Fantasy Steamhaven: Land of the Lost

[ArcticFox]

Listening carefully and taking mental notes for both herself and Dan, Lianna nodded along the presentation. She did not know much about witches and she certainly never hunted them. Vampires were her expertise and always the main targets, despite letting some of them slip at times.

When the parchment made its way to her she made a squeamish grimace and waved it away. She could look at it just as well when someone else was holding it.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Blaine handed it to the person next in line after Lianna and, as it passed hands in front of her, she could clearly see the burnt center and splatters of blood. Only, where the two liquids met, some sort of chemical - or magical, Lianna did not know - reaction seemed to have occurred. Instead of stain like blood would, the two had mixed and become extremely opaque, shiny, and thick like the highest of quality inks.

"As you can see, it makes a beautiful ink," Missy-Maya said. Hummed and counted on her fingers, "Well, then, that makes... contract-signing one, ink two, and... Oh, right! Exfoliation and hair removal is another use." She took two more vials of what looked like blood, as well as a third of what looked like oil-infused herbs. "Naturally, the smell of human blood and demon's blood smell foul both on their own. Even more so when mixed together," she demonstrated by mixing the two. "Be sure to use slightly less human blood in your recipe, depending on how strong you'd prefer your exfoliant be," she said, "I tend to use a little more demon's blood when working with scars to remove the dead skin." Swirled the two together and added several drops of oil before sniffing. "This lavender oil helps to tame the foul smell, but feel free to use any scent you like."

The crowd tensed as Missy-Maya pulled back a ruffled sleeve and poured some of the mixture onto her exposed arm. Rubbed it in with a bare hand. There was no sizzling sound, though when she wiped it away with a rag, people could clearly see layers of dead skin and fried hair stuck to the fabric. "See? Smooth as a baby's bottom, it is," she smiled. "Make sure to rinse thoroughly, and not to leave on too long. It's definitely worth including in your skin-care routine... though, it will definitely rid gents of their lovely beards. At least the shaved look is in, yes?"

Lianna could ask another question before Missy-Maya continued the demonstration or she could keep quiet and simply observe.

- Ask a question
- Stay quiet
- Leave
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna watched the presentation the entire time with a disgusted grimace that she tried to mask, but could hardly manage. The mere thoughts of putting human blood and demon blood over one's skin made her want to heave her dinner out. So she placed a hand over her mouth and tried to take her minds off it, whispering to Blaine:

"Are you an inventor as well? Or a scholar?"

 

[Cartoonicat]

As Missy-Maya explained the skin-care benefits of her concoction, Blaine listened and watched Lianna intently as she talked. He shook his head. "Neither. I came as a plus-one," he said. "My father is an inventor selling stuff in the lobby." He tapped one of his hearing aids. "Stuff like this."

- Keep talking to Blaine
- Pay attention to the demonstration
- Other
- Leavr

 

[ArcticFox]

"Oh, I guess that makes more sense." Lianna nodded. He did not seem like a scholarly type. "What is it you do, then?" She asked.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"I'm..." Adopting an almost embarrassed look, Blaine cast his gaze to the side. "It feels silly to call myself an officer, but I just graduated from the police academy this week, so... A rookie detective, I guess."

Lianna had not seen his picture on the Steamhaven Police Department's wall, but with a city so large there had to be more than just one precinct. She could ask him about his time at the academy or his new job, or she could pay attention to the lecture. Their conversation had garnered a few sour stares from the row in front, but the audience members weren't annoyed enough to shush them yet.

- Ask why he thinks it's silly
- Ask about the academy
- Ask about his new job
- Change the subject
- Pay attention to the lecture
- Leave the lecture
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Oh?" Lianna looked at him with interest, "And what sort of work are you going to be doing for the police? Are you on any interesting cases yet?" Perhaps the rookie detective had seen something that could be of interest to her.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Blaine looked back at her, listening intently, before sighing with a shrug. "I'm supposed to accompany a veteran officer until I can handle a case on my own," he said, "but I don't think the higher-ups like me. So far all I've done is file paperwork." A secretary's job. He grew sheepish and looked away again. "I shouldn't have bothered him, but I submitted a complaint to the commissioner. He's probably too busy to read it, though..."

