"I'll be happy to join you next time, Miss Dare! But it may, perhaps, be best to allow the princess to keep to what she's comfortable with," Fold chuckled, replying to Dare's invitation while beckoning her to come a bit closer so they could speak with her privately. "Between you and I, she gets a little silly under the influence." That would probably only increase Dare's curiosity. Dare also offered a few other insights on Fold's names, these which caused the bodyguard to freeze up and respond more rigidly. "I suppose we'll never know my creator's thoughts or why they chose the name, but I can only assume it refers to making one's opponent fold, right? As in, 'Fold is such an unbreakable and stalwart wall of support that when it comes to threatening her princess, I simply must fold!' My name is therefore like a set of instructions," the bodyguard reasoned, sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone. "O-Or what you said! That's also good," she nodded enthusiastically, yielding to the wisdom of a confessed drunkard.
Rejoining the conversation, Ante smiled and clapped her hands together at her chest. "Absolutely! Oh, the music, the dancing, the sights and sounds... all of it was so romantic," she sighed wistfully. "I-I mean, nostalgic! That's the word you used, wasn't it?" she giggled, waving her misstep off as a silly mistake. "I'd love to know how you acquired your trophies as well, Miss Dare, although I imagine you'd simply charm the pants right off of anyone you had a chance to speak to at any length," Ante reasoned, more trying to switch the topic of conversation than anything.
The conversation was interrupted as they ran out of building to traverse, finding themselves back out at the maze pavilion. If either Hoodwink or Dare remembered the earlier part of the night, they might find a marked difference between Ante and Fold's current treatment of Hoodwink and their behavior back then. Where once Ante had been suspicious of a rogue hanging around outside the lavish mansion, she now held a look of eagerness, almost bashfulness, as she extended a small curtsy. Similarly, where Fold had once appeared suspicious and ready to hold the man to a rigid metric of scrutiny, she now seemed accepting, her greedy eyes darting back and forth between the princess and him to see what sort of chemistry existed between the two. "I'm pleased to find you waiting here, as promised! I wished to come out sooner, seeing as the party has been over for quite some time, but the business with Miss Zennocracy held us a bit over," Ante explained. "I hope the rest of the party was enjoyable for you and that you haven't been waiting out here all night. Oh, and... thank you for your caring for me, earlier, yes," she coughed, looking aside in a guilty way as Dare mentioned the time the two had spent together earlier, supposedly doing nothing more than recovering from a dizzy spell.
"I've brought a couple of scraps of that bastard, MyofybrilMan's, pants," Fold sighed, again frowning as the memory resurfaced. She handed those over eagerly. "Also, this bell from DueAccountabilityMan, one of many he wore upon his outfit. We were fast friends, so he was happy to part with it," she chuckled, bringing that out as well. She'd already retrieved the data from inside of it, so the item Hoodwink was receiving would be only a bell and nothing more.
"I don't believe anything we've collected tonight will be missed, which is something of a relief. After all, I hate to think of us tricking anyone, hiding unscrupulous motivations, making fools out of other people without their knowing, or any of that rot! With the exception of MyofybrilMan, everyone parted on good terms," the princess sighed, sounding a bit worn out by the night regardless.
"I'd prefer not to explain why I have scraps of his pants," Fold murmured, with a grim, menacing expression of malice.
The Scotsdale Virtual Estate
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Drink-spurred loquaciousness, and fluster parapraxis aside, the partied-out trio swapped some stories and hinted at more, by the time hey reached their shadow employer for the night. He nodded to the amiable words from Dare with something of a small twinkle in his eye, and an equal, though slightly more serious, nod of gratitude for Fold, for her own offerings. Along with the gifts from Fold and Dare, the rogue also produced the beautiful crystal spray that Ante had given him, pausing again to marvel at it in particular. Holding all five carefully in his hands, he looked up again to the three women before him.
"Five highly influential guests to Zennocracy's ball, and five little trophies in my hands, small things given freely or else not missed. I am very pleased. Thank you each." He inclined his head once more, though holding the items as carefully as he was, it didn't leave him any freedom to bow properly. When he looked up again, it was with a slightly apologetic smile, however.
"I would not doubt any one of you, of course, my ladies, and it pains me to have to do a confirmation of any sort, when you've all played my game so wonderfully, but I'm afraid my personal hang-ups must insist on it. It will be an itch under my skin if I do not.... Please, this will only take the briefest of moments."
Shuffling the handful of baubles to one palm, Hoodwink held his other palm open and flat, then softly transferred one item to it at a time. The first one to slip over was the bell, from Duey. When it hit Hoodwink's other palm, a circle of green light flashed about his hand, and then threw up a small view-screen that was mostly opaque, facing Hoodwink. It was hard to see much, save a brief scroll of scanning data and became a brighter green glow when it matched the composition to being fragment .GMO data from DueAccountabilityMan. Hoodwink glanced up with a grin and winked at Fold, clearly pleased.
