intangibleman: Default. (Default)
intangibleman ([personal profile] intangibleman) wrote in [community profile] spira_rp2018-10-07 05:22 pm

Killers everywhere, it ain't no place to run.

The Desert Palace, all in all, wasn't such a bad place.

Tyki rather liked it. It was almost lively under the near funereal, subdued air. There might have been a fog hanging over everything, the heavy weight of a member missing, but underneath that was a subtle layer of anticipation, a mountain-stream burble of excitement at what the meeting might hold. For those normally resident, the reaction to strangers was mixed. Some approached the situation with their heads held high, giving no indication one way or another how they felt about the sudden intrusion. Others seemed nervous, the unknown quantities enough to frighten them, not that they broadcasted it. For the minions, there seemed to be a novelty to it. It almost seemed to take the edge off the fear the Arrancar were harbouring.

Almost.

Neliel, however, apparently Sosuke Aizen's biggest fan, seemed positively mired in it. There were moments when she came out of herself a little, but it was obvious that he was on her mind. Him, or her precarious position.

The young girl Road had taken to seemed less concerned, but it was possible she didn't understand the gravity of her situation. The short man with the pet Malboro covered whatever worries he had with a bright veneer of smirking sarcasm, but Tyki could practically smell the fear on him. The lanky Tag with the attitude problem didn't give anything away, instead choosing to sneer one-eyed at everybody, teeth grit and bared like an animal caged, as though he didn't care whether he lived or died so long as he got to sink his teeth into somebody. It was possible this was the case, but Tyki had rarely seen somebody who didn't care when it came down to it. Perhaps he'd get to see his real feelings on the matter after the meeting's conclusion. That might be fun.

The others hadn't presented themselves for inspection.

Tyki found himself enjoying it all. Road was keeping an eye on things, doing her best impression of a precocious young girl there under Tyki's watchful eye, but the reverse was probably more true. She knew more than he did, about everything. It was her who told him what would become of the Arrancar if things went south, her who told him about the members he had never heard of, who he'd never bothered to read the backgrounds of. He simply watched and enjoyed.

What had surprised him was that the majority of the members present and, indeed, those expected, were natives of their own floating continent, and not Ivalice. Some of the residents were certainly lowerworlders, but all of the visitors seemed to come from Niflheim, Lucis or the Jyllandi Union. Was it merely a trip for them, a chance for the to size each other up on neutral ground, with Aizen's imprisonment serving as little more than window dressing? That was possible. None of the had any real personal investment in the man, nor his continued safety, or that of his underlings. He suspected Kreeth was simply there for the holiday.

There hadn't been any newcomers for a few days. The last had been the two from the Union and before those, the Lucian envoys, apparent nobodies there in the stead of somebody important. It was probably fortunate the absent lowerworlders didn't send the same in their places, or the palace would run the risk of being standing room only, with underlings turfed out of their rooms to house the temporarily higher-ranked dogs of members. Road said they were still waiting on a woman from Reseune, a town that bordered the two major halves of the Niflheim Empire, and some mid-tier noble from Nagapur who Road, all full of childlike delight, was expecting to kick off at some point during her stay.

There had been some arrivals last night, but they'd come in without fanfare, or announcement. They felt familiar, so Tyki assumed they were residential minions, gone and returned. He'd soon find out, anyway. He'd left his hat and cane in his room, but still made sure to dress nicely. His white side wasn't welcome in such a place, and the black was far, far classier. He found himself gravitating to the kitchen without effort and he was almost surprised how quick such a thing had happened. Perhaps that was how the palace got you.

He pushed open the door.

"Good morning," he said.
thatsit: (Pull the blackout curtains down)

[personal profile] thatsit 2018-10-08 05:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Ignis retrieved the second sandwich from the oven, positioning it carefully on the place while Tyki spoke to Nel. After a quick basting with hot butter, the second egg was ready, and he slid the completed dish across the table so it rested in front of Tyki.

Nel's reaction drew a smile from him. "Thank you," he said, wearing a genuine, slightly flattered smile. That reaction was what he enjoyed the most about cooking. The act was therapeutic, but the reactions were his favourite part. It was the only role he had where the looks on people's faces assured him of a job well done with such consistency.

Someone else was approaching the kitchen. Ignis hadn't encountered this person before, although the reiatsu was familiar enough to the Palace's background noise that he could hazard a guess at it being one of the returning Arrancar.
cierva: U n s u r e (I just know there's no escape now...)

