agentlelog | [open] as he climbs he dares to deliver the master stroke

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[open] as he climbs he dares to deliver the master stroke

Who: Mollymauk Tealeaf and whoever wants to join his shenanigans
When: Throughout March
Where: Various places
What: Influence threads!
Warnings: Self-harm if any threads get combative. I will warn accordingly.

a. baby light my fire

[So he's the wizard and the cleric now.

Molly doesn't enjoy doing things for free, even if he's one of the most generous persons around. There's a difference between throwing gold and silver at someone and then skipping off, and being asked (and a little bit expected to help with things for free, but he did agree to take up this bloody Jewel, and he supposes he should make good on an unspecified promise.

The heating spells are easy enough, as are the witchlights, which Molly has been inclined to play with to entertain the frightened and cold children. What he didn't expect was that due to a tiefling's natural body temperature, he is also a space heater in himself.

So there you are, minding your own business, checking on all these homes without power to see if anyone needs anything, and you find (1) tiefling in the dim light of the main room of a home with a pile of children using him as a pillow and the most unhappy look on his face. He mouths "help" very plaintively.]

b. shock it to me

[Molly has obtained more jobs in Draega than he has made up lies about his backstory and that's saying something. Admittedly, he took this one out of curiosity (Jon is that you??) and the hope for a possible fight, because between all of these odd jobs and stopping fires, he needs to do something with his restless hunter energy.

He's not a very smart person on a good day so giving someone who only seems to grasp Craft by accident a complicated task is a bad idea, but he is one hundred percent sure he has it down. Or at least assumes the person he's been partnered with does.]

Was it just me or did it seem like that Councilman could have explained this better? [He rubs his fingers together and then, very pointedly, presses his finger to the back of his partner's neck.

bzzt goes the tiny shock, because he just had to.]

c. dark knights

[Now this is about... half Molly's speed. Still a little more than he really wanted to be involved with, but the Council doing nothing rubs him raw and he's willing to help to be contrary at this point. If Fayura wasn't in a complicated position, she'd probably be fine with it.

Molly's set himself up on a corner, keeping an eye on people as they pass, his cards laid out in front of him as he tries to catch the eye of any passers-by, inviting them to have their fortunes told. Of course, it's all a distraction. The second he notices anything suspicious, he'll be on the prowl again, but for now hey evening Tarot readings.]

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Hmm, you must know different skeptics to me... [Most people Ren knows like that are incredibly stubborn about it, but maybe they're a bit more open here. It's a completely different place to what he's familiar with, after all.

For now, though, he rests his chin on his hands as he watches Molly lay out and explain the cards. There's certainly a fitting element to them - though Ren knows half the point of this sort of thing is to interpret in a manner that fits the person. So while it's accurate, it strikes him as in a way that could apply to many of the people here, with the fire and the gift born of hard work.

That last one sounds like it's more for people who are worried about their presence here, though, and Ren curls a few fingers against his mouth, looking like he's thinking about it.] Hmm, what if you were looking for problems more than leaving them behind...? I feel like there's probably a mix of those kinds of people here, considering how they all reacted to the power plant...

[Some he's met have definitely come to leave problems and hopefully solve them when they return, but others seem to be all too okay with problems and here primarily to fix someone else's. As for him, he'd kind of run out of things to do back home, and at the very least, if he was going to leave to do this he might as well appeal to Fayura to keep things that level of peaceful back home.]

Well. I can't say I've met that many people who are actively looking for problems, so you'd be the first. [Molly eyes him up and down, taking him in with interest. Is he looking for problems to solve or problems to cause? Probably the former- he was dragging bodies out of the power plant, after all.]

Problems tend to happen whether we look for them or not.

Hmm, I think it's nice to be a first... [Ren says that in a vague tone that leaves it difficult to tell if he intended that to be misinterpreted or not. His manner doesn't really seem like that of someone who'd go looking for trouble, what with the innocent airs, but then, he'd found his way to the power plant even when it had been so soon after his arrival. Even if that wasn't the kind of trouble he usually liked.]

Problems do happen a lot, but I think there's boring kinds of problems and interesting kinds, and I'm more interested in...well, the interesting ones. [And unfortunately, looking is kind of required if you want to get in on the interesting stuff without having to go through the boring stuff first.]

[Molly shoots him a knowing look that says, in no uncertain terms "oh yeah I bet you do." He can tell the type, even if Ren is playing up the innocent card.]

