Afternoon Tea [Open]

["AMARANTH"]

Location: The Eastern District - White Plaza

Know Why The Nightingale Sings
it's the answer to everything

⚜ Amaranth gave a happy, peaceful sigh as he took in the scent of the hot, peppermint tea that sat on the table in front of him. He was in the food-court area of the White Plaza, taking some time out his shopping for enjoy lunch. It was unusual that he had a day off work, so he'd taken the opportunity to come spend some of the plentiful Argent his position as an Architect had earned him. It felt odd to be alone, without his research, and even without Shakaya, who was still tied up with her duties as a General today, but something about coming to the Eastern District always made him feel content.

⚜ Maybe it was the regal, polished beauty of the place, or maybe it was because coming here reminded him of how far he'd come from a small, poor child barely surviving on the Southern District's streets - he never would've dreamed back then that he'd have the money or status to feel comfortable in the high-class, elegant Eastern District. It was a bit noisy, with plenty of other people here for supplies and clothes also pausing for lunch, but it was still comfortable here, he decided, taking a sip of his tea as he scanned the area around his table.

[ARTEMIS VATCHELLE]

LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR
let the bodies hit the floor

[/font]

Artemis walked into the plaza with a rather unpleasent mood for sunch a day. There were bags under her eyes, her hands twitching and sore and her hair a bit messier than it usually was. Time off, that's all she needed right now. Yes, she did love her job, but it was demanding, though it was what made it more appealing to her. But why not stay at home? Why not stay in her nice large house and soak in a bath while studying up a bit on the old wars from the surface? The answer was actually very simple: she ran out of food, but even if she did have food, she didn't want to make any so she decided to go out and order something nice and sweet.

Passing by a place or two, she almost walked right by the tea shop. Normally, she wouldn't go to such a place, tea wasn't one of her favoites, but she saw on of the researchers there, a friend to one of her Generals.after weighing the pros and cons in a split second, she made the turn and walked into the shop, ordering some cookies and a very, very, very...very sweet tea with a lot of cream. Barely any tea in it, though she would have just preffered it to be the cream and sugar, the tea just ruined it, in her opinion.

Taking a seat from one tabel, she pulled it over to Amaranth's tabel and sat down in one of her favorite positions, sitting sideways, her legs over one of the arms of the seat andher elbow resting on the other. Taking a sip of her tea and a bite of her cookie, she swallowed and looked at the man. "Heeeey, how's it going?" she asked him with one of her "I'm trying to look like I care but its failing" kind of smiles.

[Ooc- sorry if its too long to be short...? D:]

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["AMARANTH"]

Know Why The Nightingale Sings
it's the answer to everything

⚜ The tea was mint with just a hint of citrus spices, creating a unique, tangy medley. Amaranth had decided to try a new flavor today, and he was pleased that he had now, feeling utterly content until the sound of a chair scooting closer made him look up. When he did, he realized that someone, a girl who looked a few years younger, had taken a seat at his table, sitting sideways on the chair she'd moved there.

⚜ He blinked in surprise, bewildered at first - it's not like there weren't empty tables at the shop, but then he realized who she was after a second glance - the color of her hair and the eyepatch she was wearing were unmistakable. He'd only seen her a few times, but he'd heard plenty about her from Shakaya. It was the Head General - why was she here? Great. He'd come to take some time off from his job and responsibilities, and he runs into a high ranking officer. Well...at least she was Shakaya's boss, not his. Still, she must've recognized him.

⚜ "Heeeey, how's it going?" He blinked again at her greeting, noticing the slightly forced smile on her face, before forcing a smile, himself. In reality, he would've rather have just told her to go away and let him have his peace, but he put on his usual polite attitude. "Quite well, thank you. I'm just enjoying my rare day off work and trying to pick up a few supplies I've been meaning to purchase." He answered simply. "May I ask what brings you here, General?" He added, trying to keep his slight annoyance out of his voice as he asked the question.

[[OOC: it's fine^^]]

[ARTEMIS VATCHELLE]

LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR
let the bodies hit the floor

[/font]

Artemis stared at Amaranth for a second or two. Why was she here? What did she want from him? Just to say hi? No, that wasn't right. She'd never stoop so low. Now, lets find something, something interesting to talk about that wouldn't make her sound like some bored little animal. Then, an idea popped into her head as she thought about their jobs.

"Oh, yes, this," she said, pretending like that was the whole reason she was here. Might have well been this reason, the first possible reason was terrifying. "Gimme," she said as she took a napkin and looked for a pencil, but couldn't find any so she stood up, walked to the counter and took one. When she was back, she began to scribble down formula. Though it took her a minute or two, she managed to remember all of it from the real formula from back in her house.

