rackofbadcds | so regal and decadent here, coffin cheaters dance on their graves

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so regal and decadent here, coffin cheaters dance on their graves

Floating lights saturated the Boyle estate's grounds in gold. The garden matched the bright colors with roses in every color they could be. Billie Lurk liked roses. She also liked animals. But it took every but of willpower she had not to roll her eyes at every over-the-top thing or person her eyes met. At least the guards felt the same way, judging from their boredom. Billie wished she could commiserate with them. But tonight she couldn't. Tonight she was a Lady, and she was waiting for a certain assassin out by the grounds.

Aloof as Billie was with her fellow Whalers, she wouldn't be caught literally dead by her comrades in what she was wearing now. Her red whaler's overcoat had been replaced by a soft ruffled jacket with a crisper, whiter version of her usual buttoned undershirt. Her mask was gone too, makeup hiding the circles under her eyes. Her charcoal hair was short enough, but tonight one side was swept back with a jeweled flower pin. Billie already knew what nobles liked to look like, but she picked up a few extra things studying the women in the shops she went to a few days ago. She remembered wondering if the smell of blood could have seeped into her skin. Wondering if the the attendants that fussed over the fashion sense of a common-looking woman with a lot of coin could smell it.

Damn. The soft, feminine thing? Slum-born Billie Lurk could do that, if she had to. She did her homework and blended in well. But that didn't mean she gave a shit about it. Nor was she used to it. At all.

So it's little wonder why she didn't talk to anyone. She decided it was just easier to study the red-bricked mansion as people came and went by her. Some complimented her. She didn't answer them either.

- - - - - - - - -

Billie would never get far enough away to ever be able to call Dunwall a distant memory. She didn't want to, either. Despite everything, the Outsider hadn't lied. Billie Lurk had no regrets. She missed her old life in Dunwall. The city had gone to shit, but being an assassin gave her a purpose. She still kept her old mask and whaling uniform to remind her. But she knew she couldn't go back now. At least she had her old dreams, born from listening to the stories old sailors would tell a curious little girl who often wandered the docks.

It was a bright morning. The assassin dressed and stepped outside. Billie still didn't have that ship yet, but she was working on it. It hadn't been THAT long since she left Dunwall. The docks weren't far from her home. In a blink (huhuhuhuhuhuh) she vanished and reappeared on her room. Careful that no one saw her, she dissapeared and reappeared from roof to roof until she meandered out of an alley and into the harbor.

Wandering docks and greeting ships. Just like when she was a girl.

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[ this wasn't a situation, a place either of them would have been likely to be found, unless it was sneaking in, blending into the shadows of the room and slipping in through a poorly locked window before plunging a knife through some noble's ribs.

this, however, was entirely different. maybe even disorienting. it's been a long time since daud felt like he was walking on stones that threatened to give way right under him, but this came pretty close.

he didn't have a face of a noble. nobles didn't have scars running along their face, didn't have the posture of someone whose only worry was who had the most lavish parties or highest fashions. so he used his transversals as much as he could, before it would be too hard to hide. it felt foreign, without the comfort of habit - of the red overcoat or the puches that carried his ammunition. the coat instead was dark, vest over his buttoned shirt. he refused to change that out for a crisper one. he could not hide his blade, but by knife wasn't the only way to kill. he had his wristbow; had darts neatly stowed away in his inner pocket. and had the outsider's mark hidden beneath the leather of his glove.

he finds billie quickly though. she stands out to him - because he recognizes one of his - recognizes the same posture he no doubt carried; the same weight of experience worn on shoulders, the knowledge that life wasn't all fancy wine and food served on golden platters. despite the jacket - the clothes of fashion and class - and the starkly feminine look, this was billie.

she blended in well, probably even better than himself (old dog, new tricks. maybe he wasn't as good at that as he thought). he maneuvered passed the guards - bored, inattentive and frowning. some noblewoman tried to strike up a conversation, but ended up talking to daud's back. something about how the floating lamps weren't as bright this night. it didn't matter.

he sidles towards her, all heavy steps and squared shoulder (wolves and sheep). ] Billie.