[personal profile] cierva 2018-10-08 05:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Apache pushed the door open and eyed the two strangers. She caught what the one of the said, but didn't react. Well, she did react, but it was more that her surprise at hearing her own language spoken in the palace kitchen looked very much like confusion at hearing a foreign tongue.

"Morning," she said, flatly.

And then she took in the newcomers a little more. One of them was... grey. The one who had spoken, in fact. There was only one clan that she could think of that had skin of that colour, and the strong Überwald accent just filled in her suspicions as to what, if not who, he was. A Noah, at a guess. A member of the Kamelot family, one of the many weird Mist-altered families in Niflheim, those who had been handing down their mutations for so long they were considered bloodline limits, rather than imperfections. They didn't need to wear... she scowled, trying to ignore the thought. They were pretty high up in the noble set, well known enough, but she didn't now how much beyond the borders of Niflheim. She knew, because her hometown was just across the border.

The other guy... just looked like a Hyur. A standard, brown-haired Hyur. Could be anyone.
Edited 2018-10-08 17:50 (UTC)
thatsit: (Immortals)

[personal profile] thatsit 2018-10-08 06:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Ordinarily, Ignis would disapprove of someone talking around a mouthful of food, even to compliment it. Even when it was his food. On the other hand, such genuine appreciation coming from someone that was ostensibly an enemy was to be savoured, no matter how rudely muffled the speech.

"You're welcome," he replied, in Jyllandi, and tried not to look too smug about it.

He turned his attention to the newcomer as she entered. "Good morning," he replied, in Ivalician.
declaregamuza: (You've created)

[personal profile] declaregamuza 2018-10-08 06:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Nel looked up as Apache entered and smiled at her. "Morning," she said, between mouthfuls, in that tone of a mother greeting a teenager that got back late the night before.

"Did you get back all right?" She didn't, for example, throw Szayel overboard when they were several thousand feet in the air, or, say, strap him to the Ragnarok's nose and have Yylfordt fly at maximum speed through a field of micropurvamae.

It had probably been tempting.
cierva: Scowl. (...haunt my mind.)

[personal profile] cierva 2018-10-08 06:37 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah," Apache said, trying not to stare at the other two.

The one with the glasses responded in Jyllandi, so either he was from there too, or he was the kind of over-achiever that had taught himself to say a small number of sentences in other languages to impress.

"Everyone else is asleep, I think," she sat herself in a chair and yawned. "And no, we didn't kill Szayel."
declaregamuza: (You will be)

[personal profile] declaregamuza 2018-10-08 06:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Nel continued to eat, holding the conversation around mouthfuls. "I noticed he was with you," she said, wrinkling her nose slightly as she added, "shame you had to bring him back."

It would have been better if they'd been able to keep him away, and by extension, Grimmjow and Yylfordt, until the meeting had taken place, but they had to be careful not to be flagrantly taking the piss with this excursion either.

It was impossible to miss the conversation taking place in Jyllandi, brief as it was, but Tyki seemed happy enough with his food, so she doubted anyone was needling at each other.

"This is Tyki," she said, pointing to him, "and Ignis," she indicated with her hand. "They arrived while you were gone."
thatsit: (When the night has come)

[personal profile] thatsit 2018-10-08 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Ignis took Tyki's statement as a genuine compliment, and bowed his head graciously. "Should I ever have call to rethink my employment," he answered, in Jyllandi, "I may consider it."

He turned his attention to Apache when Nel mentioned his name, and gave her a smile. Immediately her mist mutation was obvious and for a second he had to stop himself looking for the chain around her neck. Tags, he remembered, didn't wear them on Ivalice. The information had come as a surprise; it was one of those details that no one thought to mention as a cultural difference, and it would take some getting used to. Although one could take the view that with a mutation so plain on her face, a tag was hardly necessary.

"A pleasure," he said.
cierva: Smirk. (Are you worried that your thoughts...)

[personal profile] cierva 2018-10-08 07:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Was it, she wondered?

Both of these men spoke the language well enough that they had to be visitors from the floating continent. If he was any more observant than Yylfordt, which wasn't hard, he'd notice her eyes, and he had noticed. She'd seen it. She had to resist reaching for a pendant. She curled her fingers on the table to stop herself.

