"May God have mercy of our souls..." Gui mumbles, fully aware he was now too late to make amends with his faith.
Aquarelle steps forward, shaken but decided. From a pocket he takes a small vial with a liquid swirling with strange colors. Since their first party, Gui had taken some of Tim's magical potions and saved them for later... then he forgot about them entirely, just to see most of the liquid had evaporated. This vial was the remaining of three magic potions mixed together.
Dodging some erratic vines, he tackles Gwen and then forces her to drink from the vial, half of it.
"Oh, for f$#&'s seke, we do not have time for dis b!#&$%!%, Eliana!" Gui says, taken by surprise.
Turning to her, he concentrates in creating a colorful sphere around her. Colorful from the outside. Blind and disorienting from the inside as a prismatic array of blinking colors assault her vision.
Are you Watching Closely:2d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 1) + 3 = 9 Getting an opportunity and exposing a flaw/weakeness
"Oh, hi Gwen, you are fast. It is both e social and e science project. Right know Sam seems pretty interested in packages, which could be seen as inappropriate for such e fine young lady as she, but, you know, dere are no boundaries for scientific inquiry." Gui says, dismissing the illusory disguise, then turns to Sam.
"And I must correct you Sam. Dere is much more disappointment with bad packages."
Gui smiles and nods. "For sure, but you need to be careful not to teke advantage. Or too much advantage."
"Like, specially when dey tink we are out of deir league, or if dey dar too shy or have low self-esteem for some reason." He says, sometimes looking at Sam as if to explain his point.
"I remember going into e party and hitting on e girl dat did not seem to be used to go to parties. Like, she was cute and hot, but was dressed in a way to downplay her appearance and was really shy." He turns to Johnny. "She was so awed dat I was actually hitting on her dat she bekeme, I do not know, like entranced, so it got weird because I was meking it clear to her dat I was not into anyting but e casual night, but she did not seem to be listening or understanding it. I felt I was teking advantage of her, so I had to leave, you know?"
He then remembers something else and smiles evilly, while disguising himself as Irina. She is wearing the Daedalus jumpsuit, the same one they had all used when fighting the space fungus. Like before, she is having some trouble zipping it up past her chest. "Ze effect is much strrongerr on men zough..." He says, copying her voice and accent. "If I had been a hot girrl... I sink I would not be able to help myself. It would be joost too easy, you know?"
As the sports car peels out, a motorcycle stops by and as the driver kills the engine the sound of his phone ringing can be heard.
Gui refuses Chloe's call as he takes off his helmet. "Was looking for you when saw you entering day car, so I followed." He explains. "Just in kese dere was trouble... We had too much for e single day already."
Gui had just finished reading the barrage of texts that arrived just as he was about to turn on his bike's engine, when he notices movement in the parking lot. Was that Chloe? Chloe(s)?
As the sport cars tears out of the parking lot, Gui follows from a distance...
Aquarelle: Have you closed it yet? Aquarelle: Just dropped Pru with her parents Aquarelle: You have around 10-15 min before you get high (weed emoji) Aquarelle: Sorry about that, but I'll help you get through it Aquarelle: So... Go to my room ASAP
Tim waves at Gui with a brief flick of his wrist, followed by a quick thumbs up. He turns to walk away.
"Was dat e jutsu? Well, I guess you find Naruto fans in all sizes and shapes." He says as he continues to guide Pru away, but then notices she is paying attention to the concert's sound.
"I was planning on teking you home... but it is up to you if you want to check de concert first. Or even go somewhere else?"
Gui nods to Andromeda and helps Pru to get on her feet. He then turns to grab Sam's arm. "Dis will meke little sense, but it is important dat you close de rift in under twenty minutes, ok?"
"When it is done, go to my room," Gui explains as he gives Sam his key, "and wait for me dere. I will explain it to you leter, ok? When you get hungry, dere are some chips on my wardrobe and soda on the mini."
"Ah, and if e demoness appears, ask about her feelings and she will be lost for e bit. If you can manage, keep your clothes on."
With that, he leaves with a smile.