[ they had a target, a purpose here to remember. something told them, neither of them were too thrilled in finding any delays. ]

[Everyone else, Billie tuned out. Not so much so that she wouldn't know if someone pointed a gun at her, but you know. But Daud got her attention. She subtly eases back out of her lifeless lull and glances to him.]

I feel like a circus freak.

[She says with the faintest, fakest smile. She was reminded of the small, sharp knife hidden in her upper sleeve--the only place she COULD hide anyway. Playing pretend wasn't Billie's strong suit. But she wasn't a bad actor. Daud would be able to pick up on her acting ability later when she would help him find Delilah, but Daud knows her.]

Please tell me this was our only option.

[As for Daud, she crosses her arms and looks fully to him. Her eyes look him up and down.] Still, not bad. [As 'not bad' as pretending they were rich could get. Billie was more complimenting on how much he looked the part than on how good he looked. Even if he did, it wasn't her thing.] If anyone asks, you can say the scar is from the Navy.

Edited 2013-05-18 05:14 (UTC)

[ a small snort - the closet thing to tense amusement he can offer, as he throws another steady glance around the courtyard. no, they didn't belong here, so her comment is not at all misplaced.

accurate, even. ] This won't take long.

[ won't, because he'll make sure of that. for their collective sanity. the questions about options goes unanswered; there were others way, certainly. but this was subtle and - if all went well - quick.

he looks back to her when he could nearly feel the once-over, that studious scrutiny that was specific to her. ] If anyone asks.

[ he nods towards the doors across the grounds. ] Inside.

[ it's more a direction that a command, and he's taking a step forward. stops, frowns as though remembering that no, he can't just transverse onto a balcony, and he was supposed to be playing a part. he looks back and offers his arm. his eyes are hard because billie if you sass him right now about this - ]

The Boyles brought in Overseers.

[ohgreat.jpg

Billie starts follow him but sees the frown. Near-immediately, she knows what he's thinking, because she was doing the same thing ten minutes ago.]

Me too.

[Being a master of disguise wasn't in the Whaler's job description. She gets it.

Then Daud is offering her his arm. She blinks and watches it for half a second, almost thinking he wants to show her something. Then it hits her and she looks back to his face. Her confusion melts to amusement. Outloud, she didn't sass him this time. But as she gingerly took his lead anyway, there's silent laughter in her eyes and a lopsided smirk on her mouth.

It didn't last long. Moving around felt ridiculous. She was hyper-aware of every brush of her clothing's unfamiliar fabric as pressed and shifted against her body, and every waft of perfume that she had spritzed on a whim after the smell of her skin crossed her mind again (imagined--she didn't smell like blood or death, but for a woman who made the Flooded District her home it was probably a good idea to cover up anyway). She had to fight a scowl. Instead she put on something neutral, unreadable. Long story short: Yeah wow no this was fucking stupid.

So yeah Daud this better come up Milhouse.]

Music boxes?

Edited 2013-05-19 00:34 (UTC)

[ No, they weren’t trained in disguises, because Daud had never bothered with it himself. He was trained - even before the Outsider appeared before him - in subterfuge. In being invisible.

Maybe this ruse also entailed being hidden, but not in the usual way. They were meant to fit in; they were meant to be disregarded as just more guests, loitering about the grounds. Suffice to say, this was harder than the usual tricks.

He wasn’t complaining out loud, and he could imagine all Billie was thinking, and his own thoughts probably weren’t all too different from her own. He sees the smirk as she follows his lead and aptly, promptly ignores it.

So instead, he stares ahead with his subdued bulldog tenacity as they move to the doors. ] Yes.

We need to get upstairs. [ He throws the floor a quick glance, lingering on an entrance to the side, and the guard hovering beside it.

The music boxes were carried by the Overseers, as he warned, casually patrolling in their same, identical golden masks.