The second object was Saija's feather, and it went through the same process, identifying as fragment .GMO data from SaijaTsun. Next was the Cuff-link, and another green light as it came up as fragment .GMO data from DisgolokoMan, though he looked to Dare and raised one eyebrow in amusement as it also reported trace elements of direct entity data belonging to SaijaTsun.
The scrap of fabric was next, and the scan took longer reading the fragment. Hoodwink's brows knit as he followed the date read-out, but even thought the screen went an ominous shade of red instead, he looked up towards Fold still grinning.
"Looks like this one is from a generic purchased suit, rather than a personal .GMO, or anything like that. Nothing to mark it as personal to him, but don't worry; the purchase number trace shows his name as the buyer, and that's enough confirmation for me, lady Fold. Besides... this one more than makes up for any lack of personal closeness in the others..." Here he held up the spray of crystal again. The man seemed re-entranced by its beauty, or perhaps by what it represented, each time he looked at it, but the effect was fleeting and he set it on his palm with cast of his eyes to Ante, and slow, respectful incline of his head.
The scan showed this piece as legacy entity data from Mordenite, and though it was hard to see through the inverted and mostly opaqued screen, the green-lit display also showed a reference picture along with it. The image looked vaguely like a tall fortress structure of some sort, partially destroyed, partially crystallised, and rent with giant spikes of solid diamond-like crystals, and at its base a figure that Ante might be able to recognise as Mordenite, though possibly not: reversed and opaqued picture aside, the figure was standing to his full very impressive height, and had his wings unfurled wide, and his entire form much resembled the transparent crystal of the image, and indeed, of the small spray that Ante had kept.
Hoodwink's eyebrows jumped up for a moment, and he removed the crystal from his palm, shutting the scanning program down.
"Not a man to anger, by the look of that..." He murmured, mostly to himself. He was distracted only for a moment, however, and turned his focus back to the women before him. "These are wonderful, ladies. They are exactly what I asked, and again, I'm sorry to have to confirm it like that. I don't think for a moment that any of you would think of trying to cheat; it's merely a personal hang-up of my own. The scanning program is one a colleague of mine crated especially for me, because he knows I have this self-verifying tick." With a brief shake of his head he now extended his hands, holding the trinkets, to the trio.
"Now.... these are mostly tokens won, or gifts given, or favours bequeathed. What mattered to me, was that I wanted them; now that I have them I am very pleased so, if any of you would like to have any of these back, to keep for yourselves, you are most welcome to them." For all his enthusiasm for the game, and his eagerness to acquire the simple little baubles, the man seemed quite willing to return them to the ladies now, seeing as none of them were items that the original owners were going to want back. When each of them had taken back whatever they wished to keep, Hoodwink would whisk the remainder away up one sleeve and out of sight, before putting a leg forward and bowing low to the women. His eyes would linger a moment longer on the spray of crystal if Ante opted to reclaim the souvenir of her night for her own, but there would be no hesitation in his giving it back to her, if she wanted it.
"Since you've all played admirably with me, what did I promise? Twice over Zennocracy's fee to you each, was it? I'll pay it and gladly. How much did she decide to reward you? I admit, I'm curious to see how far her generosity went."
Throughout the formal business part of their meeting, Hoodwink had been unable to keep his eyes occasionally flicking in Ante's direction, for brief glances. It seemed like there was more he wished to say to her personally, but was trying to find the right moment, or opportunity to do so. Perhaps the right opportunity would come up once all the business was out of the way.
"Five highly influential guests to Zennocracy's ball, and five little trophies in my hands, small things given freely or else not missed. I am very pleased. Thank you each." He inclined his head once more, though holding the items as carefully as he was, it didn't leave him any freedom to bow properly. When he looked up again, it was with a slightly apologetic smile, however.
"I would not doubt any one of you, of course, my ladies, and it pains me to have to do a confirmation of any sort, when you've all played my game so wonderfully, but I'm afraid my personal hang-ups must insist on it. It will be an itch under my skin if I do not.... Please, this will only take the briefest of moments."
Shuffling the handful of baubles to one palm, Hoodwink held his other palm open and flat, then softly transferred one item to it at a time. The first one to slip over was the bell, from Duey. When it hit Hoodwink's other palm, a circle of green light flashed about his hand, and then threw up a small view-screen that was mostly opaque, facing Hoodwink. It was hard to see much, save a brief scroll of scanning data and became a brighter green glow when it matched the composition to being fragment .GMO data from DueAccountabilityMan. Hoodwink glanced up with a grin and winked at Fold, clearly pleased.
The second object was Saija's feather, and it went through the same process, identifying as fragment .GMO data from SaijaTsun. Next was the Cuff-link, and another green light as it came up as fragment .GMO data from DisgolokoMan, though he looked to Dare and raised one eyebrow in amusement as it also reported trace elements of direct entity data belonging to SaijaTsun.
