Relocation Renovation [OPEN]

[Callypso]

((OOC: Hey all, sorry this post is a bit long for a first one, but I thought I'd get myself out and RP!! Feel free to PM me with CC and/or tips! Thanks!))



The 8 of Spades hesitated in front of the oddly skewed door and stared. It wasn’t that she was unsure it was the right place, on the contrary, she’d always had a decent sense of direction- but the neighborhood made her skin crawl. Leave it to her brother to seek out the seediest portion of Capital City. (He really picked a spot this far beyond the Outer Bazaar?!) Clearly, whoever had built the... establishment … in front of her had no concern for safety codes, let alone understand basic construction. The entire edifice seemed to lean to it’s left giving it a sense of whimsy (if you were a romantic sort, which Iso was decidedly not), and left a good 3 inches of space between floor and threshold. Wrinkling her nose and opening the door wide, the lithe ferret hopped over the entryway and made her way down the dimly lit corridor to the basement.

Ugh, it’s a dump!

The room, though damp and dusky with disuse, had an acrid, burnt smell to it, which made sense considering her brother’s line of work. Phantasus had spent a good portion of his life studying psychedelic phenomena, trying to pin down the specific chemical compound that allowed one to have fanciful fits and dreams. Clearly, her brother had not been above self-experimentation and had been heavily imbibed on suits-knows-what on the day of his untimely demise. The lead medic, (the first person Iso had sought upon her arrival to the city), whose hospital carriage had arrived first, seemed haunted and distraught describing the scene of the accident. Phantasus, lying in a pool of his own blood, had been found caressing the ribs protruding out of his shredded flesh, eyes bright and distant, giggling and muttering how he was being “set free”. He had died before they’d had a chance to administer any aid. His last breath was a contented sigh, his crazed orbs focused skyward.

Iso closed her eyes in a poor attempt to clear the images in her mind with darkness. Phan had been a fool. It was one thing to work with bodies and medicine, but to play with one’s own mind was asking for it. Besides, that’s what Aces were for. Not that she had any particular grudge against Aces; she simply had the practical notion that each Card served a purpose. It was hers to experiment and Aces’ to be experimented on. That was all.

She maneuvered sideways, trying to get through the one path that seemed the most navigable. The room was cluttered and disorganized: tables, desks and bookshelves crammed into every iota of space. Every surfaced was covered in piles of books, curling notepapers, broken vials and pools of… she didn’t really want to know. How her brother had known where everything was, let alone see anything (she glanced upward toward the single source of light in the room: a light bulb dangling from a corroded wire in the center of the ceiling) was really beyond her. She managed to make her way over to a chair that (miraculously) had nothing on it, sat down and surveyed the chaos around her.

Suits, I haven’t even looked at the living quarters yet…

The weight of the effort she’d have to put in before she even began to do any real work pressed in upon her. Suddenly feeling extremely claustrophobic, she reached for her bag she had plopped down beside her and began rummaging through it. Finally, her paws closed around a vial. She withdrew her prize from the satchel and merrily shook it before her eyes, the contents pattering against the glass tube.

Now that’s a sound I like to hear!

She pried the stopper from the vial with her teeth (pop!) and lightly shook the container until a couple white pills had made their way into her mouth. While swallowing, Iso gingerly resealed the vial and snatched a pad of paper, pen and ink and jotted down a rather lengthy list of things to do.

With the list in hand, she grabbed her coin purse and maneuvered her way back up the stairs and over the threshold and locked the front door.

Looking both ways to reorient herself, Iso crossed the cobbled street and began her walk toward the main Bazaar. Glad to be out of the musty shambles that once belonged to her brother, her mood lifted slightly (aided by the pills that were just beginning to take effect) and journeyed with purpose toward the inner city. Making mental notes of all she saw and heard, her stomach suddenly lurched with hunger. Realizing she hadn’t eaten since the crack of dawn (when she had initially left for the city that morning) she quickened her pace toward her destination.

