Scene #9370: Hiring A Hit On Sarracenia

Owner	Pose
Angela	Angela has invited Natsuki to the Library because she's finally made a decision about Sarracenia and she's gotta do something about that. Angela has hesitated. She hesitated because Sarracenia DID help her during the 'Lobotomy corp War' but she has felt, since then, far more disgusted by Sarracenia than she had before. The final thread that was pulled was when she heard Sarracenia SO PROUDLY. Well now she has to do something. She HAS to. Because if she doesn't, that's just proof that she doesn't have to be taken seriously, proof that she can be walked over, and proof that she's not serious about her own goals. So she has to do something. She meets Natsuki in the lobby, already extending a hand to her. "Thank you for coming, Natsuki." Angela says. "How has the Gold Rush been working out for you? I hope it has been useful in assisting you in achieving your own goals." She intends to shake Natsuki's hand if she's given the opportunity. "I asked you to come here because I had a personal request--and thought I might as well show you around the Library as well at the same time."
Natsuki Nuki	Invited to Angela's Library, Natsuki had been wondering when the head of the organization would personally extend such a motion. Having been generally busy with her own ventures, she hadn't had a finger to the pulse of when and what was happening, but... Natsuki knew. Sarracenia was a [Disaster Girl] in the way that sometimes you kept someone with a particularly bad or funny attitude around just to see what they'd do. Certainly, Natsuki knew many royals - technically, being one herself, though she wasn't the true divine child of her family, and the Nue was regal in its own stormy power and not some higher line of blood. Despite awakening to her style in Tokyo, the yakuza branch she had inherited from her brother's work and her own power's reach was Kansai through and through and she felt - distantly - like she was someone else's [Disaster Girl], the queen of the hicks. And they were her hicks. And she was from the clans and shores and valleys of her people, only visiting that faraway place for seasoning and style to bring that fire home. So it was not surprising that Natsuki was to be invited to the City to Angela's abode. Stepping through the warpgate within the Library itself to be greeted immediately by Angela, Natsuki appears in a showy business-casual outfit to split the difference between personal appearance and pure business meeting. Dressed in a white collared shirt with the collar winged open and that she wears brazenly open but tucked messily into a black skirt that doesn't reach her knees, letting the thick rumples of sock she wears beneath knee to ankle be bridged by the definition in her knee and digitigrade legs. Wearing her most tiger-leaning look, Natsuki is head-to-toe orange and black striped, with a deep brown interior fuzz rather than the usual white, bled into by the black of her stripes like ink. A bridge of the same brown masks over her eyes, and splashes the end of her muzzled nose. The ponytail of her platinum blonde hair is bound by a familiar-to-Angela tie of an amber clasp and an outward-facing toothy mouth which has no apparent seam, and the long scale and sinewblack serpent tail that escapes the back of her shirt-tuck to hang high and sway in scarlet-eyed attention about the sights right at the foyer, bearing a 'necklace' or tail-bangle of gold and amber. Natsuki takes Angela's hand firmly but 'kindly', slightly fuzzy hand closing around Angela's and squeezing tightly around before pumping eagerly. Loving a good Yankee handshake, she still bows just a bit when she does towards an 'equal' Partner, and bobs her head with a wide grin that makes it obvious with the peel of black lips about teeth when her tongue runs along the top of her outer teeth. "I'd love that, Angela!" Her voice comes, bright and birdchirpy in he higher register, before falling to 'huyu huyu huyu' half-tweet giggles. "This place is already steeped in story, so I was wondering when you'd invite me." As for Gold Rush... "Well," After the handshake, Natsuki retreats a hand to her hair to brush through it with a flare of black-clawed fingers to the tie to tink-tink! indicatively. "The glove was a little too bulky, so, I ate it." She pantomimes biting -- and so does her tail, in synch -- and grins broader up her face, spilling to cheeks. "It just came to me as a great idea, and it fit right in after." She affirms.
