Paradise [Rita]

    "Meet me tomorrow at 3 PM in San Malarus, if you can, alright? There's a cafe restaurant near the station with a plaque saying 'Paradise'-"

    Rita's voice cut off abruptly as Julian shut off the call to his voicemail, putting the phone back into his pocket with a contemplative sigh.

    The last time he'd heard from Rita was a rushed message telling him to check out the radio tower. While that was a nice lead, it really only caught him up to what the general situation was, not what she'd been doing or how things were on her end. Which, to be frank, was troubling for him. Ideally, he would've gotten ahold of Hyde's many friends and the few others he knew had access to supernatural powers and formed a little network of users. That way, everyone could stay in touch and share information. Everyone could work together while still being independent if they so wished (which, he would have to admit, would be a better option for him in his opinion). But they didn't exactly have time to socialize and work on the trust necessary to make a system like that work.

    Keeping his eyes focused on the road ahead of him, the teen briefly wondered what Rita could possibly need from him. Last he remembered, she seemed content to be on her own. What exactly did she want him to do? And what had she done in the couple of months they hadn't seen each other?

    Julian came to a stop right across the street from the designated meeting place. Seeing as the light was currently flashing red for the crosswalk, he took the chance to check the time. 2:45PM. Alright, he was still a little early. Excellent.

    In no time at all the light would turn green, and he would walk across the street, looking over the tables outside for any sign of Rita. Should this be unsuccessful, he'd check inside the establishment for her. If she was there, he'd walk over to her table and offer a light smile in greeting. If she hadn't arrived yet, he'd take a seat at a secluded table outside and await her arrival.

    Well, there she was. Now at least he could find out what this was all about. The front door of the cafe opened with a tinkling little chime that Julian barely registered as he made a beeline for Rita, glancing over her form as he walked. Well, she looked pretty much the same, from what he could recall. Except for the chop she'd taken to her hair, of course.

    "Ready for summer, I see." he came to a stop at her table, one hand shoved into the pocket of his jeans as he gave her hair one last look over. If the comment was well received or she reacted somewhat positively, he'd offer her a small smile before taking a seat across from her. If she was all business, he'd respond in turn, his features relaxed and serious , yet still take a seat across from her.

    "So how may I help you?" raising an eyebrow curiously, the teen rested on arm on the table, propping his chin in the same hand as he waited for Rita to fill him on why exactly she needed to see him.

    He wasn't quite sure how to take her response. That reply had a lot of serious undertones behind it that he wasn't sure he should pry into. If she really wanted him to know, she would've told him. Best not to get too into her personal business. He gave her a short nod to acknowledge that he understood, but made no further comments on it. "Better three hours too soon than a minute late, right?" he gave her a small smile. True, he was early, but this seemed important; he figured the sooner the better, in case Rita actually needed some kind of help. Besides, it was the courteous thing to do.

    As Rita spoke, the teen merely watched her quietly. Was this the way he looked when he talked to others about the "business" he'd wound up in? Hm...no, not quite, he thought. He probably looked more conflicted and pensive. Then again, those other times involved him explaining things to people who had no idea what was going on. Was this something the silverette didn't talk about very often, then? Or was it just him?

    "Well, I have the gist of everything." His free hand came up to rest on the table, fingers drumming silently against the wood as he spoke. "I talked to Angel and Hyde a little bit. They caught me up. I found out a few things about Penecia, too." Here he stopped and met her gaze, tilting his head slightly. "Before I get into that, is there something else I should be aware of?" Best to get up to speed with her before delving into what he'd found out from Emmilene, or planning that venture before finding out if Rita was able to accompany him. From what he could tell, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a few people to look into that one thing...

    This was going to be a running trend whenever he talked to anyone about this, wasn't it? Either they'd talk to loud or someone would come too close to hearing. Well, he figured Rita would be smart enough to refrain from the former (unlike a certain someone). They just had to wait for the person to pass.

    If there was one good thing about growing up with a woman addicted to card games, it meant that Julian was forced to adapt a brilliant poker face. He forced his features to stay relaxed, hoping to give the impression that this was just an awkward lull in their conversation or something similar. The mildly surprised blink he aimed at the waitress that stopped at their table, however, didn't need to be faked. // ...Cat ears...? //

    ...Right. Rita's friend. What did she call her? "Rina-Domo"? ...No, he had enough on his plate. As if he was going to try and deduce women's relationships on top of the other things he was supposed to be sorting out right now. Julian gave the pinkette a friendly grin as he spoke up. "Water, please."

