything for you, because you want to do it, but if you have a question about something you only need to ask."
<Yomi> "That would be great!" Yomi agrees, smiling at Suzume.
<El-Cideon> "I have a question," Rena says. "Is it necessary that I wear clothes while here? I would prefer not to but will do so to avoid disturbing you if it's needed. I know it would disturb Erin, but she is not living with us."
<Yomi> "Here, in your room, or here, anywhere in the house?"
<El-Cideon> "Rena!" Suzume chides, openly aghast. "That's not even appropriate if you're the only one here!"
<Nadia_Chekova> "I don't really care," Nadia shrugs, showing what an accepting and tolerant girl she is. "Not like you've got anything I don't have." On the outside at least.
<El-Cideon> "Anywhere, unless you find it disagreeable," Rena responds. "Suzume, if it is our own house, why shouldn't we do what we like?"
<El-Cideon> "It's just indecent," the Japanese girl replies in a huff. Rena can only offer the blank stare she gives most discussions about morality.
<Yomi> "I don't think it would be very relaxing to be in the yard or anywhere near a window if people knew you were walking around naked and tried to stalk the house," Yomi responds. "I wouldn't really stop you if that didn't bother you or Nadia, though."
<El-Cideon> "Thank you," Rena says. "I will attempt to be careful to not cause problems."
<Nadia_Chekova> "We have those high hedges for a reason, at least," Nadia points out.
* Yomi shrugs. "They should help, but I doubt they would stop anyone determined."
<Nadia_Chekova> "That's what Ranguren is for," Nadia grins.
<El-Cideon> "Yes. If anyone comes by to be unpleasant we can always hit them until they stop."
* Yomi matches that grin. "He'll definitely stop any would-be robber!"
<El-Cideon> "Shall we determine who will sleep in the large bedroom?" Rena asks. (OOC: since no one has a preference, I will roll 1d3 away here)
<El-Cideon> roll 1d3 (1 = Yomi, 2 = Nadia, 3 = Rena)
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d3 (1 = Yomi, 2 = Nadia, 3 = Rena) and gets 1."12 [1d3=1]
<El-Cideon> Drawing straws from a broom found in the kitchen closet awards the master bedroom to Yomi.
* Nadia_Chekova doesn't comment on the irony of the largest bedroom going to the woman least likely to take anyone else into it, but it does bring a smile to her lips.
<El-Cideon> It's early evening by the time everything's sorted out. After a busy day of shopping for a residence, everyone agrees it'd be good to actually see some of the city they've decided to live in, and what better way to do this than by...seeing a movie? Well, as you're passing a theater, Rena announces that she's never seen one before.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Oh, Rena! I sometimes forget how much you've missed in life!" Nadia laments. "Lets go see what's being shown tonight, then, and you can get caught up!"
<Yomi> "Let's do it!" Yomi readily agrees. "Oh, it sounds like great fun!"
<El-Cideon> "I haven't been to see a film in a very long time either," Suzume says. "I don't even know what sort of things are popular these days." The lineup at the theater has all sorts of attractions at present: various newsreels, a Marx Brothers production, other sundry comedies and dramas (Rena seems very taken by the image of Cary Grant on a poster), and some American animated film called Snow White.
<El-Cideon> "Father always said that the cinema was popular rubbish," Rena says, looking over the posters pasted up outside the theater. "But he said a great many things I did not agree with. What should we see? I don't know about these things."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Oh, isn't Snow White a German fairy tale?" Nadia asks. "I doubt your father ever told it to you, Rena, so why don't we watch that one? It's supposed to be in colour!"
<El-Cideon> "Is that unusual?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Yes, most are just in black and white, like photographs," Nadia points to the image of Cary Grant as an example. "Lets go get tickets to see, I'm sure it'll be good."
<El-Cideon> "Does that mean this is better than the other ones?" Rena wonders as you walk inside and get in line. The interior of the theater is redolent of popcorn and salted peanuts.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Well, it will certainly look better in colour. And it's a classic fairy tale, so hard to go wrong there," Nadia asserts confidently.
* Yomi wanders off to get popcorn and drinks while Nadia explains their superior choice of movies ot Rena.
<El-Cideon> Rena nods, seeming to take Nadia's advice as gospel truth as usual. You pile into the back row of the theater as the audience from the last screening is filing out. There are a few minutes of trailers for coming attractions in the wake of the last showing, a couple minutes of newsreels to fill time as the next audience files in, and a Mickey Mouse short.
<El-Cideon> "I don't understand how the mouse can drive a boat," Rena announces. "But I suppose it is nice to look at."
<Nadia_Chekova> "He's not a real mouse," Nadia whispers to Rena. "He has arms and legs like a person, so of course he can do the same things a person can do."
