needabourbon | [004] [Voice → Video]

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[004] [Voice → Video]

[Voice] [The sound of his journal clicking on is subtle, so subtle that maybe you didn't realize it was even on until he begins talking. His voice more rough than usual and the pouring sound of liquid into a glass is the only ambiance.]

We checked out Goemon's place again. I think we're just assuming the worst... No. The best? That he is out of Luceti. He'll be alright but I'll miss him.

[Video] [All is quiet. Maybe you thought he shut off the journal but he didn't. The sound of glass to a table, then Jigen flips on the video feed. He's quick not to let the screen catch his face as he turns it away. In view now is a scaled replica of Cagliostro... Created entirely from bits of matchsticks. Beside the model you can see a full pack of cigarettes sitting next to a packed ashtray. His glass of bourbon is also beside an almost empty bottle. He turns the camera towards himself now—when was the last time he slept or smoked? Those dark circles look hideous.]

If anyone could bring me more matches, I'd appreciate it... [Pause.] Maybe some bourbon too.

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[A change in subject wouldn't be remiss. She tilts her head faintly, curious.]

Might I ask what the model is to depict? Lupin's I recognize, but this is entirely unfamiliar to me.

[Good call. That was the main reason for him even making it, even though it ended up making him think about more than just Goemon.]

Cagliostro. A castle we once went to. To shorten up the story... We ended up busting an illegal printing press, ruining a wedding, destroying a clock tower, and discovering ancient Roman ruins beneath the castle's lake. [Slight pause, as he smiles a bit.] All to save a girl from some horrible fate.

Have you time and patience enough for a longer version of the story? I am terribly curious and it sounds fascinating.

[There were no lingering doubts left in her mind as to the validity of Lupin's claim on his heritage, but little reminders of his adventures, of the excitement in his world, they serve to cement it all the more.]

[He seems cautious at first. Not very often does he go about telling people about previous missions... It's on his mind though. Maybe talking about it will help him get it out of his head.]

We were in Monaco, pulling a heist on a big-time casino... [He'll spend the next hour or so telling you this story.]

[Adele props the journal up next to her on the sofa, legs tucked under her while she sips from a mug of coffee, listening intently. Every once and awhile she murmurs a soft question, asks a point for clarification if she does not quite understand something, and Jigen is kind enough to elaborate. It is as enthralling as any of Maurice's novels, and she is utterly enraptured by the tale.]

...Fujiko made off with the plates and eventually we got away from Pops to start on another gig. That's how it usually ends anyway. [He takes a long breath in and exhales heavily. The entire time he was working on the model that story was running through his mine. Now that he's actually told someone what he was thinking, he feels relieved.

He smirks to an afterthought.] I made off with a crown, actually. It's back at our place in Japan.

Edited 2012-02-28 03:52 (UTC)

So you do keep trophies and mementos. I had always wondered. [She chuckles, glad to have brought some form of relief to Jigen, even if only by listening.]

The one Clarisse gave you, yes?

More like... She left it behind and I picked it up. [A small chuckle.] Like Goemon said, she is a very lovely girl.

[He's thinking of Goemon again, but he keeps the smile left from the laughter. The good memories and thought the Goemon is back home and safe is soothing.]

And lovely girls are still sweet and charming to thieves and gunmen. [A soft huff of laughter and she sets her long empty mug aside.] Were I a lesser woman I would envy you for your adventures.

There's no shame in wanting a little adventure for yourself. [He smiles and watches her calmly.] I wouldn't suggest our type of adventures though. Bullets and explosions is no place for a lady, in my opinion.

I have had a taste of adventure of the bullets and explosions variety, Jigen, and I am more than happy to agree with you on that.

[There is no flash of bitterness, no resignation, just acceptance. She is not longer worried about what she's done, or to what she will return to.]

At least you know when you're safe then. Try not to go back on any of those adventures, okay? [He's gentle yet concerned. Something about a woman being put in harms way was simply unsettling to his gut. Even if she knew well enough how to handle herself, his previous relationships have brought this sense of concern into his mind.]

