Meeting the Neighbours (Open)

As the last moving van left, Luna would close the doors to her new mansion, with a satisfied smile she looked to her humble abode. For this century, at least, she had decided to settle in Etherion City, in the fancy side of town.

Now that everything was all moved in, she could work on her finger foods for tonight's party. It would be a fundraising event, everyone who wanted to come was invited, it was an open party for people to come and go as they pleased. State of the art security cameras, metal detectors and guards were on duty around the mansion, to make sure everyone had a fun, safe, and legal time.

Her current mansion:

Posters had been set up around the city, promoting the event and explaining that it would be a fundraiser for development in the poorer side of the city.

By the time 7pm rolled around, the buffet tables were filled with food cooked by Luna herself, as well as decent wine, champagne, and juice. This would be the perfect chance for Luna to meet notables around the si-I mean city, as well as other people she might see around the city, a good chance to mingle.

Her dress:

Nina would walk into the mansion and grab a fancy glass of champagne, sipping it as she scanned the crowd for anyone notable, it may be the first time she had one to one of these things, but she wasn't a noob when it came to the rich and powerful, half of these people she probably stole stuff from.

She would be hiding her ears and tails, making her look like any normal human, apart from her stunning amount of sexiness of course.

Her dress:

Wrath was in attendance of the gathering, in a nice red suit with black details, and a black tie. He sipped some punch from a glass, his white hair, sometimes mistaken for platinum blonde, causing him to stand out. Many beautiful women tried to strike up conversation with him, which he wasn't interested in at the moment, but he was polite, and took his time.

He was just trying to get to that platter of very fine society pizza.

He looked as the hostess of the event. A fine dress, and an even finer woman. He held up a slice of the gourmet pizza and ate it as he scouted out the crowd. He wasn't even sure what he was doing here at the moment. Maybe it was just the pizza...wait, did he smell rum?

Luna would be walking around the crowd and chatting "ah yes Mayor, I'd love to see your plans for the new development area" she said, noticing Wrath's bright hair and giving him a gentle and welcoming smile.

Meanwhile Nina would be eating a slice of sponge cake with her hand, holding a plate in the other, after devouring it quickly she would notice Wrath and stare at him for a few moments, admiring how handsome he looked, gosh, there wasn't just stuffy old men here after all, maybe if she played her cards right she could get to know him...privately...

Nina would then wash her cake down with some sake "hehe...cake and sake" she muttered to herself.

He smiled back to the hostess with a nod, his smile was bright. He continued eating the pizza. Some person came by to get a slice. "Oh, no. You don't want that."

The person, a posh middle-aged man, looked at him in surprise. "I'm sorry?"

"No need to apologize." He picked the pizza right off of his plate. "It's horrible," he said, taking a bite as the man looked at him in horror. "Now the sliders, those are something you might like."

The man looked at him in clear frustration, before heading off to get another snack. Wrath chuckled, looking at another woman in a black dress. She seemed interesting. It had one of those slits, too. He made a note to talk to her later. But he would be remiss if he didn't talk to the hostess first.

He approached Luna, smiling. "Greetings. Luna Northlight, was it?" He offered a hand, and would kiss the back of hers if she took it.

Luna would smile at Wrath "indeed it is, and who might such a handsome man like you be?" she asked him as she gave him her hand and chuckled a little as he kissed it.

Nina would meander around and hold off any creepos trying to win her favour "I'm not some floozy just here for the free drinks" she said, well...maybe she was here for the free drinks, but she wasn't going to be won over so easily by creepos.

He smiled to Luna a bit as she asked who he was, releasing her hand when she giggled. "My name is Locus Caelum. It's a pleasure to meet you. I don't have any idea why someone such as me was invited, but the pizza here is delicious, that's for sure," he remarked, smiling wryly when she called him handsome.