She pushed it forward. "I'm not much of a scientist, but..." she trailed of, very pleased with herself. Overly so. "I figured out a basis to reversing Remnant behavior and physical mutations," she told him. Science was never her thing and it always seemed much too bothersom for her to deal with, so she spent about...six months on this? She would have done more with it, but she had grown bored of it in the past few weeks, actually forgetting this. "Feel free to mess with it a bit," she said with big, snobby grin plastered on her face. It felt much better than those "I feel sorry" and "how's it going" smiles.

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["AMARANTH"]

Know Why The Nightingale Sings
it's the answer to everything

⚜ "Oh, yes, this." The girl answered, before reaching forward and grabbing a napkin. Amaranth blinked as she got up and walked over to the counter, grabbing a pen. Well, at least it looked like he'd find out why she was here. Hopefully it was something quick, he thought to himself, taking the brief moment of peace to take another sip of his tea.

⚜ The girl's voice was confident as she returned, the General writing something down pushing him a napkin with what looked like some sort of formula written on it. He picked it up and looked at it as she kept speaking. The basis for a Remnant reversal formula, huh? He didn't feel like going over it in detail why she was sitting right there, but it did bear some resemblances to his own. He would take a closer look at it later, though, maybe it would be helpful. Even if she wasn't a scientist, it was no secret that the Head General was regarded as a genius, supposedly having skipped several grades growing up.

⚜ He felt a tinge of irritation at her snobby smile, though. Was she trying to play with him? Secretly, the man had been working on something very similar. He may work as an Architect, but finding a way to reverse or prevent the Remnant mutation had always been his real goal, since his parents had preached about the sure possibility of such a thing while he was of a young age. In reality, he hated the Parliament and most of the other officials - after all, it was the Parliament who'd ordered his family, and supposedly him, dead all those years ago. Shakaya was his only real friend among the other workers, and in reality, even though she was the only one who knew of his real identity, he didn't even trust her one hundred percent. For that reason, he decided not to mention his own research to this girl, despite how hard it was not to with her slightly gloating grin. ...But why had she really given this to him anyway, out of everyone else that she could've? Did she already have some suspicions about what he was trying to do? He found himself giving a hard swallow, before hoping that she hadn't noticed. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

⚜ He forced down another tip of his tea as he put the napkin in his pocket following a last look. "Err...thank you. I'll look it over later. But..." He looked back up towards the General. "Why would you give this to me, out of all the other Architects and scientists?" He decided to ask, keeping his voice casual like usual.

[ARTEMIS VATCHELLE]

LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR
let the bodies hit the floor

[/font]

Artemis yawned, taking another bite of her cookie as she watched Amaranth look at her formula. He looked suprised and deep in though. Mission acomplished and fool decived, the thoughts running through her head. Se couldn't believe he couldn't tell this thing was a lie. Well, the formula wasn't a lie, coming here to give it to him was. After all, with her one fourth second hesitation and number of blinking extended, he had to be a fool not to notice it all. It felt like she was the only smart person around here.

When he slipped the napkin into his pocket, she grabbed her sugared cream and held up her right hand index finger, telling him to wait. When the cream was gone, she set down the cup and intertwined her giners. "Because I found you," she said, then attempting tp blow hair out of her usable eye, but failed. Angered, she moved it aside with her hand. "If I wanted to get it to you guys, there would have been paper work, and, oh, the newspapers. Nah, id like to keep this a private matter."

She leaned back in her chair. Tyis was getting boring, so how should she spice it up? Shoot him? Nah, her gun was at home (damn). Blackmail? Hmm, maybe? What was there to blackmail him on? She looked through her memory. She had done quiet a bit of research on the members of the government once she had the power to. And, what about him? If her memory served right (which it did) this man had no history, not family, no anything. Just popped out of no where? And you know what type of people do that best, she asked herself. Southern district people, said thought, smirking. She found what she neede and it took her less than a second.

She leaned forward, her knees still on the chair, but her elbows and arms resting on the tabel. Her button up collared shirt hung down, a bit revealing. That is, if she had much of a chest to work with. "And because I know you'll get it done with you...secert and all," she whispered to him, the snobby look on her face never fading and she looked into his eyes with her brown orbs.

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["AMARANTH"]

Know Why The Nightingale Sings
it's the answer to everything

⚜ The girl held up an index finger, signaling him to wait after he asked his question. He felt another rush of irritation, but forced himself to keep it down again. Instead, he took a sip of his own tea as he waited for her to speak. As she did, he removed it from it's place by his lips and set it back down. "...Simply because you found me first? That seems like an awfully convenient reason." He challenged, but decided not to press the issue any further. After all, if that was the simple truth, that was good news for him.

⚜ The girl was quiet for a moment, before suddenly leaning closer with her body stretched across the table. The man blinked in confusion, scooting back a bit. Aside from Shakaya, something about having people come close to him made him feel uneasy. Before he could pull back, though, she put her lips close to his ear, whispering. His eyes instantly opened wider.

