5/22/2003
12:15
AM
Logfile
from Sebastian.
Madison
Avenue, off 67th Street
This
part of NYC is notably less crowded, most especially Park Avenue, where the
center mall adds a taste of greenery to the wide, two way street. Small trees,
shrubs, and every season, a variety of flowers at every cross street grace the
grassy strip that runs down the center of the road. The buildings all around
are old-style, with stately edifaces and marbled detailing along the roofs of
many of them, and a uniformed doorman in front of all of them.
Here is
Madison Avenue, home to the haute couture of NYC: Nicole Miller, Armani, and
Versace to name a few. Although not as packed as the fashion district, the
crowds that gather here are a little more highbrow and have much more money to
spend. West of Madison Avenue, you soon encounter Fifth Avenue, where
residences of the elite who prefer a park view rise skyward. And of course, the
park view is none other than Central Park, the largest patch of green in all of
NYC.
Nicolette
is here.
Obvious
exits:
Park
Ave <EA> Central Park (WE) Godiva Chocolatier Subway Entrance
Nicolette
There's
a certain catty quality to her knowing glance, jaded experience in the striking
steel-blue eyes outlined by long dark lashes. They're upturned at the corners,
emphasizing a touch of the exotic without needing any makeup to enhance those
features. A golden touch to her natural complexion lends a certain tawniness to
her overall look, made more so with the gentle curls of her Savannah-blonde
hair, streaked with punkish highlights of red and more subtle lines of bleached
ash. It sweeps back from her brow in a widow's peak, swirling in a loose
natural tumble down to the nape of her neck and spreading out like a mane about
her shoulders. Short and compactly built, muscular lines lurk beneath the soft
roundness of her arms and legs, girlish figure hiding the strength and prowess
contained within.
Despite
being restricted to private school uniforms most of the time, Nikki has managed
to adapt her outfit into something a touch more trendy, a little bit more
scandalous than what's usually accepted. The white blouse with the school
emblem on the front pocket is snug and molds to her figure, the sleeves rolled
coyly over her elbows. Her red and yellow plaid skirt appears to have been
adjusted slightly to reach only just above the knee, with white stockings that
reach only just up over the calves. The
maryjane shoes are unusual as well, possessing a much thicker heel and not to
mention the steel capping at both front and back ends.
Nicolette
appears to be 16 years, 10 months, and 8 days old.
She is
awake, but has been staring off into space for a minute.
It's
just after school's out, not soon enough though for the gaggle of private
school students that suddenly flood this particular end of Madison Avenue.
Colorful uniforms can be seen on the children moving down the sidewalks and
among them one particularly pretty blonde who waves to a few acquaintances
before continuing on her way towards home. Or rather the host family she's
staying with. Like any teenage girl though, she's going to do a little shopping
before then, stopping in front of the Godiva chocolatier with a yearning
expression.
Sebastian
is loitering. He doesn't often loiter, but he is actually doing that now. Yes,
it still took some memory provoking from Kieran (not to mention a long talk) to
finally get the man out of the Malachai's. Now with his energy finally back to
being somewhere close to what it was before and something else to occupy his
thoughts, he curiously watches the students that leave from this particular
school. He watches each one with a narrowed gaze, trying his best to recall
features until one in particular seems to almost jump out at him. A sigh of
thankfullness and he starts away from the doorway to approach the girl from
behind. Standing just off to the side, he murmurs, "I know they say that
you shouldn't take candy from a stranger... but seeing as I've already made
your acquaintance, Nikki... would you allow me?"
Nikki
whirls around, skirt flaring as she turns to face Sebastian, the look on her
face wary and a tad frightened as she unconsciously takes a step back till her
backpack thunks against the glass of the chocolate shop. "It is you again,
monsieur!" Is it any wonder that she's a little nervous? The last she saw
of the man, he'd started to glow and Kieran had told her to run. Upon exiting
the building, there was debris raining down from the holes being blasted out of
the walls of the penthouse above.
Sebastian
looks down at her, benignly. "I am not about to devour you like you were
thinking of doing to that chocolate in the shop. Can we talk? You... managed to
catch me at a rather poor moment that evening." He continues to watch her,
a weariness to his features that will probably remain for the weeks, if not
months to come. "I won't try to drag you off anywhere -well, that is
unless you say no." Hand extends, gesturing to the way she was walking.
"I will escort you home."
