[PP-F1] Bull in a China Shop ~ Lumiel [Complete]

[Loreley 0]

Loreley had been, quite honestly, very satisfied with her recent performance in the streets of the Town of Beginnings, and thought to treat herself to a bit of lunch. The marketplace was hustling and bustling, and Loreley really didn't want to be a part of anymore commotion. So she found the quietest, most out of the way cafe she could, and slipped inside. Sitting down in the corner, she ordered a simple iced tea to start. After all her singing she needed to get her throat back to working condition before she even thought about trying that again, let alone opening up a recording studio.

As the waitress brought her the drink, she started to introduce herself and Loreley cut her off, saying, "I don't care what your name is. You're a string of code in a video game. Go away, and I'll call if I need you, and you'll obey because that is what you are programmed to do." Making a shooing motion with her hand Loreley simply waved her off, and the waitress simply frowned and made her way away from the table. Loreley took a sip from the tea, surprised at the flavor that had been replicated so well in Aincrad, and leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs. I could get used to a world like this... she thought to herself, as she looked out the window of the cafe.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Loreley

[Lumiel 0]

Lumiel was already relaxing in his booth in the cafe as he watched a woman take a seat in the corner. His violet eyes gazed at her figure as she walked by him, not even a glance towards his person, not even acknowledging he was there. A smirk on his face and a massive hand wrapped around an equally larger mug full of a stout beer had been lifted and pressed to his lips. He returned his gaze forward, his absent mind thinking of nothing in particular than drinking his beer and going on with his life. But it was then that the waitress NPC started to make dialogue with the raven haired woman. Lumiel laughed to himself as he watched the scene play out and he shook his head.

"That's a good way to make some friends there, woman. You must be a natural." He rumbled out a small laugh, his eyes moving back to the golden liquid in his mug, he shot a gaze back at her while he raised his beer to her, "But who needs friends, right? Just need to keep people around long enough to get what you need from them, then they become useless sheep later on." After toasting himself he shook his head and took a mighty drink from his devil's beverage and downed the rest of the contents. Clicking his fingers for the same waitress that the woman had shooed off, another beer was placed in front of him. As she was about to speak, Lumiel pressed a finger to his lips and shook his head no. The NPC darted away moments later not given a chance to thank him for his patronage.

 

[Loreley 0]

Loreley could swear she heard someone else talking in the cafe, and it was almost a marvel that she recognized that another person existed there to begin with. Besides the waitress of course, but she had her use. Her gray eyes lazily traced their way across the cafe to the source of the voice, belonging to a beefy man drinking in a nearby booth. The girl raised an eyebrow, her eyes tracing along the muscular arm that held the beverage as he took a large drink, downing the remainder and quickly being brought a new one. Using the same tactic that she had, albeit quieter and simpler, he shooed off the waitress as well. Loreley closed her eyes and gave a smirk, thinking of how best to reply to the man, should she feel the need to reply at all.

Finally, she opened her eyes, saying, "You're right. Spot on, in fact. So then that begs the question, what are you to me? Something of use, or another sheep interrupting a pleasant afternoon?"

[Lumiel 0]

"Ha!" the man pounded the table with the flat of his hand, nearly rattling the wooden board from its perch as he shook his head and lifted his drink to his lips taking in a long pull of the golden liquid, "That's a mighty fine question. I suppose I am what I need to be depending on the person and depending on the situation. I am quite versatile, if I need to be a sheep..then I will be a [censored] sheep. I give no [censored] however and I'll chose to be whatever the [censored] I wanna be. Just because someone labels you as such a thing, doesn't mean you have to do as they say or act as they tell you to do. So the real question is...What are you, to you?" He lifted his thin dark brows as he raised his glass once more taking in the substance as it splashed around his mouth before swallowing. 

"Then again...I suppose we are all sheep in one form or another. You must be the black one though...With all that..." his fingers flailed about at her as he spoke and gestured, "That...Scene Look you got going over there. And yes, I am interrupting your pleasant afternoon. There is nothing [censored] better to do here..."

