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Post by dante on Feb 29, 2008 19:39:01 GMT -6
It was no secret that Dante was not a very sociable person. Nonetheless, the citizens of Dublith respected her, considering themselves blessed to have a master alchemist and accomplished pharmacist living with them in their humble little town. She was helpful as any alchemist could be, using her alchemy to help the people in any way she could. Dante was the ideal neighbor whose company everyone seemed to enjoy.
The ignorant humans saw her as a sweet old woman. And that's exactly how Dante wanted it.
The old woman was strolling down a street somewhere on the outskirts of Dublith, carrying two large bags of groceries. Groceries, among other things, were one of the few things she came to the town for. Today, however, there was something more important for her to do: maintain her image; socialize with the few people that she could stand being around, do favors for the townsfolk, and so forth. She hated doing it, but it was necessary for keeping her harmless image.
All of a sudden, the elderly alchemy teacher felt someone tugging the side of her long black skirt. Dante, looking down, saw a group of small children looking up at her, one of who was holding onto a broken toy train. Dante muttered something nasty inwardly, recognizing the child as the son of one of Izumi's good friends, the brat who always broke his - and everyone else's - toys.
"Mrs. Dante, I broke my train. Could you fix it for me with alchemy?" he asked. "Mrs. Curtis fixed it with a hammer, but the wheels are falling off again..." That sounded like her worthless student, alright.
Dante considered throwing a wad of bills at the child so he could buy a new toy, not wanting to use her godly alchemy skills to help some snot-nosed brat. But, unfortunately for her, she didn't have much of a choice. "Of course, sweetheart," she answered with a wide smile, placing her grocery bags down next to her. Clapping her hands, Dante touched the broken train, and suddenly it looked good as new, if not better.
"Wow, this is awesome!" the child exclaimed as he and his friends stared at the toy in awe. "Thanks, Mrs. Dante!" the children chorused, then ran off to go play with their toy, waving at Dante as they disappeared down the street.
'Worthless brat', Dante seethed inwardly as she smiled and waved good-bye.
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Post by silverviper2134 on Mar 7, 2008 21:08:28 GMT -6
Martel stood in the alley, watching the old woman from a distance. Greed had told her about someone named Dante. And according to the boy whose train she fixed, this woman was her. She didn't look dangerous, so why Greed had told them not to attack if they saw her was beyond Martel. Still, she was impelled to obey the orders given to her by her boss.
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Post by dante on Mar 7, 2008 21:22:53 GMT -6
Dante watched as the children scampered off, feeling unclean from dealing with them. She had never liked children; in fact, even though she did love her son, she never really enjoyed being around him until he got out of his spoiled brat and rebellious teenager phases.
Instead of heading deeper into town to visit some of her 'friends', Dante stood in the middle of the road, gently clutching onto her violet shawl, her hazel eyes narrowed in suspicion. Having been around for well over four centuries, Dante's senses were quite refined, despite the age of her current vessel; she had the habit of picking up on even the faintest of sounds, be they light footsteps or breathing. After all, that was pretty much a necessity for someone living with a group of murderous Homunculi.
"Lurking around in an alley isn't very proper behavior for a young woman, dear. One might think you were up to something," she finally addressed the girl who was observing her, her tone calm and gentle as usual.
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Post by silverviper2134 on Mar 7, 2008 21:26:12 GMT -6
Her eyes widened slightly and she hissed as she heard the old crone speak to her. Not knowing what to do, Martel followed the fight-or-flight tactics of an animal. She extended her arm up to the edge of a small roof, and pulled herself up. Once she was on top, she took off towards the western part of the city.
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Post by dante on Mar 7, 2008 21:41:07 GMT -6
Dante, wondering how the girl would react, glanced over, and was surprised to see her stalker extend her arm and pull herself up onto a nearby roof. "Leaving without saying good-bye? That's not very polite," she called after Martel.
She saw that Martel didn't use a transmutation circle, so she couldn't be an alchemist. Well, she might have seemed the Gate, but Dante sincerely doubted that. There was only one logical conclusion: the girl was a chimera.
Yes, that would make perfect sense. According to Pride, many chimeras escaped following Greed's break-out. And if she was following her, that would mean the chimera knew something she shouldn't.
Dante furrowed her brow, a pensive expression crossing her withered face. She had suspicions; perhaps following Martel would confirm them. And she had time to spare; Lyra's next lesson wasn't for another hour.
Adjusting her shawl, Dante slowly walked off in the same direction as Martel, aged eyes tracing over the rooftops.
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Post by silverviper2134 on Mar 7, 2008 21:43:40 GMT -6
After running and jumping rooftops for a good thirty blocks, Martel finally jumped from the ledge of a lower building. She contemplated what she should do next. There was the option of calling Greed, telling him that she'd found Dante. But no, there were too many people around right now. She'd tell him later, when she returned to the bar. But what to do now?
