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AC: 18 | HP: 52/52 | TEMP HP: 0 | Move: 30' Init: +6 | SAVES: Fortitude: +8, Reflex: +4, Will: +5 Passive: Perception: 15 At Dame's invitation to make a bet, Xiomara tears her eyes away from the damaged airship and turns to the gunslinger. She's not much of a gambler, but she dabbles from time to time. Most of her bets have historical centered around combat. Mixing it up might be good. Given it's Dame, the terms are probably interesting. "What kind of bet do you have in mind?" OOC Free Action: Swift Action: Move Action: Standard Action: Full Action:

AC: 18 | HP: 52/52 | TEMP HP: 0 | Move: 30' Init: +6 | SAVES: Fortitude: +8, Reflex: +4, Will: +5 Passive: Perception: 15 Xiomara nods in thanks to the soldier. Cy'ril, her mother's homeland. She very rarely spoke of it. All she ever said was she was from Cy'ril, she had no family left there, and she'd never go back - and even those small details took years for Xiomara to gather. She looks up at the enormous airship again, focusing more closely on the damage. Undead attacks? Necromancy? Lingering effects? She may have heard rumors of Cy'ril's necromancers, but she'd never actually seen the aftermath. Her lips deepen into a frown. Perhaps her mother had good reason not to talk about her past. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other and sighs deeply. Xiomara stares up at the battered airship, lost in thought. OOC Free Action: Swift Action: Move Action: Standard Action: Full Action:

AC: 18 | HP: 52/52 | TEMP HP: 0 | Move: 30' Init: +6 | SAVES: Fortitude: +8, Reflex: +4, Will: +5 Passive: Perception: 15 Xiomara is uneasy, surrounded by their escort of soldiers, but does her best not to show it. Her face is the very image of neutrality and disinterest. That is, until she sees the airship that dwarfs the Kessel. She sees Captain Gillian talking with two people dressed in black and does not wish to interrupt. If Captain Gillian were to look her way, Xiomara would give a polite nod of recognition. As they get closer to the Kessel, concern starts to gnaw at the back of her mind. Where had this new airship come from? What happened to it? Who - or what - had inflicted such grievous damage? She hardly registers Dame's lighthearted jokes and ramblings. Her mind turns to Boss in the cargo hold; her stomach twists. Did they face the same risks in today's travels? She hoped not. It's not like she has a choice, anyway: they committed to the job. She'll see it through. Turning to one of the soldiers escorting the Drujba and indicating the damaged airship with a nod of her head, Xiomara asks, "Know anything about what happened to that ship?" OOC Free Action: Swift Action: Move Action: Standard Action: Full Action:

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina's frown deepens. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. "Well, let's see what we can find." She moves closer to Jason and pulls her aviators down over her eyes. The chaos of the street and the energy around them is overwhelming to the senses. Hopefully the building they're heading to is quieter. At this point in her life, she's honed her abilities and gained a large measure of control over them, but environment does matter. If the energy around them is frenetic and there are ghosts nearby, it may complicate her ability to accomplish their goals. Dreamily, she says, "I need a little time to prepare myself. Can you lead the way, babe?" Without waiting for a response, she begins preparing. She has no doubt he'll take the lead. Jason has never told her 'no': why would he now? Marina takes a deep breath. She imagines roots sprouting from her feet and burying themselves deep into the earth's core. With each slow inhale, she imagines taking in the earth's healing and stabilizing energy. With each slow exhale, she imagines negative energy leaving and 'stuck' energy loosening. She continues doing this until she feels as though her entire body is filled with the heavy, calm, sturdy energy of the earth. Next, she says a small prayer of protection in her head, calling on Juma to be alert and act as a "bouncer" of sorts for any overeager ghosts who might demand to be heard. Finally, she focuses on establishing boundaries: fortifying her mental protections, setting clear intentions about what she wants to accomplish, and focusing on Jason's energy. By the time they reach the laundromat, she's ready. OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina's eyes follow Jason's hand and frowns. "Pretty ballsy of them, doing that in the middle of all this." She looks around. "Did you check to see if there were any security cameras that might have caught them? Any witnesses? A gunshot's pretty loud." OOC TBD

