[IC] Eidolon: Conspiracy Theory

[Digmata]

Ashley could nothing but watch Luka act like he owned everything (which might actually be the case here to be honest). It seems that she had made a mistake and not realize that Luka is far more ridiculous than she initially thought.

Although that act of his, can she call it one of generosity? expediency? Or of vanity? She doesn't know the answer and not like it mattered for her.

"Wait no need to..." she tried to speak to Luka but her pleas aren't heard as she heard the DJ and be put on the spotlight. Ashley desperately wishes that this won't reach the ears of her classmates.

Her eyes momentary met one of the guest, it was Eliza the class representative and the source of gossip of the entire class. She was sporting a surprised expression than slowly morphed into amusement.

She's so fucking dead.

But it seems Eliza was content on letting her be for now, as she returned to chatting other guests as Luka finished setting the party's mood.

"Okay..." Ashley's voice was softer than normal as she let Luka handle the reins. It seems she felt more out of place in this party than the time she forced a stalemate with a government agency.

[rush99999]

"Okay..."

At this, Luka paused and looked back at Ashley, wincing when he saw how out of her depth she looked. With a flex of his willpower, the loud music and the clamor of the party faded into a distant, muffled quiet for the two of them as Luka stepped back off the dance floor. "My apologies." Luka said. "Sometimes I forget all of this can be overwhelming for some people. Especially when they're new to it and are abruptly thrust into the situation. There should be a way to the VIP lounge that goes around the dance floor if you'd prefer."

Regardless of which route they ended up taking, Luka and Ashley would arrive at a cordoned off flight of stairs that led upwards. There was a sign next to the cordon which read 'VIPs Only'. Needless to say, Luka and Ashley were allowed through without delay. "Your fixer is already up there, Mister Durand." The bouncer watching the stairs to the VIP lounge remarked as they passed him by. "They seemed very keen to talk to you about something, but they wouldn't say what."

"Thanks for the heads up." Luka said as he ascended the steps with Ashley. On their way up. Luka spoke to Ashley. "Fair warning: While they are one of the most competent fixers in the state, Jesse is something of an oddball. When I said before that keeping people guessing is a hobby of theirs, I meant it a lot more than you realize. It is very hard to predict what they are going to speak like, behave like, or even look like between one meeting and the next. So my advice? Brace yourself." Shortly after saying this, Luka and Ashley reached the top of the stairs and made their way into the VIP lounge.

The VIP lounge was located on a large balcony that overlooked the rest of the party. It came with a wide variety of comfortable seats and couches, a private bar, and a small dance floor among other things. Jesse was throwing some moves on the dance floor when Luka and Ashley arrived. "I see you are enjoying yourself." Luka said as he sat down on the couch closest to the dance floor. "Always good to know that my parties continue to meet your high standards."

[ctrlsaltdel]

Jesse's eyes follow Luka and Ashley as they walk into the VIP section, but instead of responding right away, they continued their solitary dance for the few seconds it takes the DJ to transition to the next track. As the high-tempo track resolves into something more sedate, they make their way to the bar, calling over their shoulder.

"A lot of people have said a lot of things about you, Luka, but I've never heard anyone say you don't know how to party." Ice clinks, liquid is poured, but when they set the three old-fashioned glasses on the table, a first taste would confirms that they contain only soda with a splash of lime--no alcohol. Jesse settles down on a chair kitty-corner from Luka and leans back, legs crossed and fingers tented.

"Miss," they nod a greeting to Ashley. "It's good to formally meet you, though I hadn't expected you to be here for this." Jesse turns their gaze to Luka. "But you learn to expect the unexpected when working with Mr. Durand. Who I'm glad to see is ok, by the way." An eyebrow goes up. "Apparently there was some kind of gas leak reported at Mario's yesterday morning, though from what I understand, the fire department couldn't find anything when they showed up. Other than a big mess in the kitchen, that is." They picked up their soda and lime and took a long sip; the tone of the comment is light, but their eyes slowly and deliberately meet both Luka's and Ashley's in turn.

@rush99999 @Digmata

[Digmata]

"It's Herrera." Ashley corrected as she pushed back the drink, not trusting it or feeling thirsty at the moment. She focused on the guy across the table, Jeese. If she is being honest, he looked unimpressive.

Or is he a she? It is a little bit hard to figure out.

Hey eyebrows raised when Jeese mentioned the so called gas leak at Mario's. She could at least call the guy through or at least the type to keep an eye to his friends.

"It was a really weird incident, we left as soon as we could when we heard the gas leak." she answered with a nonchalant tone.

"Regardless I don't I'm someone worth being tabs on by a stranger." she remarked looking if it would bait Jeese to show what that mind of his knew.

[rush99999]

Luka happily accepted the offered beverage as he took a seat across from his fixer. From what he could tell, Jesse was in a cautious and professional mood today if their businesslike demeanor and indirect mentioning of dawn's events were anything to go by. Though their insistence on dancing until the song was finished hinted at a small amount of playfulness to their current outlook. Luka waterfalled Jesse's sip before speaking up. "It was an interesting turn of events to be sure." Luka commented. "A real see it to believe it moment. Couldn't have planned a finer way to wrap up Day Two and commence Day Three myself... But I digress." Luka took another sip before continuing. "You wanted to speak with me about something. As it so happens, I wanted to speak with you about something too." Luka said. "Did you want to speak first or should I?"

[ctrlsaltdel]

Jesse nodded to Ashley. "Herrera, sorry." Their gaze flicked to her, softening by degrees, as did their tone. "Don't take it personally. It's my job to solve problems, and my best tool is information. Frankly, I'd be neglecting my duties if I hadn't spent some time... following up." As they leaned forward and put their glass down on the table, their eyes flicked over to Luka. "And as much as I hate to call you a liar, I know that you did not, in fact, leave the diner as soon with everyone else." They regarded Luka coolly for a beat, then let out a long breath.

"Luka, look. You're the boss. You say you need tickets, I say 'Broadway or baseball?'. You bring down the roof with one of your parties, I'm on the phone with the contractor putting it back on." They frowned, fingers folded. "But I need to know what's going on to do my job, and I think it's about time you let me in on whatever's going on."

[rush99999]

It seemed Jesse didn't want to be as indirect about things as Luka initially surmised. He didn't mind being wrong about that. The indirect approach had never really been Luka's style anyway. "Why Jesse, I'm surprised at you." Luka declared. "I thought someone of your talents would have been able to piece together what was going on from what you saw in the limo." Luka willed the passage of time to speed up for himself and his two conversation partners. To the point that everything else seemed to freeze in place. "But not to worry. I'd be more than happy to slip you the answer." Luka flicked his star shades down over his eyes. With a flex of his will power, he had assumed his Reveler guise and put Ashley in her Reader guise. "To put it in simple terms," Luka said as he levitated up and off the couch, now looking like he was sitting on the air itself. "At dawn today, myself, Miss Herrera, and two others at Mario's... became DEMIGODS."

As he spoke that final word, the seat of the Great Unicycle of the World from Luka's tarot card appeared beneath him. The support pillar holding the seat aloft appeared to be floating about three feet off the floor as a glass of fine wine, a martini glass with garnish, a mimosa, and a lowball of whiskey faded into existence an began orbiting around Luka himself. "If that makes you concerned for your job security, allow me to assuage those fears now." Luka then said with all the casual calm of someone having a completely mundane conversation. "Even though my soul has become a superpowered avatar of my will that allows me to impose my wants upon the world, I still require other people to provide me with the things that I need. So rest assured, I won't be thinking of laying you off any time soon, Jesse."