He already has his own plan, own course of actions. But he is still a teacher - in his own, unrefined, specific way, so why not test her a bit? He stops, drops his arm and turns to her, challenging. ] Well? Ideas?

[Even now, she was still somewhat accustomed to being a student even with all her experience now. Daud had known Billie since she was a angry, bitter teenager, barely a young woman but still a child. Despite her sometimes all-knowing demeanor that occasionally pitfalled into too much pride (like the Outsider might later say, she was still no match for him), she knew he was still her teacher.

The assassin drops her arm when he drops his. She looks to Daud, then to the stairs ahead of them. She ignores the Overseers, for now. She's quiet. Thinking. But not for long.]

There's a back way near the garden. [A second set of stairs that lead to the kitchen and the cellar. Billie remembers the floor plans they took once, just in case. She doesn't go into details, in case else someone can hear them listening.] Probably guarded, but probably quieter too.

Edited 2013-06-01 16:55 (UTC)

[ His arms fold over his chest, and he's tossing a glance across the vast expanse of the floor, the murmurs of the invited guests resonating, ringing along the expensive sprawl.

Attention directed back to her, he considers the option. Guarded, sure, but one guard beats taking on a small army with Overseers thrown into the chaos, with their blasted music boxes ( music was a very generous title, all things considered ). Going head on was, naturally, stupid and entirely defies the point of subterfuge.

A nod; sharp, decisive. ] It'll be a good start. [ He tugs against the collar of his shirt, beginnings of another frown on his weathered face as he eyes the turn to the gardens. ]

Lets go.

[ He would be lying if he said there wasn't a small part of him that was looking forward to choking someone out. Hell, given what the guards were asked to waste their time on, being put under for an hour wouldn't be the worst event of the night.

Maybe. Regardless, they'll be gone before anyone can wake. ]

[Billie nods. She's already moving. The assassin was never a socialite, but she tried to act natural. Like said, Daud never trained the Whalers for espionage. But she'd do her damndest.

A smile there, a hello there (when one was thrown her way), etc. She didn't want people to remember her face, but she knew she'd be suspicious if she ignored all the people that pretended that they knew her. Besides, for all they knew, she was someone important.

Near the door leading into the garden, Billie tilted her head for a short aside to Daud.]

You didn't tell me who exactly we were looking for.

[ He follows a strategic step behind, forced social niceties thrown from one noble to the next, though he settles on simply nodding in return to most of them (no smiles, though). They were all pretending, in the end. And they wouldn't remember the two of them.

When they approach the door,he halts, searches for any guard that may see them here, though he suspects there would be ones past the door. Quietly, he's pushing at the door; it gives after a moment with a small click and he's throwing a glance in. ] What, rather than who, Billie. It's the host's will. It's for some noble's feud.

The coin is good. [ This wouldn't be the first choice of a job he'd pick; this was simply being stuck in the middle of some family spat that the nobles had a talent of plunging into a bigger chaos than necessarily required. But the pay was good, and this sort of thing was hardly tiring (annoying, perhaps), and maybe that was the only thing that needed to be said. ] Two guards. One of them will have the key.

[Billie hoped to hell they didn't remember them, anyway. A weather-beaten scarface and a dark-skinned woman stood out in crowd like this. She got the idea, though. She's quietly, briefly, then nods. Without knowing details, it was easy enough to piece together.

Why Daud would even CHOOSE a job like this though? Billie was still stumped.]

I'm still stumped about why you would pick something like this.

[See.]

Good thing we're allowed in the gardens. [No Pendleton-fueled duels tonight (yet). Billie quietly stepped out and studied the guards.] Hm. The usual way, I guess.

[ Alright, so they stuck out like river crusts here, even with all their played dress-up. It was ridiculous, but at least he knew he hasn't left any entirely lasting impressions. And by lasting, he meant he hadn't openly hit anyone.

A Look tossed her way for that. ] It's easy money.

I don't like it, either. [ A small step forwards again, spotting the staircase they'll be using, concluding it's a fitting distance to transverse to, instead. A falter, marked hand hovering half raised. ] Anything else?

