EVENT ★ WELCOME TO LERAMZEN

[futurologists]

WELCOME TO LERAMZEN After nearly three weeks of "relaxation" in Oska, Audentes is given 48 hours to prepare for their next mission. Right on time, they are rifted to a different dimension, landing them in the futuristic city of Leramzen. Instead of appearing in a large group, recruits are spread throughout the city center so as not to draw attention to themselves, arriving in isolated areas: behind buildings hidden from the street, in public restrooms, stepping into the street from behind parked cars. The key is to blend in, though the metropolitan nature of Leramzen allows for some wiggle room; the locals see enough country bumpkins from all over the galaxy that they're willing to overlook a faux pas here or there from an obvious tourist. Recruits have two weeks before the day of the museum heist. During this time, they should contact their mission analyst, George, but the rest is up to them -- a perfect time to explore the luxuries that Leramzen has to offer. CITY LIFE Leramzen is a highly cultured city, with many museums and theatres, including its prized Lyushny Theatre which homes the galaxy famous Lyushny Ballet. While the natives of this planet are human, recruits will see a wide variety of other life forms in Leramzen, some humanoid and some most definitely not. Try not to stare! The generous stipend will more than allow recruits to take in the sights and treat themselves to a luxury meal or two, but of particular interest should be the clothing and jewelry stores found in the city center. There are shops that cater to any style and taste, including a few bespoke tailors that have a convenient turnaround time of two weeks. In addition to shopping and cultural pursuits, there is an ice rink in the city center, maintained for the long winter season, and horse-drawn carriages that will take passengers on a ride through Leramzen's historic Old Town. This is also a good chance to observe the State History Museum to get a lay of the land before the mission begins. But remember -- don't draw attention to yourselves, so going in all together might not be a good idea. Settle in and take in some sights, and get ready -- because when the mission begins, you never know what you'll be in for. OOC NOTES Welcome to the new mission! Heist sign-ups are now closed for current players, but all characters accepted after May 21st will still have the opportunity to sign up. For more information on the mission, please check the dossier and direct all questions about Leramzen to this thread. Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ and you may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time.

Comments

[kisha]

[Now, this is something she is more glad to hear. An offer to actually lead her to somewhere that might have what she required- something useful. And considering she herself was beginning to doubt she would find anything in this... boutique.

She replaces her own selection of cloth on the table, and though her features do not soften, she still bows from the more human waist to the store clerk before she turns to take this man up on his offer.]

In that case, I shall be in your care.

[Stranger danger was less of a concern when a kick from one of your hooves could kill a man.]

[competing]

[ what does it say about lance that he neither (1) pays much attention to the "stranger, danger" idea, nor does he (2) even consider those hooves of hers...

in any case, he seems quite delighted that she would be so amenable, especially considering how difficult conversation had been just a few minutes earlier. he attributes this all to progress, of course, and there is certainly a bit more bounce in his step as he leads her out of this particular boutique, and a little further down the block towards a couple of shops that are a bit more niche in their holdings.

specifically, he leads her to a steampunk armor shop, the display window of which he gestures towards with flourish. ]

Tada! What do you think? Looks nice, right?

[ go on and tell him how fantastically he did, hayame. you know you want to. ]

[kisha]

[Not things to be said in polite company.

Hayame prefers action to words, solutions to debate, and so Lance's offer had been an easy one to accept. She whips her long hair back behind her as they leave the shop she had been unsuccessful in, and remains stoically silent even as they walk, apparently not needing to ask his name or his motives as her hooves clop along behind him.

His flourishes were... unnecessary, to say the least, but she tolerates them and casts her gaze on the item in question. Though her expression turns slightly cross at first, an instinctual reaction to even more foreign items, she keeps her mouth shut to look it over.

It wasn't what she considered proper attire for the formal event they were supposedly supposed to attend, seeing as she was imagining a full-sleeved kimono and ceremonial tack, but. It was not a poor choice for parade or duty, seemingly made of a durable fabric that left her arms free for archery, and the belts and pouches seemed practical...

She thinks it, rather than saying at it, staring at the garment with muscular arms crossed beneath her breasts, before finally,]

That is promising for field attire.

[She'll give him credit for that, even if it wasn't exactly the solution she'd wanted.]