<Yomi> "Is he a demon? Then he could learn to drive boats," Yomi whispers, glancing at Nadia for confirmation.
<Nadia_Chekova> "No he's not a demon!" Nadia hisses. "He's a cartoon mouse!"
<Yomi> "Well, if you say so," Yomi mutters doubtfully.
<El-Cideon> "Perhaps Yomi is right. Most mice don't do things like this. There were many of them around the house after father died and I never saw them driving boats."
<El-Cideon> Suzume puts a finger to her lips and loudly shushes in Rena's direction.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Just be quiet and watch, you can ask questions after," Nadia seconds Suzume's efforts for quiet.
<El-Cideon> Rena shrugs and directs her attention back to the screen. The actual movie has started by this point, and it's a sight to behold after the short (however charming the cartoon rodent might have been). Drowning out the whirring of the projector behind you, fantastical music starts up and images flash across the screen again. (more)
<El-Cideon> The actual story of a young girl cursed by a jealous queen is diverting enough, but it's really the visuals that keep everyone focused on the screen. It's a gloriously colorful production, like nothing else around. Everyone watches raptly until it's concluded, at which point applause widely breaks out.
* Nadia_Chekova joins in the applause, having been thoroughly riveted!
<El-Cideon> Rena looks around for a moment, observing this behavior as apparently being the thing to do, and joins in.
* Yomi applauds as well!
<El-Cideon> Eventually things quiet down and people start filing back out. Coming attractions take over the screen again, ushers walk in and sweep up after careless patrons. "I do not think most animals would be that helpful to a person lost in the woods," Rena points out. "But it was very pretty. They all look like this?"
<Yomi> "Maybe you just need to know how to ask the animals the right way?" Yomi suggests.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Most look like the one with the mouse and the boat, but hopefully more will start to look like that one in the future," Nadia replies. "It's just a story for fun, it's not meant to be taken as anything realistic."
<El-Cideon> "Maybe. There are many things I do not know, after all." Rena stands up, looks to the back of the theater. "How do these things work? There is a machine back there that makes the movie?"
* Yomi doesn't actually know such details and frowns slightly.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Sort of. The movie is made in Hollywood, and they send across the filmstrip to every theatre that's going to be showing the movie - the film is like a big long strip showing every picture you saw in the movie, so it runs through them and projects it on the big screen," Nadia explains helpfully, not having been raised by an anti-culture mad scientist or demon-hunting samurai.
<El-Cideon> "Ah," Rena says. "We should see it again. Or see something else. Or do both."
<Yomi> "Right now?" Yomi asks, stretching her limbs. "How about just seeing more of the city today?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "We can watch another movie tomorrow," Nadia shrugs as she gets up and stretches. "For now, though, we should go get dinner."
<El-Cideon> "We could also get dinner," Rena agrees. The sky is dark by the time you get back outside. It's not late at night, though--there are still bustling crowds, people out and about for an evening's diversions and sustenance. There are plenty of restaraunts near the theater to cater to hungry patrons.
* Nadia_Chekova hunts out one that's quiet enough where they'll be served quickly but not so quiet as to imply being really bad.
<El-Cideon> Most of the cheaper restaraunts and bars are quite full, and noisy to boot. You eventually find yourself at an Italian restaraunt, upscale enough to be quiet and get you an isolated table looking out on the street. It's dimly-lit, mostly by candlelight, stylishly subdued.
<Nadia_Chekova> Given the reputation of English food, Nadia is quite happy to eat Italian!
* Yomi reminisces that they never did visit Italy, despite how much of Europe they had already crossed. It feels a bit of a shame, considering what she knows of that land's history. But that's neither here nor there, and she returns her attention to the present.
<El-Cideon> "I thought that was very enjoyable," Suzume says of the movie as you settle into your seats. "They mostly liked to show patriotic movies back home...Anyway, who are these people who sent you the letters? Friends? I don't mean to pry, it just seems as though I should know whatever you know since I'm helping you now."
<Yomi> "One of them is, at least," Yomi responds. "We'll be seeing Selene soon enough, no doubt. The other is just...." She glances at Nadia. "Would acquaintence be a better word, or ally?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Selene is a French actress, we met her in Zanzibar at a party where the hostess tried to use us all as sacrifices to bring her husband back from the dead," Nadia explains pleasantly. "Walker is a British spy, I'd say either term fits since we don't really know him personally, but he's been helpful."
<El-Cideon> "A party where...what? Do things like this happen everywhere you go?" Suzume asks. "We go," she corrects.
<Yomi> "We travel while specifically looking for the supernatural," Yomi reasons. "And many of the people involved in that are not very nice at all. It makes sense if looked at a certain way."
<Nadia_Chekova> "More often than not," Nadia sighs. "You know, we met a ninja in Japan who didn't believe in all that? Yomi took it on herself to show her, going out completely at random. By the end of the night they'd killed a demon together. It just seems to fall into our path."