Edited 2013-10-30 00:15 (UTC)

[On the bright side, they cleaned up okay(????). Billie saw Daud's look and raises him an eyebrow quirk.]

Alright.

[Said faintly exasperative. She stepped back in.]

Nothing but the usual way. [Once they were out of the crowd, they could stealth as much as they wanted to.]

[ They cleaned up enough to get through the front door, apparently, if that's what you mean (??).

It was easy coin, and maybe it was simple as that. Maybe there was something else in all this too; that sort of half attempt at thinking ahead when deep in the recesses of your mind you know your end is coming.

You've been warned of as much, but you don't know what sort of end. Or if the end meant the dark lapping waves of the Void, or just the end of a time.

Given his wicked past, he doubted it would be the latter. So maybe the coin was to affirm something. To save up, or divide a greater share to his whalers.

He wasn't going to divulge that; he wasn't good at that sort of thing, as it were.

The guard positioned at the door, with two pillars denoting a no-entry for any guest, will be the first to go down. He trusts his second will take care of the other.

With a smooth jump - a breath of time hardly lost - he has the guard in a firm choke hold until the surprised flinch of a fight recedes with the loss of air and conscience. ]

[And that was Billie's cue.

When she was sure no one else was looking, the assassin vanished behind Daud and the first guard, and was ready to meet the second guard as he came down. In the second's bewildered confusion, she dissapear again, this time reappearing behind him. Her arms went around his neck, and she choked him out too.]

[ He didn't need to check whether that job was done, or not. She was always thorough.

By the time to second goes down, he's already nimbly snapping up the key, and pivoting towards the door it is meant to open. ] We'll be gone before anyone knows it.

( ooc: WHAT IF THEY i dunno walked into a room where the Boyle's once held that seance thing thalia mentions? and there was a brigmore witch. just to screw around i dont know we dont have to just an idea :3 )

[ooc: OH SHIT YES. I wanna do it! I had actually meant to tell you that I love this but I was getting stuck on where to go from here, so this works!]

[The guard tried to put up a fight--thankfully a quiet one--but Billie had a firm hold on the man. It didn't take long for his struggling hands to finally, slowly lower down as he struggled not to lose consciousness. Obviously, he lost.

Billie lowered her guard (literally) as she looked up at Daud. Her carefully pinned hair was ruffled when the guard was flailing his arms behind him. She didn't care, for now, but she'd have to fix it later. ... It was weird remembered that she was going to have to care later, too.

Oh, well. She nods.]

As usual.

[With the guards out, Billie "blinks" to Daud's side.]

[ he was alive. he wouldn't say there was that particular thrill; that telltale adrenaline rush when you brush so close to your demise.

corvo had spared him - spared, but was that really the word? daud knew it was more than he deserved. the once-lord protector, the man who wore that mask, the one who was, ultimately, the only one capable of correcting what daud ruined, stood above daud near the commerce building, sheathed his blade and walked away.

extraordinary, daud said. it was. the man had accomplished so much more than he and in such a shorter time.

and daud? daud got his life. he couldn't explain corvo's reasons. he didn't want to know. he had his regret to haunt him, and the too-slowly healing wound in his side. a new scar.

he turned to the sea. caught a ship out of dunwall. he wouldn't forget it either. the weight of its crumbling walls on his shoulders. as the ship nears its docks, he leaves moments before, blinks to a nook on the harbor, and slowly starts his way along the docks. limp, stiff, left arm pressing against his side a little too defensively. spine stacked straight, his white shirt still stained red-black beneath the worn leather coat a sailor had given him on board. it was an odd exchange, two worn men silently seated over tea. no extra questions; a smooth silence, and quiet help lent.

but, as it is, daud always recognizes his. those he trained - his whalers - and billie. of course. daud, who spared his traitor's life - the outsider's smug voice rang in his ears, and he scowls. stops, and slinks behind a crate in a half attempt to hide. he watches, decides that she hasn't really changed all that much.