---
Gui takes Pru through the elevator, then outside towards his motorcycle. He did not need to ask her where her parents live for he had gone there more than he should. Unsure if she wants to talk or not, he gives her space for now.
As the walls begin to collapse, Gui moves Pru so he can protect her with his body. Pure useless instinct, since the best thing it would do would be for them to be crushed together.
"Do you guys tink I can be of any help? If not I am teking Pru somewhere sefe." And this time she'd make it.
Glancing at the rift, Gui shakes his head. "What? Only de tiny ones could pass dat rift... and I am not even talking about de big ones. Have you seen de huge ones?"
Focused on keeping his mind away from the ramifications of Sam eating his edible, Gui turns to Zero-G. "Hey Mister G... I do not believe Indarius is gone gone, but I am confident he did stop Mister Dreke."
"You do not know our Sam, but she will close dis rift, with your help or without it, but if do help, my share is yours." He offers, serious.
"Happy to help, Sam." Concentrated on Chroknight, Gui reaches to pocket the remaining stuff, then he looks at Sam. Then at her mouth. Then at his pocket again. His eyes go wide for a moment, before he looks away.
"So you can..." there might be more, but she finally shuts her mouth.
"Stuff it, deep inside her ass. Dese are de words you are missing Sam." Gui says, tired. From inside his pocket he takes some loose stuff and put them between him and Sam, among them three wrapped chocolates that look homemade. One of them is quickly tossed into his mouth.
"Smooth as e cactus, girl." He says as Chroknight turns to leave. "Hurry up! Dere might be oder people for you to disappoint. Do not weste de opportunity to break e personal record."
Gui looks around and reaches for an overturned chair, bringing it so Pru can sit down. He gives her a reassuring hug and smiles, but give her time to process everything.
He then turns to Andromeda, sadness in his eyes. "Andromeda... dis should not be about what you and your friends did, or how you feel. I know it is hard and sad... I feel you, but dis has to be her choice."
Turning to Pru, Gui shakes his head and raises his hands, trying to calm her down.
"Sam is wrong." He says probably something never said before by anyone who spent more than a couple minutes with Sam. "She did not kill you here, or whatever... she just said dat when working with timelines, de only ting she can do is rearrange it. She did not kill you, Pru. Dis is important." He says, trying to convince himself as well. And likely Sam too.
"She mispleced you from our timeline, so to us it seemed you were dead, but you were just alive in anoder timeline, ok? Now she fixed it, so you are back." It surely made some sense. "I know you are confused and scared. I am confused as well, ok? It will get better real soon, ok? Your memories might be e mess right now, but dey will settle."
C&S:2d6 + 1 ⇒ (6, 5) + 1 = 12 Unconsciously using emotion powers to try to calm Pru, and likely Sam and Chloe as well as a side-effect.
"How!?" He asks, shocked and lost, looking from Pru to Sam then...
Chloe/Chroknight wrote:
That was definitely Pru. Not dead and standing here. What the hell? And Gui was - oh, crap. That was a bad burn. They go grab the first aid kit off the wall and start applying burn gel. "This is bad, dude. "This isn't some illusionary cheerleader you're hallucinating for all of us due to the pain, right? She's really here?"
"F&~$ off, Tin Can." He says, angry. "How could you say dat? You... have no idea, no clue at all, uh? Merde!" He shakes his head, fuming, closing his hand in a fist and immediately regretting it due to the pain. "She was here already when I got back."
Then the dragons come and go in such a chaotic sequence that Gui can't really follow what was happening. He did got closer to Pru, though. Some failures were beyond being repeated. Just then he realizes Sam has grown up. Weird how he thought of her as Samantha, instead of Sam, but just another weirdness to add to the night.
Aquarelle jumps out of the rift looking in the brink of panic. Looking around but apparently seeing nothing, wide-eyed. With care, he removes his hoodie, showing his left arm is reddish from being burned.
He ends up by Sam's side and the girl besides her. It takes a moment for him to recognize her and then immediately his arms are covered in blood. He stumbles, wordlessly, and falls to his knees in front of her. Tears rolling freely as his guilt overwhelms him.
Bloodied hands raise to hers. "I am so sorry... I could not seve you. I tought He would... but I could not. I... so, so sorry."