The scrap of fabric was next, and the scan took longer reading the fragment. Hoodwink's brows knit as he followed the date read-out, but even thought the screen went an ominous shade of red instead, he looked up towards Fold still grinning.
"Looks like this one is from a generic purchased suit, rather than a personal .GMO, or anything like that. Nothing to mark it as personal to him, but don't worry; the purchase number trace shows his name as the buyer, and that's enough confirmation for me, lady Fold. Besides... this one more than makes up for any lack of personal closeness in the others..." Here he held up the spray of crystal again. The man seemed re-entranced by its beauty, or perhaps by what it represented, each time he looked at it, but the effect was fleeting and he set it on his palm with cast of his eyes to Ante, and slow, respectful incline of his head.
The scan showed this piece as legacy entity data from Mordenite, and though it was hard to see through the inverted and mostly opaqued screen, the green-lit display also showed a reference picture along with it. The image looked vaguely like a tall fortress structure of some sort, partially destroyed, partially crystallised, and rent with giant spikes of solid diamond-like crystals, and at its base a figure that Ante might be able to recognise as Mordenite, though possibly not: reversed and opaqued picture aside, the figure was standing to his full very impressive height, and had his wings unfurled wide, and his entire form much resembled the transparent crystal of the image, and indeed, of the small spray that Ante had kept.
Hoodwink's eyebrows jumped up for a moment, and he removed the crystal from his palm, shutting the scanning program down.
"Not a man to anger, by the look of that..." He murmured, mostly to himself. He was distracted only for a moment, however, and turned his focus back to the women before him. "These are wonderful, ladies. They are exactly what I asked, and again, I'm sorry to have to confirm it like that. I don't think for a moment that any of you would think of trying to cheat; it's merely a personal hang-up of my own. The scanning program is one a colleague of mine crated especially for me, because he knows I have this self-verifying tick." With a brief shake of his head he now extended his hands, holding the trinkets, to the trio.
"Now.... these are mostly tokens won, or gifts given, or favours bequeathed. What mattered to me, was that I wanted them; now that I have them I am very pleased so, if any of you would like to have any of these back, to keep for yourselves, you are most welcome to them." For all his enthusiasm for the game, and his eagerness to acquire the simple little baubles, the man seemed quite willing to return them to the ladies now, seeing as none of them were items that the original owners were going to want back. When each of them had taken back whatever they wished to keep, Hoodwink would whisk the remainder away up one sleeve and out of sight, before putting a leg forward and bowing low to the women. His eyes would linger a moment longer on the spray of crystal if Ante opted to reclaim the souvenir of her night for her own, but there would be no hesitation in his giving it back to her, if she wanted it.
"Since you've all played admirably with me, what did I promise? Twice over Zennocracy's fee to you each, was it? I'll pay it and gladly. How much did she decide to reward you? I admit, I'm curious to see how far her generosity went."
Throughout the formal business part of their meeting, Hoodwink had been unable to keep his eyes occasionally flicking in Ante's direction, for brief glances. It seemed like there was more he wished to say to her personally, but was trying to find the right moment, or opportunity to do so. Perhaps the right opportunity would come up once all the business was out of the way.
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Ante and Fold were about exhausted with doubting everyone's intentions for one night, but, even without speaking, they both found themselves sharing a brief worry over whether Hoodwink was, indeed, verifying the data of the individuals, or whether he was capable of garnering more than they wanted to share from the items they'd given out. If the bell could be tied to Duey through some unseen historical link, it could just as well have some remnant of the data it carried inside, or even simply the fact that it had once held sensitive data. If he was gathering any such information though, he was good at hiding it, to the point where after three or four scans, the two no longer felt worried that he was peering at anything other than information he already had on hand in a database. "Well, Mister Hoodwink, there was only one other item that I considered separating from MyofybrilMan, and without going into gross detail, you'll be glad I didn't choose to bring you it despite how much he values it and deserves to lose it," Fold responded, shaking her head with an irritable frown, just from having the memory resurface.
Neither Fold nor Ante had any reason to take back their trinkets. One of Fold's she'd been happy to toss aside and the other had already served its purpose. Ante, on the other hand, had already gained a present and an acknowledgement from Mordenite that made any physical memorabilia insignificant by comparison. "Zennocracy paid Miss Dare three-thousand zenny and myself eighty bugfrags, as I recall," Ante responded, with a simple smile. "All things considered... the fact that we crossed her a number of times throughout the evening and failed to prevent much of the ruination to some of her more expensive seeming property... I suppose if she short-changed us, I wouldn't blame her."
"But! We are hardly eager to turn down your generous offer," Fold added, placing one hand upon Ante's shoulder and peeking her eyes over; she was a bit taller, which allowed her to do so. It was fairly clear that she really wanted the extra bugfrags, though, to be fair, seemingly for reasons of devotion to the princess and wanting to protect her better.
