#vi.starter

[addie-leroux-blog]

The city was remarkable quiet for a Saturday afternoon, at least, emotionally. Not one was screaming angst or melancholy or rage. For now, anyway. Addie had found herself a table outside the coffee shop closest to The River Styx. People darted in and out of the shop, hands full of hot drinks and cute pastries. She had a closing shift at the shop tonight but that was hours off. She had at least another 2 solid mugs of tea before she had to even think about packing her things up. But her first mug of tea, full of caffeine, was nearly empty. “Damn...” she muttered, lowering her mug back to the table. “Empty.” She glanced up, “any chance I could convince you to let me have that nice cup of whatever it is that you have?” She was joking...for the most part.

[jackconnolley]

He had a headache. It wasn’t so much a rare occurrence for Jack these days, a fact that didn’t do much to help his mood. The practice of running a bar was significantly less simple than he had hoped, and everything got old after so many years. Which meant that approaching his usual spot and finding his bar stool taken, Jack was even less happy than he already had been. “Love, I’m afraid you’ve got my stool.” He informed the intruder, voice tired.

[secondsign-blog]

Drip, drip, drop - Ophelia’s mind chanted the words as she walked along the sidewalk of Ceres Centropolis.  The Water Witch’s arrival to the city wasn’t unexpected - the woman she considered her mother had requested for presence, as well as the rest of her ‘siblings’ (by legal documentation, not by blood as far as she was concerned) - but it was exciting to finally set foot in Ceres Centropolis.  Despite the current state of affairs in the city, Ophelia’s excitement couldn’t be contained.  As she stepped along the sidewalk, the woman stopped and spun around, squealing in excitement before she turned to face whoever was beside her.  Ophelia smiled at them and asked, “Have you ever been in love?”

[ulysseswoodland-blog]

The bookstore was a maze to the uninitiated. A winding collection of corridors and towering shelves that gave the constant impression that they were teetering on the brink of collapse. They never would, of course. Nearly a dozen assorted runes prevented theft, ill-intent and - thankfully - collapsing bookshelves. 

The three-story building wedged discreetly between a coffee house and a four-story law firm in central Ceres Centropolis would seem cluttered and disorganized to any not familiar with the intricate and very carefully planned layout. In truth, it was arranged to keep the mundane inquiries on the ground floor, while those here with more... supernatural tastes would find themselves drawn skyward. This was no ordinary bookstore. It was a safe haven for any seeking knowledge and information, no matter how eclectic or forgotten. Fighting would not be tolerated within the store, nor would any form of discrimination. “No mind-reading. Ever.” The worn out neon yellow sign near the counter heralded the one exception to the discrimination rule.

The day had been a quiet one, not that Uly was drawn to counting pennies come tax time. As the sun began to fall, Uly was tempted to close up briefly in favor of retrieving a coffee but decided against it. Instead, she remained sat at the front desk by the door, head bent over a small pearl-like stone inscribed with a patchwork of runes. It was nowhere near done, but she was making progress on the wish stone. They were in high demand with her clients and it would sell for a fortune.

A brief warmth from the bracelet on her wrist - one of five - drew Uly’s attention away from her work, signaling the presence of someone nearby. Listening for a moment, she heard the familiar tapping of feet on the second floor heading towards the spiral stairs. With a yawn, Uly tucked away her stone and twisted the ring on her index finger twice to shift her eyes back to a natural almond brown. The icey blue hue that came with her working on charms often made people uncomfortable.

As the figure approached, Uly leaned forward on the counter, an eyebrow lifting. “Need something?”

[xxigray]

Their loyalty had never been to The Gamble but to the people in it.

Gray frowned as he walked past the street he'd normally make a right on. At the moment, it was to risky for him to even go down that street where The Gamble was - SHOT's agents had him on their target list for harboring and abetting powered people, after all. Though the vampire knew he would be able to hold his own, there were some battles that didn't need to be fought. Not while he had to rebuild that network.  He frowned, just for a moment as he fought the temptation to see what had become of that establishment.  "Damn," he muttered to himself as he swallowed those thoughts away.

As the man had been caught up in keeping those negative thoughts at bay, he rushed past someone and accidentally bumped into them.  "Shit," he said, "Sorry, sorry."  He looked over to the person apologetically, "I didn't mean to do that.  You okay?"

[alex--anders]

Alex always liked the feel of dirt on his hands. There was something solid and reassuring about it. There was rarely any emotion in it, nothing but a gritty substance that never failed to keep him tethered, oddly enough. Some people found kneeling in grass and carefully placing flowers in freshly dug holes demeaning. For Alex, it was a reminder that he was still capable of something that added tot he world. A little too poetic, maybe, but still true. He felt, rather than heard, someone approaching behind him and he didn’t bother to turn and look. That might come across as too much as an invitation. Still, he could feel the intention to stay, or maybe to speak, so he slid his hands away from the current hole in the garden. “Momentary satisfaction.” He stated simply, hands wiping across the front of his pants. The flowers would die, quickly. It was too cold for them. But he had been told to do the work, so he did. “Do we challenge mother nature, or only mock her?” 

[thereddsky]

sky’s mind was elsewhere.  it had been a few days since the fight with castigador, but it was still fresh on his mind.  the red ranger needed more training.  he needed to get stronger.  glimpses of the fight continue to replay in his head and the more he thought about it, the more frustrated he got.  although sky’s mind was focused on the replaying those fight scenes in a continous loop, sky was actually out in the city and he hadn’t moved from where he stood.  his gaze was still in one direction, focused and unwavering;  he was literally standing in place.  “huh?  what?” sky finally snapped out of his daze as he felt someone’s voice aimed at him.  “what did you say?”

[jvonr-blog1]

“Let’s do something a little reckless.” After lighting a candle she blew out the match. “Atlantis is back and those Elementalists are pissing me off. I’m going to bring that city to Ceres.” She had plenty of Atlantean artifacts in her collection, but she wanted something much more difficult to get. She wanted what people used to consider as the Heart of Atlantis. It had been so long since she had last seen that awful city and if they had just given it to her the last time, maybe they wouldn’t have disappeared off the face of the earth. “Getting it here will make a lot more simpler to get the goods inside of it, right? I have a feeling we can get SHOT to leave too.”