InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "what is normal?"

Bella Donna Boudreaux is a cheerful assassin (petitmort) wrote in utr_logs,
@ 2008-09-04 09:20:00

Entry tags:

belladonna rogan

Who: Belle the older and Remy
When: After Belle offered him a job
Where: New Orleans
Warnings: cursing, flirting, etc.

Belle wandered through the backstreets, whistling softly. New Orleans had recently been hit with a pretty good storm, and the damage was evident. It was nothing like the city she'd grown up in, and the thought that faulty maintenance had ruined her home, her first love, made her very, very annoyed.

But it hadn't really hurt her home, just another version of it. The only piece of her old life here was the man she was going to see, and possibly betray. She sighed, and idly wished for a cigarette, though it would do more harm than good at this point.

At least Remy would have alcohol. You could always count on him to have alcohol.

She eyed the Guildhall, because that's what it really was, and shivered, despite the heat and the humidity. But there were no guilds here, and even if there were, she had no reason to be a part of them anymore.

She knocked loudly, and folded her parasol, waiting.

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gambitlebeau
2008-09-04 02:35 pm UTC (link)

Remy had just finished the laborious task of re-affixing boards to some of the windows and doors, because this was only the first of four, he'd heard. The first one didn't even dare take him surprise, he just rolled with the punches on that one.

He clapped his hand free from the dirt and dust that had gathered from handling the lumber and exterior of his house and took a pull of his beer. Guildhall was much, much larger when there were only half a dozen people in and around it at all times. And the bodyguards weren't paid to nail wood to window frames.

He heard her knock, and raised one brow, using the roof over the front porch as his own personal catwalk, he silently padded across, jumping down and landing on his feet in the grass, wiping a bit of sweat off his brow. "My, my, my," Remy purred, wandering towards her, graceful and well as ever, "Someone been in better spirits. C'm'in chere, we get you a beer or some wine." He held the storm door open, as well as the proper one, letting her in.

It was odd to him, letting Belladonna into Guildhall. Even if it wasn't proper Guildhall, or even his Belladonna, it still seemed strange to him, and set off his sense of paranoia, setting him on edge. Even if Belle was retired, and the Guilds didn't exist in this world, She was still an Assassin, and he would always be a Thief, and ushering her in quietly broke every rule.

"You mind tellin' me 'bout de job you got f'me?" He asked. He already knew better. Belle wouldn't have given him the light of day for a job, she would have either done it herself, or give it to someone more... not ex-husbandy.

He thought back on the conversations they'd had recently. Something wasn't settling into place just right.

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petitmort
2008-09-04 02:47 pm UTC (link)

She turned easily, and gave him a very charming smile. "Been busy, I see. That's the downside of living out in the boonies, house is liable to sink in a heavy rain."

She wandered easily into the Guildhall, looking around. Her time as co-ruler with Jean-Luc had served her well. It looked very much like the other one had. If she focused on that, it made it much easier to detach herself from the current situation. Plus, if things went south, which was possible, she'd know where a good chunk of the exits were. Which was a very important thing for this kind of work.

The only difference she could see were the drapes. "Curtains are different. And I'd love a beer, by the way."

It would be a cold day in hell when Belle turned down a drink. "Came to you, 'cause what I'm wanting is hidden pretty well."

She leaned against a table and eyed him, sighing when she realized how much older than her he really was. So much time had passed. She wondered if they even counted as being from the same universe anymore. "Know anything about Excalibur?"

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gambitlebeau
2008-09-04 03:25 pm UTC (link)

The other major layout difference was that everything was a mirror image. Instead of the kitchens being down the way and to the left, they were down the way and to the right. He led her to them. "Oui, curtains were Artans' predecessor's decision. Man did music, tch. No accountin' for taste." He opened the fridge and grabbed himself a fresh beer as well as one for her. He uncapped them both and handed one to her, sliding easily onto a stool near the counter and looked her over. Just as he remembered her -- young, beautiful. Deadly, witty.

The sword's name got him to quirk a brow, and a smile melted into place. "King Arthur's sword. Rumored t'be real, real name bein' Caliburn. Enchanted by Merlin." He took a sip of his brew and his smile tilted.

"Never heard'a it."

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petitmort
2008-09-04 04:00 pm UTC (link)

She snickered, inclining her beer toward him in thanks before downing a good portion of it. "Merde, it never dries out down here. Been spoiled by the dry heat."

His response made her laugh again, and she nodded. "So, this sword you ain't heard of exists, and it's in the Vatican. Somewhere."

