San Lorenzo, Cornelia's Shop

Cornelia gave a friendly wave as the Banshee left her shop. Looking at Jack she gave a slight bow of the head. "Anything else I can do for you?"

edited 7th Dec '16 4:12:52 AM by Sergey_Smirnov

Cornelia's Shop

The Wraith thought for a moment. "... Well... do you have any iron jewelry?" He asked hesitantly. "Most stuff falls through me unless I'm concentrating on it, except for a few things- and iron happens to be one of them. So if you have anything with iron on or in it, I'd love to take a look at it."

San Lorenzo, Cornelia's Shop

Cornelia nodded ,with a grin "Iron? Oh I can help with that, I have many necklaces, bracelets and more. After all not everyone cann afford a gold one." She pointed to a shelf near the counter. There were indeed many kinds of jewelery, the more expensive ones made out of gold and silver were locked behind glass but the majority was made of iron or steel, there were ones looking like miniature swords or maces (both realistic and fantasy looking ones) but also more traditional ones, there were also some that looked vaguely norse. Along the necklaces there were also some bracelets, some quite simple and some more ornate.

Cornelia's Shop

Jack whistled appreciatively, hesitantly and carefully picking up a small necklace engraved in iron. To his relief, he could feel it. It was cold but not the icy, burning freeze of silver. "... wow. This is amazing," he told Cornelia.

"How much is it?" Money wasn't that much of a problem for him- besides paying his rent, he didn't have to spend much on anything else besides the electric bill. He didn't think that it would be nearly as expensive as- god forbid- something engraved in silver, so he could probably afford it.

Forest

Marcus sighed and snapped his fingers again, causing the umbrella to vanish. "Sure, I guess." He agreed. "We still got a while until nightfall, though."

San Lorenzo, Cornelia's Shop

Cornelia looked at the necklace "Ah, good choice... lets see, that one is one of the medium ones with simple motive so that'd make 30$" She came over to him "If you want you can try it on before buying, if you need help with putting it on tell me. And over there is a mirror." She pointed at a corner were indeed a full body mirror stood.

Library

Patrick walked up behind Lark. "So, what are you cooking, lassie?" He leaned in, looking over her shoulder.

Library

Lark jumped a little when Patrick spoke, since she had been engrossed in her cooking. When he asked what she was cooking she grinned, always happy to talk about her favourite pastime.

"Right now I'm working on a coulis to go with a mudcake. Right now the balance is awful. Too sour."

After saying that, she dipped a spoonful into the mixture, tried it, and then made a sour face and shook her head, before mixing in some caster sugar.

Library

Patrick felt almost dreamy listening to her voice. But he still responded when she finisned talking. He wasn't that dreamy. "Sounds great," he said in a thick Irish accent. "I would like one when they're finished."

Northern Outskirts, Forest

"Yeah," Henry said, casting a half-lidded eye to the sky. It didn't help much; his eyelids were transparent too. "But you'd be surprised how fast a day goes when you've been waiting months." He paused for a second, eyeing the other man. "How about you go back to town for now, and maybe pop back when the sun sets or something? I guarantee I'll still be here. I don't got anything else to do."

San Lorenzo Port, Just after Dark

Shortly after the sun disappeared over the horizon, a large ship pulled into San Lorenzo's docks. Bold black lettering on the bow identified it as the Seward.

Two figures, a man and a woman, stepped off of the ship. The man, apparently the older of the two, had tanned skin, wore black clothing and had a noticeable scar on his arm. Holstered at his his sides were a magnum and a large knife, and an elephant gun was strapped across his back. In his hand was a half-empty bottle of whiskey, which he had clearly been drinking from, and he walked with a noticeable swagger.

In sharp contrast, the woman was fair-skinned, wore a dress that was modest to the point of being almost prudish, and carried no visible weapons. She was almost clinging to the man, but was still giving him just enough space that his movements wouldn't be hindered.

The man spoke first.