I am more than able to promise that I won't return to such explosive exploits, Jigen. Here, however...[A soft chuckle and a shrug, she looks off to the side for a moment, out the window, the light smoothing away the wear of the years and making her brighter, younger for a moment. When she turns back to the feed it's gone, and she's herself again.]

Here, one never knows, yes?

Edited (years not hears fdsfdsfds) 2012-02-28 06:12 (UTC)

[Jigen admires the moment of beauty quietly. Even as she returns her gaze to the journal, he is still admiring her with another gentle smile.]

We'll just have to keep on our toes then, won't we?

[That pulls a sudden, surprised laugh from her. She shakes her head and smiles at the feed.] That phrase takes on a slightly different meaning when used with someone trained to dance en pointe.

Ballet, right? I didn't think of that. [A soft chuckle.] I don't know much of dancing. Sorry.

Oui Monsieur. [She smooths a loose curl back behind her ear, grinning.] Not my profession, but my passion. Though it is only here that I have time to indulge in it once more. One does not need to know much of dancing to enjoy it. They simply need eyes to see and a heart to feel.

That's quite lovely, actually. [He's relaxing back in his seat now. For a moment he realizes how long he's been sitting and a pinch in his back forces him from the chair. Grabbing the journal, he moves to lay on his bed and set the journal on his bedside end-table.]

'fraid the only dancing I was ever exposed to was something of a waltz... Which was supposed to be used during a heist but I ended up disguising myself as a chef instead.

The French are well known for their romantic notions and the poetic language they use to describe said notions. Some are more inclined to perpetuate the stereotype than others.

[She waits for him to finish relocating to...a bed? Ah, good. Better for him by far, perhaps he would manage to sleep sometime after their conversation ended.] Ah, the Waltz. Elegance in simplicity. Classic, anyone can be taught, and for your part Monsieur, your job would have been easy. The lead is...the frame, yes? He is there to make the painting, the follow, look lovely. I am certain you would have been able to manage that.

I know a thing or two about the French and their romance. [His comrade Lupin III is French--which is probably the worst example considering how much of a horn-dog Lupin usually was. Jigen has picked up on mannerisms and visited parts of Europe several times over the years though.

He gives a slight nod as he rests against his hand, his pillow cushioned in the crevice of his arm to give comfort to the position.] Can't say I was good at it but I managed, yeah. [Small shrug.] I'm more of a chef than a waltz-er. That's why I took that disguise for the gig anyway.

Enough to be enchanted, or enough to be wary? They are not mutually exclusive of one another, either. [Adele shifts on the sofa as well, twisting to tuck her feet under a pillow on the far side, unconsciously mirroring Jigen's posture.]

Perhaps all you need are lessons, though I do not know if I would be entirely qualified to teach. [A quirked brow and flash of a grin.] What was the gig, if I might ask?

If you know more than I do, then you'd be the perfect teacher... [He smiles and goes without answering her question for a moment, simply turning onto his back and pushing his arms up above his head in a stretch. After a small grunt and pop of his back, he places his hands behind his head and closes his eyes.]

We were infiltrating a private auction for something called the Mermaid's Scale... That's a whole other story though.

Just as it is quite likely you know more than I of cooking. [She is tempted for a moment to go fetch another mug of coffee, one eye on the video feed, the other on the kitchen door. It would not be too far to walk, and she is about to stand when Jigen's voice picks up again. For the moment, she remains on the sofa.]

A Mermaid's Scale? Would that be a metaphor, an allegory, or an actual object?

It's a jewel. [He gives another chuckle. Had it been a real scale, it probably would have been much more difficult to steal.] There were actually two of them. The Mermaid Scale and the Scale of Heaven. When you lined them up just right, it showed a map leading to a small island in the Sea of Japan—-that's where the real treasure was hidden...

[The coffee can wait, she decides, more than happy to prop the journal off to one side and settle in for what would most certainly be another fascinating story.]

And what, pray tell, was the real treasure?