While things weren't particularly friendly with Commissioner Stratford anymore, the pair did respect each other enough to work together. Well, at least until Lianna let Samael go without returning him to the police department. She could try to help Blaine by putting a good word in for him, but upon hearing about Samael's release, Commissioner Stratford was unlikely to be happy.

- Ask about the higher-ups
- Ask about the commissioner
- Offer to help Blaine
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"I wish I could help, but I don't think I'm the Commissioner's favourite either." Lianna smiled sadly, "He does have a lot of work cut out for him, that's true." She paused for a moment, then leaned in closer to him to whisper, "Did you ever notice anything strange about him?"

 

[Cartoonicat]

Blaine's brows lifted before falling, knitting together. He lowered his voice and as if on instinct, made up for the lack of volume with subdued hand gestures. "He's colder than I expected, and was pretty high-strung at graduation," he said. "I thought the commissioner was just having a bad day until I overheard some of the officers talking on break." He whispered even softer, leaning in. "Apparently the commissioner has brawled with several visitors." He leaned away. "Makes me kind of nervous about sending a complaint but... well, I can't exactly retract it now."

From what Lianna could guess, Stratford probably assigned Blaine to his precinct to replace Landon, meaning the guy was good despite his inexperience.

A man in the row ahead of them turned and shushed the pair. "Be quiet or get out," he huffed, "some of us are trying to learn."

- Apologize
- Argue with the man
- Pay attention
- Leave
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"I'm sorry, sir." Lianna said quickly, then whispered to Blaine, "I think I'm gonna take a break from the lecture. I'll be outside, if you want to continue the conversation." She paused, then added, "Or dance, I do hope you dance." With a smile, she walked out of the room.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Blaine looked between Lianna, the ruffled man, and Missy-Maya (who hadn't seemed to notice the disturbance at all) before offering Lianna a smile. He followed her out, only speaking again once the door closed. He turned to face her with little room to walk; the hallway that connected the stairwell to Missy-Maya's lecture room was just shy of ten feet long. "I might look like a flailing cat, but sure, I could dance," he said. Made to step around her, heading for the stairs. She hadn't noticed until then exactly how tall he was.

At that angle and lighting, familiarity struck her: She'd seen Blaine somewhere before.

But where?

- Go to the dance hall
- Question Blaine
- Stop him
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna frowned for a moment, then reached out to grab his sleeve and stop him from passing her by. Her eyes focused on him intently, eyebrows knotting, "We've met already, haven't we? Where have I seen you before?" She asked, voice low and suspicious. In Steamhaven, it was easy to mistrust everyone.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Blaine stopped and looked down at her. Lifted a brow slowly, watching her speak with the same level of attentiveness he'd shown all night even if he did appear confused. "I don't recognize you from before tonight," he said. "Maybe you're confusing me with someone else?"

The man seemed genuine enough - and also alarmed at the sudden change in atmosphere. Still, there was something about him that screamed déjà vu.

- Insist
- Apologize
- Attack him
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna tried to keep her tone steady and keep the intimidation out of it. Not wanting to drive the man off without making sure that he was harmless and it was just her imagination, she smiled, but still kept a grip on his suit.

"I'm sorry, I might have been mistaken, but I can't help feeling like I've seen you somewhere." She weighed her words carefully, but had to drop a bombshell eventually, "Tell me, Blaine, are you human? Can you honestly confirm that to me now? I promise not to do anything further about it, whatever is your answer. I am here to dance tonight, not hunt."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Despite her easy tone, Blaine looked a hundred times more alarmed than before. For a split second. "If I was anything but human, it'd be suicide to show up here." He made no attempt to remove her hand from his sleeve or move away. "This is an Anti-Supernatural convention, after all."

