[SgtBoomCloud]

Krestov was solemn as he followed Orrent back into the living space, eyes lowered as his actions caused the subsequent reactions from his team.  If anything, he looked to be enduring the verbal and emotional assault much like any physical one he was known to take.  He remained silent intl Slobbertooth posed his question, after which he simoly took a seat, opening his eyes.

"Is interesting thing, line of work we do.  Any other place of work, Krestov know never meet people see here.  Different we are, and sometimes is forgotten when the tempers fly.  But will not complain.  Krestov honored to  know each one here, and value skills humbly.  I stand in font of danger and try talking.  Believe me when say that there are more valuable skills present"

He cracked a smile, a rare one lately.  "is wet work we do now.  But still is job.  Let us not change because of job.  Slobber, must know KE and Lone Star butter rivals in security contract.  That information big for scandal...think KE would jump at opportunity with proof."

[Volker]

bnc's stand suffers under the combined assault but she's net yet ready to yield. Krestov might know her well enough to notice that she gets more and more entangled in details, missing the forest among the plenty of trees.

"Wait, wait, wait. What are you talking about, goddammit? I don't get paid drek for this. I do this for justice, and even more for Slobbertooth. Creep, Krestov you totally fucked up. You made me believe that there is something like honor in these drekheads when you brought me here. Slob your Johnson? Another Johnson pays you to get rid of us, I guess, you'd to that, too? Just a job, da? Small wonder you don't have friends.
And what the heck has Schmitt got to do with anything? He wasn't even our Johnson anymore, when I dated him. Check that? What's it to you who I date in my leisure time. I didn't even had sex with him - not that it's any of your business. I don't need to get shot either to know what my drones to. They're loaded with gel ammo, Sherlock."

She gets up, eyes now fixed on Slobbertooth. In an instant, the color of her neck and face change into ebony. The purple tinge in her hair vanishes. Where there were standig spikes a moment ago, now her hair formed itself into braids. Within a moment, bnc doesn't like herself at all.
"I'm not blessed with mojo, but I can do without, and I can do good. I have elecrtochromatic clothing, fibre-optic hair, and chameleon skin implanted all over my face and shoulders. I don't say that I can imitate anyone, but I can get in and out pretty much unnoticed. And it's difficult to see through that. Are you even an initiate, Torrent? Can you Mask you aura at all? I don't even need to.
"I think that's going to be a pretty tough host. I'll see, as I'm going to frigging rape it till it bleeds. But I don't think I can use my full potential sitting in a van and, how did you put it, "keeping the engine warm". Did you asshole even realize that our beloved Special K would have torn you head off if I would have kept out of the fight? Ask the big one if you want.
You know what? Don't. Just leave me fucking be. I don't need to find your parents' killers. You do. I should never have followed Ivan's lies. I should've -"
And softer: "oh crap"

With that, she rushes out of the room, now that the exit is free. She slams her room door shut with a loud bang, and locks it behind herself.

[SquirrelDude]

Slobbertooth face showed his disbelief at bnc's statement about Krestov crushing his head as she ran into her room.

"pfft. Krestov couldn't hit me if he wanted to." (Or'zet)

I'm just going to ignore what I now know about Ivan.

"Well, someone is going to have try to calm her down...

"NOT IT!"

[SgtBoomCloud]

Krestov watched as bnc went on her tirade, his expression betraying a visible pain as she remained silent.  As she stormed off, she lowered his head and Slobbertooth cracked his joke.  Growling a little lowly, he would slowly stand, his gaze still averted.

"Is right.  Lost vision when under influence.  Only she knows codes to eyes."  He stood still for a moment before relenting with a sigh.

Krestov am sorry.  Tried defusing situation.  Need to be team.  Team look out for each other, lift up, not tear down.  Wanted calm situation, made it blow up.  Typical Krestov"  sighing, he shrugged and walked over to bnc's door, crouching over it before giving a knock.  A gentle knock, indicating it was him.

Not bothering to speak aloud, he instead spoke through his datajack, communicating with her on her terms.  <<"Malyutka, please open up.  Am sorry.  Wanted make situation better.  Saw stress in team, words meant to anchor and reboot feelings.  Was to help finish favor for Slobbertooth without destroy team.  Krestov idiot, want to talk>>

[Volker]

bnc doesn't open the door.

I answered via PM for two reasons: First, it allows you to react to Krestov before and after he went to the room and continue playing. Second, the team's not going to overhear the conversation, so no need to bother you with my drama queen ^^

[Sabato Kuroi]

I'll give you that kiddo : The old reflexes have taken over. I guess that's why I haven't told you that I am an Initiate and I have the ability to mask my aura. Or is it because I've strengthened my connection with Raven? Ιs there a cost for all this? Am I actually becoming more secretive, more detached? Nah, I'd never betray my team...would I?   

.....................

"Slob, before we enter the Manor you will have to set priorities. Finding the whole truth behind the murder of your parents and killing the woman responsible are two separate things. Take your time if you need it, but please remember : the operation can't be successful unless its goals are clear."

[SgtBoomCloud]

Krestov would eventually reemerge into view, a solemn expression in his face, his breath and stance indicating weariness more than anything.  Catching the glances of his teammates, he would shrug and silently head to his rom, shutting the door.

A few moments later, dull thumping sounds indicated he had started a round of training on the practice dummy he had set up, but otherwise he was silent.