<El-Cideon> "Well, it is all about knowing what to look for, isn't it?"
* Yomi nods eagerly. "Exactly! And the circumstances were entirely fitting for an evil demon to prey on the helpless. In places and situations like that, if you're persistent enough and know what you're after, you'll usually succeed!"
<El-Cideon> "'Usually?'"
* Yomi coughs. "I can acknowledge that not absolutely everything horrible in the world is the work of demons."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Hurray for humanity," Nadia dryly waves her breadstick in the air.
<El-Cideon> "Well, I know not all of the youkai who lived in the valley were terrible creatures...Some of them just wanted to be left alone, or didn't really care about people one way or the other."
<Yomi> "You're thinking about it the wrong way. What you're saying, Suzume, is that demons aren't all preying on people, while I'm talking about how when people are being preyed upon, it's usually by demons."
<El-Cideon> "But people do it too, don't they? Wars and crime happen every day. I know that humans alone aren't responsible for everything bad that happens in the world because, well...Kurou...but maybe you just look for demons so much that you see them everywhere now?"
<Yomi> "The police can do something about the human criminals, while they would be helpless against the demons. If I am to help at all, shouldn't it be where I'd do the most good?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Humans are perfectly capable of being as saintly as angels and as cruel as demons," Nadia agrees. "And there's a lot more of us."
<El-Cideon> "That's true Yomi...I suppose I shouldn't criticize you, because I've only seen you do good things so far. I just don't like thinking someone's evil just because of what they are. It's bad enough when people think that way about other people."
<Yomi> "You don't have to worry about that," Yomi tries to assure Suzume. "If I'm after a demon, it's because I suspect he already did something bad."
<El-Cideon> She nods. "As I said, I don't wish to criticize. I've only seen you be right so far, after all." As she speaks, a server swings by with heaping plates of pasta for everyone.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Thank you," Nadia distractedly thanks the server before getting stuck into her meal. "We did all trust Kurou at first, and that didn't turn out so well."
* Yomi nods gloomily, although her disposition changes quickly enough once she starts on her pasta.
<El-Cideon> "That wasn't your fault. Everyone trusted him at first. He loved to decieve people and laugh about it behind their backs. And he was very good at it..." She trails off and starts digging at her meal./
* Nadia_Chekova at least has the decency not to laugh behind people's backs after decieving them!
<Yomi> "Do you think about traveling again, once things settle down a bit?" Yomi asks them all in an attempt to change the topic. "We haven't seen that much of Africa, and there's America to consider, too! Even a great deal of Europe, though we might have to be careful about German assassins there."
<Nadia_Chekova> "We'll be fine in the not-Germany parts," Nadia shrugs. "I would like to visit America, though. It was nice talking to Whitney on the train through Russia."
<Yomi> "Maybe we could make a cruise out of it?"
<El-Cideon> "Kurou was going to take us to India once we were done in China," Suzume says. "He had me learn the language in preparation. English too, for whenever we got to America. Although I am glad that I learned that, now."
<Nadia_Chekova> "There's probably more seals or things like that in India, then," Nadia muses. "I think most of them speak English there anyway, since it's part of the British Empire."
<El-Cideon> "That was why he planned to go there, yes," Suzume says with a nod. "Or at least he assumed one was there...He wasn't entirely sure he was right about guessing the locations until we found the one in China. But as for me, I would not mind going on a cruise. We could see tropical islands and the like? Although I feel I shouldn't do this just for fun since I have a duty to clean up the problems Kurou might have made."
<Yomi> "We really need to deal with that Countess in some way, first," Yomi agrees. "Hopefully that would stop one threat, at least."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Well, I don't think he made many problems outside of Japan, anyway. It's more Ivo's problems we're dealing with... so really I suppose we should see what Uliana can tell us before figuring out where to go next, aside from helping out Selene with her problem."
<El-Cideon> "I hope she'll be all right...Trapped in a sanitarium for over twenty years; can you imagine that?" Suzume shivers with suppressed horror.
<Nadia_Chekova> "That's longer than I've been alive," Nadia grimaces at the thought. "And it wasn't a picnic for her before she was locked up, either."
* Yomi silently hopes that no sanitarium can keep her against her will, should anyone uninformed overhear her talk of demons.
<El-Cideon> "What was it like inside?" Suzume asks. "I've never been to such a place, but I think perhaps if I was sane when they locked me inside, I wouldn't be anymore after that long..."
<Nadia_Chekova> "It was very bleak and grimy," Nadia summarises simply. "For her just four bare walls, nothing to do or even read, her arms constantly bound up in that straightjacket... I don't see how it can be healthy, no."
* Yomi grimaces. "That's not even going into the smell."
