Vingt-Deux † passage of days

[ex_seventh238]

[Now that Mayfield's calmed its pants and everything seems to have more or less gone back to order, Ciel will be all over town multitasking as per usual. Throughout this week and the next, you may find her doing the following:

I ; 1125 Taylor Road - Kitchen
Ciel is shuffling through some typical magazines to kill time while sitting in front of the oven that's visibly on and baking something. Sure smells good, too. Cheesy, to be precise. What is she making? She's usually either busy with curry or typical western dishes to feed the family...

Oh, look, it's... pizza. This will be the first time any housemates see her doing this, but if one is to take a look through the glass, the crust is rising and coming along nicely. This doesn't look like the work of a beginner, it can't be her first time making it. But hm... why now?

II ; Mayfield High (Backdated to Friday class time)
So it's French class with that one teacher who tends to go off-topic half the time, if she's not slacking off by giving students group exercises to do so she doesn't have to teach the other half the time. Except because Valentine's Day is coming soon, there's a basket of heart-shaped gingerbread cookies up the front.

You may take one AFTER class. UNTIL THEN, HOWEVER. Did you know that Saint Valentine was a Christian martyr? No? Yes? You don't care? Well you're getting a crash course anyway!]

The flower and sweet shop must be getting busy with Valentine's Day coming up, and I'm sure that many of you are looking forward to it to do something nice for your special someone, hm? [It's not your imagination, she did just wink.] That's very thoughtful and I certainly won't pry, but you should definitely know where the Holiday originated from! Please listen carefully and take notes if you need to, this will definitely be a bonus question on your midterm! [But it's not even French-related...

W/e you better keep up, she'll write the name down on the blackboard before shooting off.]

Valentine's Day is named after the martyr Saint Valentine, who lived around 3rd century BC during the later days of the Roman Empire. It derives from the word "Valens", by the way, which means strength and courage! If you know about ancient world History, at that time the religion of the state was Roman Paganism. Christianity was looked down upon, so Christians have always been persecuted by the country. Being a faithful when he could have been arrested is already brave, but even beyond that, Saint Valentine has secretly married Christian couples when such a thing would be illegal! This is how his name has come to be associated with love and romance, though it is also unfortunate and inevitable that he was eventually caught performing these services. Under the reign of Emperor Claudius II, the Priest Valentine was executed. It's said that the Emperor has taken a liking to Saint Valentine, but his execution became assured when he attempted to convert the Emperor himself. Still, as the name of the Holiday itself shows, he certainly hasn't been forgotten. Quite a bit has changed in the next two millenniums, but that's where Valentine's Day would trace its roots!

[Done, she cheerfully taps the blackboard once with her pointer.]

Okay, any questions? If not, I'll be asking some questions now!

[Either ask or sit there quietly and hope she doesn't pick on you...? 8|;; Well at least that sort of WAS educational... Maybe.]

[III ; Around town
a. Grocery Store → 1125 Taylor Road
Don't mind her looking quite pleased with herself and carrying enough stuff to feed a family of 10.

...Okay that's not humanly reasonable but she's carrying like thrice the capacity that a woman of her build should by all means be actually capable of handling!! With enough idleness to spare and stop to say hi to you if she catches you staring, whether you know her or not. You could always stand to be cheerful here, y'know? :D/

b. Kramden Road/Albright Lane
She's just loitering. Passing by. Inconspicuously. Here and there. No there is nothing stalkerish about this and you're rude for thinking it. She's just checking! Once in a while.

IV ; Jonathon's Tools
Dressed in typical housewife garments, she's by the hardware store with a sniper rifle and two revolvers on the counter, smiling nicely while she chats up the drone clerk.]

Ms. Slick, I'm afraid that we can't have the ladies handle these boys here. You understand, I don't want the officers on my case for a woman accidentally blowing her husband's head off. Nothing personal, but you're not meant to handle those. Now may I interest you in some flower seeds instead? Mr. Slick ought to take care of the yard work, but I do have a few recommenda-

Aha, no, that's quite okay, mister. You see, these aren't for me. I'm running an errand on the behalf of my husband, you know how much of a sport he is with those. He's unfortunately rather busy these days, so he asked me to go fetch those for him. You wouldn't send a well-meant housewife empty-handed back to her hard-working husband with such an unfortunate excuse, would you?

[She's giving him quite the puppy face. The male drone clerk is scowling lightly back at her, and while he still doesn't look willing, he is mellowing out.]

Arg... Is that so? That does make sense, but 'excuse', now that's stretchin' it a bit. We have good reasons, ma'am, even if this is on Mr. Slick's behalf...

