Forum Thread

"You got me. I'll back you, kiddo."

He shrugged.

"Anyways. I got a decent idea. Catch the next train, and we should be good."

Aleks laughed.

---

---

---

Adrik Volkov

---

"I'll take my chances, thank you very much." Adrik snorted, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Do you even know which train we need to take? Or when it'll be there?"

---

"I got an idea. Not sure about the time, though."

Aleks laughed, brushing off Adrik's first comment.

---

While Kat walked in the cafe, she tried and stayed behind everyone. People didn't like it when she walked inside building, on the other hand, it was exciting. Walking in to a detective's place is so amazing! Although it was more cafe and less detective, it didn't bother her at all. When the lady talked to Niwa, she noticed the look she was given by the lady, as if she didn't want her here, sadly common. As if someone tries to say: "You do not belong here" without saying a word. Facial expression can say more then words and actions, they show peoples real intentions. She was caught up in her thinking so much, she didn't notice a thing anymore. The lonelyness. Losing the bet. Still being lonely. People on the street didn't like her because she had expensive clothing. Rich people didn't like her, because she lived on the street. Her parents didn't like her becau.

Niwa took her by the arm and guided her to a table, that pushed the memories away and almost gave her a heart attack. For the first time, she didn't knew what to say to the other ones. She sat down at the table and a cat came to sit on her lap. Cats really work theraputic..

