TRP: Goro and Larkin and Mishka (Diva Talk)

[Continuing: TRP: Goro and Larkin]

Setting

Mishka's estate, early morning. Goro and Larkin decided to go talk to Mishka about Diva right away. They arrive at his estate and knock at the door.

Mishka's primary servant, a red-haired woman named Samantha, allows them easily without asking any questions. She leads them outside to the back. Mishka is standing in the vineyard. His hair is tied back. His feet are dirty and bare, which is-- unusual. Simple clothing today. He's still wearing the mask and is in his usual "perfectly fine, relaxed, and beautiful" mode. There's dark circles under his eyes, and he's fiddling with something in his pocket. Running his fingers over the burnt edges of the note. "Hey," he says, seeming mildly surprised and pleased. Then glances at Larkin. "Oh, you brought someone new. I don't think I know you. Mikhail Haeth."

Sugar is sitting pleasantly out of the gazebo just outside. She's too nicely dressed for gardening, but keeping Mishka company because he's upset. She's making notes on something.

Player 2:

As they are being led through the estate Larkin's gaze shifts everywhere, taking in all the walkways, doors, exits and points of interest. Habit. She doesn't make it up into this part of the city too often. At least not in the light of day. This is what one could achieve by piracy? With all this wealth around, maybe her father's right to stick to seafaring after all. Or, maybe not. He doesn't live here. Mishka, or Mikhail, himself is an equal surprise to her. She is not quite sure but his face looks familiar. She'd seen him around and not just out on the street, no. This estate is making her feel out of place. Like she should not be here and leave as soon as possible. She eyes Mikhail as he introduces himself to her, glad he's not extending a hand. "Comity, " she says, choosing to use an alias after the tiefling naming tradition and hoping Goro would catch on.

Player 1:

Goro is momentarily distracted by the sight of Sugar. He stuffs down the urge to call for her attention, to greedily get one of her sunny smiles and a wave. He forces his attention onto Mishka. "She works with me for the Guild. We were discussing a problem and hoped you might have some ideas. Just because you seem to have a lot of ideas, about everything."

Player 3:

"Sure," Mishka says. He waves over a servant, who is already bringing finely crafted finger-foods and sweet pastries. He saunters to the gazebo, sits down, and stretches out his legs onto a second chair. Samantha brings cold water, but no wine, no alcohol. There's candied chestnuts and delicately crafted cakes. Sugar scoots aside for Goro to sit next to her on the bench, then glances at him, then away again quickly. She's trying to seem aloof, but her tail lashes a little, jangling the bell ornament near the tip. "I live to serve," Mishka says. "However can I assist?"

Player 1:

Goro takes the seat beside Sugar, and doesn't look at her. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small glass jar. Inside is a writhing, oily, pitch-black thing. He holds it up so everyone can see, then tosses it to Mishka for closer inspection. "Ever seen anything like this before? Oh, I wouldn't open the lid, if I were you."

Player 2:

Larkin only notices Sugar when they move to get themselves seated. She hopes the tiefling will not give her false name away but she doesn't seem to want to see them at all. That's odd. Usually, Sugar is all smiles and joy when meeting someone she knows. Goro sits next to her, eyes fixed on Sugar just like Sugar's eyes are fixed on... anything but him? Larkin glances over to Mikhail who's also studying them. What the hell is going on with these people? Larkin starts a bit when Goro takes out the glass with the larva and tosses it. Luckily, Haeth catches it with ease.

Player 3:

Mishka catches it, then immediately sets it down so he doesn't have to touch it. "That? No. Why, what is it?"

Player 1:

"I'm going to start tossing out names," Goro says. "You stop me if any of them sound familiar. Diva the Deals Queen. The Hunger. The Glutton."

Player 3:

Mishka arches his eyebrows. Shrugs. Shakes his head. "I've been a few places. But no. Nothing like that." Then pauses. "Diva, though," he said. "Yeah, kind of. Someone sent me an invitation to come speak to her? Very odd woman, wanted some odd things from me. I left." The cuff feels heavy on his wrist, today. "I've already done enough dumb things in my life."

Player 2:

"Thing is, " Larkin begins when she sees Goro struggling to put together an explanation, "others also talked to her. But didn't leave. This little creeper," she gestures towards the glass in front of Mikhail, "is her, uhm, spawn. Whatever Diva is, she's taking over people as hosts. More and more of them. And making odd deals seems to be part of it. We've seen where it ends down in the ruins of Whitehelm."