[competing]

[ he glances between her and the garment, disappointment made obvious in the way his arms sort of just flop at his sides. ]

Is that not what you were looking for? [ he rolls back onto the heels of his feet, looking thoughtful again as he considers their past conversation. she said she wanted something symbolically befitting of a warrior... he sort of jumped at the warrior part, and glazed past the "symbolic" portion. ]

Okay, something a little dressier? [ he tries to fill in the blanks where he can. ] They've probably got dresses inside, if you wanna look at those?

[kisha]

[This man was... very emotive.]

It is not suitable for a banquet, no. There are no sleeves, and there is too much... shape.

[Hayame had never drawn anything in her entire life, beyond a few brief childhood moments of using sticks and the edge of hooves to trace patterns in dirt or the like, but she is beginning to suspect she may need to take brush to parchment at this rate to communicate what it is she views as appropriate.]

I shall agree to further inspection, however.

[It was at least more promising than the last place she'd been in.]

[competing]

[ someone has to be. ]

Okay... something classy, but also modest. [ he is, at the very least, taking care to pay attention to her needs more. it's similar to all the shopping trips he'd been dragged along to by his older sister, whose tastes were as fickle as hayame's, if you can believe that. ]

They seem to be kinda big into corsets in there, so that might be a little too much "shape" for you... but their sleeves are nice and long and flow-y?

[kisha]

["Classy but modest", vague though the phrase is, is at least not incorrect. The sense of beauty Hayame was used to aligned itself for women of slim build and only slight curve, willowy and delicate- and while she certainly wasn't the latter, training-honed muscles visible quite clearly in the sleeveless top she wore despite the cold, she was used to formal clothes that were intended for such women.

Long sleeves sounds promising, but first-]

Which part of this is the "corset"?

[She gestures to... all of the outfit he pointed out.]

[competing]

Ah.

[ there is a slight coloring of his cheeks, something both boyish and sheepish. as vaguely as he can, he gestures to the shape-hugging bodice on the mannequin. ]

That bit right there. It's, uh... meant to be accentuating. [ a pause. ] To things.

[kisha]

[To things.

Indeed, it certainly seemed to cinch in at the waist... Lance is spared reaction caused by perverse thoughts by the fact that... she doesn't have much bosom to jump to conclusions about... so she simply nods clinically after giving the tight garment a long stare.]

Your women can still move freely in these?

[Priorities]

[competing]

They definitely manage it somehow.

[ there is a slight hint of awe in his voice, mingling there with a certain amount of humor. his sisters never really took on to the steampunk phase, nor were they big on corsets in general (thank god) but he's known some woman to take to it, and take to it well. honestly what women manage to do in their clothing astounds him on the daily. ]

But if you're looking for more mobility, robes or wraps are probably gonna be more your jam.

[kisha]

As long as my arms are unrestricted.

[Considering she has a sword and quiver at her waist she feels like she probably doesn't need to elaborate on why she wants that to be the case, reaching over Lance's head with ease to grab the door and open it.

Humans first.]

[competing]

[ he tenses, but only for a moment. because for a second there it looked like she was reaching for him, but the moment quickly passes. he laughs a little, mostly at himself, and slips into the little store. ]

Then I'd swing back to what I suggested initially. Sleeves kind of get in the way whatever the design, don't they? Unless you're okay with skin-tight sleeves, but said you didn't want anything that showed too much shape, so...

[ maybe drawing it would be a better idea. it seems like they're just going back and forth here. ]

Besides... I'm not sure if any fancy place you're going to would even allow all those weapons, so...

[kisha]

[Ducking into the store requires a bit of maneuvering on Hayame's part, human half leaning forward to take some of the height off her imposing figure and moving inside carefully into to avoid scraping her sides on the doorframe, but. She gets inside.]

When one is anticipating a battle, one ties the sleeves back with a cord.

[She gestures in a vague way to try and illustrate a cord that ties the sleeves back with a cross in the back.]

And one can conceal a weapon in the sleeves or obi. Or in one's hair.

[Which might not work for Lance, but Hayame's when unbound is down to her equine knees, so.]

[competing]

Fair enough...

[ still, he has to wonder what kind of battle she's expecting at a fancy party... maybe that's just the way of her culture. there are worse things to live by than "always be prepared," after all. ]

—Wo-oah, look at these!!