---

คภ๔гคєɭ ςครร๏ฬคгץ

~~~
קг๏Ŧเɭєг

---

Andry surveyed her hand of cards with mild interest, her analytical mind quickly assessing the potential for victory. Amidst the seemingly random assortment, she noted a pair of queens, a pair of sixes, and a pair of aces. The remaining card held the promise of completing yet another set. Her eyes flickered to Nora as the game unfolded, her competitive nature lurking just beneath her composed exterior.

"I would've had you all on your knees begging for mercy if we were playing Monopoly," Andry muttered, a nasty scowl on her face. The competitive spark in her eyes hinted at a no-nonsense approach to gaming. In the realm of cards, she was a strategist, analyzing every move with the precision of a seasoned tactician. Everyone had tells, and while she didn't quite mind if she learned something and lost... it was infinitely better to win.

As Nora inquired about going first, Andry seized the opportunity, jumping in. "Nora, my lovely friend. Do you have a jack?" she asked, her tone casual but betraying an underlying seriousness. A moment of tension hung in the air as Nora revealed her cards, and Andry's gaze lingered on the game with a quiet intensity.

---

Stella leaves her hand folded and simply slides it away, shaking her head. "Sorry, I'm not that into card games." She takes out the newspaper she had open at work and continues to read it, hiding her face. All she does is read a little, moving her mouth a little whenever she encounters a questionable word. Though her ears were still open for any questions or remarks.

---

Lillian takes out her phone to send a quick message to her "father". She had successfully infiltrated been accepted to join the agency. She took one look in the mirror to make sure her wig and make-up were on properly before leaving. She continued down the street. She looked in her drawstring bag to make sure she had everything. Her bento(s) to hand out check; her journals to record any information evidence check; her pills check; her cosmetology equipment check. She happily skipped into the building looking around for any easy targets people to befriend.

{I am so bad at being subtle anyways if you want I can get my character to give you a bento as a act of kindness}

---

Kit blinked slowly, her eyes eyes foggy and unfocused. She was slumped slightly against the desk, clutching the black ink pen that spewed over her fingertips, stained.

Heat flushed to her cheeks as she sat bolt upright, almost squealing uncharacteristically. She glanced around the room, as she collected herself. The detectives were… playing Monopoly? Well it’s one way to get aquatinted. Rubbing her temples, she slipped past them and slid the folder back into the archives. About half an hour of paperwork done in an hour. Not what you would call productive. Kit was slacking.

(Sorry for disappearing for so long)

---

And suddenly, Lydia.

The dark haired girl hummed quietly, entering the cafe, a bright smile on her face. She waved to the android lady, cheerfully, as she swung her arms.

"Hiya! I was looking for you guys! And- oh! It's who I thought it was!"

The hyperactive girl flitted over to Iliya, grabbing the teen by the hood, then put him in a headlock, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Iliya, hey!

Iliya jumped in surprise, letting out a surprised squeak, but calmed down upon seeing the purple tips oh Lydia Satou's hair.

"Lydia? Hi! I- uh- where did you come from???"

"Oh, I followed the sounds of terrified teen tears. That's you.

She whispered that last part, laughing. She let go of Iliya, letting him stumble back, as she looked back at Niwa.

"Niwa! Good to see you, man! And, uh-"

She took a pause, looking over Kat.

"-...who's... the other kid? That's not a intern, I don't think."

---

---

---

Niwa Atsushi

---

"Oh uh- hi!" Niwa's face flushed red. He never had any idea how to treat girls, especially ones like Lydia. Not like his sister, surely, but definitely not like his mom. And it didn't help that Lydia was pretty. Like really pretty.

The cat pressed closer to his leg. He fought the urge to kick it away. That wasn't good. That wasn't how you were supposed to treat cats.

He could still see the first one watching him from across the room. Its eyes glittered coldly, judgementally.

What do you know? he thought bitterly.

"Y-Yeah. She has a.. a lead on an important case! So she's helping us, you know?" He winked at the teenager frantically. Play along, he mouthed. "She's going to help us solve some big thievery thing! It's kinda scary, you know, but we'll do fine."

---

---

Adrik Volkov

---

Adrik frowned. "You're a senior Detective. You should try and be a bit more responsible, especially when you're mentoring two of your younger- oh, who am I kidding." He sighed, passing a hand over his face. "You'll never listen. There's no point."

He hurried his pace, because his eyes were feeling weirdly hot and maybe some space would help. Who knew.

You've never listened to me. Hell, who has?

---

---

Jace Mawer (Nora)

---

Ooo Andy's eyes, so fierce. Nora smiled at her, hoping to diffuse the tension. "A jack, you say? You're wondering whether or not I have a jack?"

She glanced at her hand.

A couple aces, a few number cards, and one face card. A beautiful, unfortunate jack. Hmm.

"Nope!" she chirped, despite sliding Andy the card. "Go fish!"

Nora observed Stella. She was always so careful to observe, to stay out of the conflict. Maybe it came with her history. Keep out of sight, blend in, don't cause trouble. Probably was wary of these crazy Detectives and their elaborate social constructs.

To fit in, she stayed out of it.

That was so unlike anything Nora had ever done. She never let anyone control her, never let the world pass her by for an instant. She seized every opportunity, pounced on every person who glanced her way, and took control of every situation.

Guess we're kind of opposites. Nora smiled to herself. Don't worry, SDC. I like you anyway. Opposites attract, you know? You can be the cool one.

The train is one hour from its destination.

---

"Really? Huh. Neat-o!"

LYdia laughed cheerfully, hands on her hips.

"A big robbery, huh? That's nice, that's nice."

Lydia patted Niwa on the back(more like slapped, really), before moving over to Iliya, ruffling his hair.

"Awe, lookit you, all grown up are we Iliya? Kendo asked where you were a bit ago. We visited your dad, y'know?"

Iliya gulped.

"...y-you did?"

--

"Detective shmectective, what-ever, Adrik."

He chuckled.

"Sorry, sorry. Can't resist. Y'know I love you, kiddo."

He ruffled Adrik's hair.

---

คภ๔гคєɭ ςครร๏ฬคгץ

~~~
קг๏Ŧเɭєг

---

Andry's gaze narrowed slightly as Nora denied having a jack, even as she snatched the card from their outstretched hand. So it was going to be one of those games.

Andrael was very good at figuring out the truth.

"See, let's try that again," Andry echoed, her tone carrying a cold certainty. She met Nora's gaze, her eyes revealing an unspoken understanding of the game within the game. There was no need for unnecessary theatrics; the calculated precision in her movements spoke volumes.

"Nora, how about an eight?" The number had significance. Andry was interested to see if the other could figure it out.