Angela	Angela definitely was on the fence for a minute. Maybe it wasn't just about her helping her once or wanting to not be a bother to the Concord. Maybe some small part of her wanted to see if she'd do something different after all that, to see if the expectation didn't have to always meet--or undershoot--the horrible reality. But this feels good. It feels clean. Sarracenia is interfering with her goals despite them both being Concord Partners and she reveled in the fact that it was technically permissable. It's an unburdening to be allowed to follow the same rules. In truth, she probably underestimates Natsuki's own influence mostly because she hasn't seen her flex it that much. But she still treats Natsuki like any other Partner, perhaps even better considering what she's offered. She copies the bow that Natsuki provides because she loathes rudeness and Natsuki is one who has been a consistent show of support--even if most of it was cheerleading, so far, it was cheerleading that she rather appreciated. Angela is still determined to pretend she's just a Librarian so she's not wandering around in her EGO suit--just her Librarian uniform--though that's not just the full of it. She's also just partial to her own EGO now that she's found it. Still the honeymoon period before she really flexes the breadth of her arsejnal. It's Natsuki's wealth of energy Angela thinks of first before her wealth. "I hope I was not insultingly slow to invite you but I assure you, you rarely left my mind." She is about to turn to the elevator when... ''The glove was a little too bulky so I ate it.'' Angela turns back around, eyes widening. It's a clear sign of shock even if it is still muted--Angela rarely is unmuted. "...Your sync rate with that EGO is surely impressive. I knew it was suitable, but perhaps it is even more suitable than I anticipated. I hope it serves you well." She then swipes the keycard against the elevator reader and steps inside. "As you may have expected if you were listening to my last major conversations with Sarracenia--she has decided to take my willingness to wash away her past insults as an opportunity to deliver fresh ones. I hesitated and now she is gleefully bragging about interfering with my plans. If I do nothing, then she'll continue to feel it's free to interfere. I can accept this from Rita and Lilian--they are philisophically consistent and have proper convictions. And even as they oppose me, they are respectful." She hesitates again thinking of Rita but--no--even if Rita wasn't, she really doesn't want to start a war with the Queen. "So I would like to reinstate my original request of you. If too much has changed in the interim, I will understand, of course, but I do not think a Partner should hesitate any further than this. It would be unbecoming."
Natsuki Nuki	Natsuki really wasn't actually in business casual, except that anything she was doing here had the taste of business, and thus her affectation for daringly worn shirts fit in... but then she gave up at 'hm, well, pants?' and went with the far more comfortable and stylish for her option instead. Natsuki had decided on her sides early, and knew that her Concord mentor, Sougo, was extremely fond of Angela and felt responsible for how matters went in the City. Supporting his goals had become useful for Natsuki, and that was before the Lady Nue's affinity for sorts like Angela. Now, paid in full for services that hadn't yet been rendered, Natsuki had entered a state of warmly and even faintly impatiently awaiting being called upon. The power she had gained in payment had fit her better than a glove, but the original form had been a bit bulky for her style - and now, snap-fit to her form and added to her accessories like it always belonged there, she visually proved to Angela just how close their synchronization really was: a perfect guess, even if she didn't know how closely they matched. "Insulting?" Natsuki reaches forward, slow, just her arm coming off the top of her shoulder away from her hair at first, smile becoming lopsided as her head tilts and she narrows in on Angela. "You took your time and considered it well, didn't you? You thought often of me?" That arm drops, hovering over Angela's shoulder to roll the fuzz-soft knuckles there against Angela's hair, ending with the faintest brush with the back of one claw, like sounding a guitarstring. "That's almost payment enough. Tell me more, please~." And so she does, highlighted by Angela's moment of surprise. "You offered me a delicious prize, a wonderful curse, and I thought to make it mine! Of course I'll serve myself faithfully, Angela, and that means I'm at your ser~vice too." If only to clear a debt, but with the high interest of someone hanging on every word Angela delivers, Natsuki rights her neck and gazes on with two-headed intensity, her tail low and looking up and seeing Angela from an entirely different perspective. "No, I admit I didn't listen to the internal band. I've been pursuing something at home and in the lands of Han China that could grant me a great power that I'm sure I can consume and make my own - so I've been hunting. But I believe you, of course," Natsuki smiles, arms dropping and settling back to a loose cross as she follows Angela. "That she's become intolerant enough for you to reinstate your grievance with her. Really, I thought you'd have someone you wanted flattened sooner or later, just because of how polarizing you are, but. . ." Natsuki closes her eyes - her tail's remains open, and she keeps walking seamlessly. "I was insulted, too - internally. And I spoke for myself with my own power. Now, if you need someone to stand in for you, of course I don't need to be sold on 'why'. You were insulted? I'll handle time and place and fighter. I understand completely."
