New Island Breezes RPG Story Thread

[Foxee]

((We can eat family-style, the food in the center of the table. Tai can scurry back and forth with different courses.))

PAULA PAUSED at the sound of her name.

“Hey, I don’t suppose you know if my lab from last time is still there?”

“Yes, Dr. Marsden,” she replied as the youthful doctor caught up to her, “it’s exactly as you left it.” They reached the stairs. “We covered everything and have kept it locked.”

Footsteps sounded, coming up, muffled a little by the thick stair runner. Blake appeared at the landing, riffling through a full clipboard.

“Excuse me,” Paula told Hayley with a smile, “I’ll see you at dinner.”

She allowed the doctor to go on ahead and waited at the landing for Blake. When he noticed her she, as usual, had to stifle the urge to salute.

“A word, sir?” she asked quietly.


JEAN-MARIE went to the dining room, wiping her hands as she went and wondering what had become of Desmond. She cast a critical eye over the arrangements and twitched a few things straight.

She slid a candle away from the seat at the head of the table, her mouth set, her eyes somber.

"Sit," she told Marissa, "we'll eat in a moment." She acknowledged Jingla with an abstracted smile.

Nodding to Chris to let him know all was ready she vanished back into her kitchen domain with snap of her fingers at Tai, who followed obediently. Chris went out the opposite dining room door to bring everyone in.

[IvanTiger118]

Conrad sighed. She probraly thought he was crazy. The lady walked away and he walked into the bathroom. After splashing some cold water his face, he went out into the hallway, locking the door behind him. He walked down the steps into the grand Entryway. Suddenly he realized he had no clue where the dining room was.

He glanced around and spotted a woman with fiery red hair carrying a tureen. It made logical sense that she was taking the delicious smelling soup to the dining room. He followed.

[Darn Dame]

Marissa followed the slender young man named Tai through the doorway leading into the dining room. He efficiently pointed out where the dinner and flatware was and together they quickly set the table for a formal dinner before he silently left the room. Marissa assumed he must have gone to claim a room since he hadn’t had time earlier.

Marissa stepped back and examined the dining room table. The white china had a cobalt blue netted pattern around the edges of the dinnerware. Candlelight flickered off of the gilded edges as well as the golden silverware placed beside each setting. The crystal stemware twinkled from the candelabra’s golden glow. The contrast of the white linen tablecloth with the bold blue of the china was striking. Settled amongst the dinnerware were formal serving platters that emanated tempting aromas. She took one final sweep around the table, repositioning items until she was sure it was perfect.

Marissa turned as she heard others enter the room. She recognized them as the other passengers on the plane. She smiled invitingly.

“Hi. Looks like we’re just about ready.”

Just then a tall red headed woman emerged from the kitchen carrying a tureen with a gentleman following close behind. She placed the soup at the head of the table and took a seat in the middle of the table. She was casually dressed, but perfectly so. Her brown and gold ensemble molded to her fit body and a stylish beret topped of her fiery hair. She reminded Marissa of every woman her ex husband had compared her to.

Marissa’s hand self consciously went to her haphazard ponytail. She glanced down and quickly inventoried her attire. She had showered quickly and thrown on the least wrinkled thing she could find. Momentarily, she regretted it.

Oh well. Just remember, this is not one of your ex-husband’s lovers. Or is it?

Marissa smiled at the seated newcomer. She was just about to ask the Perfect Woman if she had ever traveled to Missouri when the cook breezed through the dining room door, her eyes critically surveying the dining room table. She moved items here and there to her satisfaction. She eyed Marissa, and in her no nonsense fashion, ordered her to sit.

“Yes Ma’am.” Marissa obediently took the seat nearest to her, which happened to be opposite of Miss Perfect.

The cook snapped her fingers at the little Asian man, nodded her head at the driver of the van, and threw what might be considered a smile at Miss Perfect before she briskly rotated on her heal and left.

“I think she really likes me.” Marissa nodded to the vanishing cook and smiled at her fellow diners.

[Cold Twilight]

Jingla smiled back at the woman. "To be sure." Her smile faded a little. "My father used to do that..." She shook off the memory with a flick of her fingers, and tucked back a stray curl of hair. "I'm Jingla. Might I know your name?"

[seigfried007]

With a small bow and a big smile, Adam followed Tai and Jean-Marie to the kitchen. It was going to be just lovely being one of a small army of servants about the house. Lovely not to be the only person cooking and cleaning for a Georgian mansion and company. Simply lovely.

[Darn Dame]

Marissa smiled at the woman's reply. "Your Dad too? My Dad was a Drill Instructor in the Army, so I'm used to taking orders." she laughed easily. "My name is Marissa. It's nice to meet you."

Marissa relaxed back into her chair.

[IvanTiger118]

He watched the red-head set the toureen on the table and take a seat. Another woman, this one short with chestnut color hair approached her. Conrad walked slowly toward the table, eying a chair across the table from both women. He started toward it, the pain in his leg starting to ease as the medication took affect.

"I'm Jingla. Might I know your name?" the red-head asked.

The other woman smiled. "Your Dad too? My Dad was a Drill Instructor in the Army, so I'm used to taking orders." She laughed easily. "My name is Marissa. It's nice to meet you."

Conrad sat in the seat and smiled at the two women. "Army huh? Is he still serving?"

[Darn Dame]

“No, he died about eight months ago.” She shook herself slightly. “But he was a lifer. Twenty three years, a military man all the way.”

Her lips softened in a smile as she recalled a vision of her father in his greens. He wore the quarter cut with whitewalls naturally as all military men tended to do, unless they’d left the military barber for the first time. She recalled the once slogan, "Army Strong." Yeah, that fit him.