"So, this is America... Hah! Doesn't look all that different from back home. Bring on the monsters! The Van Helsings are here!"

With this, the man took another swig of his whiskey.

"Leopold, be careful!" The woman replied, "You never know who might be listening. It wouldn't do to announce our presence just yet."

Leopold snorted.

"There's no one around, MB. If there were, you would already know. And then I would know." Suddenly, Leopold took notice of a nearby flyer. "Huh, what's this? 'Transformed Humans Rehabilitation Center, opening tomorrow'? 'Learn to adapt to your changes and use your new bodies constructively'? What a load of horseshit! A monster is a monster! You're putting countless people in danger trying to 'rehabilitate' them! Accept that the people they were are gone! The best thing we can do for those poor souls is put them down!"

Maria-Beatrice, or "MB", as Leopold had called her, quickly shushed Leopold and whispered in his ear.

"Leopold, you're shouting again. There may not be anyone here now, but noise like that will make sure things don't remain that way."

Hoffmann Manor, afternoon

After getting pinned to the ground for the fourth time in a row, Sloane wriggled out of Hildegard's grasp with a groan.

"As a mere mortal, I do require breaks in between getting pummeled."

Hildegard nodded. "Very well. We have patrol soon anyway."

Myrna entered the basement's training area, looking pensive. "Patrol might have to wait for tomorrow. I heard through the grapevine that the Van Helsings are coming to town."

Hildegard gasped loudly. "Seriously? The Van Helsings are coming here? To San Lorenzo?"

"That's what she said," Sloane said. Seeing Hildegard this animated was a little amusing, or it would be if it wasn't kind of surreal.

"How are you not excited?" Hildegard demanded. "Well, I mean, you're never excited. But how can you not be excited about this?"

"Because I have no idea who the Van Helsinkis are."

"Did you get their name wrong just to bug me?"

Sloane shrugged. "Maybe."

"The Van Helsings are the descendants of Abraham Van Helsing, the vampire hunter who helped slay Dracula," Myrna explained. "They take their chosen vocation very seriously. They're rather...dogmatic," she finished with a grimace.

"So what do we do?" Sloane asked.

"We reach out to them," Hildegard said. "With their resources and skills, they could be a great aid in protecting San Lorenzo."

"They may just be here for a specific case," Myrna said. "Even so, it probably would be wise to keep a friendly relationship with them. They'll be arriving tonight, likely at the docks."

San Lorenzo Port, That Night

The duo arrived at the docks at 4:30; Hildegard wanted to be sure they didn't miss them. After about an hour of waiting and no Van Helsings arriving, Sloane began to wish for something to happen already.

She glanced Hildegard's way. The big girl could be very imposing thanks to her muscular build and penchant for leather body armor, but she was bouncing like a preteen at a One Direction concert, which made it a little hard to take her seriously. The sound of her nervously tapping her fingers against her crossbow echoed through the docks.

Sloane stopped shining her brass knuckles on her hoodie and adjusted her leather armor. It was hard to get comfortable, or maybe that was just her nerves. She just hoped Hildegard wouldn't be disappointed.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a guy ranting about putting down recent monsters, and his lady friend trying to shut him up.

Sloane raised an eyebrow. "He seems like a swell fella."

"It's them," Hildegard said, awed and seemingly not noticing Sloane's comment. "Should I go say hi? Should I wait for them to approach me? Maybe I should - hey!"

Sloane grabbed Hildegard by the arm (her baseball bat in her other hand) and dragged her towards the newcomers, only letting go once they were within spitting distance of the Van Helsings.

"Hello," Hildegard called out as she approached the man and woman. "I'm Hildegard Hoffmann, of the Hoffmann family. We've been protecting San Lorenzo since the 1940s, and I'm proud to welcome you to this fine city."

Sloane coughed, and Hildegard quickly added "This is my partner, Sloane Garcia."