[Loreley 0]

Loreley took a long sip from her iced tea, admittedly more interested in the conversation and this odd man than the cool drink itself. Once the man had finished speaking, Loreley simply slid from her chair and stood, moving her lithe figure towards the comparatively gigantic man. She had brought her tea with her, despite her disinterest, and slid it onto the table, slipping into the booth on the other side across from the man. Once settled, Loreley turned and whistled to the waitress, beckoning her over, and saying, "Some soup. Whatever is on the menu. And whatever the hell he wants." She would give the man the opportunity to make his order, if he even did, before resuming their conversation, now that they were no longer shouting across the cafe.

"My name is Loreley, and as far as I'm concerned I'm already a legend in Aincrad. Past that, the rest is the adventure. And like you, I'll be damn well whatever else I want to be." Satisfied with her answer and not particularly curious about what the man actually thought he was. Loreley sipped her drink and closed her eyes, her thoughts drifting only to her next plans of opening her recording studio and backing up the legend status she had already so boldly claimed.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Loreley

[Lumiel 0]

The soon to be Pugilist didn't expect the woman to gather herself up and come sit at his booth, then again, it was only natural for women to do so. He might not have a lot going for him, but women knew the presence of a God when they saw one...and like sheep, they flocked in like herds to their Sheppard when beckoned. He watched as she called forth the waitress once more ordering soup, he scoffed and shook his head as she finished and looked at her with a raised brow before moving his eyes to the woman taking the order, "Thick steak, bloody. Another beer, and you can scrape together whatever passes as a baked potato; fully loaded." Lumiel had ordered his food and shot back his violet gaze at the woman and more or less studying her movements and the way she talked.

Loreley, well, that was not what he was expecting out of a person like the one sitting in front of him, but he shook his head as she proclaimed to be a Legend of Aincrad to which, he held back another laugh and shook his head absentmindedly as he normally did when something was amusing, "A legend, huh? Alright, I can fly with that. And as you say, whatever else you wanna be. As far as names go..." 

Lumiel thought for a moment before speaking again, his violet gaze once more on her, "...and I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority." Confused? Baffled, he just quoted something from the Bible explaining to her who he was and what his name related to. However, they were not the same, the name was merely that of an alias to which she seemed bright enough to figure that out.

"Lumiel is my name, ironic, huh?" he said drinking from the contents of his cold mug.

[Loreley 0]

Loreley sighed at the big man, thinking exactly of why she hadn't asked him any further clarification to begin with. You give a man the opportunity to talk about himself and he'll often just go on and on. Though his quotation of the Bible piqued her interest, even if it was rather long winded and unnecessary. Loreley kept her eyes closed as she leaned on her hand, stirring her tea idly. Her thoughts hardly drifted away from her plans to start her shop for anything more than dignifying the man with a response. Slowly, she said, "Forgive me for not seeing the irony in this situation. So you're a religious man, then? Can't say I was ever interested in that stuff myself. Not that anyone ever gave me the chance. I read the book at one point in my life, probably one of the nights I was trying to get some unwitting pastor to take care of me. As far as I'm concerned, it was a good piece of fiction."

[Lumiel 0]

"Hahaa! Religious she says!" Lumiel had moved in his seat, a hand on his bare belly as laughter spilled from him without restraint. Laughing a bit more and calming down with a quick shake of his head, "I despise God and everything that he is. To say sin is a crime is like denying man the will to live. That is to say even if there is a God...Trust me when I say you are not missing out on anything. You have catholic priests blowing little boys in church, you have the Christians who only use the bible and its words when its advantageous to them and you have all these other little subsections that have no idea what the [censored] they are talking about, not to mention there is like five different versions of the Bible and most of them say different things." Lumiel shook his head, talking about God had left a nasty taste in his mouth and it needed to be drowned in something...like the beer in front of him.

"No, I am not religious, but I have read the book many times now. I usually reference certain sections when I feel like it to add humor or even sarcasm to someone's comment. Other than that though...it's all bat [censored] crazy. Not to mention the dumb [censored] that take everything that is said word for word in the Bible. If you are looking into religion, worship yourself. You will get no greater pleasure in life than that." Lumiel adjusted himself in his seat once more, bringing his lengthy arms upwards to sprawl out over the booth he sat on and leaned back examining the girl.

