Post by Jasper Bloom on Aug 22, 2013 21:09:59 GMT -5
Jasper sat at a table in the little corner-cafe, a small glass of iced-tea sitting in front of him as he read through the small stack of books consisting of work, research, and the latest in novels he had purchased recently. It was an odd collection of books to be sure.
The weather outside was boiling, the temperature maxed out at a hundred and five degrees. Granted, humidity was at just about zero. The little café was kept at about 73 degrees, and it was filled with the aromas of tea, and coffee. It was a cozy enough establishment, and it was nearly empty. Only a few people buzzed about through the room, the rest of the population busy working their day jobs, or sleeping for their night jobs.
The one man sitting in the corner seemed to be engrossed in his actions, which consisted of reading, sketching, writing, and then more reading. Every so often he would mumble quietly to himself and take a sip from the iced tea nearby, or crack his knuckles and get back to his work. From the papers scattered around the table it was clear that he had already been here for a while. At a glance, the only thing the papers contained for the most part were odd doodles depicting various items from multiple views, and a few notes here or there. The specific paper the man was working on at that moment was a depiction of a large, oblong object.
The object consisted of a massive skeleton-frame, inside of which was a vast expanse of tunnels and boxes. To be frank, it looked like the man was drawing a blimp.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Aug 25, 2013 16:54:10 GMT -5
Rae needed a distraction.
For a while she had tried to run, for a while she had tried to hide, but eventually she came back to drinking. Sat in the cafe, on her own, at a table with her army boots up on the wooden surface she was nursing a whiskey. Of course the woman behind the counter had questioned her drinking, she had also questioned the amount that the girl was insisting on consuming, but Rae; frankly, didn’t have anything else to do right now. She couldn’t find another distraction on her own. This was easy, this was simple. Drink didn’t have any feelings that could be broken, it didn’t care if you loved it or if you hated it, it didn’t care if you wanted it with ice or without, it just simply was. Rae liked that. She liked the simplicity and she liked that she, with drink in hand, always began to forget things that weren’t so simple.
Post by Adam Alexander Helviath on Aug 28, 2013 8:49:58 GMT -5
Adam has been through more hell in the past week than previously. He's had most of his money spent of fixing damadges to bars and for families and other such prices for hunting the vile. So he took his time, and little money, to take a nap in a cafe. Adam had a newspaper from the day before on his face and laid there with his head and arms behind the chair back while he started to snore. The cafe keep came over to kick him since he started to be loud for some reason and handed him a coffee and a muffin. "Here... on the house you poor oaf..." The keeper said with a musing tone as Adam woke up.
He looked at it and his eyes widened as one of the biggest grins he has had in a while surfaces upon his face. "Thank's hun! I shwear...When I get muhnney..." He started to eat the muffin mid sentence. The keeper laughs and shakes her head. "Stop eating like that and it will be all the payment I need." Adam laughs at this as he nods and swallows, slowing down his eating he starts to yawn and slump back, sipping his coffee. He has yet to look around and become aware of his surroundings but he was fairly loud in his awakening.
Post by Jasper Bloom on Aug 29, 2013 8:25:17 GMT -5
Jasper took a brief break from hiding and burying himself in the stack of sketches and books to take a look at the new scenery. He took the opportunity to stretch his arms outward and upward as his eyes roamed around the room and settled on the few people that were left. After stretching, he waved a hand to the counter as a signal to get another drink ready.
There was a woman sitting at a table in the corner drinking... Something. It could have been tea, or something like whiskey maybe. In any case, it had a rich amber color to it. And then there was the man who had been sleeping at another separate table, who it seemed had finally woken up. Jasper shook his head lightly with a smile at the thought of other people actually being here at this time of day, instead of at work, or home.
Shortly thereafter, he adjust the stack of books next to him and pulled out another sheet of some oddly lined paper. It didn't take long to get started on the next in his series of sketches, which would undoubtedly be added to the small pile that was accumulating nearby. This sketch was much like the previous one, the only real difference being in size. It was markedly smaller than the first, but it still held a vast maze of structures on it's interior. The paper was soon filled by the design, and it was indeed moved to the pile of similar drawings.