"You
were the one who 'caught' me, as I recall it monsieur." Nicolette points
out, crossing her arms defensively over her chest. They'll probably draw a bit
of attention, these two. After all, here's a little teen in a school girl
uniform being accosted by an older man. Uh huh. "I do not think it would
be wise for you to follow me home, monsieur. My host family will not appreciate
it I don't think." They would probably freak, but they are of course the
sort of protective people that would take in an exchange student, a fact that
is probably driving Nikki up the wall, pretending to be all mannerly and polite
to them.
Sebastian
looks down at the girl, a flicker of annoyance showing in his eyes. "And
then you promptly ran away -which was probably one of the smartest things that
I've seen you do in our brief acquaintance." He flickers a glance down the
length of the walk for a moment before looking back to the teenager, "Your
host family who holds a little pyro under their roof? I doubt they would like
to learn about that. Please... I don't want to start threatening, I am in no
mood for it. Just... walk with me. I think we need to discuss something."
Nikki
raises her chin stubbornly, after all it comes with the territory of being a
miko. Willfulness and willpower go hand in hand, though at least she is smart
enough to run in the face of actual danger, it's getting her to recognize it
that's the tricky part. "It does not matter if you tell them or not."
She says quite calmly, as she'd probably just immolate them all and pretend to
be just coming home. They'd probably find her another host family since they'll
have all summer to do so. "I do not understand what you have to discuss
with me. Why do you keep looking for me? I am not that special. You, monsieur
are a lot more 'special' than I am." She eyes his outstretched hand but
doesn't quite take it this time, but she does push away from the shop window as
if inclined to start walking.
Sebastian
arches an eyebrow at her but moves to walk along with her, and right at her
side. "It doesn't matter? That sounds like a teenager who clearly has a
very warm and familiar association with her... host family, you said?" He
seems to frown slightly, growing silent for a moment before continuing,
"You know... Nikki, I wish I knew the answer to that. Maybe you can be the
one to tell me why I followed you into a burning building, had a discussion
while that happened, and then took you home with me... only to look for you
once again."
Nikki
saunters down the sidewalk, arms tucked behind her, just under the backpack.
"I have only been with them for a week, what warm feelings would I have?
They are strangers and their daughter is a fat, spoiled snot who has the
manners of an ill bred dog." She gives a toss of her hair as she looks up
at Sebastian, "What is there for me to tell you? Do you not know? I seem
to run into many very strange men lately. Even one who keeps walking into my
dreams. He seems to know more about what is supposed to be going on than
I." She means Sakamaku, but it was a dream she woke up from by the ill
timing of her alarm clock.
"Sounds
like a delightfully loving household. You have my sympathies," Sebastian
replies, drolly. He flickers a glance down at her, "Walks in your dreams?
I don't think that I have ever heard of that before... and what does he do in
them? Or say exactly?" Maybe that'll be a clue as to why he seems drawn to
this girl.
Nikki
shrugs slightly, keeping her voice low, just audible over the sounds of the
cars on the streets, punctuated by the honking of typical NYC avenues.
"Oui, he.. appears in them, watches over my shoulder. He likes to see
what's going on in my head. I find it tres disturbing. He seems to want to know
more about me too, but he is.. stranger than you. Actually he looks a lot like
you too, at first I thought it was you." She shrugs a bit, glancing at the
tall man out of the corner of her eyes. "I was dreaming about.. this trip
to Alsace I was on one summer, many years ago. Watched a farmer slaughter a
pig. It disturbed me very much, though I have seen animals die before. I do not
know exactly why it bothered me so."
Sebastian
frowns just the faintest. Tall, blond, brooding men. Isn't it amazing how they
just seem to stumble off of the gods' assembly line around here. So, his mind
immediately makes the jump to a certain seishi. He murmurs under his breath,
"I don't think that Dylan's powers reach quite to that..." He
flickers the girl another glance, this time more curious, "A pig?"
Connections are immediately made. "Do you recognize the name Homasubi,
Nikki?"
"Dylan?
Who is Dylan?" Nikki asks, confusion coloring her accented tone. "No,
he said his name was Chiaki. I met him on the streets too, before he started
visiting my sleep. Over in Chinatown." She halts though as the name is
spoken. "Homasubi? ...It is familiar. Where did... Oh yes. My older
brother, Alain. He was into Eastern Studies. I remember him reading some very
old scrolls to me when I was younger. Before he died. I thought it a funny
story, these asian mythology. I think I started to dream about it a lot,
especially just before I took the scholarship here to America."