"Do you have a sappy story to go with that 'Not that anyone ever gave me a chance' spiel? No one will give you anything in the world. Therefore, you take what you want, when you want it and everyone else can go to Hell. But I am sure you caught on to that fact already..."

 

[Loreley 0]

Loreley listened to Lumiel go on... and on. To the point that halfway through his little speech she opened an eye to actually look at him with a raised eyebrow. And yet he continued, as if he were lecturing her. The one open gray eye watched him as he spoke, and at some point she started sipping on her tea again, just to pass the time as she waited for him to finish. When he was finally finished, putting the ball back in her court, she said, "I think you talk too much." She closed her one eye and let her thoughts drift back to her shop. She had gone through all the trouble to move over to this man's booth, and his only real purpose in all of this seemed to be to talk her ear off about rather unimportant things. But, she supposed she could at the very least clarify what she had meant. "I lived on the streets for most of my childhood. My religion was survival. I worshiped whoever gave me dinner or a bed, and then left. If nobody gave me these things, I took them. So when I say nobody gave me the chance, I just mean religion. Never cared. Was too busy staying alive."

[Lumiel 0]

Lumiel laughed and shook his head agreeing, "Yes, it is safe to say I do talk way too [censored] much...." Lumiel had shifted in his seat once more, bringing one arm down from its propped state to take the mug and drink from it while listening to her story; a rough childhood and living on the streets. Sounded somewhat familiar, a bit cliche but he would swing with that. Who knows, the woman could be feeding him lies, than again, he didn't much care wasn't his problem to deal with. But she was nice enough to indulge him on his curious nature and gave him that story none the less. Running a hand over his hair, he slouched in his seat and dropped his elbows down on the table and stared into his mostly empty mug which contained little of the alcohol within it. Hopefully soon they would get their order and his refill.

After her story though there was silence, nothing but quiet silence and that made Lumiel a bit uncomfortable, he had the strong feeling to run his mouth again no doubt he would be boring her to death. But at least he wouldn't be bored with this silence so he gave it another shot, "Well, you survived. Congratulations to that. But now you have slipped into a digital world....a [censored] video game. But you know the awesome part of this game? There is no feeling of pain. Just a tingle...and that's it. Makes you think...how badly you can hurt someone, or yourself without kicking the bucket. And that stupid ass rumor that says people who die in game die in real life...Bunch of bullshit to scare the children. People like you and me...who know real pain..." Lumiel shook his head with a small laugh, "We can do whatever the [censored] we want..." the moment passed as quickly as the contents of his mug drained into his mouth, leaving an empty glass.

[Loreley 0]

Loreley smiled to herself, hiding it with her glass of tea as she sipped the remainder. It was about as she had emptied the contents of her own drink that the waitress snapped her out of her thoughts with the food. The waitress placed some cream of potato soup in front of her, and a steak that almost appeared as if it would still start mooing along with a baked potato in front of Lumiel before looking at both of them, considering speaking, and then running off instead with their empty cups. She looked at the soup and mused to herself, thinking of the info she had given Lumiel and his reaction, at least out loud. He didn't even catch the fact that I'm playing an expensive video game after claiming to live on the streets... She spooned up a bit of the cream of potato soup at these thoughts and took a taste, smiling at the pleasant replication of real taste the game offered. It would be the little things that Loreley seemed to enjoy in Aincrad it seemed. 

As Lumiel spoke about what he called a rumor and considered what he was saying about doing whatever they wanted. She spooned up another mouthful of soup, and swallowed it down before looking up at the man again, her gray eyes fixed on his, "I'm pretty sure it wasn't a rumor. Kayaba was showing news reports to prove his claim. I think he's telling the truth. The biggest thing there, though, is natural selection. What should we care whether it's true or not? If people want to survive, they had just better stay out of my way, or else I'll show them the edge of my blade."