AC: 18 | HP: 52/52 | TEMP HP: 0 | Move: 30' Init: +6 | SAVES: Fortitude: +8, Reflex: +4, Will: +5 Passive: Perception: 15 The night's revelries are of little interest to Xiomara, outside of the information she may gather. She takes the time to introduce herself to other members, inquire about the performance of the other new group, and avoids Reska and Brett as much as possible. No need to repeat last night's embarrassing series of events. She nurses two ales throughout the night, never drinking enough to get buzzed but enough to look like she's fitting in with the revelers. Throughout the night, she keeps a close eye on her Drujba. Dame's penchant for drinking is especially concerning, but she seems to handle it much better than Xiomara's father. Moxi and Zaer require less of her attention, but she still keeps an eye on them. It would be unprofessional for them to show up on their first day of work less a person or hungover as hell. The next morning, Xiomara is up bright and early with Dame. She's a little surprised at the woman's constitution, considering how much she drank the night before. But then, Dame is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. There's no way she'll be figured out in a day or two. Xi snacks on a sloppily thrown-together sandwich of pork sausage, eggs, and cheese as they make their way to the barracks. She's not looking forward to re-entering the military compound, but what choice does she have? It must be done. Between bites, she says, "Anyone got any fun stories from last night?" OOC Free Action: Swift Action: Move Action: Standard Action: Full Action:

AC: 18 | HP: 52/52 | TEMP HP: 0 | Move: 30' Init: +6 | SAVES: Fortitude: +8, Reflex: +4, Will: +5 Passive: Perception: 15 Xiomara sees Moxi's enthusiastic wave and stops walking with Midas. A hint of a smile appears as the gremlin woman starts towards her, then moves back towards the van, and repeats the process a few times. 'Easily distracted. Brilliant but unfocused mind. I'll have to keep an eye on that.' When Moxi finally makes it over to her, she expects the explosion of questions and chatter but they still surprise her. "Boss is fine, but I'll be back later to make sure he's properly set up." And gods help the crew if he's not. Boss is the one stable thing she has in her life. She'll take no.risks with his safety or comfort. Xi gestures towards the exit. "Shall we?" She begins walking before Moxi or Midas have a chance to respond. OOC Free Action: Swift Action: Move Action: Standard Action: Full Action:

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open The merchant isn't the only one surprised to hear Jason speak Chinese. Marina looks at him with a big smile. "Show-off," she teases, squeezing his arm playfully. "How long was this part of your beat? It's so busy. Must've been a little overwhelming." She moves out of the way of an oblivious person and clings closer to Jason. Crowded places like this were never something she enjoyed. With crowds comes more ghosts. When she was younger, it was more difficult to turn off her abilities. Now that she's a little older, it's easier, but it can still become overwhelming. She sees nothing yet, but then again, she's not looking. "Is the place on this road?" OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina pulls him back in for another kiss. "Yeah, I guess we should do some work," she mumbles against his lips before kissing him again. "For the record, though, I wish we didn't have to." She slides over into the passenger's seat, slings her tote over her shoulder, and steps out of the car. The sunshine feels great on her skin. The crisp, fresh air has a little bit of a bite to it, but it also holds the promise of Spring. Taking a deep breath, she anchors herself in the moment and centers her spirit. She walks around to the driver's side as Jason gets out. With a bright smile, she takes his hand. "Lead the way." OOC TBD

AC: 18 | HP: 52/52 | TEMP HP: 0 | Move: 30' Init: +6 | SAVES: Fortitude: +8, Reflex: +4, Will: +5 Passive: Perception: 15 Xiomara looks to the area Midas mentions and leads Boss to it. It's sparse, but it'll do. She pulls some feed from one of the saddlebags and places it on the ground for Boss to eat. "I'll likely be down here with him most of the time. If anything goes bad, I'll handle it." She sets Boss up as best she can, then gives him a final pat on the neck. "Be back soon." Xi nods at Midas and begins walking back the way they came. "Let's head back to Rackham." OOC Free Action: Swift Action: Move Action: Standard Action: Full Action:

AC: 18 | HP: 52/52 | TEMP HP: 0 | Move: 30' Init: +6 | SAVES: Fortitude: +8, Reflex: +4, Will: +5 Passive: Perception: 15 "Yeah, he does like his space," Xiomara replies. She eyes the straps securing the van as she starts walking Boss to the other side of the cargo hold. "And how will you be securing my horse? He behaves himself for the most part, but I'm sure he'd appreciate at least a cozy corner to rest in." OOC Free Action: Swift Action: Move Action: Standard Action: Full Action:

AC: 18 | HP: 52/52 | TEMP HP: 0 | Move: 30' Init: +6 | SAVES: Fortitude: +8, Reflex: +4, Will: +5 Passive: Perception: 15 Xiomara nods at Midas and leads Boss onto the platform. This is a little risky: Boss has never done this before. She's unsure how he would react. When they're settled in the center of the platform, she strokes his head and looks him over. "Alright, Boss, we're doing something new," she says firmly. "The ground is gonna move, but we're okay. Just stay calm and everything will be alright. " She hears Dame's remark about putting wings on Boss and smiles, turning around to look at the gunslinger. "Well, that would certainly be interesting. If the Boss is alright with it, then I am, too." She places a reassuring hand on Boss's neck, then turns to look at Midas. "Ready when you are." OOC Free Action: Swift Action: Move Action: Standard Action: Full Action:

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina shakes her head and sighs. "Jason, I wouldn't change anything about it. You need to stop torturing yourself with this. We needed to do it. Eric deserves justice. You deserve justice. And justice wasn't coming while that stuff sat in the evidence locker. Yes, we broke the rules, but the rules were wrong." With some minor difficulty, she slides over the center console and into Jason's lap, straddling him. She takes his face between her hands and meets his eyes. "You have nothing to apologize for, not the evidence thing, not the suspension, not the spirits - nothing. I am here because I want to be here. I'm with you because I want you. Not your job or your money or whatever you can give me. Just you." Her arms move to rest loosely around his neck, her wrists overlapping. "All this spirit stuff, there's no instruction manual. You learn as you go. With Rati, you learned not to jump into contracts. With Eris, you're learning to be careful who you work with even if you don't have a contract. It's okay for it to be messy. There's no way this wouldn't be messy. Is it annoying and inconvenient? Yeah. But it's better than the alternative." She pauses to kiss his cheek, then pulls back to look into his eyes again. "I know you want to protect me and I think that's really sweet of you. But you don't need to keep adding on contracts until you're covered head-to-toe in tattoos and there's no room left in your head. The best way you can protect me is by keeping yourself safe, sane, and alive. It's the only way we're going to get justice for Eric and for you. Let go of the guilt, papi. It's only holding you back." OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina listens to his explanation patiently. Eris' mention of the chopshop didn't escape her. "Her extreme reactions could be just as dangerous as whatever it is you're facing. They're supposed to help you, not put you in more danger." Worry creases her brow. "I don't expect you to tell me everything about what happens. It's probably best I don't know some things. As long as you come back to me, that's all that matters." She looks down at her hands. "I'm sorry you have to keep dealing with this. I don't know how you do it. Ghosts are one thing, but these spirits...I don't know, they'd probably break me. They sound exhausting." She frowns. "Rati was one thing. She at least showed some respect to me. This one, I don't like her. She mocked me and called you 'papi'." She looks up at him, clearly annoyed. "That's the Spanish I was talking about. I don't know what she said before she left. I don't really care, honestly. Nobody calls you 'papi' but me." OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open When Eris disappears, Juma fades from view. Marina snorts softly and places her aviators on the dashboard. She turns to Jason, whose head is resting on the steering wheel. "I don't know how you deal with them. Maybe that's why you're so calm, cool, and collected. Lots of practice." She gently pushes him back from the steering wheel until he's upright again. With a few brisk movements of her hand, she fixes some stray hair that's fallen in his face. "Her Spanish was terrible and so was she. What could she possibly have to offer you? The way you described it sounded like a one night stand." OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina's anger flares. How dare this woman mock her. Who the hell does she think she is?! "Si estás tan decepcionada con él, vete,"* she practically growls out. "No te echaremos de menos."** Behind her aviators, her eyes soften as she begins to channel. She sees Juma appear in the backseat beside the woman. He shakes his head slowly, his steady eyes locked on hers. With a sigh, she looks out at the wrecked car in the parking lot. "Such an unnecessary temper tantrum," Marina says grimly. She watches the lights flash on the damaged car. "Daemon will give you nothing. There's no point in seeking him out." * Translation: "If you're so disappointed with him, then leave." ** Translation: "You won't be missed." OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina nods when Jason says there is always an audience. Of course there is. She'd just only thought of Rati, but they all must be present with him at all times, even when... She blushes a little and clears her throat. "Well, sometimes I grind my coffee beans fresh and other times I use store-bought grounds. Jason here is super unpredictable: you never know if he's gonna replace the toilet roll facing the right or wrong way." A hint of a smile plays on her lips. OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina jumps in her seat and yelps in surprise at the spirit's appearance. Ghosts are one thing; she can usually sense them coming. But spirits? No, that's a jump scare. She doesn't have time to recover and turn before the woman's face is between her and Jason. "I wouldn't say he's boring," Marina says defensively. "We're having a calm conversation. I wasn't aware we had an audience." She leans forward to look at Jason. "Are they always this rude?" OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina considers his words, frowning. What happened with Daemon's vampire was an experience she'd never like to repeat again. and that was just one. What if it goes as deep as Jason's saying? "I mean, yeah. Daemon will be able to do more if it comes to that. But what if there's too many? It's still so dangerous." She shakes her head and gets out of the car. The sunshine feels great on her skin. She takes a deep breath while she waits for Jason to exit the car. "I mean, I guess we won't know unless we dig deeper, right? Hopefully you won't have to take that contract." Marina tries to give him a reassuring smile, but it's strained. OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina laughs and leans in to whisper in his ear. "Depends on how well you atone. If you're a good boy and show me how sorry you are, then it won't be necessary. But if you fail to show me how sorry you are, well, I'll have to use it to punish you." She tugs gently on his ear with her teeth, then leans back to the passenger side. She mimes a brief shudder of fake disgust. "Ugh, it felt dirty just to say that. Remember those nuns growing up? Can you imagine? No thanks." Marina laughs and takes his hand again. Time to switch gears. This is business, not pleasure. "Sounds like this landlord needs to start running background checks before renting to people." She sighs. "Hopefully we can find something that was missed. Maybe there's a ghost or spirit hanging around there that might know something." Marina bites her bottom lip, thinking. "If it is vampires, we need to do some more research. With Daemon back, he might be able to make that easier for us. Hopefully we'll find some clues to confirm it's vampires or if it's something else. I don't exactly relish the idea of dealing with vampires again." OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open "I'll be sure to dress like a nun. Unless you're into that, like the clown thing." She smiles and turns her head back to face him. "Just so you know, death doesn't scare me. It's losing you that does." 'And what that might do to me...' She shakes her head. No, don't go there. Focus. "No, I wanna keep my wits about me. Need to be at my best for this." She tucks some hair behind her ear. "Speaking of, can you recap what you've found so far for me again? I wanna have the right mindset when we go in. Take some of the guesswork out of it and save us some time." OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open The silence is nerve-wracking, seeming to stretch on for much longer than the minute it actually lasts. Jason's response is not what she was expecting in the best way possible. He's calm, practical, and honest. It's like he knows what she needs before even she does. Her heart swells. She leans over and kisses his cheek. "I love you, baby." She kisses his cheek again, then sits back in the passenger seat. "Look, I can't control how he feels or what he chooses to do. All I can do is set the proper boundaries." Marina pauses. Her grip on his hand gets a little tighter. "I don't wanna think about a life without you, so please, let's not talk about that. None of this pushing yourself too far, Rati can't heal you, or whatever else may happen. That's not an option. You still have to give me that white picket fence lifestyle. It's practically a promise now." She looks out the passenger window and swallows hard. Thank God for these aviators. OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open "I know you guys aren't gonna be best buddies, but I at least want you both to be civil with each other. Maybe that means you guys aren't around each other a lot, I don't know. I want you there with me and I don't want you to hold back, but I think seeing us together like that might be hard for him." Marina hesitates. She knows she has to tell him, but she doesn't want to right now. He's not going to like it, which means he's going to be even more agitated when they get to the scene. Still, either he'll be mad now or even madder later. She prefers the now. "He said he still has feelings for me, but he's better at controlling them. From everything I saw, he was being truthful." She watches him, bracing for his reaction. OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open Marina lets the comment about Daemon finding someone new to focus on slide. When he asks what Daemon blamed him for, she laughs softly and rolls her eyes. "I knew that question was coming. I told him that I was making an effort to pull back on my touchy-feelyness and he attributed that to you. I didn't deny it, but I think he knows me well enough that it was pretty obvious. Maybe he just wanted more hugs, I don't know." The joke falls a bit flat. She shrugs. "Told him we were suspended and he did offer to give us some money. Probably didn't help that I had that draining job yesterday with the house full of ghosts. I was exhausted. He probably thought the worst. I turned his offer down, of course. We don't need his money. We've got this." Marina gives his hand a reassuring squeeze. OOC TBD