Aquarelle bolts, fleeing the dragons, clutching his left arm that had been burned by the scalding ichor.
It was just luck that Indarius had distracted Drake just a second before he figured out his ruse and, while he had just met the red dragon, every impulse in his brain was telling him that he'd get killed when the dragon discovered he was fooled. Or called Pepel.
Taking Guilty, as he feels he is abandoning Indarius.
Aquarelle almost pisses himself as the rolling flames approaches him.
Indarius is backing me up. He is backing me up, I know he is. He surely is.
He looks back into the portal and it is clear that even if he run, he'd not be able to flee in time. He could pray, but he'd sooner trust on a friend than on a miracle. He stands his ground, but closes his eyes as he isn't that brave.
Never Give Up, Never Surrender:2d6 + 3 ⇒ (6, 5) + 3 = 14 you keep your attacker’s attention
"Pepel, Pepel, Pepel." The crone shakes her head, disappointed. "Zat is not way to behave." Almost in an afterthought, Baba Yaga moves in front of Aquarelle, blasting a cone of the frigid Russian air against the flames coming their way.
The flames burn a small portion of the forming cage, which soon begins to heal. In a couple more moments the cage will be complete, but the burnt opening points towards the opening to their reality.
"You zink you come to my worlt, to my magik, and take it? Haaa, Haaa, Haaa... You vill learrn, Pepel."
Provoke:2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 4) + 3 = 8 If the fake Baba Yaga has made Drake susceptible to her words, then Provoking him to flee back to his world.
"Got it! Wait, can you hear me back? Or... CAN YOU READ MY MIND?... I am not responsible for what you see dere. R-Reted. You have been warned."
Bronwyn Pascal wrote:
"...Okay, okay," Bronwyn strains to catch her breath in the brief reprieve, "but is at least one of these Indarius?"
"Yes, de white one!" He replies and sighs. "Quite e plot twist nowadays... de white one being de good guy."
"Anyway, how about you go back to your reality and start on working on closing dis rift for good? I can only stall tings, but unless we close de rift, dis is not ending well for anyone."
Very well, so Baba Yaga was "real", and Indarius would back up his ruse... now he just needed to make her casts spells and make them feel real enough, using all his deep knowledge about magic he got from playing Final Fantasy Tactics. Job select: black mage.
Controlling the broom with her knees, Baba Yaga fishes out of her back a bird's nest, a stuffed lizard and a large red scale. The lizard animates and hugs the scale, while the dried branches from the nest twists and turn, slowly turning the nest into a cage. Then, around Drake, sickly looking vines begin to appear. "Haaaa, new name will be needet... HAAAAHAAA... Pepel, yes, means ash. Always wantet pet drragon!"
Are You Watching Closely?:2d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 3) + 3 = 11 Create an Opportunity, expose weakness and confusing Drake for some time.
There is a shudder from the nearby trees of the plaza and soon a huge chicken leg emerges, followed by the old hut it was attached to. From its front porch, an impossibly old hunchbacked crone emerges, holding a broom. She initially limps forward, but then jumps graciously on said broom and flies around, cackling madly.
"Potent it is, potent it is lizzart!" She mocks the red dragon. "But mine it is, trrespasserr! HAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAA"
Sited, apparently dumbfounded by the powers moving around him, Aquarelle watches for Drake's reaction to her version of the fabled Russian boogie-witch. Who knows, if dragons and magic are real, then perhaps it is not a fable at all...
Assess the Situation:2d6 + 3 ⇒ (6, 5) + 3 = 14 What here can I use to convince Drake that this Baba Yaga is real? How could we best end this quickly?
Aquarelle feels something pulling him back at the portal, but that was not the time for that still. Drake was there and if he could resist the pull, then the dragon certainly could as well.
Mary Contrary:2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 3) + 3 = 7Pity, nothing happens aside from Statian's move failing. Not sure if I should add the +1 from Influence as Gui doesn't know this provoke is coming from Statian, but it doesn't matter anyway.
He could not leave until Drake was back on their side, but how to do it? He would not dare to draw the entities in between's attention, still, from what he understood, these Defenders were not really a threat to Drake and unless he decided to return willingly, there was no chance.