[Lumiel 0]

Lumiel had watched as movement came from out of the corner of his eye, watching the waitress with a violet stare as to spook her should he need to do. In front of him was a hulking plate with a thick slab of bloody red meat and off to the side a fully loaded baked potato. To Loreley's side was a quaint little saucer of some sort of soup which Lumiel had trouble identifying, they all looked the same to him, it wasn't his choice of food. Picking up and knife and fork, he stabbed the meat and started to cut when the raven haired woman started to remark about his earlier comment about the death rumor, "That kid has some balls, I can say that much. Sure, he was able to successfully trap us in a video game...I am pretty sure he mucked up those reports as well..." a thick slab of the meat was cut into and pulled away with his fork as he slid it away from the plate before shoving it in his mouth.

Giving a two chews of the food and then swallowing, "The edge of your blade, so you are going down that route, huh? Ok...ok..." he had started to cut off another thick piece of his steak before shoving it in his mouth once more, giving it a quick few chews before swallowing it once more. He turned the small plate which contained his baked potato and started to fork the contents until he got a nice sized fill and shoveled it into his mouth, "Mmm...this is pretty damn good. I didn't expect the simulation of being full was going to be like this. Bread and water is what we ended up with, I haven't touched any of since I got here." His mouth half full of potato and steak, wondering where the hell his beverage was.

The waitress had returned with both their drinks and ave them to the respected party, she was about to say something but then backed out last minute to tend to the others, "Hahaha...I think you scared the bitch off." Shaking his head, the Goliath was already half way done with his steak and now cutting another piece off, "All the same..." Lumiel placed his fork and knife down for only a moment to take an excessively long pull from his mug. Downing half the contents in one stride before lifting his utensils to finish off his food.

"I plan on making as much trouble for people as possible here. Going to have my fun, [censored] some bitches, drop a fist in someone's face...Complete anarchy. Then after that, I'll go up to Kayaba and thank him for creating Paradise. Some call this [censored] Hell, man...if hell is anything like this place, sign me the [censored] up." 

[Loreley 0]

After spooning up more of the soup and finding it mostly finished, Loreley pushed it aside and cleaned her face with a napkin. So Lumiel was a troublemaker, and one who was fairly convinced that what he would be doing wasn't actual murder. That was fine. A part of Loreley didn't mind the thought. It was no different from people killing others in alleyways and leaving them to die. Loreley had no doubt people did that in Aincrad too. Except that cities were save zones. That was certainly annoying. Loreley sighed and leaned on her hand, tapping her fingernails as she traced the lines of the wood in the table with her eyes, waiting for Lumiel to finish speaking. When he was done, she said, "If nothing else, at least it looks like our paths don't differ all that much. I really hate the idea of working with other people, but at least you aren't squeamish. So I might be able to tolerate the idea."

[Lumiel 0]

Lumiel had finished off his baked potato and most of his steak. Another bite and it would all be gone, but he left it there to soak up the rest of the blood before devouring the last bit. Setting his utensils down and collecting himself, he perched one hand over the seat of his booth and lifted one leg over the other, "And exactly what path would that be? You said you are a legend and I respect that, I really do. But you step outside that door and you tell me how many people know the Legend of Loreley. What have you done, or what will you do to have those people talking? Are you into murder? Do you wanna carve a pretty little smile on someone's face with a knife for shits and giggles? Do you plan on killing a bunch of children just for the hell of it? What Legend are people going to speak of you, hmm?" 

Lumiel had a point...honestly though, he wasn't sure where he was going with that either. He thought as far as his nose and that wasn't very far. Picking up his fork, he stabbed the last piece of meat and gobbled it up with a few chews and swallowed. He drowned the taste with the cold splash of the amber liquid in his mug and set it down and gave a loud burp for the coup de grace. He sighed after a moment and shrugged, "But who am I to say anything. Between you and me, you can be the most legendary person in this game. [censored] would I know, right? But...if you really wanna be a legend, you gotta do something legendary."