Sloane half-heartedly waved at them. "Charmed, I'm sure."

edited 12th Dec '16 10:58:02 PM by emilyorthoclase

Seawell Huntly's Apartment

-*bing!* Seawell's PC suddenly pinged, You got mail!

Huh, wonder what it is? the faun thought. Better not be an unwanted product ad again!

Then he noticed the sender: DirtyRat, a well-known snitch for the monster community (who might or might not be a monster himself). It read:

"Hey Guys, this may not be anything, but you can never be too careful."

"Its been going through the grapevine that the Van Helsings are coming to America. To San Lorenzo, even."

"No idea why or when. More info as I get it."

Seawell stroked his goatee, eyebrow raised. The Van Helsings? He thought they were just an urban legend. But then obviously anything was possibly these days.

Suddenly he was worried. Not that he thought he was much of a target, he was just a harmless faun. But then, he was also *very* helpless. Maybe it was time to do something about it...

He remembered Cornelia's shop. Didn't she make armor? And maybe weapons too. Perhaps it would be a good idea to buy some.

And hey, he had to go see if the pants he ordered were ready, anyway.

He said goodbye to his friend at the library -after sharing the warning email with her- then turned off the computer, put on his normal disguise again, and left the apartment, heading over to Cornelia's shop.

edited 14th Dec '16 8:00:22 PM by Sijo

San Lorenzo Port

Just as soon as Maria-Beatrice finished reprimanding her brother, she detected two approaching presences. No words were exchanged between the siblings. No words were necessary. Even without the benefit of Maria-Beatrice's telepathy, the death glare she was giving him told Leopold all he needed to know. Both siblings quickly adopted a battle stance, Leopold unsheathing his knife and magnum and Maria-Beatrice falling behind him and focusing her psychic energy.

However, the duo that approached them was decidedly non-hostile. They introduced themselves as fellow hunters, and hell, the tall one looked like she was going to pass out from their mere presence! However this did present a slight problem.

As usual, Maria-Beatrice let her brother do the talking. "And what a warm welcome it is!" Leopold chuckled. "Not every day we meet a fan! Now, I just need you girls to do a slight favor and forget you ever saw us. It's nothing personal! It's just that Lady Van Helsing would have our heads if word got out that we're here before the preparations are complete. And hell, we haven't even gotten started!"

edited 17th Dec '16 3:04:22 PM by PossiblyQuiteInsane

Cordelia's Shop

Seawell eventually arrived and knocked at the door. Seeing it was still open, he stepped in.

"Hello" he announced himself. "Those corduroys ready yet?" Actually he had no idea how long it would take the centaur to finish them. But then that wasn't his main reason to be here.

He looked around, and saw many weapons and armors on display. Originally he thought they were just for cosplay, but then he heard at least some were real. He couldn't tell the difference though, and even then he had no idea what to buy. It had to be effective but also easily hidden equipment; maybe chainmail and a dagger?

He decided to let Cornelia advice him on the matter.

edited 17th Dec '16 6:22:16 AM by Sijo

San Lorenzo, Cornelia's Shop

Cornelia watched for an answer as a certain Fun came back "Ah, I'm sorry, I couldn't start with your pants yet." Seeing that he looked around Cornelia figured quickly enough that he wasn't here for that right now, she shortly turned to Jack and gave a polite bow og the head "Think about it for a moment, just excuse me for one moment while I attend this customer here." She walked over to the Faun "Can I assume that you want to buy something else?" The centauress smiled friendly as she awaited the answer.

"Ehh, its OK" the faun said, somewhat sheepishly. He should have known his pants wouldn't be ready, it wasn't like he was a privileged customer.

"And yeah... to be honest, I have- been thinking about personal safety, you know? I have been ignoring attacks on monsters so far, but maybe it's time I took some precautions. Anyway I'd like some armor, and maybe a weapon, that are easily concealed -I don't want to attract attention either, you know- What do you suggest?"

San Lorenzo Port

"Wow," Sloane commented. "You guys kind of suck at this."

