14129/Deliveries

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Deliveries
Date of Scene: 13 February 2023
Location: Delores Klein's penthouse apartment
Synopsis: Ariah delivers the gold and receives new burdens.
Cast of Characters: Delores Klein, Ariah Olivie




Delores Klein has posed:
    The elevator stops at the top floor of the apartment building with an electric chime approximating a ding. The doors open on a nice waiting area. There's no seats, but the walls are reinforced. It's probably safer to wait in the penthouse lobby than it is in some bank vaults. The facades are of a luxurious suite, like that of a five star hotel. An inner door sits securely closed, a doorbell button just next to it.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Ariah had brought an unmarked van, and is doing her best courier cosplay today. Smart trousers and comfortable shoes and an activewear top that's almost form-fitting under a jacket that if one squints real good, it could almost look like it belonged to a FedEx driver. Topped off with a baseball cap in the same color. The van itself? White. Like every nondescript fleet vehicle in just about every country. But what's special are the pair of crates she'd brought along.

    The heavy dolly she'd rolled onto the elevator--and subsequently off of it--is laying down, being pushed, with two sizable wooden crates on it. Padlocked. The small woman with her white hair tucked under her cap rolls the goods up to the door and presses the doorbell precisely once.

Delores Klein has posed:
    The walls are soundproof enough for the bell chime not to be heard. However, moments later, a woman opens the door with a smile on her face. "Well, hello!" she says, greeting the vampiress. She looks at the crates. "I anticipate that this is not a bomb." She steps back and makes room for Ariah to enter. "You'd better bring that inside and show me what you've managed to bring."

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    "Bonjour," Ariah greets with her usual deadpan tone and neutral expression. Then she tilts her head a moment at the mention of a bomb and shakes her head. "Non, those were on the other truck..." she says with a completely serious inflection. SHIELD took care of the wayward munitions, obviously. With a surprising noise of actual effort, though, she takes the cart's handle in both hands and pushes. It seems like it's bloody heavy, considering the small woman actually has to give it a good push to get it going--and also get it stopped again when she reaches Delores's preferred destination.

Delores Klein has posed:
    Which is just enough inside the door for Delores to close it again. The hostess moves to the boxes as if to open them, but is stopped by the locks. "I suppose I'll have to let you open them," she says. She thumbs toward another area of the apartment level. "Would you like some tea?"

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    "Apologies, they are meant to be secure. I believe one of these is coming back with me, however," she says as she pulls out her keys and begins to open them. "Ah, oui. I would love some tea," she says with a nod. "Merci." It's just two locks though, and isn't really a very big endeavor to open them. She pockets everything, to keep it out of the way, and opens one crate. Inside, gold bars. Marked, forged, and stamped with a familiar... logo. As if HYDRA melts down things (including other stolen gold) and re-stamps it to claim ownership for their own dealings. Which is just as well. "...I did not know how many you needed exactly... will a dozen or so suffice?"

    The other, smaller box, she opens. It contains... weapons? "...references... if... you needed them..." she says quietly. There's an old trench gun, a modern PDW, and a battle rifle. The bolts and actions are all locked back and secure, empty firearms, and there's no ammunition to be seen with the padding. "...firing pins have been removed," she adds.

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores blinks a few times, never having seen so much gold in one place before. "That should be plenty," she says, calmly, her smile dimpling her cheeks deeply. "Let's say one bar for me to keep, then I'll use some to make the orichalcum, then you can have the rest back." She then looks at the other woman. "Are you prepared for the other part of this?" she asks. "The experiment?" she elaborates.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    "...just one?" Ariah asks. She glances back towards the door. "...there is more..." she says quietly. Considering the size of the truck she hijacked, there's likely to be consequences later. Consequences she can hopefully handle with a new piece of equipment. "...but, oui. Please, keep as much as you need." She blinks, then pulls at the foam the firearms are sitting in. Beneath, in the box, is a slab of granite. A perfect rectangular prism-shaped chunk of rock. The same size and shape as a box of long matches. It's carved with a repeating pattern of runes. "...also this."

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores furrows her brow and takes the granite slab. "It's very regular," she says with an approving nod. She turns it over in her hands a few times. "If you can be this precise every time, that should make life easier for the Artificer's part of this." She puts the granite bar down on the table. "Let me go get the tea set, then we'll get started with the experiment," she says. She then walks out of the room, leaving Ariah to enjoy the gorgeous view over the city.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    "The slabs can be machined. The runes are hand-carved," Ariah states. There's a hint of pride in her voice. "...they need to be precise. That stone is charged. As part of the weapon's design process I will need to ensure the housing contains the proper activation runes... which should only require I energize them as a catalyst. As if only striking a match..." she says quietly. Then she blinks and nods, taking off her cap and setting it down. Her disguise really, really does not suit her. "Merci, I am looking forward to tea. And this... experiment."

Delores Klein has posed:
    It's several minutes before Delores returns with the tea service on a cart. Also on the cart is a bronze-looking sphere that looks much like the one that floated along with the Artificer and a few other objects of unknown function. The first thing Delores did was pour two cups of tea. "Cream or sugar?" she asks as if nothing of greater interest than tea was in front of her.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Ariah is standing in just about the same place Delores left her. Like a stone statue. She stares out at the skyline, enjoying the view. It's always a little different. Different cars. Different shapes. Different clouds. Her hands are clasped behind her back and she's in a very clear 'at ease' posture. When the tea service arrives, though, she breaks and looks at it. Though the other objects do inspire idle curiosity, she's just as focused on the tea as Delores is. "Both, please," she says quietly, moving closer, breathing deep the scent of it all. "Merci."

