Like tragedy and laughter at hand

[Sister Angeleanna]

Date: March 2nd, Monday Week One
Time Frame: Mid Morning
Place: Troll Market
Status: Open

//Coming from BPRD: It’s Go Time! //

With her cheeks cherry red and stinging from the cold, the nun slid off the back of the moped and tenderly knuckled her lower back. She laughed breathlessly, eyes a lit in mirth before she set to readjusting her belt and equipment and stomped her feet to return the circulation. The woman closed the edges of her coat, buttoning a few buttons and it hide away most of the bulk of her gear. She swiveled her heads to her partner and nodded firmly. “Yes, those before us were very kind in leaving detailed directions.” The duo were quick to find their way and enter, Angel lagging momentarily when a elder man held a hand out for spare change. Though she had none, she gave the man several energy bars she had in a pack and encouraged him to seek out the neighboring shelters for a warm meal and place to rest his head.

Upon entering the market, Angel’s breath hitched and she raised a hand to her mouth to cover it politely. It was the smells, rich and heavy like foreign spices that mixed with the earthy smell of buildings that jutted from rock and soil as if they had always been there. The surprisingly warmth of the underground pulled the fragrances up, mingling with the subtle smell of flowers from a nearby vendor that sold strange bundles of a roots and bulbs, one single yellow flower displaying his assortment. Something small and gray swept past her peripheral vision and the nun turned to just make out the blur of a faerie as it danced up and over the heads of trolls and creatures she didn’t know the names. A lumbering beast with a wickedly curving knife on his back shuffled past them, the scent of fish following him as he dragged a carcass behind him. There was so much to see, the extra stimuli nearly overwhelming as she tried to take in everything and even through the smoke of a hookah vendor, the market seemed to stretch on further then she could see.

"So." She turned to her comrade, "What are we to do again?"

Angel folded her hands, lacing her fingers together over her heart and the surprise faded into a healthy smile, the seeming default look of the nun and nodded slowly. “It’s so beautiful. Oh, yes.” She added and managed to look away from the fantastic world around them and focused on her partner and quickly gave an overview of their assignment which consisted of a mish mash of data collecting, someone from lab 24 needed a sample of soil, preferably where it hadn’t been stepped on and if it was at all possibly, try not to come home with anything that could eat or attack anyone.

[Frankie Guidicini]

Frankie did her best to ignore the various stimuli of the Troll Market. If she became enamored with discovering what secrets this place held, that would leave her distracted and open to attack. And since the Troll Market could not be considered friendly or truly neutral ground, such a decision would be foolish. She listened to Angel's words while her eyes were roaming, taking special interest on a rather leery gnome with a cart of broken crockery.

"Soil like that sounds like Sons of the Earth territory." She was no forte in mythology (after all, she was around mostly to kill things on the whole), but she knew enough and was learning more. "Elves, probably, which smacks of bad judgment in my opinion. Does lab 24 even have a recollection of what happened a few months ago?" Her copper eyes rolled heaven-ward and she adjusted her sleeves. "I apologize, Sister." It's just so hard to have common sense when others do not, she finished in her head. This was not her poor partner's fault, so Frankie would try and not afflict her with her frustration. "Shall we?"

[Sister Angeleanna]

"Soil like that sounds like Sons of the Earth territory." … "I apologize, Sister.”

There was no mistaking the tone of her partner’s voice and while she resisted the urge to shake her head, she couldn’t help but reflect back to the few stories that had told. Before she had come to the bureau, the earth had hung in the balance and it was good that had retained it. She unfolded her hands at her waist and lofted a hand, palm towards Frankie and smiled softly. She never expected a apology, though it warmed her heart when someone did, many were quick to say it around her as if the slightest nudge would offend her. Frustrations were what made them human.

“They would not ask if they did not believe we could attain it safely.” She studied her partner, met her gaze and nodded her understandment. The previously lofted hand now settled on her waist, fingers folded into a loose fist so that her knuckled rested at her side in a uncharacteristic stance and she hummed in amusement at her own self and let the hand drop.

”Shall we?"

“Yes.” The nun reached into her coat, slipping fingers into a pouch on her belt and pulled free a folded piece of paper. She unfurled it to the size of a sheet of lined paper and handed it over to Francesca to reveal several hand written notes and a vague drawing of a map that had been done. “Director Manning said it was not as fully detailed as he would have liked, but… we wont get lost.” Angeleanna leaned forward and pointed a gloved finger at the edge of the drawing. “I believe we are here. Or-” she moved her finger over. “quite possibly here.” She hummed again and her mouth quirked.

“We could ask for directions.” The nun glanced up to see a couple of trolls staring at the odd pair.

[Frankie Guidicini]

“They would not ask if they did not believe we could attain it safely.”

Obviously, Angel had not been around bureaucrats for as long as Frankie had, but the woman held her tongue. "I would hate for either of us to be injured because of their disregard, Sister." She said evenly. Sometimes Frankie wondered if her temperament was grating on the nun's nerves. Sister Angeleanna was, after all, the closest thing Frankie had to a female friend at the Bureau, and for all of the sweet, kind, and patient temperament the nun possessed, Frankie possessed an equally cantankerous and sour temperament.

As Sister Angeleanna messed with the map, Frankie rolled her eyes, not at the sister but at the map. She was critical of it; a short time ago she had been on a mission with headlamps, and now they received a crude map to a place that was neutral ground leaning towards the enemy's side? God, sometimes she had no faith in the Bureau.

“We could ask for directions.”

"Let's." Frankie said, raising her eyes from the map to meet the two trolls looking at the pair. They were as good a guess as anyone for a push in the right direction. "I'll see what they know." The woman said to the nun, and then took three long strides forward to approach the trolls. "Excuse me," She said, remembering the manners her father had drummed into her. "My companion and I are unsure of where we are and we're looking for a certain type of soil. Would you have any recommendations?"

The two trolls looked at each other and grunted about in their troll language. Frankie's minimal patience was wearing thin when they turned back to her and pointed to different areas on the map. "Where exactly are we?" Frankie asked, marking the two areas in her mind. The shorter troll pointed and then pulled his hand back. Frankie inclined her head at the two trolls. "Thank you very much, you've helped us greatly." She inclined her head once more before retreating back to Angel's side.

"They pointed out these two areas." Frankie said, doing the same to the map. "And apparently we're here. I think the fastest thing would be to split up. I'll take this area," She pointed, "And I suppose we should keep our coms on, but muted so we don't hear every single thing the other does and do our head in with the din."

After it was decided that they certainly would split up, Frankie patted Angel on the arm and said, "Good luck. Hopefully we'll see each other soon. And if anything happens, Sister, anything, let me know and I'll teach a lesson to anyone who wanted to mess with you." Frankie gave Angel a shadow of a smile and then slipped into the fantastic crowd of the Troll Market.

//Angel Heading to: bleeders wake //

//Frankie Heading to: Market of Ashes //