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Jack sits in the hotel bar by himself. He swirls the two melting ice cubes around in the remnants of his bourbon as he periodically checks his phone for any new messages.
One more won't hurt anything... I mean, it's not like I can't drive after two drinks. I'll give her ten more minutes, then I'm having another.
Even to the most casual observer, the good doctor looks rather tense.
Rook's rigid fingers danced across the piano as he played his set. The music sounded fairly melancholy, but not unpleasant. The sort of music that inspired people to sit down and talk about serious things that had happened a long time ago. He just wasn't feeling like playing something particularly happy, and besides, melancholy people drank more. He smiled faintly behind his sunglasses, even as the business card in his pocket seemed to weigh a hole through his heart.
No. It wasn't the time to be thinking about that. He would figure it out his own way. His family, his business. The Freehold didn't need to deal with that sort of thing. He had far too much to do.
His fingers danced, picking out his own sorrow on the keys, the fears of a father.
3 successes
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The girl walked in, vibrant red hair almost flickering like a bonfire as the sun settled on the 5th of November with explosions of petals spread throughout. Her jeans were tight and she wore an emarald green jacket with a red blouse underneath, the cuffs of which billowed out under the sleeves of the jacket. Looking around the Four Seasons' restaurant, she spotted the good Doctor and headed over but not before noticing the music. Giving the pianist a respectful bow, Katie pulled up a stool next to Jack. "Bit early for the hard stuff, isn't it?" she joked, her British accent somewhat alluring as a waft of roses catches the Wizened's nose. "Thanks for taking an interest in my friend, Jack. It means a lot."
Katie, Fairest, Flamesiren/Flowering, Striking Looks 2 (Cute Redhead), Presence 3 (Beguiling)
Otto rubbed at the dark circles under his eyes as he walks into the 4 Season's lounge. * Sleep was a hard commodity to come by recently for the Beast, way too many bad things were rattling around his old brain. * Lots of booze and vigorous female accompaniment helped take the edge off of things but landing skirts every night was an effort for someone even like himself. *Walking over to the bar the otter ordered his usual beer and a cup of coffee. *Killing the Budweiser in a single pull, he picked up his coffee and walk passed Jack and Katie. *"Back in a few kiddies" he said with a wink. *Continuing on to the metal man piano, Otto was dead set a happier toon. *If he wanted a downer he'd turn on the 'news channels' and watch the abortion his country considered journalism in this century. **
Suit wrinkled, smelling of cigarettes, wine and sweat, the Springer looked like he was at the end of a long night, not the beginning. *Half way to the piano he realized he recognized the changeling, a elementalist from Summer. * Otto couldn't remember the tin man's name though. * Elementalists were always tricky in his book, there were even less human that rest of changelings being not made of actual flesh. *That could do a number on the mind. **
"You know anything...well jazzy man? *Some Lovie Austin or Milt Buckner? *Something that'll put a smile on the face?" *he asked coming up next to the piano. *"Maybe some Billy Kyle?"
Rook gave a little inclination of the head and a corner of the mouth smile to the girl who bowed to him, just to acknowledge that he'd seen her. His fingers continued their dance, pouring himself into the piece he was improvising. At least until the Otter walked up and interrupted, forcing him to bring it to an end. Under the pretext of getting some of the water from the glass on the piano, Rook frowned at Otto from behind his sunglasses. His tongue twitched against his teeth for a moment, and the castle-like features of his face twitched with it.
"Not tonight, no," he said, once he'd mastered the twitch enough to speak. "I prefer to improvise anyway, and I'm in more of a Blues mood. Problem?" Rook didn't particularly appreciate some drunk guy demanding he change pieces because 'let's play something happy'. Particularly not tonight, when his temper already felt frayed and stretched.
Leaning on the piano Otto takes a sip of his coffee and rolls his head in the direction of Katie and the Doc. *"Yeah, problem. *The dame over there has a friend that got herself fetched. * Me and the Doc are going to have to discuss hedge diving to find the skirt and something jazzy in the background makes the conversation a bit less depression for all parties concerned. *Catch my drift Sunnyland Slim?" the name would probably wasted on kid Otto assumed. *Most people in 21st century had no appreciation for the classic greats.
Rook's eyebrow quirked at the tone of voice, and he took a slow breath as he contemplated putting Otto's face through a wall. Calm. Tranquil. He was just being affected by his own, private problems, and this moron who seemed to think he wouldn't have heard of one of Chicago's most famous Blues players was probably just drunk on his own ego. As if the Metalflesh, looking in his late 50s as he did, hadn't physically been alive when the guy was playing.
"I get your drift. I'm just not changing what I'm playing. Now you can either go talk to the Doc and the woman over there, who seemed to be pretty appreciative of my music, or you can continue to have a tantrum that I'm not playing your precious jazz, at which point I will throw your ass out of the bar for making a scene," Rook said flatly. "Up to you."
Come on, you idiot, just let it be.
Otto took a sip of coffee and tilted his head, like when a dog does in confusion. On an actual otter the gesture would have elicited coos and giggles from humans. For people who could see past the Mask, the same motion on the were-otter changeling took Otto's chin and mouth parallel to his neck. "Okay Sunnyland." Otto said with funny quick of his lips before his head snapped back to its normal position. Turning on his his heel he threw back the rest of his hot coffee and coughed and grimaced walking back Doc and Katie.
"Another coffee and beer for me and a Blue Martini for my friend the piano man." Otto told the bartender, hiking a thumb toward Rook. Ordering a blue liqeour tinted martini was a dick move on his part but the Beast was feeling cranky and it was funny to him.
Turning to Doc and Katie, Otto clapped his hands together. *"So kids, we planning on storming a Keeper's Bastille? Or more of a Cabanatuan?"
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Xerxia decided to go with simple today, wearing a deep red tank top (similar in color to her 'battle tunic') and a denim skirt along with her leaf-patterned purse. As a Fairest, though, even simple is worked extremely well.
She enters the Seasons and spots the Flowering client before the good doctor, but she spots him nonetheless. "Sorry for running late," the elven woman apologizes to Jack. "Had a few things to take care of before signing off early from work."
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Jack forces a smile and a look of mock surprise to his face as Katie seats herself next to him.
"Too early? No such thing..."
Jack's smile falters slightly and his eyes narrow ever so slightly as he watches his fellow Spring Courtier's exchange with the piano man, then hears him speak of Keepers so openly in a public place.
"...then again, maybe there is. Hey bud, maybe you should just stick with the coffee."
Decisively pushing his glass toward the bartender, Jack orders a soda water with lime and waves Xerxia over when she enters.
"No problem. So... I think our first order of business should be figuring out where your friend was abducted. Katie, do you have any idea when or where she might have been taken?"
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