Aquarelle, hides a small smile as the idea hits him. Leaving Drake reacting to Xaiera, he turns his whole attention to the rift itself, trying to understand it. It seemed stable and Drake's whole plan depended on it... so there is a small crack on the rift's edge, followed by a ripple and then another crack. It expands, then contracts. A pulse, another crack.
Provoke:2d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 1) + 3 = 9 Provoking Drake to go back, since the rift is not stable. Not sure if this should be a Are You Watching Closely.
"Not Indarius..." He answers, then begins to think quickly. Was that dragon in the nothing? Or was it like Indarius and was using a human form? Oh.
"Shayera, Brownyn, meet Mr. Dreke, e patron." He steps forward a bit, making the introductions. "Mr. Dreke, dese are de Defenders."
Access the Situation:2d6 + 3 ⇒ (6, 5) + 3 = 14 Who here is the biggest threat (Drake or the entities)? What can I use to drawn the attention of the entities from the nothing?
Something draws Gui's attention. "Who are de Defenders?" Could be their equivalent of their Alliance? But Mr. Drake said there was no Alliance here.
When Matrix suggests Andromeda punched her way across the timelines, he almost laughs and mumbles. "It fits her pretty well... I fear someday dis will be a 'classic Andromeda move'."
"I would prefer e bit more certainty on your part about keeping me sefe..." He says. "I am not sure how much help can I be against Cortex. As e telepath, he will know what you are planning as soon as he reads one mind." Perhaps he could help, but better to be sure and give empty words that he could spin later to another meaning.
"To know if you can close de tear." He gives a half truth. "We have e genius girl in our side, Samanta, who might be able to do it with time, but I do not know if she can fix the whole rift, or just our side now... when I crossed, it did not seem to be just e rift, but a tunnel os e pass." He shivers again, not having to fake one bit.
"I have seen dis telepat, I tink. His neme is Cortex, e mercenary. I have seen he checking on Xaiara and stopping Andromeda as if it was noting," he says, turning to Shayera, "and you know dat is far from an easy ting."
"How far he, if it is de seme person, is manipulating tings, I do not know... like, I am not usually impulsive and I did cross jump trought de rift, so dere is e chance I am not clean."
Realizing he did not answer her completely, he adds. "Xaiara seems fine, but she wants to come back here. Between our realities, it is clear she prefers yours... unless dere is e way to actually turn de rift into e sefe passage." There, hopefully he has weaved the main clues in a way someone smarter than him can pick up at least the main idea of what is going on.
"Go back?" He says, surprised by his own question. He gets on his feet and turns his back to the robot. "I... am not sure. For all I know it was just blind luck I was not killed on my trip here."
"Since you are all standing here watching dat rift, I teke you can not close it, right?"
On his back, away from everyone's sight but Matrix's, letters appear: You are about to be invaded. We could not stop them. You have little time. They have a powerful mind reader/controller, but I'm assuming he won't be able to read yours. Do you have anything to shield my mind? If so, I might be able to trick them. Lose a battle to win a war.
Gui lands and rolls on his back, staring at the whole in reality, and craws away from it. "Putain! C'est quoi cette merde?" He turns briefly towards Shayera's voice. "Dere is someting in-between... someting... someting horrible." He finishes with a whisper, for a moment forgetting the very reason he crossed the rift.
Provoke:2d6 + 3 ⇒ (2, 5) + 3 = 10 Unconsciously trying to make everyone as afraid and insecure as Gui is. Thought this could be Unleash as well, if so, subtract -3
Are you watching closely?:2d6 + 3 ⇒ (4, 3) + 3 = 10 you get an opportunity; you confuse them for some time; you avoid further entanglement
There is another power outage in the lab, blanketing the room in darkness for a couple seconds.
Aquarelle:
Gui can't possibly stand by and watch what Cortex could be doing to Andromeda. He should do something, but for sure he can't watch it.
So he bolts, leaving an image of himself behind. He bolts in the wrong direction, though, jumping through the rift. They might be outnumbered and outgunned here, but someone on the otherside will probably be able to help...