[SquirrelDude]

Slobbertooth saw Krestov's reaction, and yelled in the direction of bnc's room. "So, interviews with mages later this week then? You can choose the place." She could be angry all she wanted, but there was still a job to do.

He then headed off to practice with his Yamaha Raiden.

Unless the team has other things they would like to get done in the meantime, I say we skip forward to after Bluebird joins the team to plan the next part of the plan.

[Sabato Kuroi]

Torrent decided to take a break from his esoteric quest for Raven's secrets and ask Krestov to train with him in unarmed combat.
He needed to blow off some steam.


 

[Jack_Spade]

It was three days later that Bluebird entered the team's house for the first time.
The deadline for the party got closer and it became imperative to work on the catering angle.

The team had gathered after breakfast to get their planning done after bnc had managed to phish a reservation for five at the restaurant at 17.00h.

[Volker]

If you don't mind, I'll post the way despite Jack forwarding three days ^^ If we skip the scene, bnc will just go out to a disco afterwards, get herself drunk and laid, and will work fine again the next morn - noon.

The response doesn't take very long, but as a text message rather than herself shouting.
<@team <Sure. Leave it to me.>>

After that, a long sullen silence fills the apartment, everyone brooding on their own thoughts. After a while - an hour or so - she comes out again. Her angers seems to be blown away. Quite the contrary, she seems hollow, empty, worn out. You can tell from the red in her face and eyes that she's been crying, but that's already been a while ago. She looks relaxed, though you can tell from her pupils that she's indeed sober. There are some scratchmarks on her forearms, but apart from that, she seems to be perfectly fine. Her voice is weak, when she speaks up, but steady. There is no unsecurity in her words when she apologizes:
"I am sorry, Slobbertooth. Torrent, to you, too, I want to apologize. I don't wanna say, I didn't mean it. I meant it, and basically I still do, but my behavior was childish and unprofessional."
There is a slightly mechanical sound, as if the words were prepared beforehand. She avoids your glance, save for a short initial eye contact. "I am thankful that you accepted me as part of this team. I - Sorry, that's just all I wanted to say."

She then turns to Krestov, and her eyes change. They show a deep, genuine sadness. "Krestov. Ivan. My one and only true friend. There are no words to express how sorry I am for hurting you, on purpose too. Guys, please forget anything I said or hinted at. Krestov is the best man you will find in this world. I hope, Ivan, you will one day know me well enough to understand that those I hurt most are those I l...ike most. Until then, I honestly don't know why the fuck you don't just kick me out. You're special, K. Don't allow me to drag you down. Don't you fucking get close to me."

She looks around, as she realized that she was pulling off a Shakespeare drama in her underwear in front of a team of hardened criminals. "Oh, sweet Jesus, what the fuck am I saying? I'll spare you the Night in Ohio¹ and come back tomorrow."

¹ Reference to a kitsch drama that's been flooding the trids recently.

[SquirrelDude]

Slobbertooth unceremoniously picked his nose while flipping through the restaurant's menu in VR. He hated being up this early in the morning.

"Torrent, you should take the lead here. You've got a decker, a charmer, and a mage to help you. I'll do my best to not make a scene and do my best to watch your backs. I'm no good at dinner parties.

"Or breakfast... parties... whatever. It's too early.

"I'll go make myself another soykaf."

[SgtBoomCloud]

The morning of the meeting of the team proper in their home base, Krestov had just gotten out of the shower, cleaning up after his morning physical regimen.  Toweling his head off, the troll found himself staring at himself in the mirror,  eyes half shut as he recalled the words bnc said to him just three days prior...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-During the exchange, he said little, only making sure his own gaze did not waver from hers.  His expression softened as the words registered in his head.  No reply came right away...and only when she went to leave did he make any action.  Holding out a hand, he gently would place it on her shoulder, barely coming into contact with the skin.  "As long as you come back tomorrow"  He said.  Simple, not much meaning, but the undercurrent of his tone carried so much more weight, his expression flickering into the faintest smile as he let her go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Snapping back to and dressing himself, Krestov would step out into the living space, dressed in a casual tank and his usual cargo pants.  As everyone gathered, he would pace a bit, mind recalling the training with Torrent the past couple of days.  it was refreshing to spar with someone so nimble...it challenged him and his new synapses and allowed him to get  creative with his moves.  Feeling loose and renewed, he awaited for Bluebird's arrival to their home before their planning started.

[hadaalia]

Bluebird double checked the address, and knocked on the door to the residence. Upon entering she smiles warmly at the team. "Good to see everyone again." The past three days had been uneventful for her - primarily she'd spent it resting and working on her private investigation work. She'd wrapped up a couple more cases. But this was where the real work was. "What's on the agenda?"

Can I get a rough description of what the place looks like? Is there a couch or something for me to sit on, or a chair?

[SquirrelDude]

I'll do my best. This place isn't as well laid out as the place we'll be moving into after this run.

It's a large-enough suburban home. The team is relatively cramped inside its confines, but the doors and archways are large enough for a troll to fit through. There is ample seating gathered in the center of the room, not that the entire team uses it. One of the couches is covered in dog hair from the team's pet. Pieces of gear and equipment scatter the confines, with Krestov's disassembled machine pistol sitting on the dining table.

It feels like the home of people who spend little time entertaining others except for an occasional visitor after a night at a club.