The man spread out the many pieces of paper on his table haphazardly as he finished his latest, organizing and arranging them into a large square of pressed wood fibers. It only took him a moment from there to assemble a slightly larger piece of paper, and start transposing them one by one into a specific place. He started with the first, and largest sketch of a balloon, which he placed in the middle. From there, he added two of the smaller ones to each side, and then connected them all with some form or other of structure going through the middle. Afterwards he took his time adding details and smaller objects into the mixture.
Post by Adam Alexander Helviath on Aug 29, 2013 8:54:16 GMT -5
[OOC: rae said to go before her ]
Adam looked over at the man first and noticed the sprawling of papers and books, it reminded him of his adventures to the libraries around the country to study and learn. He didn't even notice rae in the corner, his focus was on what the man was either learning or crating and he soon found out.
Adam moved light on his toes and swiftly too. He seemingly dance the long way around the place till he was behind the man. He didn't want to cause attention from the man so he didn't distract him. Adam noticed the drawings and familiar sketches. "It's a Zeppelin..." he chimes in after a few minutes of watching the man. At this time the mans drink also came by.
Adam instinctively leaned back after he spoke, realizing once again his mouth spoke before his brain told it what to say. He leaned back because usually this kind of behavior brought around a startled reaction either ending in a swing of a fist or flailing of arms. He stood a foot behind from where he was, arms behind his back and a dignified look on his face with a quirked eyebrow. He was interested and intrigued. Adam smiled at the man if he turned around to see or not.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Aug 30, 2013 2:56:20 GMT -5
[OoC; This one is before Gone with the Sun, okay Ad?]
Rae was dressed in a short denim skirt that just hid the glorious curve of her bottom. She had long black boots on, that surpassed her knees and had enough of a heel that if it were pressed down hard enough it would take a man’s eyes out. She wore a simple black shirt; long sleeved it hid the bruising and scaring on her arms and shoulders. The shirt was a man’s shirt, it was not cut well to fit a feminine frame and yet on Rae it somehow accentuated that she was stunning, eccentric but stunning.
Around her throat was a collar. The collar was new. copper, it was a slim and plain band. There was no tie to it, that suggested it had been fused together around her throat and in the front of it was a simple golden charm. This charm contained a tracking devise, like one might put in a dog. Also she wore two lockets, one of rose gold the other silver.
A waitress came over to her table as she finished her third drink. “You know.” She said gently. “A young thing like you shouldn’t be drinking on her own-“ the older woman tusked unhappily. “Why don’t you let me get you something to eat- come love.” Perhaps the woman understood, perhaps she pitied the girl, but either way she helped her to sit at the bar top of the diner now. Puttting Rae on a stool, the woman handed her a pint of water and a series of toast and jam. “Get that in you.” She cooed, mothering the teenager who looked like she’d been having one hell of a rough week.
“I have to go over and serve those gents over there-“ The woman said “When I come back we’ll see how your feeling.”
“I can’t afford the tab-“
“I know dear. But you will be able to next time.” The woman smiled and totted off to the small table. Rae’s eyes followed her and she sipped the water, feeling giddy from her alcohol intake. She’d been drinking all night, and hadn’t stopped when morning had beckoned the horizon. She watched the woman place the drink down at the table where two men appeared to be talking and Rae blinked a little bit. She knew one of them. Adam was handsome, she had to give him that, and there had been a little awkwardness between them on their first meeting, but since they had been hunting together…though it was nice for her to see him again. She smiled to herself; a little girlish blush lined her skin, the drink making her a little lose with her thoughts. But as she felt her heart rate rise the collar around her throat heat, the pain stung through her and she turned away.
