* The Moyer residence, near College Park, and Kidumiel and Ayrie are currently taking care of business while Philip and Luxastra are out...
{Ayrie} Kiddy, could you hold your finger right -there-, please? *she indicates a place on the package she's wrapping*
* Kid holds her finger right *there.*
* Ayrie smiles, and ties a bright ribbon around *there*, but managing not to tie Kiddy's finger in the process! The table that she's sitting at has many little bits of wrapping paper, boxes, pages of notes and marked maps. She seems to be alternating between wrapping some last-minute christamas presents, and correlating notes of 'what they know so far' about their entire Lightning-given mission.
{Ayrie} Thank you! *smile*
{Kid} Anytime! {beams}
* Ayrie nods, and goes back to finishing the wrapping, filling out a notetag and then setting the package aside. She goes back to her map, and makes some more notes.
* There comes a knock at the apartment's front door.
* Kid hops up and heads over to the door, peeeeering out the peephole that her player boldly guesses is there!
* The video peephole reveals -- one Soldier of God in telephone-repairman jumpsuit, and one Elohite of Lightning in Webmistress Suit!
{Philip} Hello, miss... we're here about your phone lines? *smile*
* Kid opens the door!
{Gillian} Hi there. Have a light?
* Kid shakes her head.
* Ayrie looks over towards the entranceway, smiles, and waves. "Hey there... welcome back!"
{Gillian} Hello, Ayrie. Kim. Did we ever have a devil of a time.
* Philip enters, giving room for Gillian to enter as well. "Hey there, Ayrie...." He pecks her on the forehead. "Back in a sec, I'm gonna get changed." He hehs a bit at Gillian's comment, then ducks back into his and Ayrie's room.
* Ayrie raises an eyebrow, and nods. "Well, that's what we were hoping for..." She sighs slightly, and shifts over her notebook to be ready for notetaking. "... What did you and Philip find out?"]
{Gillian} We were visited by three spirits. Or was it just one?
{Kid} Did he make up for all of 'em?
* Ayrie mmms? "What was his office like? How'd he interact with his patients? Were you able to resonate any of them?"
{Gillian} I think my cover's been partially blown. So much for the spirits doing it all in one night.
{Ayrie} Oh boy. *she mms some more* Damn. Well, it -was- a risk.
* Kid abruptly sobers, nodding. "That's.... not good. How'd that happen?"
{Gillian} Well there were several points when it could have happened. He might have noticed my slight lilt from having to learn Heaven's own tongue after pronouncing it with a Liar's accent. Or maybe he noticed that I helped kittens out of trees on every floor of his building. Or maybe, just maybe, it was when he resonated me.
* Kid nodnods. "Which goes to the next question. Whad'ja find out? What is he?"
* Ayrie ughs, and sighs. "Could you tell the type of resonance?"
{Gillian} No. I'm afraid I can't.
* Ayrie sighs, and nods. "Right. Perhaps we can figure things out from how he handles stuff in his office... what was it like?"
{Gillian} Fairly nice... a good place for a demon who has a reputation to keep up.
* Ayrie writes some notes. "Makes sense, if he's been around for so long... Staffmembers? Layout? Computer records or paper?"
* Gillian takes pen, paper and starts to sketch all that she remembers.
* Ayrie hrms, and watches as she sketches. "Hm. Pretty small, but that's about usual for one-doctor psych-consult places. How'd the wiretapping go?"
* Philip steps out from the back, now clad in jeans and sweater. "Well, I was at least able to get his office lines tapped, Ayrie, from the building plans. We'll have to see if he says anything incriminting on them."
* Gillian nods.
{Ayrie} That's good, at least... *her brow furrows slightly, as if reminded of something...*
{Kid} You've got that loooo-oooook....
{Gillian} Yes. That one.
* Ayrie shuffles around her notes, digging up some from a few days ago. "Did we ever ask the Seneschal if it was possible to trace the identity of the demon who called Tivoli? Or for that matter, the identities of the Theft team who got caught in Illinois?"
{Gillian} I believe we asked... it's odd. It's only been a few hours, and already it feels like weeks to me.
{Ayrie} Life moves fast in the big city... *she hehs a bit, and digs around her notes some more, checking for said notes...*
## Ayrie rolled 3d6 = 10 (3 6 1).
* Ayrie finds her notes from the evening after the caroling walkabout, from where it was hiding under some wrapping paper. She peers at it, and then frowns slightly. "Well, fsck."
{Gillian} Yes?
* Ayrie taps one of the names. "Japeth, the Impudite that got knocked into Trauma? If he was the same one on the phone, then he's -out- of Trauma."
{Gillian} Isn't it fine how old friends show up at the nicest times?