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores adds both to her own taste, but it's very close to the ideal proportions the vampiress would have chosen for herself as well. Handing it to Ariah, Delores takes her own cup and gives it a small sip. Her smile broadens as she savors the flavor. "Mmm," she lets out.
    Setting it down she walks around the cart to stand next to the orb. She shifts it, rotating it in each axis until one of the circles set into its surface is aimed at Ariah. Picking up another object, she pushes a button on its surface. The circle flips open like a trash can lid, revealing a large lens inside. There's a flash of blinding light, and a ghostly copy of Ariah shrinks and floats away from her, receeding into the sphere.
    Delores sets down the...remote?...and picks up another device. It's a rod with a handle at each side and a bulge in the middle. She fiddles with it just a bit before she holds one of the handles and holds the other out toward Ariah. "Okay," she says. "I think I'm ready. Grab hold of this."

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    There's always time for tea. Ariah herself may not be British, but she spent enough time fighting side-by-side with them. Let alone time under the knife in more ways than one. Vampire or not, a fondness for things will remain in perpetuity. Tea is not to be compromised. Like a fine wine. For that, she is also irrevocably French. A long, slow drink is taken and her eyes are closed. Which is good because the flash would've hurt them.

    The flash does, though, make her blink her eyes open and she puts down the now-empty cup. "...the intelligent course of action would be to ask what this does before grasping onto it..." she states quietly, even as her fingers reach out for it and then take it into her hand.

Delores Klein has posed:
    Some mechanism in the artifice activates, and a tingling sensation rushes through Ariah's body. It settles into a few areas of the woman's breasts, her lungs, her pancreas, her colon, and a few areas on her skin. An unusual warmth is in those areas before it spreads outward, carried by her bloodflow. It soon reaches the same temperature as the rest of her body.
    Delores, meanwhile, seems to get chills. She coughs some before taking deep, gasping breaths. In a few moments, her body seems to normalize as well. She clears her throat and apologizes. "Excuse me. That was a bit more intense than I anticipated," she says, her voice a bit raspy after all the coughing.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    The warmth and tingling makes the vampiress's eyes widen, but she doesn't let go of the device. Even if she hadn't exactly been told what it does yet. Then she feels it all even out, the slow simulacra of blood and pulse carrying... whatever it is to all corners of her small body. Her size certainly helps it equalize faster. Then, she blinks, watching Delores and her own reaction to the... test. "What did we just do?" she asks, curious but not agitated. "...it was not too far removed from the sensations that I may carry with my bite..." she muses softly. "Are you well?"

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores takes several deep breaths, as deep as she can manage, until finally she pats her belly with her free hand and nods. "I think so," she says with a smile. "How about you? How do you feel?"

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Ariah takes a moment and closes her eyes, then she frowns slightly. "...assessment... foreign growths..." she muses softly. "...that is. A lot. Were you shouldering this burden for others?" the witch asks quietly, her head tilting slowly. "...these will interfere with my magecraft and energy flow some, but I will endeavor to take the time to have them expunged surgically. It is an option for me and ... not for others, I imagine..." she says softly. "...I will have to seek out someone who can perform such a task."

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores furrows her brow and nods. "Of course," she says, playing along like this is a normal thing. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but at least you aren't endangered by them as I was." She takes a few more deep breaths, savoring each one. "And yes," she says, "I often shoulder such burdens for others. It is my business model and how I help others."

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Ariah nods slowly. She removes her hand from the device and slowly flexes her fingers. "...they disrupt my energy flow..." she says quietly, drawing threads of magic, spinning it with her fingertips into a literal weave, a flate plane of energy that slowly ripples in the air over her palm. There's small ... fractures in the 'fabric' of it, though. It's imperfect. Her snowy brows furrow as she concentrates on it. "...oui, this can be a liability... but you are correct. They are far, far, far less of a danger to me than you, or those who originally carried them. This is not how I usually aid others, but it is... good that I can."

Delores Klein has posed:
    Delores's smile broadens. "That's wonderful, then!" she says. "We can both be a help. I'll start using this--" She gestures toward the gold. "--to make the orichalcum, and we'll see what The Artificer comes up with. Hopefully, by the time you restore your flow, we'll have something for you. And don't worry, I managed to fulfill the Artificer's usual request. It's the least I can do after you helped me with that." She puts down the device onto the tray and begins wheeling it out. "Back in a tick!"

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    The magic slowly unravels itself and draws back into Ariah's fingers as Delores looks so joyful. She follows the motions and the glances, looking to the gold and then back to the other woman. She nods slowly. "...immortality is to be full of unique experiences... and I can safely say this is not an experience I would have ever been able to have naturally, with the way my body is..." she muses. Pragmatic, this one.

Delores Klein has posed:
    "You don't say," Delores says as she returns. "Well, now that I can breathe easier, I'm eager to get started. You go sort out your thing; I'll get started making the orichalcum, and the Artificer can do artifice to it. Good?"

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Ariah nods slowly, "Oui, good. Do you wish for me to leave anything else?" she gestures to the firearms and the rest of the pile of gold. "If not, I can take them with me."

Delores Klein has posed:
    "Unless you need them, they're safe enough here. I shouldn't have any problems, and you did leave such things for my reference." She smiles and nods. "It was nice seeing you again. I hope when we're all through, you'll appreciate the orichalcum in the construction of your weapon. You've certainly earned it by taking this burden off my back."

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    "I will leave the firearms, then. And the gold..." she looks the open box over with pursed lips. "...consider it a gift? If there are more things that you or The Artificer may make with it, then hold on to it. If not, I can retrieve it once I have taken care of my... fresh burdens." Ariah bows her head politely, "Merci. It is, as it has been, very pleasant. I am fond of your tea service as well as your home."