"It was not e lack of trust... I just was not dere... or was not needed dere..." He says, playing it cool and adding a shrug. "Even if I was, my skills would likely not have helped dem anyway." It was not a lack of trust. It was not... but if it was, perhaps there was reason for that.
He shuts up and follows, listening and thinking. So this Mr. Drake was clearly very interested in this other timeline and more and more it was pointing towards his goal. Not that he had bought the whole "save our world" line anyway. "Perhaps in dis timeline, deir Alliance has not left and is very efficient in saving deir world."
Gui keeps mostly to himself, watching and trying to pay attention to everything.
Liam's words were interesting. He can't possibly believe he is a hero, not while being paid and working alongside CADRE. But does this small outburst betray a desire to be a hero? Perhaps there was something there to use. Use. Not too long ago he hated to think about using people... but he was an illusionist. His whole thing was lying.
"So tis breach has to do with Samanta?" He asks Ne'veah, whispering not to bother those in charge, but clearly for Liam to hear. "I remember hearing dem talking about bringing Xaiara back... I hope she is fine."
Provoke:2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 2) + 3 = 6 Trying to provoke Liam to do something impulsive.
As Gui closes his door, he takes his phone and begins to type a quick message and then shows his phone to her. "I tell my fader when I am going on e mission, even if I do not tell him de details." He lies. His phone indeed shows a message to some named Antoine Côté, but the man never received anything.
Despite being worried and suspicious about everything, Gui shows the appearance of being cool and collected, even if he watches carefully where Ne'veah stashes her card. Just in case.
He almost turns back when he hears "CADRE", but instead he puts his hands on his pockets. Strangely, despite all the surprises of the night, seeing Ne'veah going after her teammate against such a small provocation at him, causes and eyebrow to raise.
Gui laughs, almost maniacally at the sum shown on the tablet. "Dat is probably too much." He offers. "Specially for e superfluous illusionist." He winks and smirks at Kennedy, showing no hard feelings. He then shrugs a bit. "I have risked my neck with de Deathcap for free... being paid to protect our reality would be nice, considering dis is what I would like to do anyway."
Andromeda:
Gui: Joined finals
Gui: Reality year
Gui: Help is y don't hear from me
Gui: Bunny
"Everting we do here is e challenge." He says, buying some time to think.
"Hum... I guess we can try. Fixing e tear in reality seems pretty important anyway." With that, he watches how Ne'veah reacts to his assumption that they are fixing the tear, not making sure it does tear. He'll go anyway, as he is already too deep.
Aya 'Delphi' Nehebtuan wrote:
Delphi smirks in his general direction, "No, not myself. Your walking paradox on the otherhand. I believe you'll figure it out from there. Be seeing you around Gui." She says waggling her fingers in goodbye, shuffling the cane into her hand again and turning to continue on her path.
"Right, off course. Silly of me to tink she was not again in de center of trouble." He says, turning around and not bothering to wave. "Bumping you around more likely..."
She let's that hang for a moment. "Regardless, it is bold of you to assume us fast friends after a single encounter. But it's true, this was beneficial for everyone involved. But that's simply how the tapestry was always woven."
Leaning in on her cane towards Gui's side she speaks lower. An ominous tone which cuts through the clutter of noises upon the street specifically to Gui's ears.
"But if you wish to be friends, Gui, then I'll ask of you this. Protect the anomaly, it's abilities are dangerous to many parties who will soon visit you. And to tear at the fabric of fate is a dangerous ploy indeed, one that may ruin centuries of planning for better or worse."
The short girl pulls back and her tone shifts back to normal, "Do that and as an ally you may know and call me Delphi. We shall see about weather future arrangements will be mutual or transactional."
"Better to treat new people as friends and be disappointed sometimes dan treat dem as enemies and be always right." He smirks and smiles, then rolls his eyes as he remembers the girl is blind.
"Which anomaly? You? Dat is an exageracion... you are just blind, right?" Nevertheless, he takes his phone to write down every word Delphi said in that creepy tone.