Player 1:

Goro glances uncomfortably at Sugar.

Player 3:

Mishka takes another look at the Seed of Gluttony on the table. And then his expression changes. He leans back. "She told me she could make me Prince of Skyport," he said. "She said she could give me incredible power, and all I had to do was put this... seed thing... in my mouth. I told her I'd do it, but only if it didn't harm me. She kept trying to hedge about the definition of harm. Anyway, bizarre conversation. I left. I just kind of figured she was crazy. That little thing does what now?"

Player 2:

"Must've been your lucky day then, " Larkin says. She follows Goro's glance over to Sugar who's still doing her best to not notice them. He seems... concerned? "She needs to get them inside you to take over your body."

Player 1:

"Interesting that she wanted you, specifically, as a host," Goro says. "You must be... flattered? Oh, I'm even more special, though. She wants to turn me into a whole other entity, just like her. Sounds like it's going to be a while, though. We've got some time. So, do you have any thoughts? On how to take down an eldritch abomination hive mind?" Goro stands up and takes the jar back from where Mishka set it down. He tucks it away again. "By the way, these things are easy to kill. Just in case you ever find one coming at you."

Player 3:

"Gotta say, no, I don't," Mishka says. "Frankly my inclination is to run the opposite direction. I don't think I've ever dealt with anything like that. A hivemind? Does it have a... center? A primary host, maybe? A nucleus? Does it... come from somewhere?" Sugar seems intent on her notes as Goro glances over. Mishie’s notes for getting boys to pay attention to you, it says. Step one. Cultivate an aura of mystery. There’s longer text after that. She’s already written all these notes, and now she’s going over them in a different color of ink. She sits up straight when she notices Goro looking. Then she shuts the book with a snap… then opens it again, panicked, peering at the fresh ink to see if it smeared. She does not appear particularly concerned by the conversation. This, it seems, is Mishka, Larkin, and Goro's problem, and she seems satisfied they will fix it.

Player 2:

Larkin is momentarily distracted by the sound of Sugar's book snapping closed. She glances over again, this time catching the look Sugar is giving Goro. She pretends to be absorbed in her notes but she's definitely trying to catch glimpses at him. So, it's like this, huh? Larkin has wondered why the little tiefling chose to sit with them even though the topic of their discussion does not seem to interest her in the slightest. This might explain it though. She turns back to face Mikhail. "Good point. So far, it's primarily the Diva host interacting with people. Right?" She looks to Goro to confirm or correct her statement. When he does not react right away, she nudges him with her foot.

Player 1:

Goro takes a moment to gather his thoughts. Mishie? He clears his throat. "You're thinking that body, the one in the shop, might be her primary?I don't know that there's any evidence for that. Maybe it's just the one she likes the best. I wonder... maybe her abilities are different, depending on the host. And that's why she was so intrigued by a powerful sorcerer, for instance." He shakes his head at Mishka. "Believe me, I've thought of that, if there might be some kind of nucleus. But I've got no fucking idea how to track it down. There were scientists in Whitehelm researching her, and we found some of their notes in the ruins--we think. It seems to be scrambled, like a code. Say, know any good cryptographers?"

Player 3:

"Eh," Mishka says. Then his eyes flicker over to Goro for a moment, and there's that liquid look again, thinking about testing the waters. "I robbed a tomb, once, about twenty or thirty years ago," Mishka says. "There was a kitsune inside. Very learned woman, sharp as a tack. Old, too. Sometimes she pops by to annoy me. Bizarre person. She just kind of shows up to fuck with me sometimes. No clue why. One time I went for a ride out in the country. Halfway through, it turned out she'd transformed herself into my horse. Left me stranded in the middle of the woods. Thought it was hilarious. Ombre, I think? I'd ask her. Strikes me as something she'd be good at, breaking puzzles, knowing lots of languages. I can't imagine how we'd track her down, though."

Player 2:

Larkin raises her eyebrows at that description and gives Goro a knowing glance before starting to speak: "Oh, we do-" she stops short when Goro does the same.

Player 1:

"I can't ima--" Goro stops, eyes Larkin. He clears his throat.