Sebastian
waves a hand vaguely to the side to dismiss the Dylan comments. "Nobody of
importance. As for this... Chiaki, I have never heard of him." But there
is still a touch of disquiet in his voice as he considers this. Again, he
listens to her quietly as they continue down the sidewalk, frowning just the
slightest, "Plenty of funny stories in the mythology, but the gods are
nothing to laugh at. They deserve more respect than that, especially
Homasubi." Yes, pious oni showing through. "So, what are in your
dreams, besides this Chiaki... and the killing of that pig that disturbed you
so?"
Nikki
walks slowly as if reluctant to get home all that quickly, probably receiving
several curses and annoyed glares from people in business suits and tight
schedules circling around them on the sidewalk, but she takes no notice of
them. "When you say the gods, I take it you do not mean like the one they
worship at the Cathedral d'Notre Dame? I have always believed that there are
things in this world that could not be explained by that which is accepted by
most people. I meant funny, not as in haha, but in that they were strange and
intriguing. Pardon, my English is not perfect." She goes distant for a
moment, as if trying to recall the dream more clearly, though like most dreams
they can often be elusive to the waking mind. "I am not sure, why I found
it so disturbing. I wanted..to save the pig. I do not know why. But then in the
dream, Alain appeared and told me that I could stop it from happening, if I
would follow him here." Nicolette looks up at Sebastian again and sighs
softly. "You look a lot like Alain. I imagine he might have grown up to
look as you do, if he had lived."
Sebastian
shortens his strides considerably to keep pace with her, which is still almost
awkward with those long legs of his. "Your English is fine, it is my own
understanding which differed from yours. And no.. not that God." He draws
in a breath while he ponders the girl's words "That you could stop the
death of the pig? Save him?... Your brother, Alain. You have mentioned him more
than once since we began to talk. How did he die... might I ask?"
If
Sebastian was expecting some melodrama of fate and circumstance that introduced
Nikki to this world, well then he's only half right. It's drama, but hardly all
that significant, but it did bring the girl down a circle of life that made her
even less inclined to be charitable to the human race on a whole. "Alain?
He was struck by a drunken cab driver. Killed my mother too, they were walking
home from the Language institute where she worked. Very sad, but there was
nothing I could do about it." 'Cept that mysterious death of the driver
some years later where the cab he was driving again took fire with him trapped
inside. Coincidence? Nah. "But oui, he told me I could do something to
save the pig, but first I would have to come here. I don't know why...this
place looks nothing like Alsace!"
"Did
it happen very long ago? Or is this a more recent tragedy in your life?"
Sebastian asks softly. "Pity that you lost them then. Did you become
something of a parentless orphan then? Where is your father?" He seems to
sigh softly, nodding his head in something that might actually be
understanding, "No... this is not rural France. Far from it. I might have
your answers for you, Nikki. I /might/." But there is still caution in his
tone, caution provoked by recent events.
Nikki
doesn't seem bothered by the questioning, having all but settled comfortably
with Sebastian at her side. "It was many years ago. I was not quite in my
teens yet when they died, but no I am not an orphan. My papa is still in Paris,
trying to still become an artist, to sell his paintings. They are rubbish I
think, well maybe not that bad, but if he would only stay sober, then maybe he
might actually make something worth selling." She shakes her head in
disgust. "I could not stay in that place any longer, we could not even
state in the flat that we lived in when mama was still alive. There are no good
memories there, I could not wait to leave. I just did not know where to go,
till this scholarship program came to be." She gazes up at the oni and
tilts her head slightly to study him. "What answers do you have for
moi?"
Sebastian
stops in place, reaching a hand out to try to touch the girl's elbow to get her
to halt as well. He watches her for a long moment, gaze scathing over her form
before resting upon her eyes, trying to find answers in her as well. As much as
he would jump at the chance to have another of Homasubi's here, to take care of
again or even rely on him because he got so used to that, there is still
reluctance in his weary features. "It is not exactly a secret to the ones
that are relevant that I belong to the pig god, Homasubi. The question is... do
you belong to him as well? I am not sure whether to believe that or not."
