Persona: Sea of Djinn

[25K Now!]

IC: Lauren and the Alleyway of Horrors

 

"... Fool ... Kill ..."

 

The words left her mouth before she could even think, the sheer distorted rage in the shadowy creature's Arabic almost overwhelming.

 

"I ... what is this?"

 

And the creature continued to fizzle.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"That is usually what happens when Americans go in foreign antique shops, isn't it?" Adam was about as far from objecting to Des' hold on his arm as he could be, instead giving her a faint grin while they walked. "I think maybe it's a tourist trap. They tell you that, and either you buy it because you're a stubborn American, or you tell people and they all wander into the shop."

 

IC:

 

"Yeah, but can you imagine owning something magical? Wicked cool."

 

She neglected to mention Morgana. Adam had been her friend long before they had started dating, but she had somehow never found the time to bring up the fact that a featureless apparition of Arthur's half-sister was her spirit animal.

 

They began searching out some little antiques shop that a classmate had mentioned to her one time. Apparently she'd found a cool clock there.

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"Yeah, it would be." Adam agreed, musing that while he wouldn't really call it ownership, he was aware of exactly what it'd be like. The big, tall, animate manifestation of a Greek Titan was about as magical as it got. Not that he was exactly going to bring that up in casual conversation. Girlfriend or no, 'actually I know about that, I summon Atlas by waving my hands and muttering' was a pretty good way to get tossed in an insane asylum. And probably get broken up with.

 

Not exactly an A+ plan.

[Snelly]

NPC: Security Tape

 

A figure appeared several metres behind the now-deceased officer in the tape. The very next frame, the figure was gone.

 

IC: 

 

Clara paused the tape as fast as she could, then she began to back the footage up frame by frame till the figure appeared and paused it once more. "What do we have here?" 

Edited March 9, 2016 by Lina Inverse

[25K Now!]

NPC: Security Tape

 

The figure was very similar in appearance to the same man who had been reportedly seen utilising a Persona on the news.

 

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

Adam and Des would notice the antiques store snuggled next to a fishing store.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"Hey, Des. Is that what we're looking for?" Adam asked, tapping her shoulder briefly to get her attention and then pointing towards the antiques shop nestled next to the fishing store. "I didn't catch the name of the place. But that one's an antique place."

[Mel]

-==IC: Sarah==-

 

Sarah blinked slightly, as she looked at the girl who had waved her over. "Kind of." She looked at the girl curiously, as she wondered what language was best to use here. In an amusing twist of fate, Sarah's Arabic knowledge wasn't quite that good; but depending on how the discussion went, it just might allow her to talk her way through it. She did wonder who this girl was, but she didn't seem too bad right from that moment...

 

 

[Channah, Streets]

No such luck.

“Train station...uh...this way,” she said, pointing toward a vaguely east direction.  

“Go three streets, then turn, uh…” Right? Left?  Which one was which?

“--Forget it,” she said, and started walking quickly in the right direction, gesturing at the girl to follow.  She ignored her cousin’s exasperated honk.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Sarah==-

 

Sarah felt a bit bad for the other girl, but followed with a nod, figuring she knew the path better, even if she couldn't actually seem to explain it.

[Snelly]

NPC: Security Tape

 

The figure was very similar in appearance to the same man who had been reportedly seen utilising a Persona on the news.

 

IC: Clara

 

Well this was getting more interesting by the second. Now Clara had a potential suspect...there was just the matter of finding this man. She zoomed in on the man, perhaps a closer look would give her the details she would need to begin her search for him.

[25K Now!]

NPC: Security Tape

 

Unfortunately, the technology to zoom and enhance had yet to be developed.

 

However, the figure was recognisably Arabic in the video, and was wearing what appeared to be a coat and a bracelet.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Ooh, I think it was! Hana mentioned it was something alliterative."

 

The couple walked into the shop, and Des' jaw visibly clenched to avoid dropping. Magic lamps, cool carpets, and other various artifacts were strewn about as casually as clothes across her own dormitory. Antique weapons seemed to be a dime a dozen.

 

"Wha...what's for sale?"

 

-Tyler

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

"That depends on what you are looking for."

 

The lilting voice cut through the dusty old store, its source a pretty young man standing behind the counter, body leaning forward as his elbows rested against the old wooden surface. He wore a sleeveless black vest, a choice of outfit that seemed to accentuate his lean, yet muscular and athletic, build. His fingers, pale and long, were steepled together, almost as if he was in wait. He smiled at his two newest guests, eyes twinkling in bemusement at Des' enthusiasm.

 

"Welcome to Aleph's Antiques," he said. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

b-b-b-buh

 

beautiful

 

"Is anything here actually mystic?" she asked quietly.

 

-Tyler

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

The man at the counter pulled away from the desk, standing to his full height as his long fingers drummed against the wooden surface once. Twice. Thrice.

 

"Do you believe in the mystical?" he asked.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Again she bit back on her knowledge of Morgana.

