2017-11-21: The Thoroughbred of Sin
- Log: The Thoroughbred of Sin
- Cast: Elhaym van Houten, Loren Voss, Kahm Yugh, Gwen Whitlock
- Where: November City - Market Street
- Date: November 21st 2017
- Summary: Kahm and Loren, seeking to meet up with Elly regarding urgent matters, arrive in November City. Unfortunately, Loren's horse is full of hate. Fortunately, Gwen's on the scene.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
THE HOTEL RENAIS sits imperiously on the main street of November City. It hosts a multitude of people and has a saloon in the place itself, so you can get your grub on.
It is also the registered residence-for-want-of-a-better-term of a certain someone involved in a certain organization. How's that for clarity?
And yet that someone is not at that hotel. 'Someone' is in a whitewashed and charming place just cattycorner to the nearest intersection to that grand hotel, sitting in a window counter and watching the world go by while drinking a cold phosphate through a paper straw. It's familiar to Elly van Houten, in an obscure way, even if the details beyond 'a cold drink, somewhere near fruit at some point' are all completely different.
If nothing else she has a fine view of traffic coming in. Unfortunately, she is also in local garb AND has decided to pin her hair up for a change of pace, rendering her thus nearly invisible to those who 'lack eyes to see'.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Very many things had happened, as they do, quite quickly. And Loren had ended up coming along with Kahm, for a wide variety of reasons, one possibly being the continuation of his military career and everything that comes along with that (such as breathing, for now) as the Major began to look into events in the area in the wake of certain revelations about a certain blue-eyed sword-wielding serial killer.
Who now certainly has a wealth of information on certain operations.
Rather high on their to-do list: meeting up with Lieutenant van Houten and explaining the situation to her in person.
And doing this properly has meant a degree of infiltration Loren has not needed previously, what with the better condition of roads, caravans, etc, out east.
Namely, riding a horse.
The horse -- possibly horses in general -- doesn't seem to like him very much.
Case in point:
After finally getting things under control (or close enough to it) and managing to ride for nearly an hour now without any serious incidents (nothing like earlier) the horse has suddenly picked up speed and raced well ahead of the Major's steed, pacing at a fast clip right past a certain cafe and come to a quick halt.
Loren has managed, arms wrapped around the horse's neck, to not fall off yet despite a quite definite lean to one side.
...Though it's attempting to correct that as it begins to slowly but surely, with the horrible weight its body can exert, start to press him into the nearby wall.
To his credit, he hasn't given into inevitability yet and let go.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
This has been something of a recurring issue since they set off from Bledavik. Kahm had thought that maybe they'd just had the misfortune of getting an unusually willfull steed, or that Loren had set the bridle too tight, but he'd had no problem handling the animals himself. At this point he was staring down the realization that horses may just hate the Lieutenant for some unknown reason.
Well, it had certainly made for an eventful trip to November, but now that they were set up in the city and prepared to make 'surveys', it was beginning to cut into the business of real and meaningful work. The pair had been now more than a few hundred meters out of the city when Loren's mount had suddenly kicked ahead, prompting the Major to slip a curse and edge his own mount on in chase, cautiously. While the man knew enough to ride a horse he was far from an expert, and he certainly knew even less about taming them.
So, perhaps something to the tune of five seconds after Elly witnesses Loren race past her window with all due haste, she'll see Kahm do the same with no lack of urgency, pressing his black quarter horse on to try and overtake the Lieutenant as the other horse began to slow down. What proceeds is a somewhat awkward scene as Kahm reaches out try and grab the reins of the malice-minded equine and...pull back? For all the good it does.
"Nngh, use your legs!" He barks at the junior officer, though he didn't actually have much a plan here, "This damned beast must be defective!"
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"Maybe I can lend a hand." There's a familiar voice just then, raised just enough to be heard over the commotion caused by Loren's struggle with the stubborn beast.