There’d better be a decent place to eat when I get there…

[Jaryn Frostwing]

Along a certain dusty road, there was a particularly run-down shop. The sign hung askew over the door, one of the hinges had given way to decay months, perhaps years, before, and the other was certain to soon follow. The interior was not much better. Floorboards were warped and cracked and several nails jutted out prominently, waiting to snag the paw of some unsuspecting biped. All in all, the old apothecary was quite the death trap. Which is exactly how unfortunate Marsalo Binx had just described it to the owner.

"So that's thirty two safety violations already," Binx said, peering over the shopkeeper's shoulder toward the back room. "and we've not even begun to cover the state of your storage. I trust the medications are kept dry and appropriately cold? Though based on the state of your credit and the rest of the shop I calculate the probability to uh..." Binx's typical rapidfire way of speaking began to slow as he caught sight of the rather disgruntled expression on the apothecary's face. "to uh be... uhm...." he trailed off.

"What?" the apothecary asked gruffly.

"Less than 17%? eh heh?" Binx offered, with a very nervous chuckle.

This was the last comment that the mouse was able to offer before was hurled out the door and let to roll into the street. This landed him flat on his back, looking up at the whirling face of a red and black ferret whom at the moment appeared to have three heads.

"Ee hee.. you have six eyes..." Marsalo Binx commented in his daze.

[Callypso]

The Corvie continued down the cobbled road determined to reach the Bazaar before the late afternoon. Hunger gnawed uncomfortably at her insides and lengthened steps melded into her already purposeful stride. Iso reprimanded herself for not adequately preparing her move with some basic sustenance then dismissed her own admonishments upon the realization that she would have needed to journey into town, regardless. Phantasus had left such a mess. She certainly wasn’t ready to begin sorting through his clutter until she had hired the proper entities.

Electrician… carpenter…

Iso had glanced down at her list, murmuring some of its contents to herself. She supposed she would have to find her way to an information center to inquire about her needs. Her brow furrowed recalling the map she had memorized before leaving Corvistowne. Why couldn’t the silly thing offer something useful, such as shop names and important town figures? Her mood soured briefly when a creaky thud to her left caught her attention.

Turning her head to find the source of the sound allowed her to catch sight of a broken sign clacking against its shop in the light breeze. The paint had all but faded from the placard but someone had had the foresight to etch the words deep into the wood itself:

Apothecary.

Curiosity instantly overcame her sulky thoughts as the ferret made her way down the dusty side road toward yet another dilapidated building. Iso had packed a few… supplies... for her move, yet she was more than aware that they would be eventually depleted . Though the shop looked less than reputable, Iso was aware that her habits weren’t always welcomed. Not that she had a problem, mind you. Cards had all had their various needs- hers just took on a different flavor. Vitamins were drugs, too. As much as she didn’t want to be seen entering a seedy shop in the Outer Bazaar, it would look much less peculiar in these parts than say, repeated excursions to a nicer apothecary in the city…

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as a whirl of fur tumbled out the very shop she intended to enter. The creature landed before her and muttered… what was that? Six eyes?

Oh great. A crazy. Just what she needed. Under normal circumstances (i.e. when sober), Iso would have been more annoyed, but at the current moment she merely wanted to continue on her way. About to step over the stunned creature, some scuffling behind her caught her attention. Glancing behind her, she noticed a band of thuggish looking creatures, their eyes glinting as they leered at the Marshland descendent at her feet.

Iso rolled her eyes and sighed in defeat. Those thugs didn’t concern her personally, but the Card blinking dazedly in the dirt was an easy target- she didn’t need to add a guilty conscious to her already lengthy list. She offered a paw to the stranger:

Are you injured?

[Jaryn Frostwing]

Binx eagerly accepted the help.

"Injured... am I injured...?" Binx asked, struggling to get all four paws back under him. "No, I'm fine, thank you, just a little dizzy..." He brushed himself off and looked up at her. "So sorry to bother you," he said. "But I believe I've just been rather rudely excused from my current job."

