An Abundance of Voices ~open~

[little lost dragon]

The white van from before was driving along the tinted windows hiding all but a outline of the figure inside. It came to a parking spot and the man got out in a tux and sun glasses. He went over to the back of the place and was stopped by one of the cooks. He looked at them and handed them a envelope. After a few more words and a point right at Lana and Benjamin before leaving in a stiff quick walk. The Van left quickly afterwards.

 

The cook looked at the envelope and came over to Benjamin seeing as he was at the table "Excuse me, this apparently is for... I'm told to say it re-guards your friend." he said before heading back into the back with the rest of the cooks.

 

Inside the envelope read a note

 

"To the friends of Vita _________

 

Your friend has helped us make great strides in our research. Know he will be dissected in 2 weeks. You won't get to see him again but in 2 weeks time be at Swarth street by the street lamp by the home 2396. Your friends home.

 

Sinserly Unknown department.

 

Along with the letter a picture of Vita in the room from the ceiling. Vita was laying on the bed the change from skin to scales nearly complete and silver swirls of the royal blue breed showing from his cheeks down to his neck and into the white clothing.

[HomeForFlowers]

"Practice is cancelled?" Aidan along with four other people in his orchestra stood in front of the door to the auditorium. "'Technical difficulties'? What? So the lights go on the friz and the decide to just cancel the entire practice?" a viola player asked. "Apparently so." a double bass player replied. "Let's just go get some breakfast or something." Aidan suggested. "We can practice our parts elsewhere." "Sounds good to me!" one of the two violin players said. "I guess that's okay..." the other violinist said. The group turned and began to scour the area for somewhere where they could get a quick meal, the instruments of each person hung from their backs in black cases.

[RavenWolf1010]

Rain chugged her hot chocolate and inhaled the eggs Benedict. As Ben raised the envelope, she stopped, dropping her fork. "Let me see." She said, taking the envelope out of his hands. She opened it and read it, her lips moving as she silently mouthed the words. Rain paled as she read. Setting the note down, she held up the picture of Vita.

"We need to get him back, soon. Very soon."

Edited August 4, 2013 by RavenWolf1010

[Lila]

Benjamin waved at Roxy. "Hey, long time no see," he called, waving her over. He knew how Lana reacted to strangers, but the envelope that had just arrived should keep her distracted long enough so that he could get in decent small talk with Roxy. "How are you?"

 

Lana snatched the envelope from Rain. He eyes focused on the picture of Vita. Her stomach dropped as she saw the changes in his physical form. He was changing from the person she had been with last night. She bit her lip, and without looking up from the picture, managed to say, "Benjamin? What did your father say?"

 

Benjamin glanced over casually. "He's going to email me by nine with an invoice for recent transactions at the van dealership. We can look through that to see which ones fit the criteria that the letter gives us."

[dragonfreak6132]

She was glad he remembered her. How awkward would it be if he didn't? She moved over closer to him.

 

"I'm fine, thanks. But it has only been a day. " Roxy said. Her necklace was becoming really warm now. What was up with it and heat? It wasn't burning hot, but it was becoming uncomfortable.

 

Roxy really hoped it didn't look like age she was dying or something.

 

((ITS SO SHORT. WHAT HAPPENED?))

[Lila]

Benjamin glanced over at Lana, who had gone back to stressing over the letter. He looked at Roxy's necklace intently. It was...glowing. But did they really have to go through this again? He didn't want another incident like at the apartment. "Lana, I'll be right back," he said quietly, standing up. He took Roxy gently by the arm and pulled her a few feet away from the table. "Where did you get that necklace?" he asked under his breath.

[dragonfreak6132]

Roxy was not expecting Benjamin to pull her over. So when he grabbed her arm, even though it was gently, she nearly lost her balance. He asked her about the necklace.

 

"My necklace? I, uh, the pendant was given to me by a homeless man." Roxy paused, realizing how awkward that sounded. "Why, is it yours?"

 

She shifted the dragon pendant and nearly burned her fingers. "Ow!"

 

Looking down, she noticed the pendant was glowing. She moved the chain as to not burn her chest. "Do you know anything about this?"