his trust was broken; but he wasn't anything he didn't deserve.

simply, it was a surprise, to see her here. he didn't think their paths would cross again. not on the docks of serkonos. with the familiar breeze (that once-home), and the warmth of the sun that was just a little too different from dunwall, and that subtle aroma of spices intertwined in sea air, for once in a long time, he felt in odd peace. despite moving over to walk just a few steps behind billie, despite the dull pulse of his healing injury. ]

Why Serkonos? [ his hoarse voice is raised, calls out to her. he doubts she'll ignore it. ]

[For once in her life, Billie didn't have to hide in the dark or blend in with a crowd. It was still an uncomfortable feeling, but she was handling being able to walk out in the open, face exposed to a warm sun instead of hiding behind a gas mask to keep herself from catching a plague.

But the voice that rings in her ears puts an immediate regret in her. She stops. At first she doesn't turn around. For a moment, she thinks she's hearing things. Ghosts. Then she turns.

And--she's quiet again. Staring. He's definitely not a ghost. But some stupid part of her is still having a hard time believing he isn't.]

Daud? What are you--

[Suddenly, she realizes how the older man is carrying himself. She catches his stiffness, the favoring of his arm. He was hiding it, but Billie knew how injured men acted.]

You're hurt.

Edited 2013-05-18 08:38 (UTC)

[ It must be a very different life, Daud realizes. He doesn’t remember what that’s like; he didn’t care to.
And importantly, as she hears him and freezes, he notes how the reflexes are all still there. The same way his own will always be there, even as he resolved to turn away from Dunwall and all he’s built there. His Whalers - always his - will be fine. They’re good kids living in a harsh city. But they’ll be fine.

He waits for her to turn, looks for the expressions change.

He’s certainly surprised, to see her here. To see her, after he told her to leave.

But this meeting was solely on chance. Maybe that’s why he isn’t reacting more briskly, isn’t baring teeth or simply walking the other way, ignoring his betrayer. Maybe he’s just tired of it all; maybe he is in no position to hold grudges.

Maybe it’s the regret that will never be forgotten and forgiven.

His snort is dry and he shrugs, as if the fact she states isn’t at all that important. ] It isn’t important.

[ Because is his dictionary, if it wasn’t killing him, it wasn’t serious even if painful. So there. He lifts his head to the vessels docking and floating along the shining waters. ] Ships, huh.

[It's not entirely without his familiarities. Billie still hides her tattoos. Some Whalers had them. Not all. She wanted one when she was still a kid, excited that she found somewhere to belong, so she annoyed one of the elder assassins until he finally did it for her.

Speaking of that, she had absolutely no clue how to react. The memory of his banishment was still fresh, but now it was coming bck twofold.

She's known Daud long enough that if he says an injury wasn't important, it wasn't. Not until she could absolutely tell it was seriously affecting him. Then she would pester him about it. But for now, she drops it. Partly out of that old habit, and partly because she's still pretty damned dumbfounded--which she shows as she still looks at him, squarely, while he looks out to the docks.]

He said that you... [Outsider's eyes, how could she put this?] He said your fate was sealed.

[Speaking of the Outsider's eyes, that's who she was talking about.]

[ The docks held a different sort of bustle - subtle yet lively - in comparison to the still grim streets of Dunwall. He knew this will take some time getting used to. It was too stark a change to dismiss, though he was certain that this place had its fair share of an underground.

Plainly, he knew there were choices; he didn't know which one he'd follow. He knew what he wanted - wanted to leave the past behind - but you don't leave the sort of things he's done behind; you didn't bury it behind time, either. It stayed; it will always do so, and that's fine. Deserved.

And then there was Billie. She lost his trust--and this might be the last he sees of her. Yet again, he thought the same when he spared her.

His brief reverie is torn, sharply, by her words and he's turning a hard look her way. ] He?

[ A beat, a moment's consideration and he's arching a brow (bitterly amused). ] So. The Black-eyed Bastard talked to you?