Ante laughed awkwardly, then slowly opened her eyes again. When she did, she happened to notice Hoodwink glancing at her, specifically, now; this caused red to spread over her face again, despite her best attempts to be discrete. "Ah, Mister Hoodwink and I had actually been having a riveting private discussion out in the garden, but ran short on time to finish it. If it's alright with you, Miss Fold, Miss Dare," she began, turning to make sure that Miss Dare was, in fact, still on her feet and conscious, "would you mind leaving the two of us to speak for a moment? Worry not, I shan't be long and will be back in Teruko's PET within a moment's time."
Although her first instinct was to frown at being left out, Fold quickly brightened up after realizing that might mean the princess was going to enjoy a little more romantic one-on-one time with their gentlemanly and seemingly very wealthy new acquaintance. "I certainly don't mind. It's been good to make your acquaintance," Fold finished, removing her hat for a moment and placing it to her breast, while grabbing Dare's hand in her free palm. She led Dare in a small bow, although it would be frankly amazing if her partner-in-gesture went along with the motion. "I'll head on out." Fold vanished in a slew of black poker chips, which fell down from the sky in a long tunnel, before disappearing into the ground.
Giving Hoodwink another shy smile, Ante fiddled with the silver, spade-shaped zipper on the front of her choker. "We can meet back up shortly, Miss Dare. Please, if you would?" she requested again.
Neither Fold nor Ante had any reason to take back their trinkets. One of Fold's she'd been happy to toss aside and the other had already served its purpose. Ante, on the other hand, had already gained a present and an acknowledgement from Mordenite that made any physical memorabilia insignificant by comparison. "Zennocracy paid Miss Dare three-thousand zenny and myself eighty bugfrags, as I recall," Ante responded, with a simple smile. "All things considered... the fact that we crossed her a number of times throughout the evening and failed to prevent much of the ruination to some of her more expensive seeming property... I suppose if she short-changed us, I wouldn't blame her."
"But! We are hardly eager to turn down your generous offer," Fold added, placing one hand upon Ante's shoulder and peeking her eyes over; she was a bit taller, which allowed her to do so. It was fairly clear that she really wanted the extra bugfrags, though, to be fair, seemingly for reasons of devotion to the princess and wanting to protect her better.
Ante laughed awkwardly, then slowly opened her eyes again. When she did, she happened to notice Hoodwink glancing at her, specifically, now; this caused red to spread over her face again, despite her best attempts to be discrete. "Ah, Mister Hoodwink and I had actually been having a riveting private discussion out in the garden, but ran short on time to finish it. If it's alright with you, Miss Fold, Miss Dare," she began, turning to make sure that Miss Dare was, in fact, still on her feet and conscious, "would you mind leaving the two of us to speak for a moment? Worry not, I shan't be long and will be back in Teruko's PET within a moment's time."
Although her first instinct was to frown at being left out, Fold quickly brightened up after realizing that might mean the princess was going to enjoy a little more romantic one-on-one time with their gentlemanly and seemingly very wealthy new acquaintance. "I certainly don't mind. It's been good to make your acquaintance," Fold finished, removing her hat for a moment and placing it to her breast, while grabbing Dare's hand in her free palm. She led Dare in a small bow, although it would be frankly amazing if her partner-in-gesture went along with the motion. "I'll head on out." Fold vanished in a slew of black poker chips, which fell down from the sky in a long tunnel, before disappearing into the ground.
Giving Hoodwink another shy smile, Ante fiddled with the silver, spade-shaped zipper on the front of her choker. "We can meet back up shortly, Miss Dare. Please, if you would?" she requested again.
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Dare continued smiling with her usual confidence (but not with her usual steadiness, and more of her as-of-late tipsiness) as Hoodwink ran his verifications. She probably wouldn't have been able to tell the finer details of his process even at her finest, but it looked like his device was, at least, not firing off siren alarms or anything. "I'm pretty sure they're all legit. They'd better be! I had to jump through some hoops to get those..."
The Navi was happy to see he was happy, and was also unexpectedly pleased to have the opportunity to take her trophies back. "Cool, thanks, Hoodie! I've been trying to hang on to trophies and souvenirs from all my contests, conquests, and adventures." The Navi took back Saija's hair ornament and (a bit more gingerly) Drisco's defiled cufflink, trying to make a mental note to give the latter a good scrubbing at some point in the future. With soap.
The Navi still wasn't picking up on the vibes Ante and Hoodwink were sending out for each other, but her frown at being explicitly left out of whatever Ante wanted to discuss didn't fade like Fold's. She looked a little swept up as Fold took her hand and led her in a fancy exit gesture that she wasn't really prepared to take part in. Before the Navi could protest, the SP had already disappeared, as if to say "What are you waiting for?" and hurry Dare to beat it as well.
Dare scratched the back of her head, looking between her rival and her shady client, trying to decipher the mystery of what was going on. Finally, her eyes caught on the uncharacteristically shy and girlish way Ante was playing with her clothes, and she realized she was being asked to leave until later, explicitly...