Define "interesting." [Molly flicks his wrist to indicate the street.] I've got some time to kill. And maybe we both have the same definition.

[Maybe they're both going to beat up on some murderous Blood tonight.]

[Ren gives a soft little laugh at that, one hand coming up to tap his chin delicately.] It's a little hard to explain, since it's just what I'm drawn to...I guess things that aren't just lots of mundane busywork. So I can handle it how I like. And if it's something I think is a big problem, then I can have a nice time with whoever's responsible for it too.

[He clasps his hands together over to one side of his face with a smile that's definitely far too innocent to actually be innocent this time. Nobody said the other person had to be having a nice time for Ren to be having a nice time with them.]

[Molly nods sagely and pulls his cards back towards himself, shuffling them idly. He's about to say something when he hears the sound of someone crying out only to be silenced immediately, and he jumps to his feet.]

Well, I think I just found both our sort of interesting. [He starts off in the direction at a run, figuring Ren will follow him or decide that's not to his liking, but he's betting on being followed.]

[Ren's head turns sharply at that sound, and he's already halfway to his feet when Molly remarks on it.] It'll be a lot more interesting if they haven't already ruined it to start with...

[If someone's already dead, then he's not going to be very impressed, but the longer they wait, the higher the chance of that being the case is, so he doesn't hesitate to sweep after Molly.]

[Molly's thinking the same thing, especially knowing that if they stumble upon a corpse, they're probably going to get blamed for it. It would put attention off the Blood if they could accuse Strangers of being behind the killings.

But Molly's not bitter or paranoid or anything.

He's about to take the distance at a more steady run when a boy of about sixteen careens out of an alley, wide-eyed and splattered with his own blood, clutching a wound that seems to have hit his shoulder, like it only just barely missed his neck.

"Please. They're trying to kill me."]

[As soon as Ren sees someone coming out of an alleyway, his pace picks up that little bit more, and his eyes narrow when he realises that it's just a teenager that's being targeted. Judging by that wound and his speed, he's probably still being pursued, and Ren, not wanting to waste any time, puts a finger to his lips and focuses his craft. He's been toying with sight and psychic shields to try and get the hang of them fully, and surely if he can sight shield himself, he can do it to someone else like physical shields can be done over someone else...

Sure enough, the boy vanishes from sight a moment later, though Molly, being of a higher jewel rank than Ren, may still notice the ripples of refracted light. It does at least seem like the boy is smart enough not to rely fully on it, though, as the ripples start to retreat to a less conspicuous position while the faint sound of someone else nearing the end of the alleyway picks up. Ren glances to Molly and moves closer to the alley entrance, but still out of sight, tilting his head slightly as he tries to feel for the psychic impression of the attacker so they might know what jewel they're dealing with.]

Nice. [Molly breathes out. He may be of a higher Jewel, but his Craft is flimsy and unpracticed due to a lack of interest in pursuing anything but what specifically interests him. He'll have to remember this one, though. Invisibility spells might be useful.

His tactical senses kick in as Ren gets into position and knowing he can't cross over to the other side of the alley's mouth without being spotted, he waits until he hears footsteps and chatter and then steps out about five feet from the opening. They can see him, but they can't see Ren.

Molly's posture shifts to something staggering and when he yells, there's a slur to his words.] Oi! You lot on a pub crawl? Mind if I join in? My friends up and abandoned me at the last one. [There's two of them- both in cloaks, obscuring their faces, but they're fast approaching and either outright ignoring Molly or planning to bowl him over. They stop just shy of Ren's position when they realize he's wearing the Green, while Ren's senses can feel out their Jewels are summer-sky and white, respectively. Extremely weak, barely worth noting, but clearly strong enough that they think they can bully landens and get away with it.]

[Ren could sight shield himself as well while Molly does that, but really, once he feels their jewel levels are as limited as they are, disgust burns away his patience to do that. Seems like the kind of people who deal with not being powerful among their own kind by stepping on others.

He does, however, try a psychic shield so they can't easily tell what jewel level he is before he steps into the alley mouth with a lengthy, disappointed hum.]

I don't know, I feel like you could do better than weaklings who make themselves feel better by preying on people who can't fight back... [A strange light flickers momentarily in Ren's eyes as he looks down at the pair of Blood, because regardless of their height relative to him, he's definitely looking down at them.] I could teach you a few lessons about it if you really want them, though.