But business is still business, isn't it? No one else will find out, you know. These firearms will go straight to my husband once I get home, you can package them for me in paper bags so no one would see. Won't that work?

[She is still smiling as always and looking relaxed and laid-back, but if any observer takes a closer look, they may notice her eyes shining a dull unnatural blue... Something that the clerk is helplessly captivated by.]

Y...es, ma'am, that would...

[A few moments later, the transaction is done, and humming cheerfully to herself, Ciel lightly steps out of the store with a rather big paper bag in hand.

V ; Rec Center Shooting Range
Like the rest of Mayfield, even if she wasn't picked for the surgeries, Ciel waded through her fair share of BS for the last 2 weeks or so. Being Active Aggressive around Merem since his return didn't make her feel any better either, so time to blow some steam off elsewhere through some other means!

Hence there she will be in the later evening, a time when there shouldn't be much people out loitering around a place like this. Though the standard target practices are still far too easy, especially with the rifle that she again took the liberties to modify once she took her hauled goods home. Might as well try to go for a new record time... This is also taking in account of her reloading speed, yes. She's oiled the chambers for swift reload, the mastery in every movement is apparent.

She'll kill at least an hour or so before deciding that it's enough.

VI ; Church
a. Outside ; Evening. It's dark out and you can catch her shoveling the snow by the entrance. It doesn't matter if there isn't much, she's doing it anyway. She's in her habits with a single blanket draped over her shoulders. Each breath she takes does produce a rather large white puffy cloud, made especially visible due to the evening darkness, but she doesn't seem to mind the cold in the least.

b. Inside. if someone's to drop by after the front entrance has been thoroughly and meticulously cleaned. There's a few candles lit in the front, but the lighting is general dim otherwise. Still, Ciel seems to be hunched over something with a lot of attention, she's seated behind the altar and scrutinizing whatever that's in front of her with great care... There is a book there, but on closer look...

...

Wait, is she sleeping?

c. On the roof ; Midnight. She's...

Perched on the cross. Really. Without difficulty and gazing far into the distance. She likes tall places, okay. Don't judge, there's nothing weird about a nun sitting on top of a cross in the dead middle of the night during winter. Nothing. On the other hand, isn't it a bit late for you to be out, too? 8T]

Comments

implying i wasn't going to pick 1

[splitthebaby]

[VGH

I mean HI. You know why you were cooking the pizza and a certain boy and his rat are waiting. Well, the rat is the only excited one.]

why did you come back again

[ex_seventh238]

[wow it's not like


this wasn't justasplanned.jpg or anything.

so does that mean you mysterious are now inside the house despite no one having actually let you in. because you should at least have the decency to do that instead of like, creepily breathing by the window or something. WHICH WOULD NOT SURPRISE HER COMING FROM YOU BUT STILL.]

iii / b

[silpheed]

[Wow why is there a stalker in the neighborhood Rachel doesn't know WHO she's stalking but WEIRD PERSON WALKING AROUND IS WEIRD!!

Which is to say she's probably sitting in a fucking tree or something and just watching. c_c]

[ex_seventh238]

[Loli vampire sitting in a tree



It would certainly be weird if she wasn't accustomed to such things! Being guilty of it herself, etc.

No but really okay she might as well ask while she's there!!]

Um... Excuse me?

Church, outside, evening.

[thegirltwin]

[A familiar voice calls out as Nina approaches, waving. She's dressed for the weather, snow crunching under her boots with each step.]

Ciel!

[ex_seventh238]

[Now that's indeed a voice she hasn't heard in a while! They say moods are contagious, you certainly can't accuse that statement to be completely unfounded.]

Oh, Nina! Good evening. How are you? [She'll greet her with a bright and easy smile.]

II

[firstofthefallen]

[Oh hey look. It's the weird teen who had been hanging around a few weeks ago that you ran into Ciel.

Just raising his hand and waiting patiently.]

[ex_seventh238]

[...wait did she even get his name whelp. ...If anything the class roster may have him registered as Louis? UNLESS HE JUST WALTZED IN...

Well WHETHER IT'S A TRAP OR NOT--!]

Yes?

II

[bloodypacifism]

[Euphie tentatively raises her hand.]

I do...have a question.

[ex_seventh238]

[No need to be shy!! ...Or maybe this one teacher you have is too enthusiastic for her own good... u_u]

Oui? [...Which is just "yes" in French, :|b;]

church b;

[encored]

[WELP

here he'd come all the way to church hoping for some good company, and instead he finds a very accurate representation of the average high school student during lecture.

he'll be trying to edge that book away to get a closer look at it though...]