For the first time she really looked at the older balding man. She recognized “the look.” All military personnel had it. It was something that set them apart from civilians. It was more than a hair cut or a string of tattoos. Maybe it was the air of confidence and take charge attitude. Whatever it was, once you had it, you carried it for life. Marissa felt an instant kinship.

”How about you? How long were you in?”

[IvanTiger118]

"Fifteen years." he answered. "Took a bullet in Iraq. It kinda shortened my career."

Truth was he could have stayed longer. He had started to tire of the desk job and all the bureaucrats and politicians that tried to micro-manage the military forces from all the way across the globe and couldn't tell the difference between their head and their butt. For some of them there were no difference. In his opinion, he didn't leave the military, the military left him. He couldn't be on the front lines and just had to be a mindless drone pushing papers around. That wasn't him. Sure he like autonomity, but he also liked being a part of something.

He stared at the woman in front of him. Something told him that she understood. Her father had put in his time and she had been brought up with the positive structure that the military instilled in people.

[slayerofangels]

“A word, sir?”

Blake ticked the last item on the list and looked up from the clipboard, looking her up and down. The guests were probably all in the dining room by now, and he didn't want to keep Anya waiting. On the other hand Paula wasn't one for wasting time, and he could usually trust her judgement.

"I keep an open door policy," he said, motioning for her to come along. "Walk with me, I'm on my way up to escort Miss Anya anyway."

They walked on for a moment until they were out of earshot and he glanced at her.

"Which of the guests is going to be a problem?"

[Foxee]

"Which of the guests is going to be a problem?"

They reached the third floor and Paula waited until he’d unlocked the double doors. They passed through, the door snicking closed quietly.

She stood very straight as she always did when addressing Blake.

“Bruce Thompson, the,” it felt odd to say it, “cowboy. He was drinking in the van, offering others nips from a flask. Just now I smelled whiskey when I passed his room.”

[slayerofangels]

“Bruce Thompson, the cowboy. He was drinking in the van, offering others nips from a flask. Just now I smelled whiskey when I passed his room.”

Blake rubbed his eyes. Thompson... Balding, DUI's, wrote in a texan drawl... Odd for an Oxford native. That he was getting drunk this early on was mildly disconcerting, but once it didn't interfere with his work or that of anyone else, Blake would let him be.

"Getting drunk on his own time is fine, once he stays out of my way," Blake said, "I'll have a word with them all about being drunk on the job."

They stopped outside Anya's suite, the hallway curiously quiet after the bustle downstairs. Blake glanced back down the hall for a moment.

"Thank you for informing me," he said, "keep an eye on him Paula. On all of them. If they start causing trouble, feel free keep them in check. If it persists, give me a shout. Now for God's sake go downstairs and get something to eat. I'll be down shortly."

Stirring the flutter of an eyelid, he scanned the checklist one last time, glancing up to make sure Paula had left. Certain that there was no-one hiding there, he straightened out his suit, tucked his glasses into his breast pocket and knocked twice.

"Miss Anya? The guests are waiting."

[Aurasheild]

Stepping out of the shower, Adiel glanced at his reflection before towelling himself off rapidly. It wasn't perfect, but screw it, it would at least take two or three days to repair the damage the flight had caused. Blessing the foresight that had compelled him to bring the ipod's loudspeakers along, he all but skipped over to his bag. Humming along with the upbeat track, he dressed quickly, pulling on a green and white striped sports top, and baggy white pants. Grabbing his fabulous pair of vans, he stole a glance at his watch.

"What the...!?"

He hadn't been that long in the shower, had he? Pulling on his shoes rapidly, he half hopped over to the bathroom, swearing loudly when he collided with the doorstop. He did not want to walk in late, with the whole room staring at him. He shuddered, grabbing his hair gel, doing his best to make it look some way presentable. Turning to go, he turned and winked at the sexy dude staring back.

"Yeah," he said switching off the ipod, "You'll do."

Following the smell of cooking, and the low murmur of voices to the dining room. Glancing inside, he hovered awkwardly in the doorway for a second, before laughing at his own shyness, he shook his head and did his best not to run over to take the seat next to jingla.

"Dinner isn't over yet right?"

[Cold Twilight]

Jingla had been listening to the conversation that had started up between Marissa and this new army man, fighting off memories of her first big, fun-loving father, and her second father, the quiet man who had made taking orders and still getting his own way into an art. Nothing remotely military about either of them...but still...

She turned her head quickly as Adiel sat down next to her, his good humor apparently restored. He was fresh from the shower, too, if her nose was telling her the truth...it was a little hard to tell with the sharp scent of hair gell beginning to override the soup.

"Dinner isn't over yet right?" he asked her, his voice still carrying a hint of the laugh that she'd heard as he'd bounced in.

She smiled, shaking her head. "No, you made it in time. And a good thing too."

[Blossom]

“Yes, Dr. Marsden,” Paula smiled, “It’s exactly as you left it. We covered everything and have kept it locked.”

“Oh good,” Hayley replied happily. That would make starting her research a much easier and faster process. And with any luck the few notebooks she had left behind would still be there too. She hoped she would be able to go and look after dinner.

She left Paula with a nod and headed down the stairs towards the mouth-watering smells that were, presumably, dinner. There was the low murmur of chattering coming from the direction of the dining room, that Hayley guessed to be the other passengers from the plane. She hoped she wasn’t keeping them waiting.

As she got to the end of the stairs she noticed Chris coming out of the dining room. “Hello,” she greeted him, “Dinner ready? I’m not keeping everyone waiting, am I?”