Animus approaches the Neidan's Sanctum and knocks on the door. What did Ankh want, that needed to be discussed with West and him? He'd find out soon enough, he supposed.
Home of the Neidan
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THREADID
26
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Animus approaches the Neidan's Sanctum and knocks on the door. What did Ankh want, that needed to be discussed with West and him? He'd find out soon enough, he supposed.
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It's... a mansion. Literally. Manicured lawns, the works. It's absurd to think of it as the sanctum of only two Mages, but then Animus doesn't know one of them was born wealthy.
West opens the door, toweling at damn hair.
"Hey," he says, looking slightly surprised before his eyes scan the streets beyond Animus.
Social niceties suggest this is the appropriate time to invite the other man in, or elaborate on the greeting; of course the Magister does not.
[banner]west[/banner]
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Animus waits for a moment before realising that nothing else is coming. Then breaks into a good-natured smile. Glad to see we aren't the only ones to break social conventions. "Ankh wanted to talk, I'm not quite sure what about."
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"Oh, huh, OK," West mused, opening the door and stepping aside to let the other man in.
He stood in the silence awkwardly, like a child's first play.
"Do you... want a drink?"
It had been a long time since he'd had a social visit, and he dimly remembered that being the appropriate question from when they'd first started playing poker on the force.
I wonder what the hell Brock and Spooky are up to these days.
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Ankh comes down the hall, her nose in a book, frowning at the pages. She glances up as she hears West speaking and breaks into a smile at the sight of Animus.
"Oh good, you made it. Come into the kitchen, I was just about ready to get lunch started."
She turns and heads back down the hall, shaking her head and trying not to laugh.
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Animus follows Ankh into the kitchen with a playful grin. "You didn't tell me I was getting lunch out of this. I might have been here sooner."
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Ankh smiles. "I like to cook and West has this issue with eating enough." She gestures at the thin man. "As I'm sure you noticed. So I generally pick something decent to make when we have company, which has not been very often of late."
She begins pulling things out of cabinets, drawers, and the refrigerator as she speaks. "So, ummmm I noticed you haven't had much in the way of company around you of late."
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Animus flashes a slightly pained look. "Not by choice. Joshua and I were the last of the Living Stones. When he left ..." He shakes his head sadly. Then things finally click into place. Is she looking to build the Neidan back up, too?
Then his attention is drawn to her rooting around. "Do you want some help with that?"
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Ankh pulls a large roast out of the fridge and shakes her head. "Nope."
She unwraps the package and moves over to a rotisserie. She pulls out the log metal rod and slides it into the roast, then places the rod back into the machine. She sets the timer and the temperature and turns back to the counter. Unwrapping vegetables, she pulls a knife out of a drawer and starts chopping.
She does not look up while she speaks. "I am sorry to hear that. Kai left us as well and since.......it's an empty feeling." She stops chopping momentarily and looks up at him. "I was wondering if perhaps you would like to join West and I?"
Her gaze flicks to West for a moment, suddenly realizing that she hadn't
had a chance to really talk to him either. "If that is acceptable to you West."
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West gets dishes out, methodically setting the table as Ankh works. Plate, salad bowl, fork. No need to get all fancy schmancy. After a pause, he added napkins.
He nodded unconsciously as Ankh mentioned Kai, then looked up as he was addressed.
Intense eyes studied the Thearch for over a minute.
"OK, but this doesn't mean we're turning this into a nudist colony cabal," he finally said.
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