<El-Cideon> She nods, sadly. "A lot of such places aren't any better than prisons, I always heard."
<Yomi> "No, they really aren't. In both cases, people who aren't wanted are the ones to be sent there."
<El-Cideon> Another nod. Suzume picks at her meal in rather desultory fashion, the conversation seeming to have brought her down a bit.
<Nadia_Chekova> "She's out now, at least," Nadia looks on the bright side, her own appetite undiminished.
<Yomi> "And she seems coherent enough to enjoy it!"
<El-Cideon> "Yes. What do you do after all that time, though? Everyone she knew is dead and the whole world's changed around her. I just can't imagine it."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Hard to get a job in that state, and she'll have just as hard a time finding a husband to take care of her," Nadia admits, turning her thoughts to the conundrum presented.
<Yomi> "You start over, I imagine. Learn new skills, enjoy life." At Nadia's words, she shrugs. "I suppose there's that, too."
<El-Cideon> "I suppose you're right. If she's sane at all after all that, she must be a strong person, mustn't she?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "The doctor did seem to think highly of her cunning, so there is that," Nadia admits with a slight smile. Uliana could well be a kindred spirit.
<Yomi> "I wouldn't actually discard her skills just yet," Yomi says thoughtfully all of a sudden. "Elgin was granted magic by the possession. Who says it left Uliana once she regained herself?"
<El-Cideon> "Hopefully that's all that could be left of the possession," Suzume says with a shudder. "That man, Elgin, was with Ivo when Kurou met him. I felt like he was looking an insect when he glanced my way."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Nothing seems to indicate she's acting the way he did. The control must have left her, or been shaken off or something like that," Nadia says. "For lack of a better word, she seems human, which he did not."
<Yomi> "If the possession can jump bodies, perhaps it did so when Uliana was apprehended?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Oh, I never thought of that!" Nadia gasps. "But if it can jump bodies... it could go to anyone? Start off on a random peasant, jump to a policeman, jump to the chief of police, jump to the mayor, jump to a government official, jump to the president... it wouldn't be hard, would it?"
<Yomi> "If it thought like us. But Elgin didn't seem to care for power of that sort, so maybe we're lucky on this front?"
<El-Cideon> "It sounds like a disease when you put it that way," Suzume says.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Still a frightening possibility," Nadia shudders.
<Yomi> "Oh, definitely."
<El-Cideon> "It does make me wonder, though...if you killed Elgin, who is it possessing now?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Not me!" Nadia asserts quickly to deflect any suspicion since she was closest to him when he died.
<Yomi> "Maybe I'm wrong and it can't move from body to body. Or, maybe it needs special conditions for that. Physical contact, perhaps, and the original host still being alive?" Yomi suggests, counting off options. "We'll probably know more once we talk to Uliana, but if there's even the possibility, we could check up on Justine."
<El-Cideon> "Who?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Evil South African lady who curses her enemies to horrible disease-ridden deaths," Nadia explains helpfully.
<El-Cideon> Suzume stares for a moment. "I...see."
<Yomi> "She seemed to act differently some time afterwards, and I suppose there was a chance one of her men got possessed?" Yomi frowns. "It's really a stretch."
<Nadia_Chekova> "It really is," Nadia agrees. "Lets wait till we've spoken to Uliana about her experience."
<El-Cideon> "Then I assume we are not her enemy? None of you look diseased...I mean, I don't mean to suggest anything offensive! But it sounds like a strange person to associate with if she's evil."
<Yomi> "I can't say I care that much since she only cursed horrible racists who were plotting with her to begin with."
<Nadia_Chekova> "She helped kill Elgin, so I have to give her that," Nadia shrugs, pushing away her now cleared plate of yummy pasta.
<El-Cideon> She nods. Rena, silent for some time, speaks up. "Suzume. I meant to ask you how talented Kurou was in the bedroom. I have been wondering what I missed."
<El-Cideon> The miko's fork clatters on her plate. "Why do you always ask questions like that?" she demands. "I don't want to talk about that sort of thing!"
* Yomi chokes on her bread.
* Nadia_Chekova snorts. "Animals aren't known for being considerate lovers, I'm sure you didn't miss anything," she tries to deter this line of thinking from Rena, even though Lucia did say he was a good lay.
<El-Cideon> "Perhaps so," Rena concedes. "I don't see anything wrong with discussing it, Suzume. It seems strange to me to think that way. If you are too shy, I will avoid it in your presence." She shrugs and goes back to picking at her salad.
<El-Cideon> "I'm not shy! I'm just not...that kind of woman!"
<El-Cideon> "What kind?"
<El-Cideon> "I don't know, just...your kind!" The blushing miko's raised voice is beginning to attract the attention of other diners by this point.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Check, please?" Nadia calls over to their waiter, deciding it's best to leave at this point.
<El-Cideon> ~