 

"Yeah, I think so."

 

-Tyler

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

"Is there a ... reason you're looking for these things, then?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Des looked at Adam. She was starting to feel like a horror movie queen after all.

 

"Is curiosity good enough?" she asked tepidly. "I like magic."

 

-Tyler

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

"Curiosity has killed the cat quite a number of times," said the man, smile never wavering. "Hypothetically, if I did have something mystical here ... what would you want it for?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Probably something smarter than threatening customers! 

 

That said, he had a good point. She would so be killed in a horror movie right now. She even had a newly minted jock boyfriend. She could already see their heads mounted on this guy's shelf. Overlooking his sleeping...supple form...his tousled hair, his Cupid's bow mouth...

 

In the game, Des!

 

"My dad's a collector back in America. Antique weapons, trinkets. He has an anthropology fetish-thing," she said half-truthfully. "His birthday's coming up. Could use a gift, figured I could find something we'd both like!"

 

-Tyler

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

"Might be a bit hard to get weapons out of the country, wouldn't it?"

 

Aleph's fingers stopped in their drumming.

 

"What's its name?" he asked, softly. "It smells ... of apples."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

...

 

...

 

...

 

...

 

...

 

She tried hard to avoid Adam's gaze on the back of her neck. There was no use lying.

 

"Morgana."

 

-Tyler

Edited April 6, 2016 by Costa Vespula

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

"The enchantress, huh?" said the prettyboy with a wistful smile. "That does explain your fixation on acquiring something ... mystical."

 

He leaned forwards once more, elbows thudding against the wooden counter.

 

"And what of your boyfriend? It seems ... Greek ... a Titan?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

This time, Desdemona's head swiveled.

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"Atlas."

 

The one-word answer was polite enough, as was the almost friendly smile on his face, but Adam was very, very quickly growing distrustful of the man behind the counter. The thinly veiled threat in particular had made his muscles tense up just a little. Des' naming of her own Persona, because if the shopkeeper was homing in on Atlas there was nothing else this Morgana could be, drew his attention, though.

Apparently they'd been having something of a mutual secret.

 

"Not sure why you'd know that, though."

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

Aleph smiled.

 

"Persona users like you two give off a certain vibe," he explained, snapping his fingers with his left hand. "I've met some of your ilk before so it's ... familiar to me."

Edited April 6, 2016 by Selfdestructive Workaholic

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Familiar like you're familiar with a hair straightener, or familiar in the way that you are when you clean a corpse and melt its fingerprints off...?

 

Adam had totally been right about Americans in antique stores.

 

"I've just never met anyone else who knew about them."

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"I was thinking that that didn't really make you less suspicious, myself."

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

He chuckled, the smile on his face failing to leave. It was clear that he was bemused by the presence of the two Persona-users.

 

"Don't worry, I wouldn't dare actively attacking my customers," he replied. "It's bad for business, and I'm rather lacking in it already."

 

Aleph gestured around at his dusty little shop.

 

"Now, there are quite a number of Persona users in this city. A sizeable amount, in fact."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Wait...really? Why here?"

 

-Tyler

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

"I'm not too sure myself," admitted the antiques store owner. "Although, there was this one another Persona user who asked the exact same question. That was the same answer I gave him."

Edited April 6, 2016 by Selfdestructive Workaholic

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"You were able to pick him out of a lineup, too?"

 

-Tyler

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

"He was very obvious."

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"This whole thing is just weird. If anyone wants to know my opinion."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"What...makes us obvious?"

 

She ignored Adam. She still might want to buy something.

 

And she was curious about Personas. Nothing she'd ever found had any information on them, and if Morgana knew anything about what she was she clearly wasn't telling.

 

-Tyler

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

"The weirdness."

 

His eyes seemed to twinkle as the words left his mouth.

 

"Persona users ... you give off an aura. It affects how others perceive you. I'm not an expert or anything, but ... you guys are weirder. Different."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"You sound a lot like an expert to me..." Des trailed off. "What about the guy? Did he know he was a Persona user? Or did you use your aura reading thingy on him too?"

 

-Tyler

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

"He did," said the prettyboy with a nod. "Told me it straight off the bat, in actuality. Wanted to buy something magical from me ... just like you might want to?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

I can buy stuff!

 

"That's why we came, yeah."

 

-Tyler

[25K Now!]

NPC: Aleph's Antiques

 

"That's good. Now that we've narrowed things down to 'magic', what type of magical artefact are you looking for?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Okay, Taylor. Nothing that can turn you into a zombie, summon vampires and werewolves, and nothing that can ejaculate demons from the planet's mantle and send them spewing into the souls of the living.

 

Think.

 

...

 

Thiiiiiiink.

 

"We'll stick with weapons," she said, deciding that nobody in their right mind used a Conjuration weapon in real life. "I see a lotta normal-looking stuff out here. What do you have for real?"

 

-Tyler