"Is... is Ante hitting on me?" Dare thought, looking a bit slack-jawed momentarily. "Like, 'meet up again later'... and then her clothes... Woah! Woah woah, woah, no. I've got something wrong here, and my head hurts too much to think about it." The Navi decided she'd leave the adults to their conversation, while she left to cool her head and hit the bed. "Y-yeah, okay. I'll hit the road when Hoodie gives me my reward. Don't the two of you talk about anything you wouldn't share with your rival, okay?" Dare gave Ante a friendly wink, still holding her hand out to receive whatever Hoodwink might give her. Assuming she got it, she would give Hoodwink a quick goodbye and vanish in a blur of flames and engine's roar.
The Navi was happy to see he was happy, and was also unexpectedly pleased to have the opportunity to take her trophies back. "Cool, thanks, Hoodie! I've been trying to hang on to trophies and souvenirs from all my contests, conquests, and adventures." The Navi took back Saija's hair ornament and (a bit more gingerly) Drisco's defiled cufflink, trying to make a mental note to give the latter a good scrubbing at some point in the future. With soap.
The Navi still wasn't picking up on the vibes Ante and Hoodwink were sending out for each other, but her frown at being explicitly left out of whatever Ante wanted to discuss didn't fade like Fold's. She looked a little swept up as Fold took her hand and led her in a fancy exit gesture that she wasn't really prepared to take part in. Before the Navi could protest, the SP had already disappeared, as if to say "What are you waiting for?" and hurry Dare to beat it as well.
Dare scratched the back of her head, looking between her rival and her shady client, trying to decipher the mystery of what was going on. Finally, her eyes caught on the uncharacteristically shy and girlish way Ante was playing with her clothes, and she realized she was being asked to leave until later, explicitly...
"Is... is Ante hitting on me?" Dare thought, looking a bit slack-jawed momentarily. "Like, 'meet up again later'... and then her clothes... Woah! Woah woah, woah, no. I've got something wrong here, and my head hurts too much to think about it." The Navi decided she'd leave the adults to their conversation, while she left to cool her head and hit the bed. "Y-yeah, okay. I'll hit the road when Hoodie gives me my reward. Don't the two of you talk about anything you wouldn't share with your rival, okay?" Dare gave Ante a friendly wink, still holding her hand out to receive whatever Hoodwink might give her. Assuming she got it, she would give Hoodwink a quick goodbye and vanish in a blur of flames and engine's roar.
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Whether hoodwink was getting more than he implied for the brief check or not would have to remain a mystery for now. The moment passed and once he had handed the two trophies back to Dare, and swiftly squirrelled the others away, the time had arrived for him to uphold his end of their challenge. Fold's response in particular made the questionably dichotomic navi raise an eyebrow, but he opted not to draw her any further on the topic of severed 'trophies'.
He arched that same single eyebrow when they reported their earnings from Zennocracy, then sighed and shook his head. When he raised his eyes again, he was grinning, and made small flourish with his hands, crossing them over one another like a street magician. When they came apart again, he was holding two small green prisms that looked like miniaturised mystery data crystals. He held out out each to Ante, and to Dare.
"I am sorry that you caught Zenny in such a foul mood. Please, it's my pleasure to make your evenings feel a little bit more worthwhile. For you, Miss Dare, six thousand, double to Zenny's payment." His eyes moved over to Ante. "And for you, my lady, an additional hundred and sixty fragments." He held onto the crystal a moment longer as he handed it to her, and his fingers brushed hers for a moment. "A connected business colleague of both Zennocracy and I makes these, and he'd have me warn anyone that they are particularly potent. I hope they serve you, and Miss Fold very well."
Almost as soon as the business end of matters was concluded, Ante made sure not to leave their second employer hanging, although his smile was soft, almost shy and he lowered his eyes, stepping back a moment to allow Ante to beg away from her friends without standing over them directly. He might have been intending to make a similar request himself, but was content to let Ante herself do the talking now that she was. There was enough time, barely, for a polite exchange for farewells, which Hoodwink returned with a smooth lowering of his head and one hand over his chest, before he and Ante were alone again.
The cold night air would only serve to make anyone feeling unusually warm or flushed, all the more aware of the fact, but as Hoodwink stepped forward again to lift Ante's hands in his own, the moonlight illuminated smooth features and calm, contented eyes.
"Thankyou for seeing me again Ante. I do regret coming before dressed like this again, but I hope you can understand. Nights like this are moments snatched from fonder memories, for me, and the life I lead cannot be so grand, most of the time. Nevertheless; I had thought simply to find some amusement in setting a challenge for Zenny's associates, and maybe reminisce on a lifestyle I rarely touch these days, and instead you have made my night magical." As he spoke, his eyes rested mostly on hers, though they also traced the other features of her face in between. In particular his gaze lingered on her lips once or twice, and it wouldn't be hard to imagine where his memories lingered. He made no move to try for a repeat performance, however, and instead just watched her in appreciating silence for a moment, before continuing.