"Same," she said, giving a nod. "I'm Apache."

Apache, not Emilou. It never was, but it definitely wasn't right now. She never gave her surname either, going by her middle name. That was definitely the safer course right now. Her name could attract unwanted attention.

He wasn't bad looking, all things considered. More Nel's type than her own, but he had that Athlum look that made him look half an Al Bhed. His eyes were green, too. The other guy gave her a smile, one rather more charming than Ignis managed, but the fact that just being near him made Cierva squirm sort of put her off a little. She knew the rumours of what the Noah could do, if he was one, and if that was the case, it gave Cierva an excuse to be antsy.

"So where're you two from?" She asked.

When it eventually came out that she was from the same place as them it wouldn't be a weird way to have asked the question. If they said Jylland, or Eos, as the Nifs were currently trying to push, that'd be the dumb for-the-lowerworlder answer. If they were more detailed... well, she didn't know them personally. It would be no different to Nel asking where another Lowerworlder was from.
thatsit: (and again every day)

[personal profile] thatsit 2018-10-08 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Eos. Now there was a point that the Nifs and Lucis had in common. He gave the word a brief, approving nod.

"Lucis," he answered, into the gap afforded by Tyki as he continued. "I was just making some breakfast," he added, "would you like some?"

It would take him all of five minutes to whip up another, after all, and there were still plenty of eggs.
declaregamuza: (You'd never dream of)

[personal profile] declaregamuza 2018-10-08 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Nel wondered if Apache was going to tell them where she was from.

Or would she be sneaky and not let them know that she spoke Jyllandi? Having someone that could understand the language, when the other Jyllandis assumed no one could, might be kind of useful. If nothing else, she could get Apache to give her a signal if she needed to knock heads together.

"You should try some," she said, looking at Apache, with a hand covering her mouth as she spoke while finishing swallowing. "Ignis is a really good cook. We might have to kidnap him."
cierva: Questioning look. (Late at night...)

[personal profile] cierva 2018-10-08 08:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"Then.... yes please," Apache said, brightly. Well, who was she to turn down the offer of a lovely breakfast, especially one that came on the recommendation of the person that usually did the cooking..?

She leaned in to Nel when Ignis had turned away, and said "Just for his cooking, huh?"
declaregamuza: (I wanted freedom)

[personal profile] declaregamuza 2018-10-08 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Nel glanced at Apache and then away again in the universal gesture of badly feigned innocence. Ignis was handsome, and charming, and he cooked, and cleaned, and sounded like a toff, and if it turned out that he could handle a riding crop as well as he could cook, Nel would be forced to marry him.

She finished one of her last mouthfuls and leaned in towards Apache to whisper, "I think he plays for Szayel's team."

All the best ones did. It wasn't fair.
thatsit: (Live with me forever now)

[personal profile] thatsit 2018-10-08 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Ignis cracked a third egg into the pan, and couldn't hear more than an indistinct murmuring from the table over the sound of sizzling.

"How do you prefer your eggs?" he asked, turning slightly to direct the question to Apache.

He was enjoying this. It wasn't often he got to make breakfast for people that appreciated it. He'd cooked every day since they'd arrived for Gladio, of course, but that wasn't really the same. Gladio was accustomed to high standards, his love of cup noodles aside.
cierva: Windswept. (Take a deep breath.)

[personal profile] cierva 2018-10-08 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Apache gave Nel a sympathetic look, but turned her attention to Ignis as he asked her the egg question.

"Just... fried. Yellow bit up..?" They were called Sunny Side Up on Jylland, but she wasn't entirely certain of the Ivalice translation, it hadn't really come up. She had a tendency to eat whatever she was given, so she wasn't that fussy. A fried egg was a fried egg.

"That's a shame," she whispered to Nel.
sipthehoneylikeabutterfly: (just to have your touch)

[personal profile] sipthehoneylikeabutterfly 2018-10-08 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
It had been a long trip out with Yylfordt and his cadre of hangers on. Szayel had objected to going when he'd been told. After all, he never went out on forays into the wider world with Yylfordt and the rest normally; it was obvious that Nel was just trying to get rid of him while the other Khamja members arrived.

Not that he objected to collecting Arc and returning him to the Palace. One more pleasant face in the building wasn't to be sniffed at, and knowing that he was here with Arc, while Aizen was so unfortunately locked away... well. The imagination just ran riot.