Cautiously, the young woman paces into view as Kahm grabs ahold of the reins, a black wide-brimmed hat and a poncho disguising her from most casual glances her way, unless they knew what to look for. Elly isn't the only member of the Fabulous Disguse Brigade present today. "I'm gonna approach it from the side, Mr. Rider. I think I can calm 'im down with some treats. Kinda cheatin', but I'm sure Mr. Blackwell will appreciate not bein' mashed into that wall over there." She raises the brim of her hat with a thumb and a flash of a smile to the two men, substituting that in place of a proper introduction.
Blue-grey eyes study the horse, flicking just past to it- wait, is that... Elly? Man, she has such pretty hair.
FOCUS.
It's a little like a folk dance, how she slowly approaches the horse, two steps forward, one step back, one to the side, shifting, murmuring, speaking softly until she feels it's safe to put a hand on the side of the horse's neck, but not a moment sooner. "Shhh... Shhh... Good boy, good boy. Gentle, gentle." Calm, coaxing words, just enough pressure applied to any touch she places on the beast, a glance to the way his eyes move and every twitch of those ears.
"Y'definitely picked a spirited lil' guy for sure, Mr. Blackwell." She assumes Loren is new. After all, that's not exactly the best way to ride a horse. "He ain't defective at all, I bet. Just not sure of what your relationship to 'im is." If the horse seems calm enough, her left hand will slip out from underneath the woven poncho, holding an apple. "I was gonna have this for a snack, but maybe he's a little hungry from all that exercise. But maybe he won't take it? They can be picky eaters, sometimes."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly takes a sip from her glass and a sudden bluring gallop passes by her. Her eyes crinkle in a mixture of mild peoplewatching amusement and queasy concern, because whoever that is, they might hurt themselves... but just as often they fall over, sometimes into manure.
And that's also sad, but it is a little funny, too.
What is much less funny is the distant and familiar authoritarian bark of Kahm Yugh. Elly feels her spine muscles tighten.
Gwen Whitlock wanders in as well. I knew I was having too much of a good day, Elly thinks, eyes turning downwards at the countertop. Things always have to get difficult... Maybe I should have stayed on that ship.
No, she thinks. That would've been just as suspicious, perhaps even more so. Letting out a sigh, Elly takes one last slurp of her phospate so that her doom will come to her with the fizzy tangy taste of lime extract in her mouth, carrying the paper straw with her so as to displace neurotic tension into destroying it with her thumbnail if she has to.
*jingle*
And so it is that Elly emerges from the fountain and immediately moves in the opposite direction of Kahm, Gwen, and Loren along with their collective difficulties, challenges, and the presence of a half-ton of angry, smelly equine.
She comes up then, approaching with a straw hat, wind-damaged but basically intact, held upwards for the benefit of Loren and Kahm to see. She walks ahead sedately, if visibly, and it is one hundred and ten percent to give herself time to overhear what line of soylent they're going to feed Gwen.
Hopefully the horse will not further foreshorten Loren's chapeau.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Theoretically, it should have been easy. Surface-dwellers rode horses constantly. That, and compared to the technical skill involved in operating a Gear...
Gears, though, don't usually throw their pilots.
...Well, not in a way that allows for a second attempt at piloting, but we digress.
Suffice to say, no, it wasn't easy.
Other than a short bark of a command for the horse to stop (which was ignored, as was the yank on the reins, before they slipped from his grasp and made this whole situation worse) he hasn't cried out... probably because there is some deeply ground-in level of resignation about this business.
Even as he attempts to lever himself up, awkwardly, onto the horse's back as it attempts to squish him against the wall. By now, there are probably more than a few people staring. He's sure of that one.
"--Trying to--" he gasps as Kahm reaches out and grabs for the reins... which the horse responds to by simply leaning harder into the wall. The horse is nothing if not stubborn at this point and refuses to budge for any man.