"I... Ante, I know it is over-bold of me, but I should very much like to meet you again, in the future, and again after that, if you will allow, and again after that, if you still find my presence pleasing. My life does not leave me great amounts of time to myself, I admit, but if you are willing, I would very much like to spend more of it with you..." Again he paused, looking down towards where he held her hands between them. "Until then, Ante... have you considered my request any further? It would mean much to me, for something to have to remind me of you, and this evening, until we might meet again." At the last, he seemed shy to be asking again, but even as his gaze flicked down in what looked very much like bashfulness, his fingers squeezed her hands gently.
((Also, Ante gets a further 160 BugFrags, Dare gets a further 6000z))
He arched that same single eyebrow when they reported their earnings from Zennocracy, then sighed and shook his head. When he raised his eyes again, he was grinning, and made small flourish with his hands, crossing them over one another like a street magician. When they came apart again, he was holding two small green prisms that looked like miniaturised mystery data crystals. He held out out each to Ante, and to Dare.
"I am sorry that you caught Zenny in such a foul mood. Please, it's my pleasure to make your evenings feel a little bit more worthwhile. For you, Miss Dare, six thousand, double to Zenny's payment." His eyes moved over to Ante. "And for you, my lady, an additional hundred and sixty fragments." He held onto the crystal a moment longer as he handed it to her, and his fingers brushed hers for a moment. "A connected business colleague of both Zennocracy and I makes these, and he'd have me warn anyone that they are particularly potent. I hope they serve you, and Miss Fold very well."
Almost as soon as the business end of matters was concluded, Ante made sure not to leave their second employer hanging, although his smile was soft, almost shy and he lowered his eyes, stepping back a moment to allow Ante to beg away from her friends without standing over them directly. He might have been intending to make a similar request himself, but was content to let Ante herself do the talking now that she was. There was enough time, barely, for a polite exchange for farewells, which Hoodwink returned with a smooth lowering of his head and one hand over his chest, before he and Ante were alone again.
The cold night air would only serve to make anyone feeling unusually warm or flushed, all the more aware of the fact, but as Hoodwink stepped forward again to lift Ante's hands in his own, the moonlight illuminated smooth features and calm, contented eyes.
"Thankyou for seeing me again Ante. I do regret coming before dressed like this again, but I hope you can understand. Nights like this are moments snatched from fonder memories, for me, and the life I lead cannot be so grand, most of the time. Nevertheless; I had thought simply to find some amusement in setting a challenge for Zenny's associates, and maybe reminisce on a lifestyle I rarely touch these days, and instead you have made my night magical." As he spoke, his eyes rested mostly on hers, though they also traced the other features of her face in between. In particular his gaze lingered on her lips once or twice, and it wouldn't be hard to imagine where his memories lingered. He made no move to try for a repeat performance, however, and instead just watched her in appreciating silence for a moment, before continuing.
"I... Ante, I know it is over-bold of me, but I should very much like to meet you again, in the future, and again after that, if you will allow, and again after that, if you still find my presence pleasing. My life does not leave me great amounts of time to myself, I admit, but if you are willing, I would very much like to spend more of it with you..." Again he paused, looking down towards where he held her hands between them. "Until then, Ante... have you considered my request any further? It would mean much to me, for something to have to remind me of you, and this evening, until we might meet again." At the last, he seemed shy to be asking again, but even as his gaze flicked down in what looked very much like bashfulness, his fingers squeezed her hands gently.
((Also, Ante gets a further 160 BugFrags, Dare gets a further 6000
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"So long as they will help restore Fold's power somewhat, we're quite happy to accept and to use them. Thank you again, Mister Hoodwink," Ante smiled, accepting the bugfrags. Dare was ready to leave, so Ante gave her a small wave. "Oh! Oh... No need to worry, Miss Dare, I've nothing scandalous in mind. Nothing of the sort," Ante answered, clutching the silver accessory at her neck more tightly as a tidal wave of guilt washed over her. She hoped Teruko wouldn't turn her attention back to the PET soon and see that she was still flirting with Hoodwink despite her assurances otherwise to her friend.
"Well, it would be a bit hypocritical of me to criticize anyone's state of dress when I'm still missing a few pieces of my own," Ante murmured jokingly, still staring down at her hands with a bashful smile. His words continued to make her more uncertain of herself and more curious to know the depths of Hoodwink's affection, whether it was normal for him to be so affectionate with a relative stranger, and whether he was genuine in his admiration. "Of course, I would be happy to meet you again in the future. You've been nothing but charitable to me. On that note," she continued using the excuse to break her hands away from his, "I'd like to give you a token, as you asked. Please, although it isn't much, accept my neck piece. I don't believe it's worth anything and it holds no special value, but I believe it would be the on-... er, an appropriate gift to give." Truth be told, it was about the only item on her person she could give away without consequence at this point, as parting with any other article would be a bit risque, seeing as she'd lost her hat and some other articles earlier.