Looking back at the apothecary he considered going back in and asking for his base fee to be paid, to refund his travel, but decided against it, as the owner had proven to be quite unwilling or perhaps even unable to deal with the precise and logical nature of numbers.

This of course reminded Binx that this would be the third job in a row which he'd somehow managed to deliver services without being paid at all.

"Oh sorry," he said, realizing that he'd let his mind wander so quickly. "I think I might have hit my head a little too hard.... Did you say what your name was? I'm Marsalo Binx, accountant and uh... well... accountant."

[Callypso]

Iso vaguely wondered if the Card wasn't familiar with the common tongue, as it seemed to take a few moments for her inquiry to sink in.

Rolling into someone's path inadvertently is a bit different from bothering, wouldn't you say? Though it is an inconvenience to block the path of another.

Iso retreated into her thoughts. Excused from his job? He was a rather scattered fellow. Scattered and possibly incompetent? The ferret wrinkled her nose in distaste. He had tumbled rather violently out of the apothecary, though, perhaps he had a concussion?

Her eyes slowly took on an odd appearance. Not quite distracted, but assuredly somewhat distant.

Hmm... a concussion. Perhaps she could study the recovery period for any brain injury he might have. It had been quite some time since she'd had live aides for her studies. If she could gather data on the healing patterns of cranial lesions for every Rank, Suit and Species, why... that would be groundbreaking! Hm.. might have to add sub-categories for all the mixed breeds, that could pose a problem...

The Corvie slowly blinked and lost the strange light in her eyes. Oh, right. This was yet another time wasting social convention. Honestly, speak to anyone more than a second and they want to tell you all about their lives. UGH.

An accountant? Pity. I've no need for that sort of assistance... And no, I didn't give my name. I am Iaso Price. I'm a doctor.

((OOC: haha.. do you like how she assumes you'd offer your services?? She's not a bitch, I swear, just unconventional. lol))

[Jaryn Frostwing]

"eh heh heh... well, I've found it's best to apologize for even the uh, perception of uh.... inconvenience!" Marsallo Binx said, clutching his head for a moment as he searched for the right words. "When one is as small as I. You see, there is... inherent danger in upsetting larger cards. For example I did a study, and found that I was only 14% as likely to be beaten up if I apologized for accidentally blocking someone's path, as opposed to if I pretended it simply was not an issue and carried on with my business."

He paused for a moment and grinned up at her. The smile faded to a neutral expression for a moment and then a subdued frown. He'd suddenly come to the realization that this particular card was not particularly talkative. In fact he'd spoken for nearly 90% of the time the brief conversation had elapsed, a situation that was all too familiar.

"Listen, uh, have you had lunch Dr. Price?"

[Callypso]

Iso wrinkled her nose yet again as the small vermin began another long-winded diatribe. To be sure, this Card appeared to be suffering a rather serious case of Motor-Mouth. She relaxed her muzzle and shifted her feet, preparing to listen to him spew off a bit more when her ears suddenly twitched forward at the mention of percentages. Ah, perhaps he was only slightly dazed from his scuffle after all! Studies!

Her eyes flickered briefly- a look easily missed if one was not paying close attention- and for the first time in the uncomfortable encounter she began to actively listen to the Jossigian.

14%? You don't say. I suppose that would have factored in basic Card society etiquette- did you adjust for projected reactions based on Rank and Suit? I'm sure an Ace's response would differ greatly from, say, a Queen?

The cadence of Iso's speech was slowly beginning to pick up pace as she continued. Though it was difficult to detect the shift in her emotion, she was clearly making an effort to contribute to the conversation.

Did you say lunch?

Iso's stomach audibly grumbled as she cocked an eyebrow toward Marsallo. She didn't look embarrassed, but her eyes hardened as she acknowledge to herself how hungry she really was.

I was making my way toward the inner city for some errands and planned to stop for a meal.