Rae hid her head on the bar top, covering her face with her hands and just breathed; slowly her heart rate came down again and she rubbed her fingers over the copper on her throat. It was to stop her running away again, if she ran her heart rate would rise and it would heat up and burn her skin…She rubbed at her throat and sipped her water, but out of the corner of her eye she watched the two men, her chocolate gaze upon them as she tried to listen in and read what their lips were saying.
Post by Jasper Bloom on Aug 30, 2013 8:45:28 GMT -5
Jasper had been about half-way through placing the various engine ports around the bulbous assembly of balloons and platforms when the man had spoken up from behind him. It took his body a moment to register the sudden, rather startling interruption. He knew that it would only take a second for his hand to twitch and scream over the page, which would effectively ruin those parts of his sketch. Of course, he had developed a system to not do that very thing while he was going through his courses at college. Instead of dragging it's graphite over the pristine surface of the paper, the pencil lifted itself up and to the side.
Carefully placing his mechanical pencil back down onto the spot he had been working on before, he voiced "It's a little bit more than just that, but the concept is pretty much the same." as he slowly finished up the section. It was true, too. According to the small scale at the very bottom of the paper, the main body could have easily been over 300 meters in length, and the two alongside of it only slightly smaller. As the man worked and added components, the distinction became much more clear. Both interior and exterior were now covered in platforms, turrets, walkways, ports, and engines.
The man took the time to smile at the waitress and take a drink as she brought another glass of tea to him, which was refreshingly cool in comparison to the scalding conditions outside. Afterwards of course, he dug right back into his work. Occasionally he would flip to a page in a heavily used notebook full of numbers and equations, and then mark something invisible down on his sketch. By now he was busily working on drawing in a large number of sacks inside the dirigible covers themselves, which in the main structure, numbered at around 20 or so.
Post by Adam Alexander Helviath on Aug 30, 2013 10:08:39 GMT -5
Adam smiled and nodded as he slightly understood the idea, he moved to stand by the empty chair at the table and extend his hand. "May I?" he spoke before pushing his presence on the man. Either way it swung he would watch for a long while before mentioning something out of the blue. "You know... you could probably cut out some of the need for all that lift if you made it lighter...." he pulls out a book of his own, sketches and drawings inside of it. The lost art of Alchemy was not lost upon this man as he flips to a page in it. There it describes, through Adam's translation of the work, a way to make things lighter and sturdier or more durable.
Adam handed the open book to the man as he extended his hand to the man. He tugged on his jacket when he thought the man had read the information or simply ignored it. "Lift..." his jacket was extremely heavy for something so mundane but the scratches and burns might attest to the durability.
"Now... feel..." he places what seems like the handle of a gun on the man's knee. "It's not nice to wave that around but... It is possible to make things lighter and more durable through simple means...." The gun was lighter than anything the man might have felt a gun should weight. Adam waited for the man to return the gun before he put it away and leaned back.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Aug 30, 2013 12:38:12 GMT -5
For a little while she sat and spoke with the waitress, the woman tried to ask her some questions about what she was doing and tried to ask her what she was doing here. But Rae naturally dodged them and kept away from answering anything too difficult or too taxing. But she smiled politely and listened to the woman as she talked about the daughter she had who was about Rae’s age. Finally, and after several moments of this conversation Rae glanced back over at the table where the two men sat in what appeared to be deep discussion.
“Do you know them, dear?”
“One of them, yes.” Rae nodded, her chocolate eyes coming back to the other woman.
“Well, why don’t you go say hello?” The woman smiled; “You can take this over to them.” She handed the woman a tray with several things on them for the boys. It was not simply what they had ordered, but also a trio of cream cakes. This woman had a heart of gold and Rae could not understand what she had done to deserve this woman’s kindness.
Either way, she came to the table where the two men sat. Quietly she placed the tray down, careful of the book and not to damage any of the papers on the table. “This is for you guys apparently.” She murmured her British accent soft and shy as she spoke. She gave Adam a small smile as if to say ‘hi’, but she wasn’t fair of her to interrupt what was going on here. They were in what looked to be a business meeting, she didn’t wish to get in the way of them.