---

---

---

Adrik Volkov

---

Adrik flung his elbow into Aleks stomach with all the force he could muster. "Can't you take a hint?" he screamed into his face.

Breaking into a run, Adrik furiously wiped tears from his face. Now you've done it. Attacking your supervisor... a real detective on your first case? You'll be lucky to get fired with a note to the principal while they're at it.

---

---

Niwa Atsushi

---

"Haha... yeah." Niwa smiled awkwardly. She was weirdly familiar with the Volkov's kid. He didn't really mind, the Volkovs were an okay enough breed so... "Wanna hear about the case?"

Niwa started before she could say no.

"Okay, so basically, there's some serial jewelry store robber and he's like constantly hitting the banks around the north side of Trydanfaid. They have a list of suspects, but no solid evidence to take anyone in for an interrogation. So they got us and we're supposed to investigate on the side... 'they' being the police force, of course. And- and- I think we're supposed to recover some big name jewel that was heisted when it was being valued? I think anyway."

He bit his tongue, already chastising himself. Why would he just go and say all of that? This wasn't her case... and bringing up a "jewelry store" already disproved that stupid lie he'd made about it being some big case.

The jewel was some no name ruby that some rich person wanted to be made big. The whole investigation was probably more about bringing value to that useless hunk of stone.

And... He blinked. The cat was too close. It felt as though his leg were on fire. He pushed it away, and it butted its head against his hand, mewling. The nose was very cold, too cold, and suddenly something occurred to him. He looked at it very hard for a second and realised the whole thing was cold, except for those oddly overheated sides.

He yanked the cat into his lap and it went limp, meowing at him. Its eyes shone with innocence and light, kneading at his stomach and making a half hearted purr even as he took it by the ear and ripped the fur right off.

The fur came off beautifully, cleanly. Never attached properly, he supposed, because when the metal plate became exposed, then there were only a few fine traces of glue.

It continued staring up at him with those soulful eyes, making noises identical to that of any cat he'd heard before. Even with a furry cat hood dangling off a metal neck, that horrible wire face kept opening and closing its jaw. The ears moved mechanically, with the turning of gears behind the plastic which formed the bulk of its base.

He dropped it like a hot potato and it landed at his feet, quickly scurrying behind the android woman, who reached down and petted that mechanical abomination.

"Ah, that's a good kitty," she said affectionately to it. "She's a sweetie isn't it?" She looked up at him and smiled, horribly monstrously. "They're made to be the perfect companion. Though I suppose the design could use some work."

She laughed as if this whole thing was a joke. As if she weren't a liar and a cheat.

"Oh," was all he could think to say.

---

Stella simply reads her newspaper along, her eyes hidden from the view of the others. And while whoever sat next to her could see that she is, in fact, reading the paper, her ears pick up conversations. Nora & Andrael playing cards, some couple behind them talking about the food...

Her eyes briefly went up to the ceiling when the announcement came up. Another hour, that's fine. As long as Nora does not manage to weaponize Murphy's Law and make a murder or a train crash happen, all should be well. And, even if her gang isn't really synergizing well... she does prefer this over buffoons. Her eyes briefly go to every person at the table for a second each, before turning back to her paper. Stock prices. Haven't read those in a while...

---

---

---

Jace Mawer (Nora)

---

Oooo, apparently jokes didn't go over well with this girl. She looked madder than ever. Was it too late to back out of the world's most intense game of Go Fish?

"Hmm, an eight, eh?" Why was the girl looking so intensely at her? Was she the world champion of childrens' card games? Nora began to sweat, but continued smiling. "Nope! Go fish!"

