Snooping Around [NPC]

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

Mason gave a yawn but pulled off a big smile somehow despite his weariness. Mason would mostly lead the way back to the room, though still staying close to Julian. It wouldn’t take too long for them to reach the door to the room where Julian was before. The door itself was marked with a simple hanging sign that read “Emmilene & Mason”, to signify the two that lived there. Mason would walk ahead and knock on the door. In seconds, the door would open, revealing Emmilene in light evening wear. “Well hey there! Did you have fun today?” she asked. Mason yawned again and grinned. Emmilene smiled sweetly before looking to Julian, his presence revealing a look of slight surprise. “You did return after all. My trust in you was not misplaced,” she said, bowing lightly in respect to him. Mason waved to Julian and hugged Emmilene before rushing his way to his bed and falling in, not bothering to change or anything before almost immediately drifting off to sleep. Emmilene chuckled lightly and brushed some now clean gray hair from her eyes. “Forgive me for being in this wear. Mason insisted I should bathe, and to be fair, he was not wrong. I fear I had gotten dirty from training a few new Persona-Users the other day,” she said, looking lightly to the side. It didn’t seem to bother her too much the way she was dressed, and even despite her pajamas, she still somehow managed a strong face, if perhaps a little less stern posture and more of a slightly relaxed stance, most likely from her recent cleaning. “I hope he did not bother you. He was bored at this time of evening it seemed, haha. Did you need anything from me? Feel free to come in,” she said, stepping aside and holding the door open if Julian needed to walk in.

Posts : 708 Join date : 2014-02-01

The walk was a lot shorter than he remembered. Probably because the last time he came to that room, he'd been close to passing out from exhaustion and the adrenaline crash, which made even short distances seem way too long. The sign was new too, but then again, he hadn't really been looking for one. At least now he had some sort of landmark in this place.

// They act like siblings. Or maybe Mother and son. // Julian noted as he watched Emmilene talk with Mason for a second. They didn't really look alike, but the sibling theory was a possibility. Who knows. But maybe that was a question for another time. The teen grinned at the girl's expression, raising an eyebrow in question. "Did you really think I'd ditch this place after everything that happened? 'Strong commitment', remember?" He chuckled lightly, pleased that he had actually remembered the tarot thing from that freaky night. It wasn't like he'd volunteered, but how could he turn his back after seeing this place in ruins, and then being told it was a possibility for his world?

Julian waved to Mason and shook his head lightly at the boy's antics. Geez, this kid was quite a character. But it wasn't like he was going to go over there and wake him up to change out of his clothes. Hadn't he done the same thing himself the night he was so graciously "invited" here? The teen glanced at Emmilene, doing a quick once over of her attire before turning his focus on her face. "Don't worry about it. I probably shouldn't have barged in here without telling you first." He paused for a second to glance up and tilt his hea in thought. "Though, it's not like I have a way to contact you in the first place, huh?"

"It's okay; I don't wanna intrude." he held a hand up and smiled lightly. She was dressed for bed and everything. Coming in now just seemed kinda...rude. And weird. "Don't worry about Mason. He's a good kid. If anyone did any bothering, it might've been me." The smile turned sheepish as he rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. Yeah, making the kid remember his lost parents...not his brightest moment. "Well, you look well. Has that whole mishap from last time I was here gotten fixed? Y'know, about the portals." Julian tilted his head. That not being able to see the portals thing had gotten pretty much everyone upset. Since Emmilene was looking pretty good now, that all must've been taken care of, right?

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

Emmilene covered her mouth while chuckling at Julian’s response. “Of course not. It is still nonetheless nice to meet you again.” Emmilene craned her neck to the side for a moment to stretch. “Sometimes I forget the luxury of having a place to wash. Perhaps I should spare those days so it will feel that much better.” She looked down to a nearby pair of rugged looking shoes and proceeded to kneel slightly to put them on in between Julian’s speaking. When Julian seemed to apologize for his “barging in” Emmilene smiled softly. “Do not worry, I think I have half a mind to walk around to check on the lookouts later before returning to bed anyway. I have to maintain leadership around here and continue to act. It will at least give some comfort to those who are stressed around here,” she explained, lowering her voice slightly so Mason could sleep soundly, though it did not seem necessary anyway. She did lose her smile for pursed lips and crossed arms when he mentioned having no contact however. “You are correct actually….I was unable to have it prepared for you before, but I am currently working on a device that will allow you to speak between worlds with me, as well as detect my life. If you give me more time, I am sure I will have it done when I see you next,” she said with a smile. Her Persona abilities did give her plenty of boons, but she did need to prioritize on what to do in regards to Julian, as she placed a heavy burden on him. She did not want to force him to come every time if he did not need to.