⚜ For a second, he fell silent, tensing up far more than he would've wanted. Secret? Damn...! Did she? How? The only person he'd ever spoken of it to was Shakaya, and he doubted that she'd ever say anything. Other than that, he'd uttered not a word of it to anyone. How could she possibly...? Then again... He tried to calm himself down. Maybe she was trying to read him. Maybe she'd seen his reaction earlier and suspected something. Sometimes the best way to find something out is to pretend that you already know. If that was what she was doing, he wouldn't fall for such a simple trick. He quickly tried to put his usual, calm and slightly indifferent air back on.

⚜ "...Secret?" He repeated, as if confused. Not quite able to bring himself to lean in close enough to whisper, he glanced around, keeping his voice quiet. "Whatever could you mean? As one of Arcis' top scientists, everything I do is solely based upon orders from the Parliament. I will do what I can with the formula, but if you don't mind me saying so, General, your words slightly offend me. It's best to have your facts straight before accusing people of carrying secrets." He lied, hoping that she'd buy his own act. ...Of course, if she did know, then he was probably only making his problem worse. He prayed internally that she didn't.

[ARTEMIS VATCHELLE]

LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR
let the bodies hit the floor

[/font]

Artemis waitied, counting the seconds it took for him to respond. One, two, three, four, she counted. After he was done speaking, she leaned back in her chair and giggled. "Its cute," she bega, "how you think you're smarter than me." His longer than normal responce, the amount of time it took, his slightly dialated puiples, its was completely obvious. Why, even if she were four years old, she would have known he was lying!

She smirked this time but didn't lean forward, but slightly raised her voice in place of it. "Everyone has secerts and...you don't exactly like parliment, do you, Amaranth?" When he spoke of parliment, the first thing she noticed was a sign of anger, though it held none in his voice. The body tended to do what the mind couldn't comprehend. Well, that plus the fact if he came from the southern district, he'd have SOMETHING against parliment.she just needed to find out what.

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["AMARANTH"]

Know Why The Nightingale Sings
it's the answer to everything

⚜ Damn, she didn't buy it. Amaranth tried not to look too irritated, but couldn't help a frustrated frown as she gloated. He again found himself struggling not to start bragging back about his own research. He managed it, but something else escaped his lips. "The way you overestimate yourself is also quite adorable." Oops! He regretted those words as soon as they'd left his mouth. For one, they definitely gave away that he was feeling irritated and defensive, as if his earlier slip ups hadn't given that away enough. For another, he hadn't wanted to give her the pleasure of getting riled up, which was what it seemed she wanted, but it was too late to take the words back now.

⚜ He managed to keep slightly better composure, though, as she mentioned the Parliament. He made a point to take a casual sip of tea first, trying not to act alarmed or surprised. He needed to keep his reactions under better control. Eventually, he gave a slight chuckle. "Indeed." He admitted, figuring that he had to mix in just a bit of truth in order to continue with his lies. "Most of them are power-hungry fools. But that doesn't have anything to do with my research. I want to keep my position. So I listen to their orders. It's as simple as that - just because I'm not their biggest fan doesn't mean I'm hiding anything." He forced a smile, moving his gaze to look her right in the eye this time as much as he could manage. "...But just out of curiosity, what is this secret that you seem convinced I have? I want to know what rumors are going around about me."

[ARTEMIS VATCHELLE]

LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR
let the bodies hit the floor

[/font]

Damn. He called her bluff. Now, just to put her brain to it's full potential. Had Shakaya let anything slip? Had the woman avoided some topics of conversation, showed any negative feelings towards the few topics about Amaranth? No, the reactions had all been positive in a...Shakaya manner, so to speak. Hm, this was hard. With no more information to play off of, she needed to beat around the bush, do something to let him tell her what it was. A hard task, but in a sense of time. Anything and everything was easy, but the time it took, now that was something she just hated and dispised.

She yawned, as if bored. "Know your place, Amaranth," she said in her usual "I'm better than you" voice -but was that venom in his name, too?- that most often known as her irritated voice that the Generals knew to keep away from. The human mind was used to routines, and this was her routine just about everyone involed in the government knew of. She was playing her own actions to her advantage. "You're just a pathetic little boy from the slums of the Southern District trying to make his way up the ladder. I can assure you that I can personally make sure Parliament kicks you off the team."

This had been the exact same thing that happened to a few of the New Children in her care, vanishing without a trace. Not that many cared. She had been a bit sad to dispose of them, new Children interested her, but a promise was a promise after all.