Post by Jasper Bloom on Aug 31, 2013 1:17:52 GMT -5
Jasper glanced between his sketch and the book the man had offered, continuing to sketch out the lines and details as he read. When he finished the portion he was working on, he busily tore through his notes, editing and changing them as he went. He very quietly muttered to himself as he made his changes quickly and efficiently, stopping only to 'lift' and 'feel' when indicated.
There was a growing list of problems to rectify in his calculations as he made his little changes and edits throughout the notebook. It was incredible, how much weight the man had managed to save with his magical book of what should have been full of impossibilities. The entire construct had been reduced in weight by nearly a third on it's own, which meant he could add more things. Or hold more, maybe both. Either way, it was exciting.
The man's pencil almost flew over the pages of the notebook as he corrected the long sequence of equations, eventually ending in a derived total weight at the end. It only took him a minute or two to go through them all, and by the end all he could muster was a quiet "Wow." in response to the new number.
Jasper glanced up at the new person at the table, nodding to an empty seat nearby. He took a large gulp of tea, and then turned to ask how and/or where the man had learned how to alter things to such a degree. He pointed out a few things on the various papers and sketches scattered around his space on the table, and then marked and highlighted a few other complicated areas on another few parts, mostly engines and turrets.
Post by Adam Alexander Helviath on Aug 31, 2013 16:14:20 GMT -5
Adam smiled kind of sheepishly in the same manner that rae did with a little color coming into his cheeks. "H-hey! How ya doin' hun?" Adam turns to the man at the table with him and smiles pulling up a chair from the table next to him. The individual wasn't using it but still seemed annoyed by it for some weird reason. Adam matched the ornery individuals scowl by sticking out his tongue. He pats on the chair and offers it to her with a smile. "This man's goin' to be a sky pirate." he chimes in, why else would a zepplin need turrets and other such weaponry if not to take over the skies. Adam of course laughed a little as he made the comment to see if he was truly listening to him.
Adam's attention turned when the question was raised. "I'm an Alchemist... and well... You can thank my parents and my desire to learn and advance myself...." he chuckles as he leans back. "So what'cha doin' in this part of town luv?" Adam was not mocking her accent, he just simply picked up phrases and ways to say words that he liked as well as making his own.
The words in the book were translated but the exact translation was an encryption Adam himself undestood. What good is an alchemist who solves a riddle to reveal everything. At least that was the case with the processes for doing such work. "I can't explain but I can help... if you're lookin' I'm a man for hire..." He spoke these words as he turned to Rae once more. "By the way, you look marvelous..." He turned his attention once more to the man's drawings. As if he was a door to door sales man looking for clients to buy his cure all elixirs. The funniest part was that those elixirs were in his truck.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Sept 1, 2013 5:56:04 GMT -5
While she received a nod from the man she didn’t know, Rae was basically ignored by him. But Adam spoke to her, a soft blush on his cheeks as he rose and got her a chair from another table. She gave a gentle smile to him, tucking her hands into her pockets she stood a little awkwardly as Adam placed the chair down for her and pats the soft cushion.
"H-hey! How ya doin' hun?"
“I’m good, you?”
Rae sat, quietly and a little sheepishly on the seat. She wasn’t sure what she had to feel embarrassed about, she hadn’t done anything to disturb their meeting, but the woman had asked her to bring over the tray and Rae had. She was still nursing her water and was trying to think clearly through the mix of drunken depression and yesterday’s hangover. But she blinked and smiled along, laughing a little as Adam added;
"This man's goin' to be a sky pirate."
Her attention turned to the stranger and she listened to them for a moment as Adam talked about his Alchemy. Her eyes went to the formulas and for a moment Rae frowned. “That should be a seven-“ She pointed to one of the mathematical equations he had jotted down, tapping her finger over the number four. It was wrong, it should be a seven. The girl, of such high intelligence, could tell that from just a glance, even if she wasn’t feeling particularly human right then.