Angela	IT can be a little dangerous to assign EGO based on vibe. And it can be dangerous if it fits too cleanly, but clearly Natsuki's will surpasses that of a mere fragment of the King of Greed's. Well, she supposes she'd never know if one will overrode the other right? Maybe it's dangerous to fit 90 percent as well but once it gets to 100 there's nothing for the EGO to twist. ''You thought often of me?'' "While more people have offered their support unflinchingly than I expected before reaching out to the Multiverse, I still wouldn't say it is common. Especially since I'm leery of those who offer their aid before they really know me. But--" She gives a bit of a shrug. "It matches your style, so it does not bother me. It's a shift in the unexpected breadth of what is 'genuine' that I seek to avoid." In other words, she'd rather have no friend at all than have an unreliable one. But those that are reliable--she should hold them close. "...And you are honest with yourself, as far as I can tell. Most people aren't." She wonders if her appreciation of that is something she gets from her mother but ultimately she pushes the thought out of her head. "It's an admirable trait. Arguably a key element of what Lobotomy Corp was fighting for was to help people be their true selves." Maybe some of the philosophy still lingers with Angela try as she might to pretend she has entirely broken free of it. Then again, it was more the torture she took issue with. Angela considers and then pushes the button for the top floor, just above General Works. "I see. I suppose I am too accustomed to the band chatter being a constant." But it is one of the few ways for her to engage the outside world so of course she relies on it a fair amount. "I'll gift you Roland if you have need of someone who can swing a sword decently and can think somewhat." She feels a small twinge after saying that about Roland but ignores it. "Polarizing?" She asks. "Me?" She says this as if the idea is a bit silly but not quite the full way--so it must be a joke. "Thank you, Lady Nue." The doors slide open into a vibrant room filled with light. Though 'room' might be a bit generous since one cannot see any roof or walls. There's loads of books, stacked as tall as towers, and Angela's desk is right there with a teddy bear on one side, next to a cactus. And past that is another stairway leading up into a light so bright, it feels difficult to approach. "I don't normally bring people up here. But I know how much you appreciate ambition. Past those stairs is where the Light gathers." Angela says. "Consider it an apology for my earlier recalitrance. If you can handle the details, then I will let you handle the details." She is furious at Sarracenia, but not so furious that she really wnats to delve into all the horrid details of revenge herself. She just wants it out of her sight. Settled and she can hear about it after the fact and nod and hopefully never hear about it again. But she suspects she will. Sarracenia IS like a cartoon character, after all. She always bounces back.
Natsuki Nuki	If there was a difference or separation - it's gone now! The vibes now match perfectly, as accessory to Natsuki, though the form had been made more convenient for Natsuki in the process. Perhaps that was a part of her breaking the fragment to her will, but given the subject it was just as likely there hadn't been much to shift at all and the pair falling into cohort like long lost twin siblings was all but inevitable anyway. Perhaps it was safer than introducing the King of Greed to Natsuki. Who knows what they'd come up with if there was two of them? Would they try to eat each other, or work together? Would they be different at all? Was it the same story read by two different cultures of thought? Natsuki is happy to stride with light step and tail sway through to the elevator, leaning back on the inside of the railing and tilting forward at the same time to move into Angela's space again, hovering, interested, not quite looming. "It is hard to find good help, isn't it? When you're a particular sort, you need particular help, and some people don't understand the realities of what others do! I understand," She purrs, drawling through the words as the elevator lifts, shifting arms out of cross to place one hand on her bared collar. "I know that some insults can't stand, and also, it's awful to have to handle it yourself anyway." Natsuki stays close, interested, pressing a little, narrow to the interest. Her tail, extending as if spooled within her without limit, silently drops to the interior floor of the rising carriage with just enough rise at the end to keep the bangle from scraping. Slithering, as they speak, it brushes against Angela's edge and tip of shoe, exploring a little into space -- especially Angela's. Natsuki understood that some people - her mentor included - among the Concord were quite pleased when she let herself express out, and hadn't 'inquired' as to Angela's disposition yet. A nice enclosed space like a (friendly, controlled space) elevator was just the right environs to 'ask' through the snakebelly-over-shoetops motion. She couldn't really spool out here anyway, much as Kodoku (her second head) might prefer to be loudly unrolled and represented, because it was: an elevator going somewhere. "I knew you were a powerful organization head with certain interests and Concord Partnership that could offer me power - and you have. Of course, I'm hungry for more, as always, so I'm eager to put some respect on your name and return in service for what payment you've offered me." 'Offered' in the banquet sense, happy in the way of friends on the student council talking gossip and yakuza oozing into the pocket and handshake of politician, her naked interest might even be comforting to Angela: Natsuki has a perfectly predictable self-interest in offering and completing her task, and power as shown to do so. . . except that Sarracenia was a cartoon character as well. So it was a matter of effort that Natsuki proudly already believed was in the bag and was dreaming of her second profit from the relationship quietly. Here, in the palace of Light, Natsuki felt herself get a little giddy with it, and didn't entirely moderate that out. "Roland, though, he seems useful. If he's available when I need someone of value and I can't put a grip on one of mine, I might call for yours. Unless it's for the 'correction' you've called for - then of course I will, I'll share the time with you when it's arranged." 'Polarizing? Me?' Sharp fangs showing and wit-realized narrowing of slit pupils, Natsuki's cheeks rise with her big grin. "Oh, must be thinking of someone else, [My Mistake]," She scoffs, hitting 'mai misteiku' in heavily accented English rather than Kansai Japanese.