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Post by dante on Mar 7, 2008 21:54:45 GMT -6
Dante continued her stroll down the street after Martel, not seeming to mind that the girl was well out of sight. She was too busy mulling over the possibilities: that chimera, having heard something about her at Lab Five, was out for blood; even worse, there could be a large group of them with her; and worst of all, they could be working for Greed.
She suddenly came to a quick and abrupt halt on seeing her former student's friend Mason at a nearby fruit stand. Frowning profoundly, she increased her pace and went passed him, not wanting to interact with the dim-witted muscle-head. She had things to take care of, and wasn't going to be held up by some buffoon.
A few moments later Dante stopped in the middle of an empty street and began to survey her surroundings in hopes of finding Martel. "Don't worry, I won't bite. I would just like to have a word with you, if that's alright," she called out once again, not really expecting a response.
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Post by silverviper2134 on Mar 7, 2008 21:56:34 GMT -6
Martel simply stared at the old woman, wondering what she should do. 'Talk to her a little, don't draw attention' her brain was telling her. Listening to it, Martel nodded a little to show that it was indeed allright, even though Dante was no where she could see. She stepped through a few crowd members, narrowing her eyes slightly if she caught any of them leering at her tattoo. Finally she spotted the old lady and walked towards her, stopping once there was a good four feet distance between them.
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Post by dante on Mar 7, 2008 22:12:07 GMT -6
On seeing Martel emerge from the crowd and walk toward her, Dante quirked a nearly nonexistant eyebrow in mild surprise. Noting that she stepped forth and revealed herself, she figured that Martel didn't intend to harm her before, otherwise she wouldn't have showed herself. Then why was she spying on her? She had to be working for someone else, she resolved. And she thought she knew who that certain someone was.
Dante examined Martel, noting her simple human appearance. Had Martel not extended her arm and revealed her power, Dante wouldn't have even suspected that she was a chimera. Very humanlike; she was definitely from Lab Five. Putting on her gentle smile, Dante addressed Martel, "Hello, my name is Dante. I'm terribly sorry if I frightened you earlier. Though I am wondering why you were spying on me."
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Post by silverviper2134 on Mar 7, 2008 22:15:55 GMT -6
"Just looking around, really. I haven't been here for very long" she answered. It wasn't a complete lie. At least not the second part- she really hadn't been in Dublith very long. She was somewhat surprised Dante hadn't asked for her name, though she was always greatful. For some reason, she always felt awkward introducing herself.
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Post by dante on Mar 8, 2008 17:56:54 GMT -6
Not surprisingly, Dante did not believe a word that came out of her mouth. Did the little bitch think she was a complete moron? It certainly seemed like it. At any rate, she knew without a doubt that the girl was up to something; the severity of it had yet to be seen.
Dante strengthened her disarming smile, doing her best to hide her growing aggravation, and went on, hoping to get at least a little useful information out of Martel, "Is that so? If you're interested in seeing the town, perhaps I could show you around. Dublith is a lovely town, and I've lived here for most of my life, so I know it very well. Oh, and I don't believe I caught your name."
She suspected the girl would make up an alias for herself or something like that - well, half expected it; she didn't seem too bright, at least in her opinion. If she played her cards right, hopefully the chimera would relax and inadvertently reveal some key information.
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Post by silverviper2134 on Mar 8, 2008 17:59:45 GMT -6
"Martel and no, thank you" she said. Her first idea was to think of an alias, but she decided against it. She started to walk away, headed back in the direction of the Devil's Nest. This lady was freakin' her out.
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Post by dante on Mar 8, 2008 18:14:52 GMT -6
Dante was disappointed that she couldn't get more information from her, but decided against pushing her to go along with her. She had a satisfactory amount of information, anyway: there was someone who knew a bit about her nearby, and since Martel actually revealed herself and was civil with her, she doubted it was her. After all, if Martel knew anything about her, she would have most likely tried to take her out.
And she had a good idea of who the person behind Martel was. Perhaps a prisoner overheard her name from one of her insiders, and sent Martel to keep an eye on her. Or, more likely, Greed was out for revenge.
Well, there was only one way to find out (And if she was indeed mistaken, she'd only come across as a bit kooky): "Martel, would you be a dear and tell Greed I said hello? It's been ages since I've seen him."
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Post by silverviper2134 on Mar 8, 2008 18:17:26 GMT -6
Hearing Greed's name, Martel flinched slightly. Not wanting to hint anything out to Dante, she continued walking without saying a word. She knew something she shouldn't have, and Martel was tempted to drag her to an alley and slice her throat apart. The only thing keeping her from doing so were the order given to her by Greed.
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Post by dante on Mar 8, 2008 18:23:09 GMT -6
Not really caring that Martel didn't seem to respond, Dante chuckled lightly and went on her way, knowing that she was already late for her visit with one of the more prestigious townsfolk. If Martel was really working for Greed, then Dante knew she got her point across.
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