Luna chuckled at his pizza remark "well it's so I can meet everyone in this new city~ rich and poor, old and new, the best way of helping and improving the community is to know who the community consists of" she said "and I'm glad you're enjoying the pizza, I made all the food here myself, took me a while, but it's worth it to see everyone enjoying it" she told him.

He chuckled gently as she explained herself, saying that she wanted to meet everyone in the city that way. "I see. And you made the pizza yourself? Your pizza is truly marvelous. I quite literally hogged it all to myself. Might have peeved off one of your guests. I told him it was horrible and ate it right in front of him." He chuckled.

Luna couldn't help but laugh as Wrath told her about how he enjoyed the pizza "eh, don't worry about it, and if you ever want to just come over for dinner, I can cook you all the pizza you could ever want" she said smiling at him "you've got to have some form of hobbies when you live in a big mansion, may as well make people happy with it" she said with a soft chuckle.

He smiled brightly at her as she said that she would cook pizza for him any time he wanted if he asked for it. "Well that's certainly very generous. I might have to take you up on that some time." He found himself agreeing with her when she said that you had to have a hobby when you lived in a large place like hers. "That's very true. So what brings you to Etherion?"

Luna would respond to his question with the story she had convincingly built up herself "well ever since I came into some money I've wanted to see the sights of the great Etherion, and now I'm living the high life of it" she said with a smile, she didn't want to reveal to anyone that she'd just parked her travels temporarily on her everlasting, eternal life.

He smiled wryly. Interesting. She wanted to see the sights? Perhaps those sights involved something of the nexus of strange people they had. "I see. Well I hope you enjoy your time in our fair city, and that you should never find that you're in need of my services," he chuckled.

So this is how the affluent lived. Splashing out on frivolities and dedicating work towards play. Their every waking moment wasn't defined by bills and taxes. Money was an infinite resource to them. An account with fluctuating numbers - never significant. Nergui had been prosperous once. And she'd felt lost in the wind. A kite broken free of its tether. She much preferred to stay grounded by the realities of life. Working to live and living to work was a self-fulfilling purpose.

Even if there were people present looking quite fanciful, Nergui hadn't gotten the impression that this was a dressing up event. She wore a simple deel muted in colours, with a high collar and tied at the waist with a grey sash. Really even a Westerner could overlook it. What she had on as per usual was her shepherd's hat. It was a patchwork mix of leather and furs, tufts of her light brown hair jutting out from beneath.

Nergui wanted to look respectful. To these Etherions it meant suits and ties, but to her it meant adherence to cultural heritage. Their conformity was saddening. With so many garments in the world you would think the folk of America could have come up with something more inspirational to wear. There was no history to office-wear. It was a prison of expression.

The gathering was in full swing as she arrived. It had attracted representatives from all walks of life. Her instincts were to pay thanks to the host, but given the size of the venue she decided said host must be sick of such sentiments by now. She would wait and be patient. For the time being she chose to partake in the food on offer. She tried to ignore the glasses of champagne.

The bustle of the crowds began to take on a convivial atmosphere. Strangers were coming together to enjoy life. It was strangely peaceful. Nergui stood on the edge of a circle, picking at a lamb skewer. She was content to listen rather than contribute until she noticed the advances of some men trying to flatter a woman. The woman in question was unique for her animal extremities. Nergui did not recognise the style, but was welcoming of the daring. Guess she wasn't the only one wearing animal fur tonight.

"If you don't want that kind of attention then you should not stand alone. They think you're a game. Here for their amusement. Talk with me for a while. Until they move on." Nergui had no actual idea how Nina felt about the men's advances. But she knew it was no proper thing for people to flirt in public. Welcome or not. Her mother especially would not approve.

Luna would raise an eyebrow "and what services would those be? Or...do I not want to know?" she asked him, not meaning to pry, she just wished to know out of curiosity.

Nina looked a little surprised when someone interesting came along "oh, why thank you" she said with a smile "I'm Nina, Nina Vulpes" she said with a thankful head nod.