Edited December 3, 2015 by Lumiel

[Loreley 0]

Loreley stared at the man, a bit surprised that he had actually managed to say something that actually got her attention for once. And then she began to giggle. A bit quietly at first, but then it turned into actual laughter. This continued for only a moment, before she brought herself back down, and gave the man sitting across from her a wicked grin. "Well then. I guess when the right marbles connect in that head of yours you can actually make pretty good sense of things." Loreley considered the thought of doing something actually legendary. She had started to walk down the path of the performer. Some of the greatest celebrities in the real world were performers, but then on the other hand the majority of performers in the world were deadbeats who barely made money playing their guitar on the street.

No, Lumiel was right, Loreley needed something bigger than that. "Honestly, Lumiel...." she said, leaning forward, "...perhaps the best way to create anarchy, is to kill the people trying to get us out of what people like us might consider paradise." Her voice was a low whisper now, the wicked grin still dancing across her face. "The people fighting on the Frontlines... they think we all want to escape. I sure as hell don't want to go home. So let's stop them from ruining our fun. Now that's what I would call legendary. Everyone would notice us then."

[Lumiel 0]

Lumiel raised a brow when she started her small giggle which turned into a laugh, a cute one at that. He smiled at her comment, but not really understanding what she had meant by marbles connecting in his head, perhaps that was some figure of speech for the firing of pulses or whatever. He wasn't into science...that [censored] made his head hurt. Anatomy...that was a subject he could get into...as well as knowing hers.......

Blinking rapidly he adjusted himself in the seat once more, the leather padding sounded off a small noise as he moved into position sliding his plate away from him so he could set his heavy elbows down on the wooden board. His violet eyes stared into her steel gaze as she spoke in a much lower tone, that's when he knew things would get more interesting.

"Exactly!" he said in a harsh low tone himself, poking the table with a rough finger, "That's what I am talking about. But I heard there are some pretty intense fucks on the Frontlines, that's for sure. And killing them is not nearly as easy as it as saying it. What we would need is more puppets, now I am not a bright person...I say the wrong [censored] all the time. But I have other skills, since this game has no pain modifiers...it will be extremely difficult to intimidate someone through brute force. So we would need another plan..."

Lumiel moved back in his seat after whispering lowly to the woman, his head nodded towards her, "But I agree...we need to stop them from ruining our fun."

[Loreley 0]

Loreley listened to Lumiel, oddly delighted that the large man didn't immediately consider her crazy. Though to be fair, had she thought that would've been the case, she probably wouldn't have mentioned the plan to begin with. No, the man, even as simple as he seemed to be, knew what was at stake. He could have as much fun as he wanted in Aincrad, however he wanted to. The game had only the most limited of punishments for murder, and that was only if you even did it illegally. Dueling someone not only kept you green but also gave you the person's items. Ah, now that would be a sweet victory if they could pull that off. Loreley did love herself some ill gained trinkets...

Bringing her thoughts back to the conversation at hand though, Loreley's wicked grin spread from ear to ear, and she gave a bit of a giggle as he discussed other means of winning over some unwitting pawns. "Well Lumiel, unfortunately for you, you're correct. There are no pain sensors in the game. But, the pleasure sensors are full blast." She gave Lumiel a wink, motioning to her lithe figure, "If there's anything I've learned, it's that when I needed a bed, I had the perfect assets to get it. People are most vulnerable when they bring you to their bedroom, and that's often the perfect time to strike, or build up some blackmail. Nothing earns a puppet like some good blackmail."

"People are sheep. Honestly, finding pawns in Aincrad will probably be easy. Either beat them into submission, or seduce them, doesn't matter. They'll listen one way or another." Idly, Loreley unsheathed her dagger and looked at her reflection in it, smiling. "The Frontlines are pretty intense. I have to agree there," she said, tracing the edge of the dagger, and noticing the waitress coming up behind her in the reflection. Loreley stared hard at her in the reflection, and the waitress's eyes met Loreley's. The waitress opened her mouth, but thought better, just turning around and walking away again. Loreley continued, "But with us around, they're about to get even more intense, I think."