He'd woken at his usual time that morning, but took rather longer in the shower, and then with his collection before he'd prepared himself for seeing the rest of the Palace. The Ragnarok wasn't the most comfortable, or secluded, of lodgings, and while Szayel wasn't shy, others had complained that the walls were thin.

With his hair perfectly done, he'd ventured out. There were others present, of course there were. He didn't know if the meeting had already taken place, or if it was still to occur, but either way, the Palace bristled with new reiatsu signatures.

Two of them were in the kitchen. One of them made Fornicaras uneasy, which Szayel casually ignored because the petulant squirming of his Hollow was beneath his attention.

He entered to find four people seated around the table. One in glasses, one with grey skin, and the other two of little significance to him. The kitchen smelled of cooked food and coffee. Good coffee, like he kept in his workspace in the infirmary.

"I'm here," he declared, shooting Nel a pointed look. She'd been so eager to get rid of him, after all.
cierva: Disgusted. (I brush my fear away.)

[personal profile] cierva 2018-10-08 09:42 pm (UTC)(link)
"Ugh, why?" Apache asked, putting her elbow on the table and resting her cheek on her hand.

She was sick of him, more than usual. His stupid smarmy face, his ridiculous pink hair, those unforgivably terrible glasses, his repugnant personality... just an hour without him, that's all she wanted.

"Knew we should've dropped you out over the Naldoan sea," she griped.

He'd complained on their trip, but that wasn't much of a surprise. He hated all of them, not least his brother, and being cooped up with the group of people most likely to stove his head in, save Nnoitra, for a lengthy period must have sucked for him, but not as much as for them. He'd been less aggravating when they'd picked Arc up, but only because he'd left bitching at them alone in favour of picking on the boss's kid. Or whatever he was doing with him. She didn't really want to think about it.
declaregamuza: (Bury it)

[personal profile] declaregamuza 2018-10-08 10:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Nel felt Szayel approaching, and braced herself for it. Which didn't stop her from internally groaning when he walked in and declared his presence.

All right, maybe she was going too far in assuming that Ignis batted for Szayel's team. Ignis was a little flamboyant, but he didn't exactly sand in doorways and fill the room with a fog of utter fab.

"Good morning, Szayel," she replied, with a lack of enthusiasm. "Nice to see you survived." Her tone couldn't have been flatter if a steamroller had passed over it, but it was obvious he was trying to needle at her by drawing attention to his presence.
thatsit: (So darling)

[personal profile] thatsit 2018-10-08 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Ignis blinked, slightly taken aback as a man, around his own height, entered the room and promptly declared he was here. Ignis took a second to rake eyes over him. He was a Selkie, of course; there were a number of them, and he'd met Marluxia, so pink hair on a man wasn't new. It was everything else about this man that stood out. He was skinny, and wore white framed spectacles, and looked as if he belonged in a house of ill repute, rather than this kitchen.

And Nel and Apache seemed to know him, and were weary of his presence already, despite the fact he'd only just walked in.

He bowed his head to Tyki instead of addressing the newcomer instead, ignoring his use of his hand to wipe at his own mouth, although he couldn't be blamed when they hadn't been provided with napkins. "You're welcome," he answered, in Jyllandi. "I'm always happy to cook for an appreciative palate."

No matter where it originated from. Through such means were inroads to diplomacy made, after all, even though diplomacy with the Noah was likely a fruitless endeavour.

"Good morning," he said, then, to Szayel, switching back to Ivalician smoothly.
sipthehoneylikeabutterfly: (submissive restriction)

[personal profile] sipthehoneylikeabutterfly 2018-10-08 10:37 pm (UTC)(link)
"Good morning to you," Szayel replied, although his tone suggested he meant 'good morning to me' as he cast a definitely appreciative eye over first the speccy nerd with the ridiculous hair, and then the dark skinned charmer.

He followed it up by flashing a poisonous look at Apache. Too many weeks in too confined a space with her had ground on his last nerve. She was as objectionable as Yylfordt, and her presence made Yylfordt a thousand times more objectionable still because the ridiculous idiot clearly wanted to stick his dick in her and hadn't. Szayel had no patience for that sort of stupidity either.

"But you didn't," he pointed out, and then sauntered past to the kettle to make himself a coffee.

"So," he said, as he flicked the kettle on. He turned around to lean against the counter and make eye contact with the newcomers. "Who are you?"

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