Julian seemed like a kind boy. For someone of his Arcana, he certainly seemed to have a sense of self control. Did he act this way in his own world? Emmilene was slightly interested. She almost expected his Arcana to be Sun, or perhaps the Fortune. She will forever be intrigued that this type of boy was The Devil. “I think he likes you. He seemed to think you’d be a lot of help. As for the portals…no. I am still the only one that can see them. It seemed that the moment you came in, the portals vanished from view from most. Perhaps you are allowed to be in ours, but we are not allowed to interfere with your affairs? Whatever is going on in your world could potentially be, dare I say, more serious than our war with Nyarlathotep.” A neutral expression appeared on her face. What could be bigger than the war between these two Gods? She hesitated to theorize such a grave scenario. “Have you learned anything about what is going on since your last visit here?”

Posts : 708 Join date : 2014-02-01

So she was supposed to act like a leader at all times, even when she was trying to sleep or just have a moment of time to herself? It was understandable, since she had so many people to lead and take care of, but she should find some balance there. Otherwise, it might have some bad repercussions at the wrong time. But she seemed healthy enough, so maybe her whole routine worked well for her. Who knows? Julian smiled lightly at her words, hoping that she was right about that "giving comfort" thing. He couldn't help but blink in surprise at the mentioning of this "device". "Wow." A light chuckle followed. "Guess I shouldn't be so surprised, huh?" If people could travel across dimensions, why shouldn't cell phone service? Though he wasn't sure if that was what astonished him or the fact they could make that thing with what limited resources they had. They were fighting a war after all, right? Metal and electrical things normally came in handy during that time, and a lot of it. With the city ruined, of course that stuff wasn't easy to find. Yet they had enough to make something that complex? Impressive.

Hm. The teen's demeanor instantly sobered at Emmilene's news. So the portals were still invisible to everyone but the two of them. And whatever was going on in Azores topped a war between gods? ...Well damn. Sighing lightly, Julian shook his head. "Not much. About the only thing weird going on on my side is a bunch of wonky news reports and some kidnappings. Other than that, I don't have much to go on so far." That was why he came here. It was a long shot, but Julian hoped that since personas were being used to fight whatever was going on in both worlds, maybe the two incidents were linked. If he learned about this world, maybe he'd be able to use the information on the other side. And so far, that wasn't working out so well. ...Sigh.

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

Emmilene smiled, taking his comment as praise. “If all goes well, it should just be a small addition to your phone. One of my Personas is able to let me mess with various technologies. This would not be perfect. It would just be a voice call, and you’d only be able to contact myself. But at the very least, I will know. It will keep a solid connection between us, since it is worth you knowing if I am alive or not, given your circumstances,” she said, her smile turning into a look of slight remorse. She more or less forced him into this bond with her. She still wondered whether she regretted the choice or not. Perhaps if he wasn’t taken against his will she would be less conflicted about all of this. But she truly wondered how he felt. Did he just not care and only visited out of curiosity? It was fair to say that despite Emmilene’s trust of this man, she still was not entirely sure what to make of him.

“Though, I do intend to place guards around the locations of the portals, in case people you do not know are brought here. They will be checked to see which God they belong to, and then monitored closely, as they may not be completely trustworthy. Naturally you or anyone you have brought will not go through that. Though I think it’s fair to know I still keep an eye on you just in case. Not that I worry really, you seem fairly docile.” The suggestion was brought up to her by one of her trusted guards. One Persona-User could easily walk in and attack from within if they somehow joined the Crawling Chaos. But in any event, she turned to the side to exit her room and close the door, leaving her outside with Julian. “But not much has reached your world? Have you attempted to look into these broadcasts? Surely they must depict something that could help you,” she said thoughtfully, scratching part of her head, some small strains of hair floating off. She chuckled. “Forgive me. I hope I do not make you uncomfortable. Perhaps I did not clean off as well as I guessed.”