For women, though, the story might be a little different. Particularly if they come bearing apples.
Loren's grip on the horse's neck slackens, slipping a few inches before tensing again. "Whatever... you have to do... just--" The horse continues to lean, scraping him against the wall.
This is not his finest hour.
The horse, wary, flicks its ears as Gwen slowly, carefully approaches. She's got its attention--
She produces an apple.
She's definitely got its attention.
Gwen should watch her fingers.
Probably a mere five seconds after Elly arrives, hat in hand, the horse pulls away from the wall. Without anything to support him anymore, Loren continues to slide until that point where gravity takes over and he hits the pavement.
Correction, this is not his finest hour.
On the other hand, he does stand up, dusting himself off. All that's injured is his pride. He grimaces, then glares at the horse.
Which is pretending it hasn't seen Loren a day before in its life as it cheerfully eats an apple.
With a sigh, Loren looks away and readjusts his glasses. "And that's 'spirited'... Hmph. I'd hate to see what an actual problem looks like," he mutters.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Kahm is strong, but not inhumanly so-he was no match for the lazily inexorable will of Loren's horse to smash it's rider into the nearest facade. Still, he struggles mightily, sweat beading on his brow and veins showing at his neck in an attempt that grew far more ridiculous than it was life-saving by the second. Worst of all, it attracted the thing they had learned to love least on the surface: attention.
But it was mixed blessing, as that same attention brought with it the timely arrival of when Gwen Whitlock and her steed-taming ways. The horse's rather sudden renouncement of Loren-based violence throws Kahm as well, who nearly tumbles out of his saddle when the beast stops fighting him, avoiding a fate similar to his Lieutenant's only by virtue of a more secure saddle. He'll summarily dismount afterwards, exhaling his frustration and catching a face not seen for several months: Lieutenant van Houten, surveying the situation.
That was wise, hanging back to assess the situation and not immediately leaping into to 'greet' them. She's grown. He thought, with a small degree of satisfaction.
"As always, Miss Whitlock, your penchant for impeccable timing persists." The Major said, blue eyes following the gentled beast with caution, "A redoubtable skill for a courier, i'm sure."
He moves to help Loren to his feet then, but the Lieutenant has already manage to stand up on his own. "I see you two are already acquainted." He says, beginning the farce. "I've been assigned to accompany Mister Blackwell for a time at the request of his family, what with the dangerous state of the badlands, and the times in general. After all, the Prime Minister's words carry far less weight here."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Gears also usually don't need to be fed hay, or get gas when they feed on the wrong kind of fuel. Or, perhaps, they do, but not in the same way. It's been a while since Gwen's had to deal with a horse more spirited than Gulliver after a bad spell with some fermenting apples, but it isn't too much of a stretch. Horses speak more or less the same language. An excellent horse whisperer would be able to co-opt this to their own needs, speaking a language that exists on a higher, purer field than the limited words of humanity's many tongues, bridging the gap between man and beast, and achieving-
Or they can just be female and have an apple. "Aren't you a sweetie, yes you are!" And thus, the sacred bond is denigrated to mumblings of a young woman talking to a horse like it was a small child caught in the act of doing something adorable.
*CHOMP*
Oh no, that's not the apple at all, bad horsie
Gwen's eyes are suddenly tearing up as she somehow maintains that grin of hers, looking for all the world like someone who's received the best and worst news right at the same time. "G-good... horsie..." Once it's safe to extract her gloved hand, Gwen quickly tucks it underneath her poncho, pressing the nomm'ed hand in her right armpit as she fights the urge to jump excitedly while making her pain known.