[Lila]

"Yea, yea," Benjamin muttered. "I know a lot." He pursed his lips, looked around for a second, and then back at Roxy. "Do you have...ridges? On your shoulder blades?" He really hoped he didn't sound ridiculous or illogical or anything of the sort. They couldn't afford to lose yet another possible ally in this situation. They didn't know what the hell they were doing (at least, Benjamin didn't). But Benjamin saw the passion in Rain and Lana's eyes and he knew that they needed to know they were not alone. He was there for them, despite their lack of a history as friends, but he wanted to be there. He wanted to help.

 

Lana looked over at Rain with a defeated sigh. "I just woke up," she muttered, squeezing the bridge of her nose. "I really don't want to be stressed already." She managed to stomach half of her biscuit and a few gulps of orange juice before deciding not to eat anymore. Her eyes caught sight of Benjamin talking to the girl a few feet away, but her ears couldn't quite make out what they were saying. She looked over to Rain. "Who is that?" she asked under her breath.

[dragonfreak6132]

Ridges? What is with him and odd questions? But the thing is, she did have ridges. She'd never pointed it out, and her parents never mentioned it, but they must've known. A baby can't bathe itself after all.

 

"Um, yeah, I do have ridges." she said. She looked at him questioningly.

 

((This is my last post for tonight/today))

Edited August 5, 2013 by dragonfreak6132

[Lila]

Benjamin's eyes widened. He looked down at his feet and ran his fingers through his hair, not knowing how to word what he was going to say next. "Well," he mumbled, looking back at Lana and Rain. "I know this sounds...strange...but I think that you have dragon blood in you." He shook his head, scolding himself for not knowing how to approach the situation. "My great grandfather, Olive Cromwell, was a geneticist. He created a dragon-human hybrid, well, two, and they became integrated into society after his...death. So there are two strains of human blood, and the hero strain has ridges and apparently have been receiving these strange necklaces..." He sighed, throwing his hands up. "My friends, Lana and Rain, are heroes. If you don't think I'm too psychotic -- you should go and talk to them."

[HomeForFlowers]

"The cafe? Really?" "Well where else do you suggest we go?" One of the violinist and the violist had been arguing for a while now. "Guys, how about we just go in, grab something, and go?" Aidan suggested. "Listen to Mr. Cello over here." the double bass player said. "Fine." the violinist snorted. Aidan looked over at the other violinist and she just shrugged. Aidan led his group into the cafe. He stood in line while the group ordered and blinked in surprise. It was the strangers from yesterday! What a coincidence. Once the food was ready, Aidan and his group sat down at a table and began eating and chatting. Aidan pulled his attention away from the group of strangers. There was no need to speak to them. Fina made it clear that she did not want to join them. Of course, five people with instrument cases surrounding them wasn't something that exactly blended in. There was a chance one of them would look over and recognize Aidan. If that happened, he would speak with them, but there was no way he was going to approach them, by himself. What would he say? 'Sorry that my friend who you just met didn't want to join you on your quest to save some guy she had never met and to find the eggs of an extinct species that no one really cares about anymore'?

[Lila]

Lana noticed a group of musicians approach, marked by instrument cases slung over their shoulders. Out of the group she recognised the man from last night that had shown up in her apartment. She held back a scoff, but not a scowl. She still couldn't believe that hadn't listened. Yeah, it was far-fetched, but it was true. If Rain and Benjamin, as strangers, had chosen to join her, then why not the girl? Her mind ran off on a different track, and a gentle breeze blew the photo and the letter in the man's direction. It wasn't until it landed at his feet that Lana noticed it was gone, and she quickly stood up and made her way over to retrieve It.

[HomeForFlowers]

"Aidan, there' something on your foot." Aidan blinked and looked down. He reached down and grabbed the picture and letter at his foot. What was this- oh... The man in the picture didn't really look....normal. Was this some trick at Photoshop? It looked real, but so did most Photoshopped things. Aidan had only gotten a glimpse of the picture when the girl from yesterday came to his table. "Is this yours?" he asked the girl handing the two objects in his hand.

[Lila]

"Yeah," Lana muttered, taking the papers from Aidan. She folded up the photo in the letter and turned to walk away, then stopped herself. "I never got your name," she said to Aidan. "And I don't know if you got mine. I'm Lana." She held out a slender hand, eyes expectant.

[HomeForFlowers]

"Name's Aidan." Aidan said as he shook her hand formerly. "Pleasure to see you again, Lana." The other musicians didn't seem bothered by this at all. They continued to chat with one another and eat their food. It wasn't rare for someone to come up to Aidan and speak with him. It was actually fairly common, so whenever it happened, no one freaked out or asked who the stranger was. "Is there something I can help you with?" Aidan asked Lana.

