tushanshu_logs | and all the sinners, saints, and winners [September, catchall, OPEN]

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and all the sinners, saints, and winners [September, catchall, OPEN]

Characters: Raine Sage or China Sorrows, and you! [open]
Date: September
Location: assorted: notably, Healer’s Guild, Fire Sector, Earth Sector.
Situation: assorted, open-ended
Warnings/Rating: obligatory mention of China's magic, which can't help but come up; minor violence in the thread with Cain and China.

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Raine

A; open; the Guild; most mornings and afternoons;

As Raine is anticipating disaster, she spends more and more time at the Guild leading up to the Chihuelans’ presence. Even after they’re gone, she’ll be relatively easy to find here.

Sometimes she’ll be at the desk in the front hall, taking her turn handling people walking in the door like the rest of the healers and students. In such cases she usually has a book open in front of her, and is usually frowning. When she’s not immediately apparent, any of the kedan who also work there will be able to direct someone looking for Raine to her office, a small room deeper in the Guild, notably ornamented with an ever-increasing number of notebooks and a single extra chair.

She’ll often seem lost in thought; barring screaming and blood, it may take her a few moments to focus on the person in front of her.

B; open and/or Duke?; Earth Sector; pre-Chihuelans;

Some few early evenings, it's possible to find Raine in a small park a little ways from the place she and Solomon live; she often takes her practical arte work outside, when she has any in mind. Lately, though, she’s been taking these infrequent occasions more to just sit in peace-- it looks rather like she’s meditating, in fact, save perhaps for the pale glow around her hands.

Though her eyes are closed, she will look up as soon as anyone comes within twenty to thirty feet, focusing on the person as the glow fades. “Did you need something?”

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China

C; open; Fire Sector; most times of the month;

It’s not difficult to track down China Sorrows, if you’re putting your mind to it; she doesn’t make a secret of where she lives, and she stands out regardless. Most people in the area can direct the asker to the place where the too-beautiful Foreigner lives. In this case it’s in one of the nicer areas in Fire, a place she’s spent a good deal of time warding and is now almost entirely comfortable in.

Previously during the summer, she was doing work with sigils on the door, inscribing intricate designs in primarily circular patterns for a day or two. Those are all invisible now, leaving only unremarkable door and walls and windows.

It is still most advisable to knock.

D; open; College campus; specifically during the Chihuelan visit;

China does not manage inconspicuous well, but her network of informants is still not what it was. Thus, there are days when she’ll find herself a bench or a fountain’s edge or something equally useful to sit on, and watch the comings and goings from the College from one direction or another.

Not obviously, of course, she always has her head bent over some paper or book and she’s always arrayed in that elegantly artless way that suggests she just happens to be in the perfect light, but she hasn’t taken up a sudden interest in craftswork.

People stop to look at her, but most of them manage to restrain the urge to throw themselves at her feet. Once in a while someone stops to talk to her; if it’s not someone with a useful piece of information for her, China is much less inclined to smile.

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[ooc; so it looked like, overall, no specific starters were necessary, but if you want to plot or want something I have not produced drop me a pm or a plurk at

makaricrow. I'm always happy to adapt. c:]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Raine. pre-visit; Guild.
It was only a few days after the letter had shown up. Cain had been preoccupied, to say the least, and hadn't been really sure what to do. Despite not carrying the letter around with him like a metaphorical weight, he had taken to flipping a single juulan coin over his knuckles in habit instead. Something to keep his mind focused on it without sidetracking, a way of merging the mental and the physical like some kind of switch. Right now the coin was in his pocket as he was now busy carrying a bag into the Guild and all the way to Raine's office.

"Hey," he said, poking his head in. He lifted the bag up in offering, brows raised. "Have you had lunch yet?"

China. pre-visit; Fire Sector.
Cain didn't have a whole lot of incentive to visit this China Sorrows — tracking her down had been easily enough once he'd described her, almost startlingly so. Apparently she made an impression on everyone. He could see how, and that was generally what he wanted to talk to her about. Well, that and what happened during the fire. It wasn't necessarily his business, but curiosity was always a weak point of his and he wouldn't deny the usefulness in clarifying as much as he could in case of a repeat performance.

That said, he did knock on the door and he intended to wait. Anyone who used magic while alive was not someone Cain was planning to startle or get on the wrong side of when he had no reason to. He just wanted a question or two answered.

China had nothing scheduled, no meetings arranged for the day, but occasionally an informant brought her something without warning, or someone who had heard from a friend of a friend that they might be rewarded for useful information would appear on her doorstep.

It could also be someone there simply to bother her, but that had decreased significantly in frequency for perhaps obvious reasons.