He smiled wryly as Luna asked him what exactly the services he was talking about were. "Oh? It's nothing overly devious. I'm just the city undertaker. Have you ever heard the riddle? The man who built me doesn't want me. The man who bought me doesn't need me. And the man that needs me doesn't know it. What am I?"

He smirked lightly as he looked at her. He didn't mind looking morbid. In fact he quite enjoyed it.

The woman seemed pleased. Good. Nergui had been abrupt, even rude. But some people knew to take that sort of behaviour in their stride. Life was too short to get strident at tone. For her part Nergui thought she was genuinely being of help. Taking responsibility was second nature to her, "Nergui Chinbat. I take it that you live in Etherion? I doubt there are any tourists here tonight. What is it that you do?" She had seen a few high rollers flittering about, including who she believed to be the mayor earlier. Then again she had also seen beggars looking for an easy feast. So it was a real mixed bag which of the kind she had here.

Being much closer, Nergui now noticed Nina's fox ears twitched and flicked animatedly. She blinked in surprise and gestured towards them, "Are those things real? I had a co-worker who had... well not had fox ears. But something similar. There are many more peoples on Earth than we used to think." She remembered when she was young, before the aliens came, where talk of half-man, half-animal creatures was mere rumour. Even in globally connected cities like Ulan Batar. Nergui finished off her lamb skewer and picked at her teeth with the remaining cocktail stick.

"Hmmm...I don't quite remember the answer to that one" said Luna "what's the answer?" she asked curiously. She had probably heard it before in many places but with organising everything for tonight, the answer to a riddle like that had escaped her.

Nina would smile at Nergui and nod "yes I live in Etherion, I run a comic book shop, I guess its not famous but it still has a decent amount of customers" she told her before chuckling, a question she had heard a lot then following "yep, 100% real, I'm a kitsune, a Japanese mythical fox woman" she said, not afraid to show her ears and tails around Nergui.

He chuckled gently at the fact that Luna couldn't remember the answer to his riddle. He was really hoping she wouldn't have. Because then, he got to say to her with those crimson hues, "A coffin. Sorry, but I do quite like that one. I am this city's undertaker. Pleasure to meet you."

Nergui did another pass of the fox features. Some people were adverse to staring at strangers too long if the stranger was conscious of this at the time. She was devoid of the illusion that not everyone felt this way. Jutting her lip, the woman nodded at Nina in acknowledgement, "I'd hardly say mythical. Not anymore." All these fairy stories they'd been sold on when they were young were true. It was just plain wrong to keep referring to them as 'mythical'. That was a word now reserved for hangoverless alcohol and 'perfect' weather.

"So you're a small business owner. And a minority. We have some commonality. They say Etherion is a city of miracles. 'A future born every minute' - is that not what they have as their slogan? But these American places always were boastful. I passed a town once claiming to have the third largest corn monument in the world. Is that not in a way sad?" Not that she wasn't full of her own self-pride, but she had an Easterner scepticism of American superiority. Before the alien attack united the world, the Americans were elbow-deep in war instigations. Their way just did not work for everyone. No matter how many corn monuments were built.

"Your family are Japanese then?"

Luna couldn't help but chuckle a little "and I you, I've never met an undertaker before with such a delightful sense of humour, it's quite refreshing" she said.

Nina would listen to Nergui and nodded "I agree, I grew up in England, my mother moved there before I was born, to escape my nagging grandmother she tells me, but I think both my mother and I have always had a sense of wanderlust, the want to explore and see new things, but compared to England, America is so much more flashy and in your face, making a big deal out of things constantly" she said.

He chuckled lightly and took a bit of a bow. "Well, I'm glad that I could make your acquaintance then. It's truly a pleasure. Though, I'm sure that you have plenty of other things to attend to than some undertaker with some bad jokes." He grinned a little gently.

