A Day Off

[Elyse]

Elyse let the time pass and washed her face. She likely wouldn’t be able to completely hide the fact that she’d be crying. It would be embarrassing, but she’d survive. She took a deep breath and pulled her sleeve back down to cover the tattoo. Right now it was there - but if she didn’t see it she could pretend it wasn’t.

Elyse grabbed her coat and exited the bathroom, not putting it back on. As she went back to the table, she was surprised to find that they had acquired someone else in her absence. She sat down, Anna asking if she was okay.

”I’ll be fine,” Elyse said, offering Anna a smile. Anna’s returned smile said that she trusted Elyse on this. ”What happened here?” she turned to face their newcomer - a college student by the look of her clothing. ”Im Elyse.”

[Nox]

After a few minutes Nox sends the following message:

Tell him to look towards the door

[Nesrin Aziz]

They brushed past the date comment, and Nesrin didn’t say anything. Misunderstanding was usually the easiest and quickest way to get a sense of the dynamic. With a sigh, she jammed her finger down on the power button and waited for the screen to finally go dark and silent. The laptop was old by necessity, and it was little more than a throwaway item to complete her facade – it was actually filled with uni work, just not for MSU. The tech itself was not something she feared losing, despite the impression she gave, else she wouldn’t have spilled coffee all over it in the first place. Which wasn’t to say her anxiety right now was feigned. It just wasn’t about the lost work.

“Stick it in rice. Hope for the best,” she muttered to herself as she closed the lid. The offer was kind, and she chewed her lip in a moment’s hesitation, but afterwards slid over to join them on the table. She gave the impression she did not wish to intrude, but a glance at Anna assured she was not unwelcome – the woman was already texting on her phone as they picked up the threads of the conversation Nesrin had interrupted. “I’m not sure I can afford anything like that right now. I just got served notice on my place, and Moscow is an expensive city. I should probably be thinking about finding a second job and postponing this a bit.” She tapped the lid. “Maybe the universe speaks its wisdom through coffee and clumsiness.”

She glanced up as the third of them returned from the bathroom, and tactfully declined to notice the remnants of emotion and the quiet check-in between the two women. “I’m Ness,” she said “I spilled coffee all over myself, and your friends took pity on me.”

[Cade]

Anna flirted with him and he gave her a friendly smile back. He was flattered, but the pain of losing Laney was still pressing hard on his heart. He'd lost both of the loves of his life in such a short time period. His heart was still beating for them both. And it wasn't fair to anyone else, Cade muttered. "I'm flattered." He didn't want it to go unnoticed, but he also didn't want to lead anyone on in any case.

Cade knew all too well the finance issues. He wasn't one of those rich and well-paid doctors yet. He was still in debt up to his eyeballs and he'd been a doctor for several years now. But he didn't say anything to Ness sob story. It wasn't his place to make suggestions, not that he had any. He was living in a hotel and searching for a job all so he could find his dumb brother.

Anna's wallet drew her attention and she checked it, looking curiously at the notification that pulled her away. She looked to Cade. "He says to look towards the door."

Utter shock that he might actually meet his brother now. He wasn't exactly ready. He turned to the door but there was no one there. People passed by on the other side shivering and talking and some looking as if it was the heat of winter even, but not the man he was looking for. Such a curious request, he thought as he looked around to see if maybe he'd missed something. Nothing caught his attention.

"That's such a strange request." Cade said looking towards the door again.

[Anna]

Anna smiled at Cade’s response. It wasn’t a yes - but it wasn’t a no either. It didn’t matter either way, but a yes would always be better for that. And - Cade was still cute.

Anna couldn’t relate to Ness’s story. She’d actually made a lot of money as a stripper in Chicago, and had a decent home in Moscow, she could probably help Ness out, but didn’t know her well enough for that. Anna would see how things went - maybe she would.

Anna’s thoughts were interrupted by her wallet beeping. She read Nox’s message to Cade, and had to agree with Cade. It was an odd request. Come to think of it, it didn’t really sound like Nox either. Anna didn’t know Nox well - but he didn’t really talk like that much. She looked and didn’t see anything but the passers-by.

”Yeah - odd…” she said agreeing with Cade.

[Elyse]

Elyse nodded at the woman - Anna was a good person, and Cade seemed the same. They would have offered someone in distress something as simple as a coffee and some company.

As Elyse heard the message she followed along looking at the door. She spotted the camera and the corner of her lip in a brief smile. Like Anna she didn’t think the message sounded like Nox and the camera proved it. Nox’s hacker friend Sage was at work. Tomorrow Nox would have Cade’s entire life story.

Turning back to the group, Elyse attempted to move the conversation along. ”So Cade, what do you when you’re not having coffee with three lovely ladies. And Ness - what is it that you study?”

[Cade]

Cade was still sure what the whole door thing was about. And Elyse changed the subject from his search to him and Ness. He glanced over at the door and tried to puzzle it out then looked at Ness when she looked over at him. Almost a sign for him to go first.

Cade smiled. "When I'm not having coffee with three lovely ladies I'm a pediatric doctor. Just finished my residency and decided to try my hand here in Moscow, this is where everything is happening and the break throughs are happening with The Sickness. I want to be apart of it."