- Let him go
- Attack him
- Ask a question
- Apologize
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Blaine, please, do you really think that everyone here is human? Do you believe that there was no witch in that lecture we just skipped, on the lookout for whatever it is we have prepared to fight them?" She smiled sadly, "There are a lot more unnatural beings here than you might think. They just think that they are all so smart. Well, you say you are not one of them, so I'm inclined to believe you. Only tonight, though." She released him and patted his arm gently. "Now, let's forget about this and dance. I'm sure you can't be worse than Dan." She chuckled.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Lianna had a point and, upon hearing it, Blaine looked towards the lecture door they'd just closed as if someone would burst through any moment and attack. Patting his arm brought him back to the conversation. "Alright," he nodded. After laughing along with Lianna at Dan's expense he relaxed. "I actually saw him dancing with you earlier. It was... interesting."

He stepped towards the staircase and gestured for Lianna to walk with him.
----
The dance hall was significantly less packed, but it still had enough of a crowd to look lively. The extra room gave them space to dance without fear of crashing into anyone. The only downside was... pretty much everyone in that room were comprised of drunk plus-ones.

A staff member approached them. "Would you care for a drink?" Unlike earlier, where all the drinks were uniform, this tray held a combination of different beverages in different colors and glass sizes. Blaine hesitated before knocking back a shot and returning it to the tray.

- Dance with Blaine
- Grab a drink
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Were you spying on us, Blaine? That is not something a gentleman does." Lianna chuckled, as they walked to the great hall. Seeing everyone drunk and happy, made her feel a bit more at east after the conversation before. She was determined that she was gonna have a fun and relaxing night and by all gods she was intent on just that. Still, seeing as Blaine was intent on being a bit buzzed, she would need to be the sober of the pair. "Come on." Lianna said, offer her hand to lead him toward the center of the room.

 

[Cartoonicat]

He had looked startled until she laughed, easing the tension and indicating she wasn't actually upset. It made Blaine laugh, too, and relax enough to follow her to the center of the room. Around them, couples tossed each other every which way and groups participated in clumsily-done square dances. Individuals with no partners swayed and turned and clapped off-beat to the music. One man, in particular, went around challenging other dancers to a competition of fancy footwork most were far too drunk for.

- Dance as a pair
- Join a group
- Challenge the dancer
- Suggest Blaine challenge the dancer
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna's eyes narrowed at the man that seemed to be presenting a challenge for everyone. A dance off which she was really tempted to join. But she had dragged Blaine to the dance floor and she didn't want to ditch him to square off with a drunk guest. So, shaking her head and suppressing a laugh at the silly situation, Lianna extended her hands toward Blaine with a smile, "Let's see your flailing cat dance."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Smile widening, Blaine took Lianna's hand. Quicker than the tempo called for, he pulled her in close only to guide her back out again. He spun her twice in the time it took a normal dancer to spin someone once, followed by a series of high-energy footwork. While one might not describe his overall technique as a "flailing cat dance" as he claimed, it certainly was not typical.

It was goofy and wild and far more physically demanding than anything Lianna had danced before.

- Let him lead
- Try to lead
- Ask to dance slower
- Ask about Blaine's dancing style
- Stop dancing
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"More like a seizing cat!" Lianna couldn't help but laugh as she was spun around. Trying her best to follow the dance, she could feel herself running out of breath already. Still laughing, she pleaded, "Slow down, please, before I break a heel."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Blaine hardly broke a sweat; if anything, he seemed more energetic than he had since Lianna met him earlier that night. Either he was a secret ball of energy or just loved to dance - or both. Laughing, he settled them into a slower rhythm that better matched the music and the drunken guests around them. "Right, heels," he glanced towards her moving feet. "You kept up well. Do you dance often?"

Since moving to Steamhaven, Lianna hadn't time to go out much even if she wanted to. But before entering the haunted city? Well, Lianna...

- Loved to dance
- Danced occasionally
- Found dancing a chore
- Never danced
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

There was always something about dancing, Lianna thought. She like the movement, the fluidity, the change of pace, the intimacy of it. It had been a way of practice as well, when she learned to keep up her stamina, to dodge and twist and roll. But, most of all she always found it absolutely fun. Not only dancing, but the music that it accompanied. Perhaps she found it even more precious now that she was rarely able to metaphorically let her hair down and relax.

"I used to, in another life." She smiled, "I'm a bit rusty now. Perhaps I out to start challenging vampires and werewolves to impromptu dance-offs for practice."