[Ren's been there and preying on weaknesses is still right in his wheelhouse, he just does it in a more personally entertaining way nowadays. And to people who he thinks deserve it, which is a list these two have just landed themselves on quite neatly.]

[Molly is almost inclined to let Ren do this on his own, because as intimidated they are by him and the way he brazenly wears his Green, they're somehow even more intimidated by this person they can't see through to his true Jewel. Even under the cloaks, they're shaking and one snakes an arm behind his back so he can try to surreptitiously drop something, and that's where Molly sees his cue, stepping around while the two Blood try to figure out which of them is the talker.

The taller of the two- the one who didn't try to drop what Molly is now seeing was the near-murder weapon- yanks his hood off revealing a scrawny redhead in his twenties. "Look, man, we were just fucking with him a little. Just scarin' 'em."]

Oh is that all? With this, then? [Molly shoves the shorter one aside so he can snatch up the knife and yanks his hood down with the same motion, revealing a portly young man. He's the one who wears the White, hence the knife, apparently. Molly shoves the bloodied weapon at his face.] Not much of a toy, is it, Ren?

[Ren's gaze flicks briefly to the sound and sight of something dropping, though since Molly has that handled already, he turns his attention back to the two Blood as Molly unmasks them both. Ren lets out a disappointed sound through his teeth as he glances over at the bloodied knife.]

It really isn't, is it...? What a disappointing pair you are... [Ren takes a calculated step forward, and there's something decidedly oppressive about him as he does. Molly will likely feel it a great deal less because of his relative jewel level, but the two Blood shrink back as if it's some kind of great beast looming over them and not a delicately built human. If nothing else, Ren knows how to use his existing powers even with the limitations brought on by the level of his jewel.]

Do you think we should scare them a little too, then, Molly? If they think it's so much fun...

That seems fair. I mean... If picking on people weaker than you's the hot new trend in Draega, why not get in on it?

[Molly pockets the knife and slides into the shadows behind the two men- boys, they're both clearly boys- and claps one hand on the left one's shoulder and another on the right one's, leaving them sandwiched in between two oppressive forces- one in front looming over and one behind, holding them still.

There's a sudden, definite scent of urine in the air and Molly can't tell which one is responsible, but he wouldn't bet against it being both. "You don't have to do anything. We won't do it again. We promise! Please don't hurt me," the red-head whimpers. "It was all his idea anyway."

He points accusingly at the portly Blood wearing the White who forgets the two darker Jeweled Strangers so he can snap his gaze to his friends. "Shut the fuck up, Nate. It was your idea and you know it."

"Wasn't."

"Was!"]

Boys, boys! [Molly cuts in glibly.] We think you're both equally at fault and will be punished accordingly. No reason to fight. There's plenty of lessons to be handed out here today. [And just to be a dick, he cracks his tail against the back of the taller one's knees and he cries out like he's just been shot, paling significantly. Between that and the oppressive feeling of Ren's Jewel, he just dead faints, dropping like a sack of potatoes onto the ground.]

[It takes Ren a moment to identify what that smell is, but as soon as he does, he just sighs slightly as if the whole thing is a bit of a bore. If he's going to punish someone like that, he at least likes them to be able to hold up a bit under pressure...

And they're turning on each other, to boot, which is somehow dropping Ren's care for what happens to them even further. The one that just passes out is safe enough for the moment, but that just means Ren can turn his full attentions on the shorter one, who immediately breaks out in the kind of sweat that looks like the moisture in his body is trying to flee the sinking ship before impending disaster.]

Oh, that's a shame...I guess we'll just have to give you all those lessons until your friend wakes up, right? What should we start with...?

[With the added concentration of Ren's oppressive aura, the shorter one's breath is coming more sharply too, and he looks like he's about to step back before he remembers Molly is there and instead looks side to side as if he might be able to dart out a different way. The panic of being cornered seems to be starting to get to him...

The final straw is when some massive shadow falls over him suddenly, cast into relief by a light from somewhere nearby, and he chokes on a breath and the lightheadedness of not breathing properly finally catches up to him, making him drop to his knees and then onto his face in front of his friend.

At that point, Ren steps aside from the witchlights he'd just conjured behind him to create the massive shadow of...himself.] That really was disappointing...you'd think people who were going to act like that would actually be able to stand up for themselves instead of folding like wet paper...

Completely anticlimactic. [Molly nudges one with the edge of his boot, pouting a bit. He hadn't really wanted to bully them to the point of it being cruel, but he figured they'd be tough, haughty little shits that would actually make it feel like a lesson.]