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["AMARANTH"]

Know Why The Nightingale Sings
it's the answer to everything

⚜ "Know your place, Amaranth." The man gritted his teeth at the girl's haughty voice. She practically spat out his name, though. Oh, she was getting angry. He tried not to smile slightly. Maybe that meant that his last question had irritated her - maybe she didn't actually know his secret, as he'd suspected. He forced another slight chuckle. "My place? My dear, I help to create the creatures that give you a job. Without New Children, there wouldn't be a need for you Generals to command them. The Generals rely on us Architects, it doesn't if you're the Head General or not." He argued, taking another sip of tea.

⚜ His fingers instantly tightened around the handle of the cup, the man almost spitting out his mouthful, though, as the words 'Southern District' left her lips. Wait! How...? Did she know his secret after all? No one was supposed to know about his history! His life as a poor child in the Southern District had been a life he'd left behind long ago. This time he failed at completely controlling his reaction, his eyes briefly stunned, before he forced himself to untense as much as he could.

⚜ But she hadn't said his name. Not his original name, the one he'd worn back during his life in the Southern District. That was the key to his secret. He'd not only lived a life as poor, low-class child, but as the son of a rebel family. A boy who'd been wanted dead by the Parliament themselves along with the rest of his family. If she knew who he really was... He felt an odd tinge of fear. After all, he'd been ordered killed once before. Did his nervousness show? He hoped it didn't, but he couldn't be sure.

⚜ "The Southern District? Is that what you think?" He forced a laugh again, only this time it sounded less convincing even to his own ears. "If you're going to go around claiming this, especially if you have the mind to do so to the Parliament, I assume you have proof. After all, I know that a smart girl like you wouldn't claim such a thing otherwise. May I ask what this proof is?" He needed to find out exactly how much she knew, and he needed to be careful just what left his own lips. The stakes had just gotten a lot higher.

[ARTEMIS VATCHELLE]

LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR
let the bodies hit the floor

[/font]

Artemis scowled. Without him she wouldn't have a job? Hmph, as if. If she didn't have a job in this, she'd have some other government job, maybe in Parliment, though signing peoples death and ordering around the usless. Boring. She much more preffered tthis job, science and politics was just too boring and wasn't her thing. It was complicated.

But when his reaction to her accusation showed, she knew she hit the mark. And with lies, the best thing to assume was everything he said and has said was a lie. Hey, that's what they do in "politics". And in law suits. Trust her, she got quiet a few of those just because of her job.

"Hmm," she hummed pleasently. "My proof? Ha, you're asking a nineteen year olf girl that's already gone through more than thirty years worth of schooling this question? I figure things out, Amaranth," she said much more sweetly than before. if she didn't know know any better, she'd be bipolar. "I fdont need straight out proof, your actions, your words, your blank record is all I need to figure you out."

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["AMARANTH"]

Know Why The Nightingale Sings
it's the answer to everything

⚜ The girl scowled slightly at his initial reply, but then the situation started falling out of hand again. She had noticed his reaction at the mentioning of his original district. The man cursed internally, despite the fact that he never let such dirty words leave his lips.

⚜ The girl gave a hum as she continued, obviously confident now. She knew. She knew for sure now that he was from the Southern District. Damn. Damn damn damn! He scowled, cursing internally again. After all the years of being so careful not to let it slip, this girl had fished it out of him thanks to his own lack of control over his reactions. But no matter how smart she was, no matter how high her position was, it did sound like she was speaking without real proof, judging from her answer. As long as she didn't learn the specifics...

⚜ Forcing himself to seem as calm as he could again, he forced a laugh. "I admit, you're quite sharp when it comes to reading others, aren't you? I suppose that's a quality needed by any high ranking General. You're right, I am from the Southern District." She already knew, anyway. What harm would speaking it now do? He kept his voice quiet and casual now, as if the fact that he'd been found out didn't alarm him. "But that has no bearing on the present. Like my dislike of the Parliament, my past has no reflection on my current performance as a researcher and Architect, so I don't know why it should matter to someone who was lucky enough to have been blessed with a comfortable life from birth."

⚜ He hesitated just a moment before continuing. "But since you seem so wise when it comes to deduction, let's see how far you can get." He challenged. A part of him thought it might be wiser to try to avoid the issue as much as possible now - perhaps just confirmation that he was from the Southern District would satisfy her - but judging from her intelligence, the man guessed that she had already realized that there was a lot more to his secret than that. And he wanted to know just how much of it she was capable of figuring out.

⚜ "How about you fill in my 'blank record'? Tell me, where did I grow up? How did I work my way up to the Northern District? ...What's my real name?" He spoke the questions casually, and almost playfully, as if he was partaking in a game. There was always the chance that she'd decline to answer even if she knew, but judging from the nature she'd been showing, and her like of showing off, it seemed, he doubted that she'd be able to back down from his words unless she truly was unable to surmise the answers, which he sincerely hoped was the case.