Player 3:

Sugar looks mildly surprised at Goro. She sits up, pleased she can help now. "Goro must've forgotten," she tells Mishka. "Ombre is in the guild. She works for Ripley, getting information and such, sneaky things. She's awfully good at it. Goro talked her into joining. Larkin remembers. Right, Larkin?" And Sugar glances hopefully at Larkin to confirm. "Oh, goodie," Mishka says. "Nixie, you are just a treasure. Thank you. Larkin, is that correct? Goro talked this person into joining the guild... Larkin?"

Player 2:

Fuck, when has Ombre being in the guild become a secret? And also - Larkin internally cringes at the sound of her name. She glances over to Sugar who's beaming with delight at being helpful, trying not to let it show. She does not manage. Instead, she opts for turning the sneer into a smirk directed at Haeth. "It's been a while since we've seen her around. She's not really part of the guild."

Player 3:

"Larkin," Mishka says. "That's a pretty name. I have a friend named Khemen... went through a very hard time recently. He had a daughter with that name." And he leans back, watching Larkin's face. He toys with a candied chestnut without eating it.

Player 1:

Goro has a moment of realization. He looks back and forth between Larkin and Mishka, growing slightly horrified.

Player 2:

Larkin keeps the smirk on her face, showing no other reaction. Sugar caught her off guard but now she knows the deal. "Sorry to hear that about your friend. My dad's been doing well, luckily."

Player 3:

Mishka's fingers are on the note in his pocket, feeling the edges of the note. I don't go around telling people your secrets, Hansel had written. Goro already knows about the cannibalism thing, though. “Well, that’s good to hear,” Mishka says. “I’m glad. I’m having trouble tracking this young woman down, though. She’s hard to find. If you happen to run into her—I know it’s a longshot, I just thought I’d say—tell her that her father is in the Eldath Sanctuary, recovering. He’d probably like to see his daughter again.”

Player 2:

Recovering? Larkin forces herself to an unconcerned shrug. "That's... thoughtful of you. I don't think I can help, though. Not all people who share a name know each other. Sorry. "

Player 1:

Goro cuts in, speaking in Infernal. "Nixie, does Mishka understand Infernal?"

Player 3:

"No," Nixie says, mildly surprised. She glances at Mishka for confirmation. Mishka is smiling helplessly. He shakes his head and starts pulling apart a cinnamon pastry. He waves his hand. "Go on, Nixie. Answer whatever he's asking."

Player 1:

"What the fuck is he talking about, Larkin?" Goro asks. "Does he know your father?"

Player 2:

"Calm down, will you? No need to make this more suspicious than it already is." Larkin frowns at him but leans back in a relaxed posture. "God damn. I don't know, maybe. Haven't seen my dad in a while. Last thing I know is he's a cook on some pirate ship. This Mik-" she stops herself before saying his name, "this guys seems familiar to me, though. If he knows my father, could be he also knows my uncle. Maybe did some business with him. "

Player 1:

"I don't think he's bullshitting. About the sanctuary."

Player 2:

Larkin glances back at Mikhail before answering. He's still saintly ripping apart that cinnamon roll. "Fuck. I can't tell but if he isn't... what's so important about it to you anyway? Why does it matter now? "

Player 1:

"Only matters to me if it matters to you." Goro shrugs. He switches back to Common. "No wine today, Mishka?"

Player 3:

"Trying to cut out some bad habits," he says.

Player 2:

A moment of strained silence follows. Larkin, too puzzled by Goro's weird interest in the comment about her dad and the abrupt way of changing the subject, says nothing. Watching Goro and Mikhail's faces instead, trying to figure out the exact nature of their relationship. Something else is going on here, something she isn't sure she even wants to know about. "Well, " she says into the silence, "if that's all... "

Player 1:

Goro is glowering poisonously at Mishka. "Yeah, I think we're fucking done here." He stands up, accidentally knocking over a small table beside him and spilling the tray of pastries to the floor of the gazebo. On his way out he swings back around and says, speaking infernal again, "By the way I'd think twice about taking dating advice from someone who's not even on speaking terms with his husband." Then he storms away.

Player 3:

Mishka looks a little caught off-guard. “Ah... alright.” He thinks, briefly, about the whole law thing from before. The Church getting it signed. Thinks about stopping Goro. Then glances after Goro. Nah. It can wait. He stretches his legs. He’ll ask Nixie about the last thing later. He’s totally lost on this.

[END]