Posts : 708 Join date : 2014-02-01

Not a bad point. Julian couldn't always spare time to check in on Emmilene and see if she was still breathing or not. That detect life function would come in handy. Being able to contact only her wasn't a big issue, either; besides Emmilene, he knew, what, two other people here? And she was the one with the most information. Yeah, he was fine with it. "Alright. Guess I'll be paying you another visit sometime soon." Julian smiled lightly at the girl. Sometime next week, maybe? Hm...

That was a good plan. Actually, it was almost common sense. Why hadn't they had guards at the portals beforehand? Were they not sure people--or things--could pass in and out of them? Even if that was true, they should have taken precautions. The last thing they needed during a war was to get attacked inside their own base. That wouldn't work out too well. "That's fine. I'd be a little worried if you weren't watching me." The teen shrugged lightly. He hadn't known anyone here very long. On top of that, he came from a completely different world. Why shouldn't Emmilene keep an eye on him? They had no idea of what kind of person he was or what he'd do in the future. There was absolutely no reason for anyone to trust him at all. So he'd expect some surveillance on him, even if it was something as simple as everyone being a little cautious around him.

"They don't depict anything." Shaking his head lightly, Julian thought back to the news reports he'd seen. Where that suspect's picture was supposed to be was just a white square or fuzziness. Apparently, according to the murmurs at school, it was the same for everyone. Hell, even the suspect's name was just a bunch of zeroes and ones with "odes" stuck on the end. Sure, he'd been toying with the name a bit, but he had nothing concrete. Maybe...hmm...well, there were a few places he could visit if he wanted answers.

// Huh? // What was he apologizing for? A couple strands of hair floating to the floor gave him a good idea. "Don't worry about it." Giving a cheerful grin, Julian waved his hand dismissively. He'd seen far worse than this. "I'd be careful though. If you stress yourself out, you might go bald."

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

She wondered how simple his struggle would get in the future. If simply finding the person in question was this hard, it sounded like this was not some coincidence. “Sounds to me that you may need to do some investigation. Perhaps find any persons of interest or ask people who may know. Maybe the reason you aren’t getting any info is supernatural in nature. That may seem obvious, but it could all depend. It could be a large group conspiracy, or a single person. But I’d wager you check it out sooner rather than later, lest your islandic home receives any casualties,” she said. She knew that she didn’t give much info that he didn’t already know and merely state the obvious, and her face tinged with disdain showed her disappointment in not being help. Unfortunately the times Julian sees her are perhaps the best times to ponder it, as when he leaves, her full focus goes to the safety and prowess of the people here. Maybe something will come up later…

She would think a bit more, but by the time she had gotten rid of her itch, Julian already joked about to it to her. Emmilene smiled and lowered her hand and raised her posture. “I do not worry about my hair too much. Mostly when I get itches from it, haha. I am sure my hair won’t go as easy.” At least Julian seemed like a nice boy. She wondered what he was like outside of the supernatural circumstances. “Hm…Tell me about yourself if you will Julian. Just your likes or dislikes, or what you do outside of this will do; you do not have to tell me everything. I have succumbed to the weakness of curiosity,” she said with a tender smile. It was worth knowing what he was like, especially if he and her were going to spend some time together for a while.

Posts : 708 Join date : 2014-02-01

Good, she was smiling. That meant his joke hadn't been taken the wrong way. He didn't think she'd be upset considering how little she seemed to care about her appearance, but smaller things had set off girls he'd known before. Glad to know his little comment didn't turn out to be a detonator.

Julian's smile softened as Emmilene made a request. She wanted to know more about him, huh? Well that wasn't so hard. No harm in telling her, either. Why not? "Well...I'm a big fan of games. Cards, basketball, board games...you name it." Folding his arms across his chest, the teen tilted his head and closed his eyes for a second, considering adding more things to that list. ...Nah, he'd keep it simple for now. He'd rather not sound like a chatterbox. "I can't say I'm a fan of sweets, though. I don't eat them that much." That was enough, right? And if it wasn't, well, she'd probably just ask him to say more. Which was fine by him, so long as they kept this quid pro quo. "Now you've got me curious. What about you? Likes? Dislikes?" He smiled again, training his gaze on her face. There had to be more to this girl than military stuff and personas; surely she had some normal kind of hobby or interest? ...Well, as normal as one could get in this place, at least.