There is a moment where Delphi looks like she may be upset by being compared to a stray cat. But she's quick to brush it off. "Charming..." the word drips with a steeped mix of emotions for a few moments before she replies to him. "It is rare that I'm wrong about these things. So I'll say your welcome for the assistance. Besides had I said nothing." She shrugs lightly feeling like what may have happened without the timely intervention can be well surmised without pointing it out.
"Fate has a rather... ironic way of making sure we appear where and how we need to be when it calls. Though I'll have you know that was your entire group's free read. Anything more comes with a price. It would also do poor for my abilities to get recognized by regional forces Guilar-"
Her face twists. "Guilam." She does her best not to make a fuss as she struggles with the name despite it having just been pronounced in front of her. "Gee-Yo-mah?"
"I have learned e different name for fete." He says, crossing his arms. Despite how he tries to lie to himself, it is very hard to abandon his faith. "And how about we see what you have shown us as e mutual beneficial event, instead of e... transacion? I say dis because friends usually help each oder and some people have been up our asses in trying to figure out how did we know about de event... so it could be said we are more dan even, considering everyting, no?"
"And Gui is enough for friends, no? Oh I did not catch your neme."
Using a different name would make no difference, and in this case he wasn't blind not to see it. But despite his hopes and optimism, they were also in Daedalus to investigate... and despite feeling he was using Ne'veah, he could not pass the opportunity.
"Ok, I will tink about it... so next time you have e job you tink could use my help, let me know." Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that nothing really happened between them.
"So are we leaving now? I tought we would have dinner with your gramma and leave tomorrow morning." He checks his phone by reflex, but unless they are willing to drive into the night, they'll have to sleep along the way.
A far cry from when she had been first encountered, Gui slips by Delphi, now dressed in fancier matching clothing. Wearing a ballcap and sunglasses and tapping away with a white cane ahead of her. She tilts her head for a few moments, "I'm... unsure if..." then something clicks and she mouths understanding, "Ah no I know that voice. Though I'm afraid the name to accompany it escapes me."
She pulls her cane close as she orients to face roughly where Gui stands, much smaller than he is though she doesn't look up at him. Even woth her eyes hidden he can tell she stares blankly at something beside hin as if the other indicators of her condition weren't enough.
She's wearing a mismatch style of clothing including a button-up cardigan sweater, which practically smothers her despite the fairly warm weather. "You were there in the, tunnels." It seems to take her a moment to think of the proper word for where they met.
"I was, in anoder room, complaining about our hasty friend who brought e stray cat in our plece... but I am glad she did, because you were right about de fungus." He says, crossing his arms and studying the girl. For someone blind and apparently lost, she did seem to be doing well for herself.
"My neme is Guillaume, or just Gui, and you are e very interesting girl."
Gui takes some time to think as they keep walking. "I am far from against de idea of meking money... but de word mercenary does not sound good to me. Dere are some tings I could never do."
"Also, I got de impression Liam is kind of an ass, dough I it might be just an impression."
===
Gui was a bit lost as he walked the streets of Halcyon, half his attention on his phone. When he first saw the Banjo-Tooie 64 cartridge on a sales garage, he thought it was fake. He was a fan of Banjo-Kazooie, and he had never heard of Banjo-Tooie, but the more he researched about it, the more amazed he was... he'd certainly have a wonderful time...
... He almost bumps into a girl. He half turns to go before he recognizes her. "Hey! I know you!"
Gui keeps to himself as much as possible during service, using the assumed shocking experience as an excuse for his internal conflicts. In a way it was interesting to see a somewhat different way to worship God from what he was used to and the seed of the idea that perhaps he could find a way back into his faith was planted. He ignored the pesky seed for now.
"I am happy for you." He says, putting his hand over her shoulder in a friendly way. Unlike he implied, he wasn't thinking about that all the time. "I was e bit worried about dis trip... I have always read dat de kind of change you went trough is permanent. I can see you miss how tings were, but also dat you have accepted your new self."
He then glances at her. "Your hero neme is very fitting."
Provoke, Influence:2d6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (5, 1) + 3 + 1 = 10 Provoking her to confess some wrongdoing she did in conjunct with the Finals. Guilty trip after the Church!