Natsuki Nuki	Then the door opens to a room full of light. Like a smoke cloud or an ink-thick shadow scared into retreating mist, Kodoku retreats for a moment, immediately off and away from Angela, but the startle is on the bright power first and the reality second. Natsuki, her own eyes narrowed nearly to all-red with just a bare slit of pupil, gasps, and then reaches, and then smiles, and drops that hand to slowly tense and release at her side, claws cycling their retraction just as a tic. "Angela," Natsuki breathes, an ageless glee in her. "This is incredible. This is yours? All of it? Or," Even just being in the air, Kodoku sways actively like a flag dancing in the wind, tasting air and the energy waves - the photons of emotion or light or both that ripple off the Light - and dancing through the currents. "Is this what you gave me a little piece of?"
Angela	"Yes." Angela says. If she's being played here, she's falling right into it. "Petra understands. SOmetimes I wish she understood less. But I suppose if she understood less, then ..." She seems unwilling to finish that thought, at least aloud. "Lilian understands me well as well. Phony--" She thinks how to put it. "I suppose one day I'll figure out if ''she'' is right or not." She's unwilling to just say Phony's wrong. It feels wrong to say Phony's wrong about anything. "You have, before. You're quicker on the draw in that regard than I am." She stops just short of calling it laudable--Angela is not one who values haste even as she values decisiveness so she's a bit of two minds on the matter. ''It brushes against Angela's edge and tip of shoe...'' Angela doesn't recoil or step away. She looks towards Natsuki as if trying to decipher the meaning of the action and she's not getting it. Don't worry, the abuse she received was only mental so she's not suffering! But she is also from a very particular world and very few people in it have tails or express with them. She already has settled on Natsuki as friend so it'd be rude to flinch but she definitely wasn't expecting it, even with how well she's gotten to know her. "I see... Insatiable like the old tree." You can almost hear capitals there but it's not quite there. "With EGO I will only be able to provide ones suitable for you. If I could, I would simply allow you access to whichever EGO you desire but in the wrong circumstances it can be difficult to adapt to it and even become hostile. ... But I will make certain there is at least one ready for you--and if I cannot find appropriate EGO, I can always find appropriate ''pages'' to provide you." She is honestly a bit grateful for the opportunity to trade pages to someone who isn't working for her. Audrey seems hesitant to use them and Petra doesn't really need her help--she has her own way of accruing power--but it's a nice reasonable relationship with clear lines around it. She can appreciate that. She actually laughs at, and even smiles, at Natsuki playing along with her joke. Usually her humor isn't quite spotted that readily either. "He's a Fixer, so whatever you need of him should come naturally as any mercenary, even if he requires a bit more care than a base thug." ''This is incredible. This is yours? All of it? Or.'' "This is the Light I've gathered so far." Angela admits. "Though it is only really mine once it's ''absorbed''. WHich takes time, even as it is drawn from the visitors who challenge the Library with its rules. It is a key component of the dream I seek to fulfill." But is it what she gave Natsuki a little piece of? Angela frowns as she thinks about how to explain it. "You are not wrong. The EGO is drawn from Abnormalities. And Abnormalities come from the River--the essence of the Collective Unconsciousness. And that River is what fueled this Tree of Light." Angela explains, now definitely throwing lots of capital letters around. "It is a material to change the nature of the people of a world."