Adam jumped back to speaking to her and she sipped her water as she answered his question. “Of you know me, anywhere the wind blows.” She murmured in answer to is enquiry. She didn’t want to explain in front of the stranger the ins and outs of what she was doing here, that seemed a little rude and a little unfair, but she kept her tone light and sipped from her water once more.
"By the way, you look marvellous..."
She flushed bright pink, as soft and as endearing as her hair, and turned her head away from him. Her eyes going to the other man sat with them, for a moment she observed him, then her eyes went back to the drawings. Trying to work out what it is they were trying to create. She listened as Adam offered his help and wondered why the man was sat in the open with such plans, perhaps they weren’t private? So perhaps she shouldn’t feel bad or guilty for peeking at them as he wrote.
“Slow down-“ She told him, he seemed to be scribbling furiously. “You’re making mistake- that’s the second one now.” She pointed to one of the equations he had written there. “Are you trying to put this thing up with Helium or Hydrogen?” Perhaps it was a tease, but his writing suggested he was using both at different times and the difference between the two chemical symbols may only be the addition or subtraction of an ‘e’ but it would make the world of different. “Here you’re using Helium, there you’re using Hydrogen.” She pointed out the conflicting answers; “It’s affecting your maths.”
But she sat back, not listening eagerly, not sure what the two of them were plotting and not suggesting she wanted any part of it.
Post by Jasper Bloom on Sept 7, 2013 1:47:24 GMT -5
Preferring to remain outside of their conversation unless was absolutely necessary, Jasper kept himself occupied with correcting and adding to his equations, sketches, and designs. Well, to be honest he was too absorbed into his work to really care and/or notice, but that's totally besides the point. The only things that he particularly payed attention to was his being called a "Sky Pirate", Alchemical things, and his horribly messy handwriting.
As he went back through his equations for a third time Jasper made sure to separate his "H"s and his "E"s a little more than they were, and added a 7 before the aforementioned 4. It didn't help much of course, the writing covering the notebook page after page after page was still almost illegible. It really didn't help that there seemed to be a few bleed-through-marks or stains from coffee and tea on the pages every so often as well.
On mentioning the hiring status of alchemical wonders, the man promptly mumbled something along the lines of "Gonna needallthehelpIcanget" quietly, still immersed in his work.
Post by Adam Alexander Helviath on Sept 9, 2013 14:29:43 GMT -5
Adam turns back his gaze to the man with perked curiosity and eyebrows. "If you cover the expenses for the materials... labor on my part is very cheap... and all I ask is I get to fly up with ya when all is said and done." He extends his hand to the man with a bright smile. When it is possible Adam tries to work because it is not all the time that those he kills have unlocked wallets per say. As of late he has also been trying to better his alchemy slowly crafting and experimenting more and more with different chemicals and processes.
The skies have always interested him maybe more than woman and whiskey have. So for the opportunity to possibly fly up there for free was amazing but if he could get paid then he would try for it, every one has to eat sometimes. Turning once more to Rae he smiles. "I'm sure if ya paid the lovely lady here she could give you some help as well... she's one of the smartest women I know..." slyly escapes his mouth as he winks at her.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Sept 10, 2013 11:28:03 GMT -5
So lost in his work the stranger didn’t seem to really notice either of them there. Rae looked awkwardly back at Adam as her friend mentioned his hiring expectations. She wet her lips, slowly, and watched the two men without expectations. Then Adam complimented her and she flushed a shy smile on her lips as he winked at her. She was smart, she was very clever, but in that moment she looked like young typical girl, blushing and innocent.
“What is it you’re trying to do, exactly?” Rae asked, once she had gotten passed her fatal flushing and managed to look back at the stranger. There had been no introductions, there had been hardly any conversation and the entire thing felt awkward and strange. But she was curious. Rae wasn’t agreeing to anything; she was battling a hangover so it was enough for her to merely be polite. But in that moment, she was curious and it was that curiosity that kept her at the table and interested.