There are benefits to having the knowledge of a nazi spy. "Figgered if anyone knew how to get at it, it would be you."

Damn, there was her accent again. She was going to spend all week trying to get rid of it. Oh well. "Interested?"

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gambitlebeau
2008-09-04 06:29 pm UTC (link)

He raised both brows. He knew that the Vatican was one of the most highly guarded places on earth with one of the most technologically advanced security systems.

He weighed his options. "Might be. How much you payin'?" He looked over at her, all business. He knew he was acting shady, but there really wasn't much he could do about it but put on a smooth face. He wanted to know what the real reason was. This was a pretty big target, sure, and it almost kept him from thinking there was ulterior motives, but when it came to Belle, everything had a Something Else attached.

He took another sip of beer, keeping his steady gaze on her.

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petitmort
2008-09-05 12:06 am UTC (link)

"Unique item, unique situation. Name the price."

She shrugged. "What de fuck do I know about how much shit costs. And you can stop lookin' t me like dat."

She realized that she was putting him more and more on guard, but she couldn't bring herself to just dive into his brain. Were he a stranger, she wouldn't even be talking to him, but this was Remy, who had been her best friend her whole life.

"Also, I'd like to know why you feel like y' gotta keep secrets from me, mon ami."

There. That should get things going.

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gambitlebeau
2008-09-05 04:31 am UTC (link)

Childhood friends put him at a disadvantage. He didn't know what to think about this, honestly. His eyes darted away when she finally picked up the real reason.

"Right."

He slid his hand through his hair and heaved a sigh, looking up at her with a sheepish, scruffy smile. "S'pose you deserve to know. You up f'goin' somewhere private? Y'know by y'comin' here, m'pretty sure you already got me into trouble. Never know what one thing'll set off the shitstorm."

He stood and looked around into all the darker corners he could see, before whistling, as if for a dog. Out from the shadows, came a small, strange figure, one that was so dark that sight just fell around it. If one could bother to look through their peripheral vision at the creature, which decided to climb up onto Remy's shoulders, it was something almost the size and shape of a horseshoe crab, only with three claws. Just three.

"Dis be Toto. S'my daughter's pet, or de ot'er way 'round if you wanna t'ink of it dat way. It can take us somewhere else to talk, ain't bugged." He held out his hand. "I tell you all about it, promise."

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	petitmort 2008-09-05 12:00 pm UTC (link)
	Belle's eyebrows were coming dangerously close to meeting her hairline by the time Remy stopped talking. She didn't know how to look at the thing, but she'd seen something skitter over. "If dis is some kinda joke, I'm gonna very mad at you," she said, as she took his hand. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

gambitlebeau
2008-09-05 03:36 pm UTC (link)

He rolled his eyes and gave a coy smile. "Accent's showin'." He took her hand at that, and followed the Shadow's directions into a shift of darkness in a corner of the kitchen, and straight through it to a different, strange world.

The area around them was like looking at a polarized photo negative of the swamp, and there were eerily no noises that could be placed as Earthbound. He was somewhat used to it, though it set him on edge and it showed. "Right. We can talk here 'bout anything. Petit calls dis place Backstage, but is more like de theater's seats an' aisles, separating our world from... whatever else is." He briefly explained, before letting go of her hand. "Don't wander nowhere, jus' stay here."

He crouched and ran his hand through his hair, looking for the words to explain. "Sinister's here. He's de one you brought me to when we got outta de warehouse. He decided dat for payment of his services an' not to kill you, he'd put me under his employ. I had to get his equipment for him, an' den now, I gotta wrangle up six people of his choosin' to bring to him. I didn't tell you 'cuz dat would put you in danger."

The creature he'd had on his shoulder was easier to distinguish at that point -- it was a dark creature with several eye stalks, and something almost resembling a fur mohawk down its back.

"Essex promised me jus' de six. S'a light load, considerin' what he'd made me do 'fore dis. Still don't sit right wit' me, but what am I gun' do 'bout it?"

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petitmort
2008-09-06 12:24 am UTC (link)

Belle shrugged and sat, closing her eyes. She didn't need a migraine right this second.

"Well, first off, stop tryin' to be a goddamn hero. You think I keep talkin' to you 'cause you're so damn witty? Well, partially, but mostly 'cause you're my friend, and I care about your stupid ass. It would be kinda nice if you would think before you act."

She sighed, and wished for a cigarette for the fiftieth time that day. "Any idea who he wants yet?"

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