Natsuki Nuki	Natsuki has no special ability to divine the particular names between people's lines. She makes her own mind up, on the spot, or leaves it blank and for the other side to speak for and to themselves. This time, 'she' sounds maternal to Natsuki, so she imagines a mother-figure that's closer to Carmen than Phony. Perhaps it's the Light gathered up in the room that marks that shadow on the wall. Tail swaying in an unseen photonic breeze, the faint slide and impact of band to serpent-head sounding from time to time, Natsuki tries to take in the Light and also Angela both. What she can sense, or at least imply in, is Angela's positive tone even as the other woman plays it down. "I couldn't let it stand that brazenly, and, I could sort it there. Your situation's complicated." The roll of head to Angela, and the focus of eyes via widening despite the bright Light, is intentional and directed - even if all it carries is her amusement. It is Angela's Light, her hoard before it's taken in. A transformative power, something like the divine light that had fallen some on herself and more on her sister - precious and earned. Even if she craved it like an addict, she could restrain herself with will. She could earn some for herself, she could bid and bide with herself against the slamming instinct of oni and ogre to smash it now and suck out the sweet marrow. She thirsted for it, as a sweet and tantalizing ambrosia, but she supped only on the radiance that fell upon her from occupying space within the room. Not nothing, certainly: she had been brought here, to see and shine and reflect upon the Light. Not understanding exactly what it was, she still could lap at the lakeside and satisfy a moment's thirst between breaths. A hard swallow, and a furtive wetting of the lips with the roll of a tongue, but Natsuki holds the faith of her own interests and so she holds the faith of Angela's. "That idiot fellow was throwing around that I was their greatest, most hated enemy that they wanted to scream about and kill. He needed to be proven with blunt force. I proved it. Sarra will take understanding, so," Natsuki puts her hands together, fist into palm meaningfully. "I'll make her understand the simple terms and how she can improve." Then, happily, business transmuted to tweeting-chirping amusement. "So I look forward to our next transaction!" Shifting to pressed palms, Natsuki bows again, still grinning, and then rights with a flourish at tail and the curve of spine and sweep of hand. She's having fun, since Angela is being such a good hostess, and she bathes in a particular radiance. And of course, She understands. "Angela, you're so smart. Please, if you have any jobs you need done, prepare as many of those EGO artifacts or ''pages''," She can't quite pronounce it like Angela can. It's the birdsong caught in her throat. "And we'll get along better than just fine. Aren't understanders great? And as for Fixers - I have those too, fixers, and I understand them. Good with a blade, you said? I'll figure out a good use." . . . "Oh, you're gathering spiritual power." Natsuki decides, snapping thumb and middle finger together as if it all made sense after Angela explained it. "Concentrating it out of spiritual beings. Of course. I did similar to that, but," She snorts, "--different scale. You're ambitious, Angela. I see why the Concord hired you before you finished. The end?" "It's going to be in~credible, whatever it is!"
Angela	Angela's situation Is complicated. She wishes she could make it more simple. But complexity is a kind of gift, so long as she can see it. If she was only accustomed to simplicity, she might have a similar reputation as Sarracenia in the end. She is hoping to avoid that for eternity, no matter how many complexities she cuts out of her life. In truth, Angela suspects it'd be easier to use this Light to do something far more vicious than what she actually wants it for. Changing herself--why does it take SO MUCH? She doesn't know why. All she knows is that she's not ready yet. She can't live a life where if she steps too far away from Petra they both die. As much as she is comforted by Petra's presence, it's just too dangerous. ''That idiot fellow'' "It was quite sudden. I was shocked but ... I suppose that is the risk of someone who throws their weight behind someone so quickly. They'd have to be something of an idiot." Her own opinion of the idiot fellow is a little warmer but she certainly understands that the dude is..like... A LOT. "If you can make her understand, I suppose that is ideal." She's not interested in eternal war or anything. But she also has no idea what she means exactly by that. And she doesn't want to know. She'd rather find out. "Do you mind if I continue paying you in advance?" Angela asks. So far it's worked out so she has no objection to keep on doing it. And it actually is a nice feeling, really, to supply Natsuki weapons that she can use. What's she using them for? It's not really relevant to her. She's Concord. That's enough. "I appreciate understanders. And people who know what they are about. A lack of clarity of oneself and others is where disaster arises. I will prepare new items for you for next time." But for now Natsuki still needs to do the job of the first item provided. It's not exactly something she cares THAT much about but it's a matter of principal. "I am the most ambitious person in this City, except perhaps for my mother." Angela looks down at her hands for a moment before looking to Natsuki. "I intend to shake this City to its core. But one goal at a time." She holds Natsuki's hand one more time and gives her a small nod. "And please, as a Partner, I am happy to assist you with your own goals. It is only appropriate to be a good neighbor."