    Nodding as the woman left, he refocused on Rita as she spoke up again, giving her a nod in understanding. So she had a friend like that too? Well, possibly. The waitress could be a user too. Who knows? Regardless, Rita had proven herself competent before, so he had no qualms about trusting her judgement on this one. "Yeah, I do."

    The teen let Rita do most of the talking from there. He listened quietly, occasionally taking sips of his water, letting his mind picture the events as Rita described them. It was hard to imagine that a fight like that had happened so close to home. God, Penecia was where his dad worked, where Trinny and Casper and the rest of his extended family were staying. What if they had gone out that evening? What if his father had worked late? His gaze became half lidded and his mouth a thin line as he considered it. This was the kind of thing he'd been hoping to avoid, but now...damn, things were heating up and fast.

    He was almost relieved when she finished and requested he share things he'd learned. the information was good, but he needed to stop considering the things that could've happened. Everyone was safe for the time being, and that would have to do until they got some more work done. Julian raised his glass and took a sip, setting it down a few seconds later with a quiet thunk. "Not at all. It concerns you too, after all." Folding both hands and resting his chin on top of them, he began recounting what he'd learned. "Recently, I managed to talk to my contact in Penecia. Lately, there've been soldiers spreading stories about an angel. On top of that, A light appeared in the distance. It changes location sometimes and disappears others, and it's understandably roused the curiosity of everyone there. Now, Emmilene--I did tell you about her, didn't I?" He paused for a moment to get Rita's confirmation or denial. If she said no, he'd briefly explain her role in the war and her importance. If she said yes, he'd give her a short nod and small smile. "Well, she was considering going and looking into it herself, but apparently this light is appearing closer to the other side's territory. I think it's a little risky if she goes, so I offered to look into it for her. You're welcome to come along; I'd prefer to have someone watching my back in case we happen to run into a fight." She really was one of the only people he trusted to accompany him into another world. After all, they worked well together on his first venture, and she proved herself more than capable.

    "So besides filling me in on your end--thank you for that, by the way--what did you want me for?"

    A grin matching hers spread across Julian's face as she spoke. It was hard not to laugh at how neatly this was working out. What were the odds they wanted to use each other for the same thing? It was too perfect. Which was nice for a change, really. All those months of investigating and searching only to come up empty handed...was this life's way of saying sorry? If so, he'd take it. "Heh, you can say that again." he chuckled, nodding slightly. Really, how could this have worked out better?

    Right, Malstu had fallen under some hard times, to put it lightly. Good to know Rita was taking care of that. Along with that man he'd met once, apparently. It was still strange to think someone he'd bumped into so long ago had a hand in all of this. How many other people were like that? How many other people in Azores were there with ties to all of this? He didn't have time to dwell on that unsettling thought for long. The same text he'd received not too long ago was suddenly pushed in his face, and reread the words he'd nearly memorized by now only to look back at Rita curiously. "Right...something like this came up for you some time ago, didn't it? What is it?" Might be a good idea to know what he should expect by checking out this "door". Knowledge was power, after all; the more he knew, the better he could prep.

    So in the end, he was supposed to fight himself? That's what it all boiled down to? If it wasn't real, Julian might've laughed at the clicheness of it all. C'mon, how many times was "facing yourself" used as a plot device in movies and games? Too many to count, that's how many. From what he'd seen though, the Velvet Room didn't exactly care about being inventive and creative. It cared about getting things done, albeit through roundabout, vague channels. So if the room wanted him to be cliche, he would do it.

    Julian gave Rita a small, thankful smile. That was actually pretty considerate of her. If this was just another fight, he would've waved off her concerns and invited her along. The tentativeness with which she spoke of the subject, though, made him think twice. Just how personal was this challenge going to be? And did he really want Rita to be privvy to secrets he might not even know of himself? In the end, no, he didn't. She was a good ally, but he hardly saw her as anything more than that. Personal matters could stay out of this arrangement as far as he was concerned. "Thanks. That means a lot." Nothing like a good confidence booster before a battle, right?

    "Well, that's pretty much all I have to say. Anythign else you need to tell me or ask about?"