She gets better, at least enough to offer her right hand out to Loren, if his pride isn't damaged enough to insist on getting up by himself. Kahm quickly swoops in with an explanation before Gwen even thinks to ask about their connection, her nod possibly a clear signal to Elly that Gwen's bought the act, hook, line, and soylent sinker. "Huh. Small world!" Her smile weakens at the vague mention of Shakhan, though it also brings a curious glance to the ruffled Loren. "Did somethin' happen? Between the Prime Minister and, uh, you, that is." The latter half of the clarification prompts Gwen to lower her voice, as if there was a clear danger of someone overhearing and caring enough to do something about it.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly advances forwards, watching Loren more than the horse. Yet he seems to be unslain and not severely crippled, and, Elly thinks, he knows better than I do about that. Presumably if he starts feeling sudden crippling spinal swelling, he can magick himself.
Her attention rests on Kahm for a moment, and she says with a sort of shy intruding tone of voice, "Excuse me, sir - your hat, I mean the other fellow's hat; I couldn't help but see it flying off -" She holds it up again, looking at Loren with a small smile.
Her eyes are saying a different story. Her eyes are saying 'why are you here'.
But then! Gwen speaks up and Elly looks towards her, but she seems to be accepting the entire situation in a reasonably smooth and facilitating manner. "Oh my goodness," she says, "the one in Aveh...?"
After a beat, she looks at Gwen. "Are your fingers alright...?" Does she even still have most of them??
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Gwen has a little bit of an unfortunate situation. ...Loren just watches it happen from his position on the ground. He's not getting between a horse that probably wants him dead and its latest victim. "...I knew something was wrong with this horse," he comments, shortly after starting to rise.
'Thomas' waves Gwen's hand away as he stands. No, his ego is bruised enough as it is, he's definitely not taking a hand up from a Lamb.
Besides, he doesn't think he's hurt, despite the fall. Then again, a degree of unfortunate resilience is apparently one of his chief strengths in life...
There's the briefest of glances Kahm's way.
"We've met, yes. I hired her to help deliver some supplies once." To Adlehyde, in fact, though his real goal had been to spread some rumors about the Guard. Whether or not they'd taken root is difficult to say at this juncture; of course, given that the Guard's influence appears to have spread...
But as usual they have too much to do and too little time to do it in. And there are large threats.
At which point his gaze meets Elly's. "...That looks like the one." So that's where his hat went. His expression doesn't change, precisely.
The look in his eyes, coupled with the slow, resigned glace sidelong though says: 'there's trouble'.
Of course, nothing good would bring them out here, would it?
Inclining his head in a slow nod, Loren glances Gwen's way. Time to pick up where the Major leaves off. "...It's a long story," he supplies, coupling it with a stiff shrug. "Er. No, not the Prime Minister, per se. People aren't particularly law-abiding out around here, as I understand."
He knows they're not, that's one of the reasons why they need to hire 'specialists'.
And then sighs as Elly comments, herself. "...Yes, the one in Aveh." He knows she's only acting, but still.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Kahm remains unphased at Gwen attempts to face-savingly extract her hand from the horse's mouth. Well, perhaps some creatures were just naturally hateful. It was a comforting thought, almost. "Unfortunately, we won't be able to get you a knew one anytime soon. I can't imagine anyone would trade for the beast after getting one whiff of it's temperament."
In other words, life was full of adversity Loren. Just add this to the list.
Elly gets a wordless look and a nod of the Major's head, as if to greet her with an unspoken "ma'am", while shrugging his shoulders at the Lieutenant's explanation. "Hardly any of my concern, Mister Blackwell. The world is full of strange coincidences enough already, i'm sure it can tolerate a few more."
He'll let Loren and Elly exchange looks while Gwen asks her questions. The courier woman's presence was a bit of a problem, but a temporary one-the fact that Elly was sound and well already made a part of their job easier, and Kahm reasoned they could afford to humor the woman for a bit until she went on about her business.
"As he says, laws don't quite carry the same currency out here as they do back east. Things have been particularly tense ever since Aveh closed it's borders against those cultist groups, and even the roads are getting a bit less dangerous to walk. All of our offices have been reporting an uptick in criminality lately." Kahm said, pulling a rucksacks off his horse's side as he spoke, "And here we were worried about red ledgers."
