Quote Originally Posted by InTheMachine View Post
December 2nd
December 3rd
John
“Maybe another time,” Natasha says when John offers to show her the Spire.

Spoiler: Notice TN 6
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Her right hand drifts down toward her stomach before she notices and quickly changes the motion to loop her thumb through her belt loop.


“I haven’t been feeling too well,” she confesses. “I don’t want to stray too far from the suite. Stomach bug, probably.” Her voice is smooth and convincing to someone who doesn’t know the truth.
Spoiler: John knows what to watch for.
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Notice: Tasha’s condition: 1d10o10+4 8 1d6o6+4 12


“Of course,” John said, maintaining his best poker face. “Your aura does hint at your condition but I wasn’t certain if you felt up to the trip or not, so I thought I would leave it up to you.”

Quote Originally Posted by InTheMachine View Post
She gives John a sympathetic smile. “It’s hard when everything comes rushing at you at once. I know it’s not the same as suddenly becoming a magician, but when James told me what he really was, it kind of… made me question my entire world view. I can’t imagine living through years and gaining all that knowledge in a day, then being transferred here. This town’s always been crazy.”
“Providence has always been a little quieter in that regard,” John replied. “Hope and Anchor are considered to be a little overpowered for the city but their presence makes sure we don’t get much in the way of overflow from New York or Boston. The Longshoreman keep street-level threats quiet and Rock Lobster makes sure the shoreline is safe. It makes it a safer posting for provisionals, from what I understand.

“But, yeah. The change to my world was sudden — although the study period let me adjust to some of it and the Tribunal’s initial directives for me in Paris and in Geneva gave me a little cushion before the deep end of the Windsor Incident.

Quote Originally Posted by InTheMachine View Post
“Ah, Mr. Radke, right? Are you two still competing?” Natasha asks curiously. “It’s been over a month since you and Emilia got together, hasn’t it?”
“We’re one day short of seven weeks since our first date, but who’s counting?” John asked ruefully. “I know that, as the guy, I’m supposed to be less precise but it’s a mathematics thing.

“Mostly.”

He sighed, recognizing he was trying to dodge the question.

“Whether he is actively pressing his suit or not, his presence looms large in our relationship. It doesn’t interfere every time we are together but it seems to come up often enough to make a difference — especially when we had to worry about his draconic side wanting to kill me over her.

“I managed to solve that issue but when I healed him he was completely healed — including childhood injuries. He has grown several inches through a combination of healing and improved posture, lost his anxiety and stutter, and filled out in a way that, quite frankly, I am not.

“Add to that my discovery that he is the illegitimate son of one of the nation’s foremost captains of industry and it sometimes feels like I am spending time improving his chances as a side effect of doing the right thing.”

He glanced at Ms Bal…at Tasha.

“Of course, that could all be perceptions colored by the insecure jealousy of a guy who hit the jackpot with his first real girlfriend and still isn’t sure which way is up.”

Quote Originally Posted by InTheMachine View Post
“James gave you glowing compliments,” she assures him. “He really does like you, John. And Alistair seemed convinced. He knows James is a terrible liar.”
“He’s very generous to say so,” John said, pleased to hear it and wishing their were a way to let his parents and Sister Anna Marie know an angel thought he was doing well. “I hope I can keep living up to his opinions of me. I have a lot of respect for him and hope that I can mature into a friend of his someday.”