---

คภ๔гคєɭ ςครร๏ฬคгץ

~~~
קг๏Ŧเɭєг

---

Andry's expression remained stoic, her gaze locked onto Nora's. A subtle, almost imperceptible raise of an eyebrow was the only acknowledgment that this time she was telling the truth. Without a word, Andry smoothly drew another card from the deck, revealing a nine. The motion was fluid, deliberate, a testament to her precision and focus. Melchiorre had always said that Andry had a way of commanding the room. Spades and Clubs aligned. How cute.

"Well, you won't be taking this one from me," she said coolly, placing the new pair of nines on the table across from Nora's twos. The monotony of her tone contrasted sharply with the intensity of her eyes, which seemed to scrutinize Nora's every move. Beneath everything else, Andrael was a little competitive. It was all an act, mostly.

---

---

---

Jace Mawer (Nora)

---

"Huh." Okay. Wow. How was she supposed to unpack that... Actually, how to respond to that, was the real question. "Good job?" She gave her a thumbs up. "Very awesome. A pair of 9s. Now you just need a pair of 6s and you can properly annoy Narcisse."

But it seemed almost as if the girl wanted a serious game. And hey, she'd played along with Nora, anyway... so maybe it was only fair that Nora returned the favour.

With a swipe of her hand, she flicked her cards open into a fan and began studying them vigorously. A diamond there... a club right next to it, properly sorted in order from lowest to highest. She thumbed an ace of spades and allowed it to tip into her palm.

"How about an ace?" she asked. "Got any of those?"

She nearly made a face. Wow, that sounds... What am I, some eighteenth century cowboy hustling his first game of blackjack?

---

คภ๔гคєɭ ςครร๏ฬคгץ

~~~
קг๏Ŧเɭєг

---

Andry rolled her eyes at Nora's jest, an almost imperceptible flicker of annoyance crossing her features. She wordlessly handed over the ace of heart, her expression unyielding. The card was never meant for her and anyway. Fate had made that clear.

Sixty-fricking-nine. If Nora were to propose a prank against Narcisse... that changed things. She might consider allying with them over the pompous head detective.

"Still your move, Nora..."

---

"Oh, geez. That's... something."

Lydia chuckled quietly, hands in her pockets.

She clicked her tongue.

"Geez. That's creepy, huh, Iliya?"

Iliya gulped.

"Y-yep! C-creepy..."

--

Aleksandr grabbed Adrik by the collar, humming softly.

"The hell y'think you're doin', kid?"

He chuckled, rubbing his gut.

"Geez. Hard elbow. But I've been hit with worse."

---

---

---

Jace Mawer (Nora)

---

"Sweet." Nora grinned, planting the pair down. "Now... how about a ten? Got one of those?"

Across the train, a couple of people seemed to be getting pretty mad. Raising their voices, going through gestures faster than her dad could've gotten through a pack of cigarettes. And good gosh did that man love his cigarettes. The house always smelt like smoke. It permeated the lungs, became a smell you looked forward to after a long day at school.

(Don't think about that.)

"What do you think they're talking about?" she asked. "Y'think a divorce is coming?" She peered curiously at the pair. An older, balding man who kept wiping sweat off of his (endless) forehead. It was the other man, a younger man, who's voice was the loudest.

"You can't just say that!" the young man yelled, slamming his fist into the table with a bang. Suddenly, he glanced around himself, and every pair of eyes that had been fixed on him darted off, everyone re-engaging in newspapers and their own conversations.

Nora kept watching though. Curious, this young man. Wasn't he nervous, pawing at his collar and avoiding eye contact with the older man in front of him.

---

---

Adrik Volkov

---

This time, Adrik aimed right for the solar plexus. "Get off me!" he yelled, jamming it in with all his strength. "I don't want you touching me!"

Heads were popping up along the street. Unfamiliar faces staring at the scene.

---

---

Niwa Atsushi

---

"I think," Niwa said softly. "We should be leaving now."

"Oh, but don't you want to try our kitty cake? It's some of the best in town. Can't say anyone here could compete with ours."

The woman's smile was so fake. It made something very cold and hard settle in Niwa's chest. She, and her little android cats, could all go to hell. She wasn't to be trusted.

A meow came from across the room. It was the cat that had run away from him. The thing was slowly approaching, head low to the ground. Wisdom shone in its bright green eyes, some curious sort of strength in those long, feline limbs as it walked across the room with all the dignity of a-

No.

His jaw set.

"We should go," he said, firmly this time.

---