To Gwen this was likely a quaint statement about the Smith & Luio Company's finances. To Elly, however, the words 'red ledger' would carry a more formidable meaning. It was a well-known term as of the latest version of her field agent's handbook.
'Major breach. Extraction possible.'
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Loren's refusal doesn't exactly come as a surprise to Gwen. He did, after all, just get rubbed against the side of a wall, which might as well be a large piece of sandpaper for how unpleasant it must have felt.
"Oh, my hand?" Upon being asked, Gwen casually slips her gloved left hand out of its protective casing (her armpit) to show to Elly, wiggling all five fingers as a demonstration, the chomp marks still visible on the wrinkled leather material. "Just a part of life for a courier! Thick gloves are a must. Don't wanna lose any more fingers than I need to." A small, grim joke, if just to herself.
Gloves also hide bruises. Which Gwen is sure she'll be getting, later on tonight.
The exchange of looks and unspoken words pass by with little remark from the pale redhead, Gwen figuring they were all conveying the tired looks of greeting many Drifters gain after frequent run-ins with each other. She moves to continue running her hand down the horse's body, not wanting it to decide to take off running while everyone is distracted.
The prime minister. Oh. Well, she got *that* completely wrong. "O-oh! I gotcha. Misunderstood." The courier gives a weak laugh. "I was just wonderin', since... he's... kinda been pointin' fingers all over. N' all." She turns her head to face Loren. "But I'm sure Mr. Rider'll make sure you're fine out hereabouts. It ain't Aveh, but it ain't, well, a warzone either. Gotta count those blessings!"
But there's also a killer lurking around. Gwen gives a questioning look of her own towards Kahm, reluctant to mention the man even by description alone, in case that would be enough to summon him. She instead chooses the most innocent question she could think of, instead.
"... How are the roads, then?"
There is a reason Gwen is a courier and not a spy.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly extends the hat, but then her eyes flick to Kahm. A worried look crosses over her face at the words of red ledgers.
No, she thinks, I won't -
She presses it down. "If you're making enemies like that, I'd say you need to take it a little easier, sir," she says to 'Mr. Blackwell.'
Why did I react like that, Elly thinks, immediately leaping back into her own thoughts. ... I'm just protective of this mission, she continues. I'll speak to him when we've gotten Gwen out of the way. It's going to be alright.
She blinks several times. "Oh! Well; that's good," Elly says, before giving Gwen another of her slightly dimply smiles. "I don't want to lose any fingers at all, myself..."
After this, the question rises of how the roads are doing. To Elly it feels like a cloud has shifted, and she says to the two men, mildly, "If you're parched after all of that, they make some excellent drinks right in here..."
The hat shifts in her hands, but when she sees 'Mr. Blackwell' move his hand in just the right way, she immediately pushes the brim forwards to press into his palms. Take it, take it before it gives her lice, Thomas!!
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Oh, of course there was no chance of trading this one in. It's the same as his luck in just about any other endeavor.
Loren stiffens his shoulders, as if seeing into his near future, but in the end only nods. "Only a fool would," he says, pushing his glasses up his nose.
And where they're going, he'll need a horse. Can't risk attention, can't risk outside involvement...
"Mm. Sometimes we don't have a choice in the matter," is his perhaps dangerously on the nose comment to Elly. It's a little more harsh than it strictly needs to be even for appearance's sake. But, their relationship has never precisely been friendly...
"No. It's not related to any of that. My family..." he gestures vaguely, then shrugs. "...It's not important. Things are what they are, at present." Which is followed by a faint nod when Gwen affirms 'Mr. Rider's' skills.
He's certainly got a fan in the courier, Loren thinks distantly.
"Yes. I suppose it could always be a warzone." As sour as always, it seems.
The comment on roads he leaves to Kahm.
He moves to readjust the horse's tilted saddle.