[Lila]

Lana shook her head. "Nothing in particular," she replied, tucking the letter under her arm. "I didn't know you were in the orchestra. I just figured you were maybe a hobbyist." She didn't know why, but she wanted to make conversation with Aidan. Maybe if he warmed up to her, then Fina would as well. Lana knew how farfetched that sounded, even in her head, so she put the agenda on the back burner and forced small talk until they got more information on the company that had stolen Vita.

[HomeForFlowers]

"Yep, we're all part of an orchestra." Aidan confirmed. "We're only staying here until the end next month though." the double bass player said. "We'll be going to France soon and we won't be back within a couple months." "I don't think Fina is going to like staying in an airplane for hours on end." Aidan mumbled. "Well she'll just have to deal with it." the viola player said. "You scraped up some money for her to come, and she's just going to have to deal with it." "I suppose so." Aidan said with a shrug.

[Lila]

Lana smiled awkwardly at their conversation. "I learned French in high school," she said with shrug. "Jetez un magnifique voyage." She smiled at herself, a bit amused by her own ability. She had paid very little attention to the teacher's instruction in that class, instead opting to study from the textbook at home and read french literature during class. She'd also adopted a French penpal, who'd helped her refine her letter-writing and conversational skills. The class was just a period of relaxation for her during the day.

[HomeForFlowers]

"Je vous remercie." Aidan replied. Aidan wasn't sure where this conversation was going. It felt like Lana was forcing herself to continue the conversation. Was she going to try convince Aidan to have Fina join her little group? Fina had stated that she did not want to join. The actions of the previous night showed that. Why would Lana be so persistent? Aidan noticed that everyone was almost done with their meals. "Do you guys know where we can practice?" Aidan asked his group. "Nope." one of them replied. Aidan pursed his lips. They could play from memory, but since when did orchestra players play from memory?

[Lila]

Lana stepped back. She didn't know where she was going with the conversation, either. Glancing down at Aidan's cello, her eyes were then drawn to Harry, who was barking incessantly at the crowd of musicians. He slipped out of his collar and bolted over to one, licking at the viola player's ankles and wagging his tail. "Harry!" Lana groaned, hurrying over. She knelt down to grab hold of the puppy, then looked up at the musician with an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry," she said, shaking her head. "He gets excited around crowds."

[HomeForFlowers]

"It's fine." the viola player assured Lana. "He didn't get any of our instruments so, that's fine." He then turned his head and looked over at the female violin player. "Could you find a place where we could practice?" he asked. She nodded and picked and unlocked her phone. She then began searching the internet to see if there were any places nearby where the group could practice. Aidan looked over at Lana. "Sorry again about what happened yesterday." he said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Fina doesn't get along well with anyone."

[Lila]

Lana stood up with Harry in her arms, licking her chin and neck as if it were peanut butter. "It's alright," she told Aidan. "I'm not either. And I know it's a lot to ask to commit to strangers who sound like lunatics. I'm sure it wasn't the best impression of us. It was late, and tensions were running high. I'm sorry we scared you off. The situation we're in right now...it just isn't the best." She glanced at the letter she had clasped her hand, a bit wrinkled because of Harry's antics.

[HomeForFlowers]

"No need for you to apologize." Aidan said as he waved his hand back and forth. "We were just not in the best of moods. Fina isn't good with people, at all. She tolerates me at the most and I've known her since she was in first grade." "I think I found a place." the violinist said. The double bass player looked over her shoulder and nodded. "Good job, Ellen." he said with a short nod. Ellen smiled and pocketed her phone. "Looks like its time for me to go." Aidan said. "Was there anything else you needed?"

[Lila]

Lana smirked solemnly. She was about to wave him goodbye when she thought of something. Setting Harry on the ground and keeping him in place with her legs, she opened up the letter and scanned it one more time, then stared at the photograph for a few seconds. "Here," she said, folding up the letter and holding it out to Aidan. "Give this to Fina, when you get a chance. See if it changes her mind, or anything. I've got it all down, anyway." She bent over and picked up Harry again, then waved Aidan goodbye and returned to the table.

[HomeForFlowers]

Aidan took what was handed to him and placed it in his pocket. "I'll make sure to do that." he said with a nod. He waved Lana goodbye and headed away with his group. Why did she give me this? Isn't it important to her? Is she still trying to convince Fina to join her?