She suddenly remembered that this might be an opportune moment to engage in some of those civilities she was so unaccustomed to partaking in- asking for help. Her eyes quickly dulled as she paused for an inordinately long amount of time before asking:


Do you know of a decent eatery?

[Jaryn Frostwing]

Marsalo Binx grinned warmly as the doctor seemed to begin to warm up to him. Well, at least he'd got her talking anyway, that was an accomplishment! Small victories, these were things he had recently begun to track in order to avoid dealing with the gloominess of his job. The long hours and frequent failures to acquire payment had begun to wear thin on the young accountant.

"Uhm, eateries, well, to be honest, I'm rather new around here too... Just started this job about a week ago," he said, glancing up and down the street. "Perhaps we could find something?" he asked. "I'm not a particularly finicky eater. What sorts of food do you prefer?"

He grinned again, and took another look down the street for eateries, hoping that the doctor would have some preference, lest he accidentally pick something uncommon that she would not like. Nervously he tried to straight the fur on his head while he awaited her response, all the while trying very hard to avoid the appearance of a twitchy, ill-kept common rodent.

((Sorry for the slow response, had a very very busy weekend))

[Callypso]

((That’s okay, I had a longer-than-usual, rainy weekend so I had a lot of time on my hands! ))

Iso’s eyes darkened in disappointment. She was rather hoping that she had come across a local- that way she could find someplace to eat in the city and then carry on with her errands without wasting too much time. There was so much work to do back at the lab…

What do I like to eat??


The question actually startled the young doctor. It suddenly occurred to Iso that she had never taken much notice of what went into her mouth. When she lived with her parents, her mother handled everything (how was it that her mother had been able to control the household with an iron fist and still made time for her personal studies?). When she first moved out into her meager apartment-turned-lab, she hadn’t wanted to lose valuable research time with silly chores like cooking. Instead, she had hired an eccentric Corvie crane who experimented with food. Iso’s only criteria had been that all her meals of the day were balanced to ensure she consumed all her necessary nutrients.

She had eaten everything the excitable woman had prepared for her- except for that one meat pie… It had glowed neon purple and sang to her (not to mention screaming bloody murder when she took a bite out of it). That was one dish she had set aside.

She wrinkled her nose again. Ugh. She’d have to begin a search for someone to help around the house. Her brother’s sudden death and her quick move to the city had affected her more than she’d wanted to admit. It meant she was forgetting basic details like groceries and laundry and…

Iso pulled out her notepad and added a few more items to the fast-growing list and then returned to the problem at hand.

What did normal people (those that actually paid attention to sustenance) usually eat? Iso racked her brain for memorable dishes in the past. Bread thing with stuff in it – sandwiches! Everyone liked sandwiches, right? (She hoped.)

How about a delicatessen? Both of us are sure to find something we like provided plenty of options. The main road to the city is behind us – by my estimates it should be about an 18 minute walk. There ought to be something agreeable for us both once we arrive.

She glanced toward Marsalo with her eyebrows raised. He seemed pleasant enough, though her meeting him had certainly derailed her day’s schedule. Still, she was extraordinarily hungry [her stomach growled again] and it would be easier to find a deli with two people scouting instead of one.

[Jaryn Frostwing]

Marsalo nodded eagerly. "Yes yes that seems quite acceptable, quite acceptable," he said, then glanced up and down the street for a moment. It was quickly occurring to him that this recurring issue with directions and locations was beginning to grow quite bothersome. He made a mental note that when he returned to the tiny apartment he called home that he would need to set aside some time to locate and purchase a map. Then perhaps he would have to find some place to put it near the door, lest it become lost amongst the stacks of books, ledgers, and notices piled against nearly every wall.

"If memory serves...." he began slowly, "there was one of those that smelled delightful in.... this direction!" he said, having a momentary flash of clarity. Without waiting for further input from the much calmer card, he took off at a decent scurry down the sidewalk.