She grasped the tiny, silver, spade-shaped buckle at the center of her neck, just beneath her chin, and pulled it down, unzipping the choker at her neck so that it fell into one long band. The electricity in the air still made the action seem somehow sexual, despite her attempts to be proper. The princess presented it to him spread long over both of her hands. "Is that an alright gift?" she asked, turning her eyes up to look into his own, finally. Her breaths were becoming quick again and she felt there was nothing she could do to slow them down.
"Well, it would be a bit hypocritical of me to criticize anyone's state of dress when I'm still missing a few pieces of my own," Ante murmured jokingly, still staring down at her hands with a bashful smile. His words continued to make her more uncertain of herself and more curious to know the depths of Hoodwink's affection, whether it was normal for him to be so affectionate with a relative stranger, and whether he was genuine in his admiration. "Of course, I would be happy to meet you again in the future. You've been nothing but charitable to me. On that note," she continued using the excuse to break her hands away from his, "I'd like to give you a token, as you asked. Please, although it isn't much, accept my neck piece. I don't believe it's worth anything and it holds no special value, but I believe it would be the on-... er, an appropriate gift to give." Truth be told, it was about the only item on her person she could give away without consequence at this point, as parting with any other article would be a bit risque, seeing as she'd lost her hat and some other articles earlier.
She grasped the tiny, silver, spade-shaped buckle at the center of her neck, just beneath her chin, and pulled it down, unzipping the choker at her neck so that it fell into one long band. The electricity in the air still made the action seem somehow sexual, despite her attempts to be proper. The princess presented it to him spread long over both of her hands. "Is that an alright gift?" she asked, turning her eyes up to look into his own, finally. Her breaths were becoming quick again and she felt there was nothing she could do to slow them down.
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Having received her reward, Dare gave Hoodwink her tipsy two-fingered salute that had become her night's favorite and vanished in a roar of flames. She wouldn't be around to hear or see Ante getting rid of some of her clothes of her own volition, for once.
((JACKED OUT))
((JACKED OUT))
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While Ante seemed a little bashful about the whole situation, Hoodwink was doing his best to reassure; a soft, warm smile and a gentle squeeze to her hands as he held them in both of his, between them. When she raised her hands to the clasp at her neck, Hoodwink's hands didn't chase, though his eyes followed closely.
As he watched her unfasten the clasp, a faint rose formed in tiny spots on his cheeks; intended or not, Ante wasn't the only one who was finding even that simple action mildly erotic, or so it seemed. Either way, he drank the action in with his eyes, before accepting the offering with both hands. He looked down from Ante to the choker, appreciating it a a thing of beauty, then held it briefly to his chest.
"As a favour from you, Ante, I will treasure it, and think of you whenever I look on it, until we next meet." By holding the gift to his chest, a space had been crated between them, and Hoodwink stepped in closer to fill it, such that they were almost standing chest to chest again. There was a moment of silence, where Hoodwink found Ante's eyes, and only her short, rapid breaths gave any movement to the scene. He seemed unsure in these last few moments, however close they were standing; the man had made as clear a request to court Ante as he could, and seemingly she had shown a willingness to this... but it was still their first meeting, and if the rogue in him yearned one way, he knew enough of higher refinement to know that some bounds shouldn't be pressed, at least not this soon.
After the moment stretched long, he craned his neck slightly and leaned in, but it was only to brush his cheek against hers and bring his lips close to her ear. She would likely be able to feel a quickening of his pulse as well.
"I cannot stay, but I am glad you came. I will think of you fondly, and often, until we can meet again. I hope that it might be soon." The words were a soft whisper, and when he stood back, the faint spots of colour in his cheeks had grown more visible. With his free hand, he lifted one of hers again, and, provided she allowed the gesture, raised the back of it to his lips in a slow, chaste kiss.
With another step backwards, he bowed to her again, hand over heart and making a neat leg. When he raised his head again, it was to meet her eyes.
"Until then, dear Ante, Farewell." As before, he smiled for her, and closed his eyes, before his image simply faded away into the moonlight and shadows.
((Mission concluded! FXP tallies coming as soon as I can do them))
As he watched her unfasten the clasp, a faint rose formed in tiny spots on his cheeks; intended or not, Ante wasn't the only one who was finding even that simple action mildly erotic, or so it seemed. Either way, he drank the action in with his eyes, before accepting the offering with both hands. He looked down from Ante to the choker, appreciating it a a thing of beauty, then held it briefly to his chest.
"As a favour from you, Ante, I will treasure it, and think of you whenever I look on it, until we next meet." By holding the gift to his chest, a space had been crated between them, and Hoodwink stepped in closer to fill it, such that they were almost standing chest to chest again. There was a moment of silence, where Hoodwink found Ante's eyes, and only her short, rapid breaths gave any movement to the scene. He seemed unsure in these last few moments, however close they were standing; the man had made as clear a request to court Ante as he could, and seemingly she had shown a willingness to this... but it was still their first meeting, and if the rogue in him yearned one way, he knew enough of higher refinement to know that some bounds shouldn't be pressed, at least not this soon.