* Ayrie mmms, looking down at the paper. "Which means he just might end up coming out here to 'help' Tivoli. Yay. Well, Ithuriel -did- say there was a likelyhood that a Theft team would try something. Which means they'll have a window of action when they breeze into town." She sits with the paper, crossing her arms and looking like she's trying to figure out what they should do next.
{Gillian} Then can I play with the Imputite? I cross my heart, I'll play nice.
* Ayrie hehs a bit. "Let's try and figure out how -many- might be coming, first. You might have to share if we don't have enough to go around."
{Gillian} But you know I don't play well with others.
{Kid} Can I play too? Please? Pleasepleaseplease? I promise I won't eat *all* the ice cream this time....
* Philip chuckles. "Well, be that as it may... if anybody tries to call him at the office about it, we'll be able to catch it." *pause* "Which means likely they -won't-, but still." He hrms, and moves around the table to search through the papers as well. "...where'd you leave that translation?"
## Ayrie rolled 3d6 = 12 (1 5 6).
* Gillian looks around herself for that very thing.
* Gillian finds it before Philip does! A nicely laser-printed lightning outputted copy, under the tape dispenser.
* Gillian holds it up. "I think this is the little paper lost."
* Ayrie giggles a bit. "Yup, that it is..." She patpats Philip consolingly on the shoulder as he takes it from Gillian.
* Gillian is no Malakim, so she can surrender it!
{Philip} Right... let's see here... *he quickly skims over the helltounge translation.* ... Okay, so Japeth called him at home... they're likely going to try and kidnap them from this, and try to do so before Christmas... and he's hoping to play it up for his benefit, yay. *eyeroll* ... and as usual they want to keep it quiet so the Game doesn't get involved.
{Gillian} which would solve none of our problems anyway, so it's just as well that they're keeping out of it.
* Ayrie peers at the paper. "True... though it's admittedly a lever we could try to use if they suspect we're other-than-human, by pretending to be the Game." She frowns a bit. "Of coruse, that's a dicey proposition anyway, and too risky for my taste at the moment." She sits back, thoughtful. "So... less than a week to go for them to make their move..."
{Gillian} wait. Say that again. I just want to remember that it was you who suggested involving the Game on even a perfunctory level and not me.
* Ayrie whupses, and blushes, looking sheepish. "Right, right. Okay, I admit I suggested it. Consider it -very- much shot down."
{Philip} Gooood.
* Gillian nods.
* Kid nodnodnodnodnodnodnods.
* Ayrie nods, regaining her wits, and starting to look thoughtful again, thinking over the translation.
## Ayrie rolled 3d6 = 6 (2 2 2).
{Ayrie} ... hm. If they're going to try in the next week, they're going to have to be fast. And if Tivoli wants to play it up to his advantage... it's going to need to be -visible-.
{Kid} Which gives us at least a little of an advantage....
* Kid pauses. And pikupikus. (No, not pikapikas. Wrong Vessel.) And looks at Ayrie. "Heeeeeeeeey...."
{Gillian} You have an idea?
* Ayrie looks at Kiddy, eyebrow quirked. "Hmm?"
{Kid} Didn't she say something about a party?
* Ayrie blinks, and then nods. "Hey, you're right... she -did-."
{Gillian} Go on, please, you have our undivided attention.
* Philip quirks an eyebrow. "Well, that explains the dress you bought this weekend..."
{Kid} Sooooooooooooooooooo that's pretty visible....
{Ayrie} Well, Lydia Tivoli, when out shopping with her daughter, mentioned a party she was going to attend... and yes, that is. And if it's before Christmas, it'd be -right- within the window of opportunity....
{Philip} The trick will be finding out when and where it is, though.
{Kid} Don't you have another appointment, 'lin?
{Gillian} Mm?
{Kid} With the doc?
{Gillian} Oh yes, to set up his site?
{Kid} Eeeeexactly.
* Ayrie nods at this... "Which'll get you into his office...."
{Gillian} Yes, it will.
{Philip} ... and capable of taking a peek of anything he might have laying about while he's working.
{Gillian} Oh yes it will.
* Ayrie nodnods, and hms. "I think tomorrow, Kiddy and I'll accompany you, Gill... we'll do a bit more casing down in the Mall that's in the building, and on the way out we'll ping our attunments to figure out where Bianca and her daughter are during the day."
{Gillian} Will Kid be in my pocket?
* Ayrie glances at Kiddy. "I don't think a Pikachu can fit in any of your pockets, Gillian... a backpack, maybe..."
{Gillian} It was my attempt at a joke, of course.
{Philip} Of course. *he pats Ayrie on the head* Ayrie here just sometimes tends to the literal. Some days, you might even think she was a Seraph....
* Ayrie rolls her eyes, and blushes. "Phiillliiipp....."
* Philip chuckles... and with this plan of investigation created... we fade.