I was expecting haughty little shitheads, but I guess it's the ones who only think they're hardasses that want to throw their weight around. [He rolls his eyes.] Well, they've learned a lesson today, anyway. I'm all for leaving them here. There's something about the perspective that comes from waking up in an alley covered in your own piss.

Edited 2019-04-04 18:51 (UTC)

Mmm, it's usually the ones who don't know what they're doing who do stuff like that to weaker people...if you're confident in it, then you don't need more than one person in the first place, right? [Or a weapon. The whole thing was just a complete embarrassment even in the overall department of preying on people who are weaker than you.

In any case, Ren spreads his hands as if to say he's washing them of this.] I'd certainly rather not touch them in that state, so I'm happy to leave them here...we'd better go find that landen again so I can lift the sight shield, though.

And let him know that the people who were tormenting him are right over there and he is welcome to kick them a bit. [And hopefully he's not the type to stab people while they're down. (Molly makes sure that the knife is on him when they start walking. It looks like something you'd take from a kitchen and not a proper dagger. Amateurs.)

The balance is terrible, but he still manages to hold the point of the blade on the tip of one finger and then flip it back into his hand.] In an ideal world, they'll go off and tell their awful, awful friends to cut it out or they'll regret it.

[That gets an amused little quirk of the mouth out of Ren.] That too...or I guess he could prank them, if he's more that type.

[Ren watches the knife as Molly flips it - he doesn't even need experience with weapon knives to know that's a kitchen knife instead of one of those, and he gives a slight, disappointed sigh at it.

Once they get back into the street, Ren heads for the direction he saw the landen back up in, towards a few barrels of something sitting in front of a shop. Consciously, he tries to draw the power he used back towards himself, and the landen reappears as if having had an invisible blanket pulled off, looking somewhat stunned.]

Okay, they're dealt with now, so you can come out again~

All hail your conquering heroes! [Molly booms theatrically.] They won't be stealing knives from their parents' kitchens and threatening folks anymore if they know what's good for them.

[The landen looks a little shaken, but the sight of the knife in Molly's hand with his own drying blood on the edge of it startles him and then relaxes him within seconds of each other. "Thank you. Did they... Why did they do it?"]

People don't need a reason to be arseholes to one another. I wouldn't worry so much about it. You should just get on home now and have your shoulder looked at, and consider what sort of story you're gonna make up about that eventual scar.

Right, right~ [Ren's mostly backing Molly's suggestion here, though he does curl his fingers under his chin in an innocently thoughtful sort of manner.] And definitely don't go through that dark alley again on your way home...you'd have to step over their unconscious bodies, and that's just unsightly, isn't it?

[It's said in a tone of total purity, but from the way the landen's brow furrows slightly as if he's internally debating something, he's definitely considering it. "...Sure, okay."

Seemingly a little at a loss for what to do, the landen dips his head to both of them and starts edging away a bit awkwardly. And also in the direction of the alleyway, a little bit. "Thanks again. I'll be more careful on the way back."

Ren gives him a cheery wave goodbye, and absolutely no protest to the direction the kid is definitely going in.] Safe travels, then.

Bye~ [Molly waves with only his fingers, and then rocks back onto his heels as the landen vanishes from sight.] Oh, that one's definitely gonna do something unfortunate to their unconscious bodies. [He claps his hands together.] Whelp. Not our problem anymore. D'you wanna see if there's a tavern open this late? Being decent, upstanding citizens is thirsty work.

I'm sure it's nothing they won't deserve. [Ren wafts his hand airily as he turns his back on where the landen disappeared to, slight amusement creeping at one corner of his mouth.] I'm not much of a drinker, I'll admit, but I haven't seen much of what they have here when it comes to alcohol anyway, so that doesn't sound like a bad idea...

I'm absolutely comfortable with you watching me drink while we talk about all the trouble we just prevented, if that's more your style. It's just sad to drink alone.

[Molly pats him on the shoulder.] And I recommend living adventurously even if it's just with the watered down ales.

Mmm, I don't mind the actual drink too much, I'm just a bit lightweight. And picky. So maybe I can take my time on something. [It doesn't make a great deal of difference to Ren, since he just likes the company rather than the drinking. And it's nice to learn new things about a new world even if it's stuff he's probably not going to use.]

You probably know more about ale than I do, though, I usually drink wine...

[open] as he climbs he dares to deliver the master stroke

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