Ghost Whisperer High Concept: Intuitive Ectomantic Forensic Scientist Trouble: Door's Always Open When Jason leans his head on her shoulder, Marina lightly strokes the hair on the back of his head and listens. He is so good to her, so kind. The dreams he has for her are simple and wholesome...and likely things they'll never have. Just the fact that he wants them for her, though, is enough to make her heart burst. After he puts the car in drive, she reaches out and entwines her fingers with his. "We deserve each other, Jace. Maybe one day we can have that white picket fence lifestyle. That would just be a bonus. Anywhere you are is home." She slides on her aviators and leans back in her seat. So he wants to hear about Daemon, huh? She knew he would. Why he'd want to talk about this before going into a stressful situation, she has no idea, but he must need the answers. "Today was good. Finally got a chance to sleep in a little bit, then did your favorite thing: paperwork. Do you think we can write off salt as a business expense?" Marina giggles and turns her head towards him. She watches sunlight and shadows flash over their hands as they pass under some trees. Her eyes linger on her ring finger and she smiles. Would this really end in marriage? It feels like it. Everything is "we" now and she loves it. It's just so natural. "Bram's was good. I was nervous about what I might see, but Daemon's...calmer? Happier? He smiled at least six times. It's gotta be some kind of record. He was a little sad at one point, though. Some heavy things happened while he was gone and I don't think he's worked through them yet." OOC TBD