[ far smaller and slighter than her, he's able to easily slink past to dart towards a stand of goggles, plucking a particularly blue and gaudy one (to be fair, many of them were just as garish) up and not even hesitating to place them upon his face. ]

Oh man, this is cool, don't I look cool??

[ he turns to her excitedly. ]

[kisha]

[He darts ahead and Hayame cannot follow so quickly, what with the... people. She has to excuse herself curtly to the other shoppers to get around them and avoid stepping a hoof onto a foot, belatedly taking a look at... whatever it was he seemed to be excited about.

Her eyes narrow in confusion, having never actually seen... glasses up close before.]

... what are those?

["Cool" notwithstanding...]

[competing]

[ there is a brief moment where lance looks like he's waiting for the punch line, but in the next he is removing the goggles from his face to hold them out between them, reminded (belatedly) of their likely vastly different cultures. ]

These are goggles. They're usually for eye protection, but these are definitely more decorative than functional...

[ he pauses a moment, then offers them out to her with a small smile. ]

Try 'em on.

[kisha]

[A lot of people seem to be waiting for the punch line when it comes to Hayame, but sadly... they almost never come.

He says "eye protection" and she cannot envision anything except perhaps... helmets? Blinders?

She doesn't smile in return but she does take the "goggles", experimentally turning them over in her hands before she holds them up to her eyes and the world turns blue.

Puts them down, puts them back over her eyes, trying to find something to say.]

I do not know why they must be blue, but I suppose it would prevent damage in a snowstorm...

[competing]

Like I said, this one's definitely more decorative than practical, [ hence the blue, ] but you look good in blue! [ everyone does. it's, like, the best color. ]

Goggles are good against the wind, too, and any flying little debris... [ he glances down at the weapons strapped to her. ] You're an archer, right? Goggles and visors and things like that are especially great for marksmen.

[kisha]

[The goggles in Hayame's hands almost crack under the sudden tightening of her (very strong) hands, an action that corresponds to the quick whiplash turn of her head back towards Lance and a widening of her eyes.]

What- ?

[In retrospect it isn't clear what she's referring to, but. She isn't used to... being complimented, or told what colors suit her. Not like that, thrown out so casually, by someone who was not inspecting her for sale, and even then...

Those weren't quite as innocent as what she'd just heard.

(Did she look good in blue?)]

[competing]

What? [ lance asks in return, and though his voice doesn't carry quite the same pitch as hers does, there is a definite quality to it that definitely echoes her bewilderment.

now he's no stranger to messing up around the ladies, but most of the time he actually knows what he's done or said wrong... this time though... ]

Something wrong?

[kisha]

[Something was definitely wrong here. So many things, actually. That she was even here in the first place, that they were even talking, (that it was possible at all she was talking to someone of a different world)...

But even Hayame knows that's not what he means.]

N-

[But to ask if he truly meant she looked good in blue seemed too feminine, too weak, and though she is... curious, she stamps it down.]

Nothing. Here.

[So she hands the goggles back.]

[competing]

[ he glances down at the goggles in her hand, hand already stretching out towards it... but at the last second he hesitates. instead of taking it, he simply holds his hand up, palm out, gently nudging the item back towards her. ]

Nah, why don't you keep it. My treat.

[kisha]

[Here was another thing wrong.

It seemed as if he was trying to... gift her the goggles. It was not something she would turn down, despite her general aversion to being in others' debt, because not only was it useful seeming (tint aside), it was rude to turn down gifts in most circumstances and it is an item, not something he would be spending time crafting...

But.]

This is not yours to give.

[Is. It?

He certainly had given no indication of owning this place...]

[competing]

[ okay, well. that's a fair point. ]

I mean, yeah, I'd have to buy it first... [ but that was kind of his whole point? he'll buy it for you???? ]

[kisha]

[Oh, well... In that case... she's stuck accepting it, isn't she?]

... I humbly accept.

[She gives a small bow, one equine leg stretching out to allow her to follow the motion with her whole body, before she re-straightens and holds the goggles properly with both hands.]

In turn, I request that you ask something of me, as well.

[Debts were a heavy thing... and though she'd spent all her life bearing them, she'd only recently gotten a taste of what it was like to live with less of them. And she'd like to keep it that way.]