[Lumiel 0]

So that was her game. Lumiel had not figured the woman in front of her had been such a saucy creature, but the more they had engaged in conversation the more he understood what kind of woman she was. Did that make any kind of difference? Not in the slightest, but now he had to be careful himself lest he be seduced into the same wicked ways as some unfortunate fool that would cross her path. Leaning back even further, Lumiel placed a finger over his lips as she continued on with the conversation nodding to agree to her comments. To sleep with the enemy was a pretty bold decision to make, but she had never said sleep with them...only to put on a good enough show until they had spread themselves too thin.

"You are a dangerous woman, Loreley..." he had said, his fingers now moving away from his lips until they found sanctuary on the table as he watched her play with her dagger. They drummed against the wooden finish softly as he thought of a plan, "I did read...that alchemists can make some pretty wicked things. Paralysis potions being one of them, poisons is another. I'll be opening a diner pretty soon, I'll be able to make some food items that would seem harmless enough, until they are doused with a certain alchemical property. Just throwing that out there..." a massive hand reached for his near empty tankard once more draining the rest of the contents and giving a small sigh. 

"I guess the first plan of action is to see if we can actually get along between the two of us. Trust will need to be established first after that...I guess anything goes. We'll have to keep this pretty quiet though, people have a pension for...running their mouths when they don't need to be doing so. I guess that will be my job to shut them up. Legends, Loreley...cheers to that!"

[Loreley 0]

Loreley kept her Cheshire grin as Lumiel responded to what she had said, especially the bit about her being a dangerous woman. She liked the idea of an alchemist being able to make paralyzing potions and poisons. She would've expected no less from a game like this, but it was so very underhanded that she couldn't help but think Kayaba a secretly sadistic man. Well, at least more sadistic than initially considered since he had trapped ten thousand people in a death game. She could appreciate that kind of sadism. She made a mental note to check out some alchemists at a later date and see about finding one willing to make these dangerous potions he had mentioned without asking too many questions. She finished fiddling with her dagger as she sheathed it and let her Cheshire grin fade away.

Her gray eyes found his once again as she said in a serious tone, "If there's one honest, truthful thing you can ever expect to hear out of me, Lumiel. It's the fact that I'm not trustworthy. But, so long as we are working towards the same goal here, then I see no reason that I can't get along and work with you. As for others, same thing. They work with us, they get to stay alive. They work against us, and they're target number one." She leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest and crossing her legs, "Past that, as far as anyone is concerned, I'm Loreley the Performer, and all I want to do is sing songs to appease the masses. Nobody needs to know of the darker side of Loreley the Legendary Frontliner Killer." She raised her iced tea to the man, in a toast to his words, "Here's to being legendary," and then took a long drink of the cool beverage, placing it down empty on the table.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Loreley

[Lumiel 0]

"Yo! Cocktail, girl! Another round!" snapping fingers were heard in the cafe as Lumiel had raised his hand to grab the attention of the worker. It would be a moment before they were greeted with a NPC who knew better to not say anything to them as they discussed their continued plans. Clearing the table was a short job for the NPC and would seen replenish their beverages in a short time leaving them to talk amongst one another once again.  Rubbing his chin, and leaning back watching her fold her arms over her chest, Lumeil gave a squinting smile.

"Trust is a two way straight. I don't expect you to be totally honest with me with everything. I don't mind if you have your own secrets, your own agendas...whatever. Doesn't bother me. When I was in the mafia, the less I knew, the better things seemed to be. I was told to break a hand, I broke a hand. Didn't care why or for what, just a job...but I loved my job. So...for all I know, you could be working with the government, hunting down players who would aim to take people like me down. Again, I don't care. All I care is about having my fill of this world for as long as my heart beats..." he realized he was talking too much again, a sort of character flaw you could say. But it was enough time to kill for the waitress to bring back their cold drinks. Another frothy mug of beer and a tea for the woman to his front.

"So...what do we call this? A chance meeting? Did the stars align just at the right moment for us to meet as we did? To know two similar individuals planning the...Freedom of Aincrad under the same roof at the same time. Kinda fucked up if you ask me. Someone has a sense of humor..." Lumiel drank from his mug once more, licking his lips as he took a long pull of the amber cold liquid. He couldn't get enough of the stuff, and it didn't seem to impair him at all for the moment. He seemed to be relatively lucid still.