Perhaps sated for now, the horse doesn't protest this, just remains damnably calm and still, as if it were a normal non-demonic steed.
But neither is he ignoring Elly, and her reaction to Kahm's key phrase. Just out of the corner of his eye, as he stoops to fidget with the buckle, which has come loose and----
Nearly gets stepped on as the willful horse decides it would rather be over there and check out the trough than stand here and have some loser make the saddle tighter.
It manages to even look like an innocent if willful error.
Loren stands after the danger passes, staring after the horse with a decidedly nonplussed expression.
And Elly thrusts his hat into her hands.
Slowly, he accepts it, as if to silently express something akin to a dry '...thanks?'
"...It may be a good idea," he finally voices, regarding the offer of 'going off somewhere and getting a drink'. "If we can find somewhere to tie up the horses."
At least, he thinks grimly, he won't need to worry about horsetheft.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
The subtle jabs between Loren and Elly don't go unnoticed by Kahm, but there was little he could do it about now....something to address later. Time apart hadn't done them any good, it would seem. Nor can he gauge the redhead's reaction to his briefing other than...well, a sense of concern. Intriguing, but the opportunity to discuss it openly would come.
"As always, i'll do my best." The man said, tipping his wide-brimmed hat to Gwen's sentiment while Loren toyed with fate by getting near his vengeful steed.
Gwen asks about the roads, and it's as packed a question as ever. He knows what she's really asking about, and the Major is wholly uncertain how to answer her. He's not entirely sure if he even did anything or not where Azazel is concerned, other than intrigue him. However, it seemed likely for now that the spinner was nowhere near November. That might be enough.
"For now, the roads are safe." Kahm said after a moment's consideration, spying a viable area to tie up their horses. "With any luck, it'll be a while before the crows have anything to eat."
That was as clear as he cared to get.
The damned horse almost crushes Loren beneath it's hooves-or does it?!-while going to get a drink, and Kahm sighed with faint irritation, "At this rate, yes, an afternoon rest and respite seems like a fine order. We'll take up on that, Miss."
There are quick turn and tip of his hat to Gwen. "I'm sure i'll be seeing you sooner or later, Miss Whitlock. Who knows, I may even have more work for you to come."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Gwen chuckles at Elly's comment, giving her a nod. "I appreciate the concern, tho." She was always the one to show some sympathy towards others, wasn't she? It was likely why she still was often in the company of a exiled drifter like Fei.
It's a nice quality to see. Hopefully, in the Badlands, it'll persist, with Elly's guarded manners a decent shield against the ways the lands had of wearing away at a person's positive traits.
Thankfully for Gwen, Kahm seems to have picked up the meaning behind her vague question, as hastily picked as it was. She turns the words over in her head before giving a slow nod to Kahm. "Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for any changes."
This is, unfortunately, about the time Loren has his next ordeal with his horse, even if this time he's managed to avoid injury. Whatever solemn tone Gwen have have hoped for in her voice is gone in a flash of willful horse hijinks, but at least Kahm's message gets across. "You'll get the hang of it eventually, Mr. Blackwell," she assures Loren cheerfully, giving the poor man an encouraging pa- no. Kahm and Elly could just see the exact nanosecond Gwen's better judgment took over and veered the hand to float awkwardly in the air, as if waiting for an eventual goodbye. "If you need any pointers, I'd be willin' to help ya out."
Which may be a good idea, come to think of it. "Well, I'll leave y'all be, seein' as as how there's probably some catchin' up to do between everyone." She tips her hat back. "I gladly 'ppreciate the patronage, Mr. Rider. Y'all have a good stay in November City! I'm sure you'll get those problems dealt with in no time."
And that's where that hand *finally* comes in, reaching up in a wave. "See ya." A few paces and she disappears into the crowd like a fish into a stream, weaving through it until it's impossible to pick her out from the rest of the bustling crowd.