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Post by Peri Hetiea on Dec 31, 2010 14:03:45 GMT -5
Cold rain had turn to snow once again. The water froze upon the street as the temperatures dropped. Mechs slid on the ice and screeching from accidents could be heard throughout the city. The city’s snow plows seemed unable to work fast enough to scrape the snow from the cement.
Whenever weather liked this went on, business slowed, and for Peri Hetiea this meant time spent on himself. Throughout the day he stayed home in his apartment in downtown Emerald City where he cleaned and relaxed with book. As day turned to evening, he left his apartment to travel to one of the coffee shops. He bundled himself up in a leather coat, tight pale blue jeans that went down to black boots, and fleece ear muffs that wrapped around his head and ears. His dyed teal hair stuck out in all directions.
He had been sitting in his usually coffee shop for a while as the snow drifted down from the sky. His pink contacted eyes looked out through one of the windows at the grayness consuming the city. A sigh passed through his mouth as his fingers drummed the side of his coffee cup. Today had been a rather slow day, and he was glad for the lack of people in the shop.
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Post by Kaleidoscope on Dec 31, 2010 15:23:04 GMT -5
And that was when she entered. She… was the man’s opposite in every way imaginable. Her hair was dark, her eyes were blue, and her lips were a pale blue. She was dressed to kill and her face could stop a beating heart with a glance. As cold as the snow outside she was, or at least that’s how she figured other people saw her.
Not exactly the type to tone it down, she wore body armor at any and every time and was usually armed to the teeth and not always in the way of concealed weapons. For someone going into a coffee shop, she certainly didn't seem to know the meaning of over-kill. Anyone who knew her would have known the reason for all of these things, but then there weren't many of those people left
And that was when something caught her eye. There was a girl, the oddest girl she’d ever seen (as far as human girls went anyway); she had teal hair and pink eyes and…
That was about when it hit her. Could this girl be a flower maiden?
Now Peri was probably used to getting stares, but this kind of intense stare would probably have made his blood run cold. The smirk she gave him would have only made it worse.
Having entirely forgotten what she came into the coffee shop for (well, more pushed to the back of her mind than simply forgotten), she sat at the “girl’s” table without invitation or even greeting. Giving a not so stealthy sniff of the air, she detected the flowery kind of scent she was looking for.
The woman leaned forward and said to Peri, “So, are you a flower maiden?”
Not at all subtle, and not at all safe to openly discuss, but she wasn’t exactly the safe or subtle kind.
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Post by Peri Hetiea on Jan 1, 2011 12:45:41 GMT -5
Flower maiden? It had been a while since he had heard anyone ask of a flower maiden. He was use to people mistaking him for being female, but he did not take it as an insult. But someone questioning him if he was a flower maiden, well that didn’t happen too often. Most people knew very little on the matter of the maidens and often didn’t go around asking whoever they ran into if they were one.
Peri’s eyes shifted over to the woman who sat across from him now. With her appearance, she could have easily been a hunter of some sort. A hunter looking for flower maidens? He doubted it. Hunters were more concerned with finding wolves. That seemed to be their only concern. Finding wolves and killing them.
He gave a slight laugh. “I am not a flower maiden,” he responded as he leaned his left cheek into his left hand. “But I appreciate the compliment.”
His pink eyes surveyed her face and her being. He had never seen a woman like this before around this area of the city. Peri was sure she had come from out of town.
“People don’t usually go around throwing out terms like flower maidens at random. Are you in search of one? They are easier to find if you look in a laboratory.” He gave a smile and a shake of his head.
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Post by Kaleidoscope on Jan 1, 2011 21:40:00 GMT -5
The word “Laboratory” made her flinch.
So it was a man. Not a very convincing man, but a man none the less, and a curious one at that. The man seemed to know what a flower maiden, and that was… well not all that uncommon in her experience, but she knew it was definitely odd.
Seemingly ignoring the man’s advice, the woman introduced herself, “Hello, I’m Kal,” she extended a hand for a handshake before leaning back in her chair. “I don’t think that’s going to happen now or ever if I can help it. Now that I know you’re not one-“ she stopped speaking as soon as she heard a glass break. Her hands were already on two different weapons (neither of which were that concealed), but she relaxed as soon as she realized the cause.
Her eyes returned to the man, “But now you have me interested. What exactly would you happen to know about Flower Maidens?”
This other person didn’t seem the fighting type, too… high maintenance. If appearances said anything about character (and sometimes they did), this man had probably never picked up a gun in his life. Well, he probably never held it long enough with enough killing intent to get any kind of gunpowder on his hands or blood on his body at least. At least this wasn’t likely to turn into a fight.
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Post by Peri Hetiea on Jan 1, 2011 22:52:53 GMT -5
Peri knew so much on the topic of flower maidens. He had seen them before. He also had seen failed attempts at flower maidens. Such images he had worked well to lock in the depths of his mind. Such thoughts did not need to surface, but he knew they would.
“My name is Peri Hetiea,” he responded with a kind smile.
She wanted to know about what he knew of flower maidens and the like. Didn’t they always? The mechanic smiled a bit as he closed his eyes. Perhaps he would tell this stranger. Why not? She wasn’t one of the locals who heard rumors of him and his past. She wouldn’t pester him after this, would she? He doubted it.