After the moment stretched long, he craned his neck slightly and leaned in, but it was only to brush his cheek against hers and bring his lips close to her ear. She would likely be able to feel a quickening of his pulse as well.
"I cannot stay, but I am glad you came. I will think of you fondly, and often, until we can meet again. I hope that it might be soon." The words were a soft whisper, and when he stood back, the faint spots of colour in his cheeks had grown more visible. With his free hand, he lifted one of hers again, and, provided she allowed the gesture, raised the back of it to his lips in a slow, chaste kiss.
With another step backwards, he bowed to her again, hand over heart and making a neat leg. When he raised his head again, it was to meet her eyes.
"Until then, dear Ante, Farewell." As before, he smiled for her, and closed his eyes, before his image simply faded away into the moonlight and shadows.
((Mission concluded! FXP tallies coming as soon as I can do them))
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"Yes, of course. Until we meet again," Ante responded to the princely charmer, slowly raising her eyes from the garment pressed to his chest up to his face. She closed her eyes and shuddered in spite of herself as his cheek brushed her own, betraying more of her desire for intimacy than she would have by choice. "Y-yes... Soon," she murmured, squeezing her hands into the folds of the skirt at her hips. She was certain to release the grip in time not to embarrass herself as Hoodwink reached for her hand, grabbed it, and planted another gentlemanly kiss atop it. "Farewell..." she finished, bringing up one hand in a slow, mesmerized wave to bid Hoodwink goodbye before he disappeared.
Once he left, she found herself standing at some length, staring at the spot where he'd stood earlier, wondering if maybe she should have gone for one more hidden, legitimate kiss herself before he disappeared. "He was... flirting much too strongly, for our first engagement," she thought to herself, looking for someone to blame her restlessness upon... but, in truth, the only thing she really regretted was that she hadn't encouraged him on a bit further. She wished she'd given him more of an inch; he'd teach her the parts of romance she'd never known, stimulate her in ways she never had been, perhaps engage in other verbs that were more embarrassing to think about for her. "Well... There is always next time. We won't be such strangers then, and then, a little familiarity between the two of us will be right and proper," she reassured herself, smiling into the empty night and glowing red with giddiness and anticipation. She clutched both hands to her chest to quiet her beating heart down a bit before she returned to her PET, to rejoin Teruko and Bruce's train-wreck in progress.
((Jacking out))
Once he left, she found herself standing at some length, staring at the spot where he'd stood earlier, wondering if maybe she should have gone for one more hidden, legitimate kiss herself before he disappeared. "He was... flirting much too strongly, for our first engagement," she thought to herself, looking for someone to blame her restlessness upon... but, in truth, the only thing she really regretted was that she hadn't encouraged him on a bit further. She wished she'd given him more of an inch; he'd teach her the parts of romance she'd never known, stimulate her in ways she never had been, perhaps engage in other verbs that were more embarrassing to think about for her. "Well... There is always next time. We won't be such strangers then, and then, a little familiarity between the two of us will be right and proper," she reassured herself, smiling into the empty night and glowing red with giddiness and anticipation. She clutched both hands to her chest to quiet her beating heart down a bit before she returned to her PET, to rejoin Teruko and Bruce's train-wreck in progress.
((Jacking out))
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((Players may keep and record whichever totals interest them, and leave anything else))
Dare and Ante Get 15 mutual FXP
Additionally,
Dare gets: 2 Hoodwink FXP, 2 Zennocracy FXP, 10 SaijaTsun FXP, 10 DisgolokoMan FXP
Ante gets: 1 PianoMan FXP, 2 Melodia FXP, 5 Mordenite FXP, 5 DueAccountabilityMan FXP, 2 Zennocracy FXP, and 6 Hoodwink FXP... Wait, only 6!?
EDIT (30/01/2018): FXP for Hoodwink was originally handed out at a reduced scale, as part of a character specific oddity. I've since decided that this is unfair, and have been doing his FXP much closer to normally. To that end, Ante's FXP Hoodwink for this thread should rightly be 15 (+9 on the amount given), and Dare's with Hoodwink should be 5 (+3 on the amount given)
Dare and Ante Get 15 mutual FXP
Additionally,
Dare gets: 2 Hoodwink FXP, 2 Zennocracy FXP, 10 SaijaTsun FXP, 10 DisgolokoMan FXP
Ante gets: 1 PianoMan FXP, 2 Melodia FXP, 5 Mordenite FXP, 5 DueAccountabilityMan FXP, 2 Zennocracy FXP, and 6 Hoodwink FXP... Wait, only 6!?
EDIT (30/01/2018): FXP for Hoodwink was originally handed out at a reduced scale, as part of a character specific oddity. I've since decided that this is unfair, and have been doing his FXP much closer to normally. To that end, Ante's FXP Hoodwink for this thread should rightly be 15 (+9 on the amount given), and Dare's with Hoodwink should be 5 (+3 on the amount given)