In other words, the odds favored that it was more likely to be a useful visitor, and so China didn't take too much time on her way down to the door.

She hadn't expected the Foreigner from Ravel's little arson spree, but she managed herself better than to show anything like surprise, only lifting her eyebrows a little. "What brings you here today?" she inquired, sounding genuinely curious.

There it was again. Cain hadn't imagined the pull she was exuding, and it was rather an interesting pull besides. He felt attracted to her, inexplicable and impossible to miss, in a way closer to love at first sight or admiration than anything more devious. It helped Cain keep himself oriented to remember what love felt like, that this was one in a long string of other loves that had bloomed naturally as opposed to whatever China was doing.

That sort of answered one of his questions, anyway.

"Just thought we might talk after what happened," he said, with a polite tone and smile both. Far be it from him to let the aura she was giving off make him act like a fool. He knew better than that, at least. "If I have questions, it's only natural you might, too."

"It's possible." China smiled in return, a sweet little expression, and after a moment opened the door wider, standing back and tilting her head. "My business is information, after all. Won't you come in?"

The front room had the appearance of something she kept solely for entertaining visitors-- nice, but no real personal touches about it, only the sort of decor one might expect from a nice place in the Fire sector. There was a tea-tray on a table in the corner; a carpet with intricate designs sat central on the floor, under table and armchairs; the walls were bare but for one hanging, an abstract tapestry.

"You might begin by introducing yourself," she added in a moment, a tone of gentle reprimand in her voice. Manners, after all, were important.

That expression of hers inspired a slight shift in Cain's, something more genuine to it now. He couldn't help that, but what really mattered was his awareness of it. He knew something was going on; even if he couldn't help being drawn in by her allure, he wouldn't do anything he didn't want to do. That was the important part and being bothered by anything less would only be petty by relation.

Being invited in was simple enough, and he stepped inside when she made space for him. He took in the room curiously, politely, making note of the lack of personal touch. Either she hadn't been here long, wasn't one to make a space out of somewhere she didn't intend to stay (this life in Keeliai was only temporary, after all), or she stuck to the simple and impersonal decor out of a very conscious choice.

"Jacob Kane," he said by way of introduction, seemingly unbothered by the lack of manners he was showing. He'd caught her name in the fight with Ravel back then, and even if it hadn't been the whole thing, looking for her around the city had gotten him the rest. "Not a bad business to be in nowadays."

There were stairs visible, too, toward the back; perhaps she reserved her personal touches for whatever spaces were out of the public eye. Regardless, it was a nice place, comfortable enough it didn't encourage people to flee.

"A little difficult, when one is unceremoniously transplanted to a new city," China noted idly. She gestured to one of the chairs with an offhanded wave, indicating he should take a seat. "But not bad, no. It's a pleasure to meet you in better circumstances, my dear Jacob; my name is China Sorrows." Though it was certainly said just for the form of it, she nevertheless sounded entirely genuine about it. "Would you care for tea?"

It was entirely possible. Cain wasn't going to psychoanalyze someone by their living room, although something told Cain there wouldn't be much in the way of openings when dealing with China herself. Someone who made their work out in information definitely understood the value of giving, taking and finding information in all sorts of ways. Personal details were always especially hoarded.

At the gesture, he dipped his head to the side and found a seat where he could get comfortable. It wasn't exactly a hostile move, but he certainly had no problem making himself fit in the space. No matter what was happening around him, Cain had ways to adapt and belong. "Tea would be appreciated," Cain said, once again polite and utterly calm. "If you'd like to go first, I'll even give you an answer free of charge."

For an information broker, obviously China would be expecting to have to give something in exchange for understanding what happened during the fire. It wasn't exactly a secret so much as something he didn't much talk about, however, and he wanted to see how she would react to the offer given without complication. He knew the power and price of knowledge well; he had just come to the point of playing with it where others would still respect it instead.

"How generous of you," China murmured, but she didn't ask anything right away, preferring to consider the angles of the situation. She busied herself making tea, measuring leaves and adding them to the teapot with even, unhurried movements, and to all appearances she was completely intent on that task. When she was satisfied with that she touched the ring of symbols that surrounded the teapot, and it was only a moment or two before steam began to rise from it in soft, hazy curls. It required steeping, of course, and in the mean time China adjusted the rest of the tray's contents with intent.

When she brought the tray over she was every inch the graceful hostess, pouring Kane's tea before her own, indicating the small containers of cream and sugar should he prefer. His offer was a double-edged one, of course; what she chose to ask would betray her interests, giving Kane some greater measure of her before she could learn enough of him to be useful. Hence the time she'd taken over tea.