[ex_seventh238]

[To be fair she spent like a year or two playing "pretend to be average high school student" by brainwashing the entire establishment. WHO'S TO SAY SHE'S NOT ON A NOSTALGIA KICK.



okay maybe not really.......

ANYHOW It's a cookbook with pizza and pasta recipes. Sooo, Italian cuisine.




You've seen weirder things, r-right...]

VI C

[imperial_ray]

-It should be apparent enough by now that Dizzy doesn't keep a human sleep schedule anyways. Or their aversion to cold, given she's in her "normal" gear tonight.-

Mm... The stars look nice tonight, don't they? -This is becoming a more common thing, she realizes. Talking to Ciel. On the roof. And not inside like normal people.-

[ex_seventh238]

[Normality is overrated. Why not get a better view when you have the ability to reach higher grounds?

And yes she already knows Dizzy is rather extraordinary in several senses of the world, the company is rather nice too so there's nothing to complain about.

She chuckles back quietly.]

It is a good thing about this place, the skies are generally clear enough to see the stars at night. It's a bit disorienting because they're completely off from how they should be at home, but that's a bit of a silly complaint, isn't it?

III; a

[hisnameisthecaptain]

[The Captain stares. He can lift a lot. A lot.

But that's a great balancing job.]

How do you keep it all from falling?

[ex_seventh238]

[They need a lot of food in their house, okay.]

It's a matter of weighting things, probably! It took a bit at the store to sort everything in the right bag, at least that's what I've done... [She may or may not have cheated too, magically reinforcing the plastic bags to make them more durable.]

VI - C

[tsukihime]

[Arcueid had finally decided to leave the house after her experience with the previous event. Though, at this point, she didn't really know what to do. She still almost felt as if she were just floating around trying to forget what had happened.

She almost missed being able to go to sleep and forget everything that had happened.

Still, she automatically found herself wandering toward the building she knew Ciel would be at. As she approaches the Church, she'll stop some distance out front, catching Ciel's profile against the sky.

She'll just stand there and watch for a time, not really sure why she came in the first place. She'd seen the woman prowling the street earlier in the day...but she couldn't force herself to go outside during the day. Night felt better for her, after all.

Without thinking up any reason to be there, or what to do about it, Arcueid will likely turn away and start walking if Ciel doesn't end up responding.]

[ex_seventh238]

[Ah, nope.

A jolt of electricity passes by Arc. Nowhere close enough to possibly harm her, and it vanishes into the night a few seconds later. It definitely comes from behind her, and if she turns around, she will see Ciel with a hand almost lazily outstretched.

Well?]

vi; b.

[bloodsugar]

[he has been meaning to catch up with and check up on the people he's come to call 'friends' ever since the latest fiasco in the ongoing disaster which is Mayfield; perhaps it's shameful, or merely a testimony at how terrible he is with keeping up with things -- but he's a little late in making his way to the church today, as planned.

but, he does -- and it's lucky he's in the habit of poking his head in before making an entrance, because upon finding the dear Sister in this... surprisingly vulnerable position, Abel is keeping the boisterous and over-enthusiastic greeting he'd been preparing on his lips to himself. in it's place, he settles for gently shutting the doors to the church behind him... taking a few soft steps toward her.

at first, he had thought she was simply reading -- but when she doesn't acknowledge his approach or stir at all... he realizes she's actually...

...asleep?

he studies this... oddly endearing sight a long moment, before his expression softens into something fonder, and almost... apologetic. she had probably worn herself out, hadn't she...? if he knows her -- which she might not allow him, much -- then she was likely running herself ragged in the attempt to help all the lambs lost to pain and suffering these past few weeks. sleep had caught up with her at an inconvenient time, hm.

he shrugs out of his cloak (she keeps making him compelled to do this; what is it about looking vulnerable that makes him want to suffocate her with extra layers?!) and gently moves to drape it around her shoulders, trying to caaarefully wiggle the volume out of her hands so he could set it beside her where it wouldn't clatter off her lap and rouse her prematurely from a nice (and most likely well-earned) rest.]

[ex_seventh238]

[Not in the least and no one could be faulted. Innocent people all over were randomly picked for surgeries. Even if one didn't have that misfortune to experience it personally, everyone also has people they care for, and when chaos of this magnitude strikes, it's only natural - only human - to stay by the sides of those we consider dearest.

And after it all blows over, everyone could use a good rest too.

He isn't too far off the mark, she did go overboard. She could normally go fine without sleep, up to four whole days and more even, but there are always limits. It's cold out tonight, but inside it's warm and the lighting was dim. The conditions were right to evoke that drowsy feeling, and before she knew it, well...