Nikki
gives a slight shiver at the touch of his hand on her elbow as she does stop. A
part of her wonders why she is not running away, her instincts telling her that
this should not be, that this could only lead to bad things. There is something
within her though, that is saying different, as she gazes up at the oni time
and time again, each moment only etching the vision of him into her mind.
"Pig god? That does not sound... very formidable. Say 'boar' instead and
it is a much finer thing I would imagine." she says rather softly, her
eyes slightly distant as mind goes elsewhere briefly. "Do I belong to him
too? How can I tell, monsieur? All I know is that I feel a presence in my
dreams, not Chiaki, not Alain, but I feel someone watching over me...and it is
not a bad thing."
She
actually provokes a wry smile from the man, Sebastian's head inclining just the
slightest in acceptance. "There is much stigma attached to simply the word
'pig'. True. A fiery boar he is. But pig or boar, there is still respect in
those words. There will always be." His lips form a fine line before he
continues. "I do not know. Maybe I should take you down to the temple and
throw you before his likeness and we can see if he will show us himself. Or I
should simply try to trust in the signs that could almost be construed as
convenient... seeing as you enter my life at the very same time as others leave
it." Anger begins to imbue his voice before the takes a long breath, and
another for good measure.
The
girl ignores the passing of those around them, a curious spectacle they must
make out on the sidewalk, though Madison Avenue is a popular enough place for
tourists as well as casual strollers with all the cafes and shops lining the
street. "Temple? What temple is this?" Then in seeing the anger on
the man's face this time, her reaction is more curious and a touch concerned, a
foreign enough emotion for the little psychopath, or perhaps is it because this
time there is no Kieran to warn her off? Never the less, with her steel-blue
eyes pinned to his, she raises a hand to gingerly touch his cheek. "So
angry, monsieur. Who was she? I only saw but for a moment before I was told to
run. It is clear though, that this someone meant a great deal to you."
"A
temple for the yin gods," Sebastian responds simply, but there is still
quite a bit of caution there. "A temple that cannot be so easily reached
by simply calling for a taxi to take you there. We might have to do
that..." He doesn't shy at the touch, but nor does he simply suffer it.
No, instead he will look back to her trying to keep his features cold. But it
is all still far, far too fresh and there is a flicker to his eyes, "She
was just like me. But she was taken away by someone that I trusted, who I took
in." His frown deepens, expression closing off. The man reaches into a
pocket to pull a card from it, one of his business cards but with his personal
number upon it, and hold it between two fingers, offering it to the girl.
"I want you to take this. It has where I can be reached."
Nikki
lets her hand drop away, reaching for the card instead. Peering down at it, she
smiles faintly. "Sebastian. Ah, yes. That is your name? The other man, the
model. He called you Bastian instead. It sounds so much better that way though,
Monsieur Bastian." Course with her accent, it all but rolls off the tongue
like her own name. "And do you wish for me to call you sometime then? I do
not think it would be good for you to call me, I do not think my hosts would
appreciate calls from strange men for their charge." She huffs softly.
"They are so inconvenient. But I have no choice till I finish school and
hope for a scholarship to a University here. Else I go back to France."
"Yes.
Sebastian... or Bastian. Whatever you will. Call me and I will take you there.
Maybe it will be so easy as all that, simply taking you to the temple to be
sure. Onisenshi... miko." Sebastian draws in a long breath and then adds,
"Use the cell phone number on there, the home phone no longer works."
Considering his home from before isn't exactly in working order either.
"You now know my full name, could I have yours?"
Nikki
hesitates for just a moment as she slips the card into her backpack, which is
currently doubling as a purse as well. "Onisenshi?" She translates
the Japanese without a blink. "Demon warrior? Hnn.. how quaint. Miko
though, priestess? That's the same word Chiaki used." She murmurs as she
pulls the pack back up, "My name? Ah.. yes. I am Nicolette DeLeone." Raising her wrist, takes a glance
at the cheap Powerpuff girls watch and sighs. "I have to get going,
Monsieur Bastian. I will call you.. later."
Sebastian
frowns thoughtfully at the girl once more, "Watch what you say and do in
your dreams more carefully, Nikki. Or at least try to to the best of your
ability. The idea of strange men entering them... I don't like it." But he
draws back a step, nodding in farewell to her, "Thank you for talking to
me. I have no doubt we will be talking again soon." And with that, he
heads back in the direction that they originally came. Hopefully with a certain
pair snogging on some park bench in some park, his abrupt absence won't be
noted too much. ;)