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

So this person had a fair balance of outdoor and indoor activities. Though for his hobbies, she expected a kind of person that liked sweet things…then again, he probably needed to keep in shape. But it was sufficient enough for the time being. What she did not exactly expect was him asking about her. The first thing she did to his question was tilt her head to the side and seemed to look past him towards the wall. What was she going to say to that? “Hm….well feel free to follow me, though I will have to leave you at the base of certain elevators to see certain guards…” she said, not really answering his question, and walking slowly down the hall and making a right. If Julian followed her, they’d be taking a stroll down the various hallways of the bunkers. It would be a minute or two before Emmilene would finally come up with some way to answer his question. “I doubt telling you it’s a waste of time would matter, though I am fond of mental challenges. Puzzles. Strategy. Much similar to what I do now; you can say it became a hobby since I took charge over the group,” she said.

….So perhaps it was not a great answer to his question, but it was an answer all the same. “Hopefully you will forgive me. I have not been able to indulge into some of my hobbies before this period, that I seem to focus on my more recent things. If there is a better answer, I used to babysit, and be a caretaker before all this.” It was an odd feeling recalling things she used to do, and how quickly that all changed. Life can be extremely complicated sometimes, and even surprisingly, for something with as much responsibility as Emmilene.

Posts : 708 Join date : 2014-02-01

It didn't take a genius to see that Emmilene was a little thrown off by the question. He guessed people didn't make it a habit to try to get to know her better, considering her status in this place. "That's fine." Nodding lightly, Julian pushed his hands into his pockets and began following the girl, staying a step behind her. He preferred to keep Emmilene in sight; that way, there was less chance of him losing her and getting turned around in this place. Judging from the silence, Julian figured she desperately wanted a topic change, was annoyed, or decided to stop talking altogether to avoid the question. So in turn he kept quiet and instead busied himself with memorizing the twists and turns they came across. Couldn't hurt to have a mental map of this place for future reference, right?

The teen's amateur attempts at cartography were abandoned in favor of listening to Emmilene, who had finally decided to break the silence. As far as he could tell, her job had become her hobby. Or vice versa, he supposed, if you wanted to be optimistic about it. Again he couldn't help but wonder why she was the only one in charge of such a large effort. Surely there was someone to help her out with all of this, right? Otherwise, it would just be too much to stick on one person. Maybe that was why Emmilene didn't have a lot of interests besides the war.

Rather than try and egg her on, Julian figured he'd better try and lighten the atmosphere just a little. It'd bother him to leave her looking so solemn, especially when she was smiling just a few minutes ago. "Ah, so you're pretty good with kids." He nodded to himself, smiling lightly. "No wonder Mason adores you."

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

She smiled. This boy had few words. Turning away to hide a slight yawn that came from her mouth, she would end up at the corner of a hallway that went left to a nearby elevator. Conveniently, they were alone apart from a portal a bit of a walk away in another hallway that Julian could see. “It appears this is my stop. You have given me some food for thought. You seem trustworthy. I hope you take time out of your schedule to try to save your world. I do not want to see you perish. Well then, I bid you farewell,” she said with a calm smile despite her sobering words. Giving a light bow, she would turn away to walk down the elevator. Should Julian not follow, she would simply continue into the elevator and make her ascent to some of the patrols watching over the area. Her work would probably not be done for a little longer.

Posts : 708 Join date : 2014-02-01

She didn't say anything, but judging from her smile, Julian guessed the comment picked her up a little. Better than that gloomy face she was wearing a second ago. It made him feel better about the talk they'd just had. Maybe he hadn't been too insensitive today after all, huh?

Emmilene didn't say too much longer. She must be going to check on those guards she mentioned. Julian remembered her saying that she'd have to see them alone, and he decided it was best to respect her wishes for now. Wouldn't want to make her angry now, right? So with a grin and a small wave, he watched her walk off before turning and glancing around. Alright, so now that his guide was gone, he had to rely on memory to get him back to that portal. So he should go...

...Down the hall. // When was that there...? // He didn't see it on the way in...must've been luck for one to be so close by when he needed it. Walking over to the pink oval, Julian looked at the scene through it, pleased to see an area he knew relatively well. Wasn't the spot he dived in at, but at least he knew how to get home. That's all that really mattered right now, right? He did a quick pat-down of his pockets to make sure his belongings were in place before taking a deep breath and climbing through the portal and back to Penecia.

-Exit-

Posts : 6498 Join date : 2013-07-06 Age : 30

Emmilene and Julian's social link has ranked up...

Julian of the Devil and Mason of the Lovers have formed a social link...

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