“What do you want to know about the maidens, and why do you want to know? Most people are ignorant to the true identities and the true purposes of the flower maidens. I assume that you have had some experience with maidens and the like.”
He was interested in seeing if he could learn some more as well. It had been years since he had been around the laboratories and the maidens.
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Post by Kaleidoscope on Jan 2, 2011 0:33:53 GMT -5
A give and take conversation eh? Well, she supposed that was fair. She might have a forceful personality, but she wasn’t going to hold him at gun-point.
The problem though was figuring out what to tell him. She knew a lot about what it was like being one, but she didn’t actually know all that much about the technical aspects except what she pulled from the “technicians” who pursued her. Lying wasn’t exactly her specialty either. Maybe she could find a way to phrase things ambiguously enough not to expose her secret?
“I know they’re in high demand but in short supply. I know they’re of particular importance to a number of people. I know they’re made in a,” she shivered a bit, “laboratory. I know a portion of their DNA is harvested from plants and uh… Oh, they also have,” she looked at her hand for a moment before returning her stare to the man, “inhuman speed and strength, though you certainly wouldn’t know it from looking at them.”
That last detail was probably something most people don’t know. A good number of “technicians” probably didn’t know it either since most of their experience with flower maidens was with a slab of glass a few inches thick between them.
“Oh, and most of them have really abnormal hair and eye colors,” she gave Peri a stare, “I think you can see how I made the mistake.”
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Post by Peri Hetiea on Jan 4, 2011 1:12:22 GMT -5
Peri gave a laugh. “Well, if you knew that my name comes from the word periwinkle, you probably would have been more than convinced that I was a flower maiden or flower man. But I take your mistake as a compliment. Flower maidens hold a certain beauty that attracts the likes of both humans and wolves. I would easily compare your beauty to the likes of a maiden.”
The human sent her a smile before taking a drink out of his coffee cup. He felt as though she withheld information, but that was just fine and dandy with him. He was use to working with characters who only told him partial truths if not flat out lies. This was just part of the business he was in. People were secretive about their business, and this was just normal.
“There is very little known about flower maidens. I feel as though the maidens aren’t even completely sure of their abilities, but this is the same with every living creature. Flower maidens are considered special, though, and they are in high demand for certain abilities. Nobles fight each other and force scientists to play god just for these maidens.”
Play god. Yes, that was what all of those scientists did. They messed with powers and forces that they could not control. They could creature living creatures that resembled humans just out of flowers, so it seemed. Maidens for the nobles.
“I know what I have seen and read,” the mechanic said as his pink eyes shifted towards the windows. “I have seen how much obsession comes to humans who are around flower maidens as well.”
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Post by Kaleidoscope on Jan 6, 2011 21:18:55 GMT -5
Obsession? That sounded more than appropriate given her own experiences. All this talk about beauty though? She supposed he was trying to compliment her, but truthfully she hated being treated as this “ideal girl” who would somehow make someone’s life so much better. It almost felt like an insult dealt to her by fate; to be born into the world just to make someone else’s life better, but not be allowed to live at all?
To be created only for the sake of being locked away in a cage with or without bars until some appointed time approached… or at least that’s what it seemed like to her. That was not and would not be the life for her.
Now that she thought about it though, Kal always wondered why they went to the trouble of creating flower maidens in the first place. What were they for? How would they suddenly make someone’s life better? Perhaps this man might know.
“I know a fair amount about flower maidens, but why do people want them so much? I’d always assumed it was for the sake of making soldiers or servants given their natural physique and how naturally killing seems to come for them.” That last part was obviously mistaken, but she didn’t know that being a scythe only came so naturally to this particular Flower Maiden.
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Post by Peri Hetiea on Jan 7, 2011 1:58:25 GMT -5
The brightly adorned Peri observed this girl with a strange intrigue. She knew of the flower maidens, but she seemed not to know the legend that surrounded both the maidens and the wolves. Most people who knew of the flower maidens knew of the tales of Paradise and of the wolves. He had heard many of the older generation reflect on stories they were told at bed time. The fact that she didn’t associate the flower maidens with the legends made Peri ponder about this mysterious girl that sat across from him.
“Scientists seem to play with power they know nothing about. They are usually unable to control the outcomes to the extent they would want to. I know that there have been plenty failed attempts at flower maidens. Some are unable to live and die instantly, or the others are considered defective. Ideally, nobles and the lab coats want maidens who only perform one task and are otherwise easy to manipulate.”
Peri hummed to himself for a moment as he looked through the window. He thought back to his childhood, back to his parents who were always obsessed with their work. There was always little time given to him and his sister. His parents had always been engrossed in their work, working to manipulate flowers into humanoids.
“Have you ever heard the tales surrounding the flower maidens?” he questioned, looking back to Kal. “Flower maidens and wolves are the keys to opening Paradise. The maidens are meant to lead the way and the wolves follow. Nobles have been looking to open the gates to Paradise for as long as I can remember just as long as I have known their obsession with making the perfect flower maiden.”
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