"I wonder," she said finally, sitting in the chair opposite him and crossing one leg over the other with a careless elegance. "What reason do I have to take you entirely at your word? We've only just met, after all, and I'm sure we're both curious about some rather sensitive things."

Cain waited and observed her, took in the grace and familiarity with her tasks, and did nothing untoward in the meantime. She was gorgeous and wielded that with the precision of a surgeon, of that Cain was sure. What he didn't know quite so well was whether it was an intentional fostering of skill or if it had been a necessity sometime in her life, even though he knew that the reasoning sometimes ceased to have meaning once someone had become used to the lifestyle that had surrounded them. There was still knowledge to be had in knowing the original purpose, the type of thought that started the whole train, and Cain tucked that away with everything else that he wanted to go over when he had the chance.

At the tea, he leaned forward to add a small amount of cream, slightly more sugar than that, and stirred it gently before taking a sip. The heat didn't bother him despite the weather outside, although he would admit to curiosity over the mechanism that had boiled it if asked. That was new and yet he was coming to realize those symbols lie closer to the center of China's function than he had previously considered. Magic wasn't his forte and he certainly didn't know how it worked in other worlds beside his own; that wouldn't stop him from starting to learn and trying to categorize the systems all under their own laws.

When she finally spoke, Cain didn't hide the slight smile in his cup. She had been stalling and he recognized it. The offer he'd given her had been incredibly loaded and this was just another step in him figuring out the type of person she was. There was no wrong answer, but there were certainly some more interesting than others and this was one of the good possible reactions he could have gotten. "That would depend entirely on the question," he said once the cup was set down and he also made himself comfortable without being too familiar with the stance. "Burden of proof would be on me when it comes to my own information and you'd be within your right to ask for that, as well. As you're more than aware, some things are easier to provide than others given the circumstances. The tea is fantastic, by the way," he added, perfunctory but no less genuine.

He'd said relatively little, despite the volume of words, but at least it seemed he intended to deal with her on an even level. China sipped her own tea carefully, set it down in front of her. In some cases, the offer of proof alone would be enough, but Kane seemed canny enough to offer that as a tactic; she would ask, both where it was and was not reasonable, in part simply to see what he did.

Still. He approached it as a perfectly logical thing to ask, no offense that she might consider him unreliable. A promising start.

After a moment she inclined her head in something like gracious acknowledgment, and it was both for the compliment and his words. "Of course," she said, with a little smile. "So what is it you're curious about?"

There was a game being played here. Some might liken it to chess, but Cain wasn't the sort to make that kind of comparison where the pieces being played had a much different connotation. Everything could be compared to chess if boiled down enough, and this was no different. Still... that wasn't really what he was playing for.

Seeing as she had come to a decision, he nodded. That was going to be her question, was it? Rather than gain the upper hand in something much more defined, she wanted to know what the board would look like before setting anything in place. Infinitely practical, somewhat boring, but all puzzling together and keeping Cain impressed by the restraint and maneuvering she was showing. Simple, prodding moves were sometimes the easiest to overlook.

"What kind of person you are," he said honestly. There was nothing more to it than that. Everything would add up together, but the core of the matter he truly wanted to understand was who this China Sorrows was. Perhaps he didn't have the best of reasoning for it; she was there, she was smart, she was interesting, and she was doing things Cain had no real experience with. Who wouldn't want to learn more? "Although I won't say you should be flattered by a stranger's interest, our encounter before definitely sparked my curiosity."

She didn't seem particularly surprised to hear she'd sparked his curiosity; it was the rest that was interesting. Who was he at home that ordinarily he might assume she ought be flattered by his interest, and why come directly to her for information on her, rather than asking about, first? "What kind of person I am," she repeated, considering, and tapped one finger to her lips as if in thought. "Why not try Shudder? I'm sure he'll be happy to fill you in on my wicked ways." It was said with the same mischief, though, arch, like she was teasing, despite the fact she was entirely serious. Giving him Shudder was nothing; Kane was already aware China was from the same world as the Dead Men were.

Although it was a simple answer, a deflection, even that told Cain more about her. Talking about herself was not her way; she would prefer being perpetuated through the words of others, gossip and hearsay and possibly even legend depending on how big of a name she was back home. She was definitely comfortable in the element she had placed herself, and her confidence wasn't faked or put on for the sake of her business. She was definitely something, somewhere.

"You say that on the assumption that I haven't already," he pointed out. That hadn't happened yet, even if Cain had considered it. Hearing things straight from the horse's mouth, even if they weren't true or otherwise turned into deflections, said as much about a person as what image they projected the world. Even if he had already gone on an information-collecting spree, Cain was more than capable of picking up acting clueless to keep someone off their game.

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