At least that was what he told his collogues back home and his family. He came just to talk to his brother, and maybe stay and learn about their mother. But it was also partially the truth. Cade wanted to save any child in distress. It was why he became a pediatric doctor -- to save his son, even though he would never have been able to do that.

[Nesrin Aziz]

Cade’s response was subdued, which was unusual given Anna was the kind of beautiful most men would consider the epitome of a living goddess. One of the things Nesrin learned young was reading people; men went to whores for all sorts of reasons, after all, and the best kinds understood what a client needed without him having to say. Undoubtedly there was a story there; probably one that involved heartbreak.

Nesrin let herself drift in the background for now, content to let them continue the conversation around her. She was still dabbing at the dampness in her lap while the others puzzled over the text message. Security measures, including cameras, were something Nesrin noted without really thinking about it, and doorways were standard locations. The other night Wicked had been itching to get back to the party and make sure Nox didn’t blow the place up, so it wasn’t unreasonable to assume he’d want to check out a stranger asking after his friend – especially given how cagey the girls had been about protecting their club. Nesrin had an idea as to why that was – one of many rumours she’d heard floating around the RLD concerning the nature of the place. But the fact it seemed Wicked was able to just tap into some random security camera for his own purposes, that she was curious about.

Smile for the camera wasn’t the sort of comment she could make in present circumstances, though, so despite the twist of her humour she kept any acknowledgement entirely to herself. She wasn’t unduly concerned; it seemed unlikely Zigzag would have unpicked all his hard work obscuring her identity, not least because the Emissary would have a vested interest in keeping his leads quietly amongst the m’Antinomian for now. The auction was lighting up the dark web. It’d be a shame for him if someone else got to her first.

It was time she was counting on.

When Elyse changed the subject, she looked over to Cade to allow him to answer first, her smile shy and encouraging around the edges. Somehow she wasn’t surprised to discover he was a children’s doctor, though she wasn’t convinced he was being entirely honest about his motivations for coming to Moscow. But secrets made people interesting. “Seems we’re all travellers here,” she observed with a smile. Neither Anna or Elyse had Moscovite accents either. “I’ve been studying ancient history mostly – art, culture, religion. I grew up in Cairo – we’ve lost so much there since the disasters of the 20s, and of course Al Janyar haven’t helped any.” There was a light when she spoke, easy and charming; she’d been living on university campuses long before she met Zar. “But I came to Moscow for postgraduate study. You guys must have heard of the Brotherhood of the Ascendant Flame? Strange times.”

[Elyse]

Pediatrician seemed like a good fit for Cade. Elyse didn't know him that well, but sometimes you could just tell. Still he seemed a little different. Occasionally, Elyse would pick up a hint of sadness in his scent. At this point, Elyse didn't know what to think of Ness.

"It's a very noble profession," Elyse said, meaning every word. She couldn't imagine the difficult of always seeing children sick or hurt. Elyse could imagine it would take it's toll on the pysche. It would take a strong person to hold that job.

Elyse nodded at Ness's traveler comment. "I'm from a port city in Denmark." If they thought Moscow was cold now, they should feel the winters in Helsingor when the wind blew in from the sound. That was a cold to chill you to your core.

The Brotherhood of the Ascendant Flame - a religion formed to venerate the Ascendancy. "I never thought I'd see the day when a new religion would be formed. Times are definitely strange." Elyse agreed with Ness. It's got to be interesting for a scholar like yourself though. Have you visited the Sanctuary? Elyse hadn't - but she wasn't a religious person and considered herself more neutral to the Ascendancy's divinity. Still - Brandon hadn't seemed to try to quell the Brotherhood's ascension. Whether that was because he supported it and accepted their worship, or just didn't care, Elyse didn't know.

[Anna]

Anna smiled deeply. Being a pediatrician was a gift. All doctors were blessed with skills and a mindset that Anna could never hope to understand - and pediatricians even more so. Anna found herself liking the man more as she got to know him, and it wasn't just that she found him attractive. He seemed to be a genuinely good man. She debated sending Nox another message stating that - maybe even saying his was a children's doctor, but decided not to. On one hand, it would be a betrayal of Cade's trust. She had sent what he had asked. Sending more just wouldn't be right. On the other hand, Nox's strange message had kind of upset her a little bit. He could have at least acknowledged I exist - or you know say your welcome!

Ness's story about Cairo hit Anna hard. Anna had always liked history. She wasn't a historian, but had always been interested in the past - particularly her own Central and South American heritage. In college, she had written a paper on the Aztecs and Mayans. When Cortez came, they not only raped the women, but the land and their culture as well. What had amazed her was when they had tried to force Catholicism on the Aztecs, they found ways even then to worship their own gods. One goddess they even likened to the Virgin Mary - using the Catholic icon to venerate their own goddess right under the noses of the Spanish Conquistadores.

"I'm sorry for what is happening to your people and culture with Al Janyar," she said somberly. Taking a deep breath, she changed the subject. "Moscow is now the center of civilization. It only makes sense that people would start to flock here for many reasons - economic, disaster, persecution, or for religious reasons. Me - I left Chicago because I needed a change."