Out the corner of her eye Nergui saw that Luna's conversation was wrapping up. She understood the woman to be host here. And as mentioned previously, Nergui lived to work. This was not a social call. All this so far had been prevarication. It did not do to march into someone's party in order to drag them into business. You had to make an effort to enjoy yourself first. It was only polite.

Holding the cocktail stick between two digits, Nergui managed to flick it into a bin several yards away. She then refocused on Nina and offered a quick hand clasp, "Well good to meet you Nina. I'll leave you to yourself now. I have someone else I need to..." She hesitated, thinking of the chore which awaited her. She had come to ask the host for donation.

The Sentinels had once been government run. With heavy financial backing they had been given huge operational scope and capacity. They could deal with crises in Iceland to Australia. But ever since they had been disowned, and the so called 'Project' had finished, the remaining members had been left with nothing but the superfluous extras. Everything else - the vehicles, many of the bases, the surveillance, and legislative clearances; had all gone. Officially, they were now a civilian operation making civilian arrests. While they had managed to hold onto a base, it was a shell of itself. They had their hands full paying for its rent. And as such they had been forced to downsize their operation to the local metropolises.

She wouldn't lie - it was a humiliating situation. Having to ask for handouts. Nergui hadn't wanted to do it at all. But the others had mithered her about it. They had seen this charity proceeding here today and thought that they too needed sponsorship. From someone with proper finances. Nergui wanted them to make the money themselves, but she had to be realistic. There was no profit in stopping crime these days. The people who had tried in the past had opened themselves up to so much legal detritus that it wasn't worth it.

If she didn't grovel just this once they could be looking at the end of the Sentinels.

It hadn't died when its core membership had left or gone missing. She had persevered on. This task had only gone to her because the remaining people looked to her as the 'responsible one'. She had wanted to win the team some honour, not have it mocked for being a burden on another.

And that's what it would be. A drain on someone's exchequer. A poor investment. A shadow of the once great Project. A poor replacement. Nergui couldn't let it be measured by what she did here today... She could not! The Mongolian decided she would not bother the host this evening.

"On second thought. It doesn't matter. What were we saying?" The others would be mad at her, but she trusted their noble hearts would see them through these troubled times. It was no shameful thing to be poor.

It was at this time a new fellow entered the mansion. Unlike the rest of the arrivals, he was in uniform. And he carried a tall parcel wrapped in brown paper, tied up with string. He had in one hand a photo which he scanned the crowd with before picking out Nergui. He pointed rather rudely and approached.

"Nergui Cherbat?"

"...Yes."

"So that's what a Mongolian hat looks like. I didn't know when he said to look for it." The man's good-natured spirit met a brick wall against Nergui's neutral expression, "Err. Sign here."

She was confused but did so anyway. The strange occurrence had attracted a bit of attention from the crowd. Conducting this sort of business in the open was unusual. Nergui was anxious to get the man to leave so she could figure out privately just who had delivered to her here. As well as the parcel, she also received a folded letter. Or rather, a handwritten note.



Hey Nergwee,

Hope your enjoying the party. Bring me back whats good. The fridge is empty again. Don't forget to speak to you know who. I know difficult for you. If you can't do it that is okay. We won't think less of you. Just won't ask in future. Remember to say please a lot. Film it if can.

Also at eight eleven the party will be invaded by armed robbers.

Okay I love you bye bye.

Soothsayer.



Nergui frowned and scrunched up the note. She looked regretfully at Nina, "Sorry about this." Picking at the string on the package, it fell open. It was her war hammer. The bastard had sent it to her so she could fight. Perfect... He wasn't even here and he was annoying her. It would have been far more useful if he had sent her the uniform. What she was wearing couldn't support the weight of her hammer.

But doing something sensible wouldn't be 'funny'.

"A colleague says something bad is about to happen. What time is it?" He didn't even come himself. As per usual Nergui was going to have to sort things out herself.