Not that she's easy to catch off-guard, the barrier around the Church grounds do double as her personal alarm. There are however some presences that she grew accustomed to because they came by frequently. An inherently demonic and malicious aura would wake her up just by approaching, but that doesn't really happen even here, generally. She's more prone to receiving visits from shotapires and of late, nosy priest... 8|

The sleep wasn't deep. She just unexpectedly dozed off, so she stirs the moment a weight starts to press down on her shoulders.]

...Hn... [There's someone close by, and they're not enough to set off her automated self-defense instincts like it has with poor Charles despite the fact that her sixth sense is flaring up. Her eyes slowly flicker open, but her gaze is still downcast. Who...?]

IIIa

[imoutos]

[ wait is that possible how should that be possible is Ciel even more of a superwoman than she thought.. and with superwoman I mean just someone really awesome not necessarily with special powers since she doesn't know Ciel was there too last time around with Mami, yup.

So there's one staring young girl with a hat here.. enjoy.. ]

[ex_seventh238]

[my moe radar is tingling--!!

Except honestly it's more like she caught sight of that cute orange hat that could only belong to one person that makes her halt and come up to you. With a chipper greeting, of course!]

Good afternoon, Sengoku-san! How are you?

VI; b

[kinship]

[Cain had stopped by to look for his brother, and couldn't help but notice Ciel at the front of the church. Walking forwards quietly so as not to disturb her prayer, he only realises when he gets close that she's sleeping.

Ah.

Taking off his coat, he drapes it over her shoulders. It's too small to cover her, of course, being a child's coat... but it's better than nothing.]

[ex_seventh238]

[sob inb4 your whole cast bundles her up!!

The movement tips her off. He is shorter than her, so more shuffling around made it more obvious. Shifting in her seat, she slowly opens her eyes, already aware that there's someone else around but thankfully they didn't ping anything on her threat radar.]

...Hn? [There's a blonde child. ...Ray? Wait, but he was droned months ago...]

I

[envyspites]

Are you...making pizza? [Brb crouching down and looking through the oven door.]

[ex_seventh238]

I am, Sonozaki-san. I thought of trying something different, but it's more like an unusual situation cropped up. ...It's plain cheese though, do you like them? [:|a]

VI - Church - Outside

[photonicfighter]

[Feeling infinitely more like herself, and able to actually make her legs take her to the church, Dakki had been feeling in need of some quiet spiritual contemplation. Seeing Ciel there, shoveling the steps, brought another need to mind. There were thank-yous to give. So many thank-yous.]

Ah. Ciel! Nice evening, isn't it?

[ex_seventh238]

[She was wondering who could be out at this hour when she recognizes the woman. She came by sometimes after Aurica's droning, didn't she? There was THAT time, too...

But that's in the past.

Puffing out a small cloud of white, she smiles back to greet Dakki cheerfully.]

Good evening! Miss Dakki, is that right? Mm, it's a bit cold, but nothing too bad and the air is fresh. What brings you out here at this hour?

III; b

[piechemist]

<sub>[Rorona's just opening some windows after messing up another synthesis attempt.

You know, the usual blowing things up and whatnot.]</sub>

[ex_seventh238]

[










is that smoke

Well she doesn't smell a growing fire but this is still definitely alarming! Laxing her watch over 1486, she will mosey over to 1487 and try peering from the window to get a quick glance, seizing up the situation and all.

...

wait doesn't someone else she know lives here...]

II

[riblam]

<sub>[... What's this about 'Valentine'? The Valentine Mercedes knows is a kingdom or was a kingdom or whatever!

Gonna be raising a hand.]</sub>

Re: II

[ex_seventh238]

Oui, mademoiselle Mercédès? [She seems pretty eager and receptive! ...Hopefully she didn't bite off more than she can chew... >_>]

VI; b.

[birthmarked]

[Seeing the Church clean made Esther feel a little obsolete. Sure she used to shrug the job off on Dietrich back in the day. Now? Well Esther wants to feel useful.

But, hey isn't that Miss Ciel ahead? Maybe she can help with that.]

Miss Ciel! Ah... do you need anymore help around here?

[ex_seventh238]

[More or less how she feels too tbh. RE: The Church isn't exactly the most popular place in town so she tends to clean and restock when there's free time.]

Good evening, Sister Esther! I'm nearly done with the front, um... do you mean chores around here, in general? [Does that mean she has to start splitting them from now on.



...No it's not like chores tend to be a matter that people would generally want to hog for themselves, BUUUUT...

Well she'll start drafting the list in her head anyway, she does those enough times to have the whole list memorized.]