=====
End of Session Grow away from the team: Removing Andromeda's influence (sorry!). In his eyes, their intimate experience seemed forced and left him very uncomfortable. He doesn't know how this have affected their relationship, what their relationship even is, and is also somewhat afraid to approach the subject.
"Yeah, I have never been to e black church." Gui admits as he glances at the dress. Then, Ne'veah's illusion changes so she is wearing it. He does it again to the next couple dresses. "But I am curious about new experiences. And I am sure it will be memorable for everyone."
He glances back towards the kitchen, before turning back to Ne'veah. "I have not tought about all de details, but I am tinking about we going full circle to how we first met and doing tings your sweet gramma would toroughly disapprove." He smirks, then shrugs. "Guys are very simple creatures... but we can discuss de details leter."
Gui wasn't surprised by the old lady's reaction. From her point of view, it was totally justified. If he was in her shoes and his granddaughter shows up with a boyfriend-not-boyfriend artist, he'd probably set the dude running in no time. The last thing he'd want was a broke guy dragging his granddaughter down in debt and misery.
But on the other hand, Gui was a real artist. As real as an illusionist could be, of course, and for a moment he considers showing off. It passes.
At the mention of Ne'veah's aunt Deedee's clothes, another intrusive thought creeps in as he pictures Ne'veah wearing the Devil Diva's tight clothes. Not church material.
"I would love to go." He smiles as he lies, but there was no way out of it. It has been over a month the last time he has gone to the church, but if he leaves Ne'veah alone there is a chance he might let her disguise slip. "I was raised e Christian myself, and de Catedral of Saint John de Baptist is on my list of 'must see'." He adds, probably surprising both of them, in likely very different ways.
Outside from Mrs. Johnson's view, Gui wills a small writing to appear in Ne'veah's view. You own me a big one for going to church. I'm thinking about interesting ways for you to pay me back
No, Gui wasn't Ne'veah's boyfriend and had not intention to be, but somewhat he felt baited. Perhaps it was just the rebellious gene his father was always joking about.
He sits and listens to Ne'veah and her grandma, which is quite endearing, paying close attention to the points she is glossing over so he doesn't let something slip later.
Once the attention is changed to him, Gui hides his hands inside his pockets. "Yes I do, Mrs. Johnson, but noting really fancy for me... de curriculum has e lot of advanced classes in various fields, but to be frank I am more of an artistic type of person. God..." he flinches slightly, "willing I will be e movie director one day. Or someting like dat."
He shrugs and smiles, trying to get back to his normal mindset. "I love stories and movies, and some people say I am e bit gifted in dese areas..." He then looks at Ne'veah, trying to guess how much he can share.
Gui smiles to the old lady and steps forward to give her a light kiss on each cheek. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Johnson, how are you? What e lovely city!"
Following them inside. "Please, just Gui is fine." Gui takes Ne'veah's bags and letting her free to be hugged by her grandma.
Setting the bags on a nearby armchair, Gui looks around the house, intended on learning more about Cherise and what she likes. Despite still having no plans about making Ne'veah his girlfriend, he could not resist the impulse about getting on the good side of her family. Always good to be friendly and polite and he was Canadian after all.
In just a couple seconds, her finds what he was looking for: grandkids pics. Absolutely no grandma house exists without those. He sees one with a little boy holding a black kitten and for a fraction of a second he thought about joking with Ne'veah if the cat was her. He swallows the awful joke hard, and instead points to a cute little girl on a swing. "Is dat you, Ne'veah?"
Gui takes his time driving through the city, trying to get a feel of the city and really enjoying the historical buildings and beautiful parks. He follows Ne'veah's guidance, but doesn't stop once she points out her gramma's home, stopping a block ahead instead.
"So... what is de play here?" He asks, taking his helmet off and turning towards her. Without thinking twice he changes her clothes away from the sexy biker outfit. "No way I am drawing de Johnson's fury out of de gete." He adds before she can question.
Her new clothes are somewhat modest, similar to the ones a group of girls were dressing close to a church they had passed by. Her feline features are gone as well and Gui makes sure Ne'veah looks like she did before. He unnecessarily moves his hand over her shoulders and then her thighs. Just to be sure, of course.