"We can help you," Hildegard interjected. "We know San Lorenzo, and we know the monster population. I assure you, we're professionals." She glanced sideways at Sloane. "At least, I am."

"Ha ha," Sloane deadpanned. "But it's not like we could tell your boss, so you don't really have anything to lose."

San Lorenzo, Cornelia's Shop

Upon hearing the request Cornelia thought for a moment "Hm... my armor was made to be worn on the outside so I don't know if that is what you want... although I would have some padded ones, they may look slightly strange but at least its better than acctual plate mail... as for a weapon, if its mere self defense then I would rather give you something to incapacitate as opposed to kill... hm... wait, give me a second." She went to the back of the shop, returning with what looked like a walking cane with a thick end.◊ "Here, this is called cudgel. You can use it as a walking cane, but when attacked it is a quite effective mace, it's the only real self defense weapon I sell here. Would this suffice for you?"

Seawell took the cudgel and inspected it. "Hmm... yeah, I like it" he smiled. "I may not look it anymore, but I'm actually pretty old" he winked at the centauress. "A cane is perfect for me."

"As for the padded armor, I have no problem wearing it, but how much protection does it provide? I presume it's not bulletproof, but can it protect from being stabbed?"

Cornelia's Shop- Just Leaving

Jack had drifted- (quite literally, in this case)- over to the mirror and slipped the necklace on. An iron cross on a simple chain, he thought it was quite beautiful. He'd take it, he had decided with a smile. At least, the muscle memory of one. If he could be smiling, he would, at least.

After a minute of digging for some money and letting the new customer speak with Cornelia, he had polietly and quietly handed her the money plus tax, plus a tip, and left.

He had spent the next few hours drifting around (not literally, in this case) around, feeding off of random pedestrians. Well, feeding made it sound worse than it really was- in reality, it was simply "accidentally" bumping into someone and siphoning off a few sparks of energy. It didn't hurt them, and most didn't even notice at all.

When the sun went down, Jack drifted (this time literally) back to his apartment and stowed his new purchases and his clothing; the night was his realm, although he didn't really like thinking of it like that. He had found he liked to explore during the darker hours, since he could move freely and quickly. After all, no one liked tangling with a monster- no one liked tangling with one after dark, even more.

He started to roam the streets, happy that he could be part of the shadows once again.

San Lorenzo, Cornelia's Shop

Cornelia nodded "I don't presume that it will stop a lance or something... but a pocket knife or so should be no problem." She chuckled "Those armors are made for full contact fights... that means real weapons, I could not willingly sell faulty armor."

"Good enough" Seawell said, satisfied.Hopefully he wouldn't run into anyone with a sword or anything. "I'll take it, the cudgel too. If anyone asks I'll say its a golf club" he half-joked. Ironically, one of his ancestors was Scottish.

"OK, how much for the lot? The pants too, I'll pick up those later". Hopefully it would not be too much, his budget wasn't that big. "Oh and I want to put the armor on right now, do you have a dressing room?"

edited 17th Dec '16 5:28:42 PM by Sijo

San Lorenzo, Cornelia's Shop

Cornelia only gave a thumps up. "Alright." Looking to thw armor and weapons she quickly calculated it in her head "All in all that'd be... 256$ although I can go to 225$ - in the hope of a long lasting patronage." She pointed to the back "There is one there." She handed the armor over which happened to be looking like this◊

Ironically the padded jacket/gambeson offers good protection against blows with swords but markedly less so for stabs, but I figured that a simple pocket knife or sometig along those lines still should be stop-able with it.

Seawell resisted the urge to whistle; that was quite a bit of money, but then it was for a good cause. As for continued patronage, he doubted it, it isn't as if he was looking for trouble, if he was lucky he would never get into a serious fight. But it wasn't wise to take the risk.

"Alright, do you take credit cards?" he said, producing one. Assuming she did, he would head into the dresser and get changed.