...He smell of wildflowers? [ Yeah, he remembered that, and there's a twitch of a smirk to dry lips. ]

[Welp.

Billie pauses. The smirk was... weird. Not on him. But it made the whole thing thousands of times more awkard than Billie wanted it to be. Then again, though she always wondered what it would be like to see him again, the ex-assassin had no idea what she could tell him that she didn't already say in the letter she left in his chest.]

Not really. He didn't smell like anything.

[ It was dry, sharp and just a pinch bitter, and lasted no longer than a blink would. This was an awkward situation the both to be in-- and he was just as certain that there was nothing left to be said.

He shifts his weight, a subtle press to his injury (he's probably going to need to take care of that again, soon), before he settles folding his arms.

He could use a cigarette. ] Yeah.

[Billie's quiet for... what was this? The fifth time?]

Cigarette?

[She has a few in her breast pocket, which she reaches out to get and hand out. It hadn't been that long. She could still read him.]

[ They were going to have a lot more of those, he'd wager. Might as well stop counting now.

Though the offer is a near immediate relief, however subtle and with a snort he's reaching for the smoke. ] Appreciated.

[ A beat. ] You bought off a ship from Dunwall, then. [ Thanks, Outsider. You tell them both things, apparently. ]

[She nods, and reaches into one of her other pockets to go for a match. Still weird, not having her usual pouch from her usual uniform. Still she finds it, and lights it for him. She figures it a sort of hospitality, even though she was in his homeland. Technically.]

He told you?

[ It was a once-homeland forgotten by circumstance. The smell of spices in the warm air is as foreign as it is familiar; not familiar enough to feel welcome, or at ease.

Though ease was a feeling entirely forgotten by someone like Daud, the Knife of Kirkwall.

A curt nod (thankful), and a steady inhale, before puffing out the smoke. ] He did.

Likes listening to the sound of his own voice, I think. [ Or maybe he also has a strange affinity to annoying those he sees fit enough to pull him out of a boredom fueled by an endless existence. Who knows. Daud didn't, and he didn't care to.

He'd like to think him and the Bastard were finished, but the mark was still branded on his hand. Meant something didn't it.

After another moment. ] You picked a decent place to disappear.

[Billie snorted back as she pulled herself up onto a barrel behind her.]

He does. Now I know why you called him a bastard.

[Something like that. At Daud's question, her eyes don't meet his. She busies her hands with smoothing out her pockets.]

It's warm. It has ships. What's not to like?

[ He sidles aside as she lifts herself onto the barrel, instead angling his shoulders to watch the ships and the open sea. Another drag of his cigarette.

Again for a countless time silence settles; he's quiet, considering. Recalling her letter, and it is to that he's responding. ]

I was putting coin aside. [ It doesn't explain anything, but its a confirmation, whether she wanted one or not. ]

[If silence was money, they'd have a pot going.]

... I had a feeling.

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so regal and decadent here, coffin cheaters dance on their graves

scenario 1 !!

UGH LAST EDIT I SWEAR

NOWORRIES

LMFAO LAST ONE, I promise

I SHOULD BE FASTER NOW sorry and thank you for understanding <3

NO PROB. Lemme know if the details I'm BSing don't work for you (1 MORE EDIT keep finding mistakes)

o hello again

EEEEEEEEEE, I'M SO EXCITED

SAME BB

<333333

<333333

Re: <333333

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scenario twooooooo; also i auto'd to brackets but feel free to switch to prose sorry skdjahf

AGAIN NO RUSH. I thought of some tweaks I wanted to make (AND I KEEP CATCHING TYPOS)

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did you see that letter in good chaos mode in The Brigmore Witches btw

YES sobs; bw was amazing all around. we got to see/hear more daud kasjhgk

I KNOW RIGHT. It was SO GOOD.

A-MAZING. and stride, omg. and the witches. the witches were terrifying for me ngl

holy shit yes to all of this. delilah scared the crap out of me a couple of times.

she was one scary lady; i stealthed my way through her entire house sobbing

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