All That Glitters [Open]

[Deleted]

The pull of the tide is quiet, but this is a fight to take 

Courage could have been perceived as one of João's weaker points. It was his gentle, meek disposition; under the stocky build and the untidy hair and the jagged scar, there was the silent romantic. But as reserved and soft-spoken as he was, he was not shy. A social butterfly? Perhaps not exactly. A people person, however? Certainly.

The Tower of London was very grim, as was the day. Rain drizzled down, dampening the old stone walls. It was to be expected from Britain; a fine mist of water in the air, not enough to make a pitter-patter on the ground or the puddles about, but enough to soak one's clothes and skin.

(João had little reason to complain about the rain, unlike the occasional local that wandered past. He'd trekked through rainforests in sweltering heat; he'd practically had to swim in the downpour. A little cold drizzle wasn't a problem, unless it started to get any heavier).

He didn't seem quite as enthusiastic about seeing the contents of the tower itself, as opposed to the other tourists around, but the building, he supposed, was interesting on its own. It was a place of significance; in times gone by, many that entered the tower had never left it alive. The thing about city attractions was that they were... Well, there. There was no real feeling of adventure – it wasn't like hiking up a huge hill and then admiring the view as far as it would stretch. There was no risk, no excitement... But then, João supposed he couldn't really compare the two.

Courage could have been perceived as one of his weaker points. In reality, it wasn't. Amongst the sea of umbrellas, large and small, plain and colourful, there was a treasure. Figuratively, and a part of a rather short adventure, but a treasure nonetheless.

Once he'd slid through the crowd, he placed a smile on his face, facing the woman – the treasure he'd laid his eyes on from afar. “I was here to see the Crown Jewels... Yet when I saw you, I was sure I had found something much more beautiful.”

one more breath before we drown

LAIKA OF GS!

[Deleted]

What a miserable day. It was her day off from work too and she had an appointment later so she would have to go outside eventually. Why not now instead of later, she asked herself. Might as well go out and force herself to have a nice day. Wallowing in melancholy wasn't healthy and perhaps the fresh air would perk her up. But where to go. It was then that Elise remembered a post on the supernatural board she frequented. People were getting eery looking photos from the Tower of London. Well, she hadn't been there in awhile, might as well check it out, she thought as she put on some casual clothes. Can't forget the camera either, which fit nicely in one of her 'slingy' bags as she called them. Elise did one last check on all her pets and headed out with umbrella in hand.

Even despite the miserable weather, the tourist destination was still quite busy. Not overly so since it was the off season but still enough for it to get crammed in certain places. Even if no ghosts showed up, she still had some nice photos to post to her blog. At least in the day it was less foreboding. She had been here a few times at night on ghost walks. The next one was actually in a few weeks, if she wasn`t busy with work. But coming in the day time was a nice change of pace and despite its bloody history, the building was quite stunning. Well, it was until someone`s young child decided they didn`t want to be there anymore and decided to start screaming. In the halls with great acoustics..

After 15 or so minutes hearing this child scream bloody murder Elise could not take it anymore. She made a quick exit outside, her head pounding with a new migraine. Fantastic. She couldn`t blame the kid for getting bored or cranky, but the parent really should have done something instead of just dragging him through the tower. A quick check of her purse had her groaning; no painkillers. There was, however, a joint in there. She really shouldn`t, it wasn`t even hers. Elise was off to the side though, and no one was looking. Just a quick puff.. screw it. Her head was killing her, she needed it. Awkwardly she balanced the umbrella on her shoulder so she could light it-

The voice made her jump, dropping the joint and her umbrella onto the wet ground. When she looked up and confirmed her suspicions, Elise swore out loud. “Jesus João, you scared me half to death. I thought you were the police.” Technically he couldn't arrest her right? The illegal substance was now mush in the wet ground below, not recognizable at all. “What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting up later?”

ARIZONA of BACK TO NEVERLAND

[Deleted]

The pull of the tide is quiet, but this is a fight to take 

João smiled, on occasion, but his laughs were a much rarer event. It was a soft chuckle, beneath his breath; he shook his head as he did so. “I am sorry.” He made a subtle motion to the ground, where the joint had dropped to, to clarify that it was that, in particular, he was apologising for. After that, he slipped his hands into his pockets. “As I said, I am here to see the tower.” Beginning to drop the suave mannerisms he'd adopted just before, he glanced briefly over his shoulder at the building. “Though, I suppose I could ask you the same.” Turning back to face her, he smiled again.

If Elise was anyone else, 'later' could have been perfectly tangible. A subordinate couldn't make it to a one-on-one meeting? Fine by João. The MOD of Spain had to cancel his visit? Not a problem. But this wasn't the same... Time was precious, in this case; time and intelligence... Very precious. “Later is still on, yes? Unless you would prefer it to be earlier.” Though there was every chance she was in the middle of work then and there, he felt there was no harm in at least asking. After all, could there have been anything more pressing and important than the information she was going to give to him? Unless there were any other imbeciles planning to launch a Europe-wide attack in the near future, he was sure that was unlikely.

“But... If you are busy until then... At least let me buy you cigarettes, to replace that one.” He was well aware that the one she'd lost wasn't actually of the tobacco variety, but there were various reasons he couldn't get her an exact replacement. He lowered his voice, letting the smooth tone from before come back through. “Or a bottle of wine, if you would prefer.”

one more breath before we drown

LAIKA OF GS!

[Deleted]

As the saying went, there was no use crying over spilt milk. Or in this case, a joint that had fallen in a puddle. The cold air and silence was helping her headache ease a bit, so now at least it didn't feel like someone was splitting it with an axe. “I came to see the tower.” Elise answered, motioning to the camera she had in her pocket. “I do sometimes go out and do normal things, besides being the scum of the earth like most of my clients think I am.” It was a half joke, and she did say it with a bit of a sarcastic smile. It was true, a lot of her clients thought all she did was shady things all day. I'm not a bad person, she reminded herself.

But the business with João was a little bit more important than her regular duties. “Of course we are.” Unless something was up? Elise wasn't a fan of these kind of jobs. There was so much that could go wrong after all and she could never be sure which side to play. Life and death situations weren't her cup of tea. If anything went wrong he promised she'd be on a one way trip to Portugal to live out the rest of her life, comfortable and safe. Not really her ideal life, but it was better than being shot execution style and dumped in the river.

“Today's my day off so no, I'm not busy. And thank you, but I don't smoke. That was just a quick fix for a headache.” Elise rolled her eyes at the wine comment. Very typical of him, with that suave charm he used every now and then, once he was assured that she was indeed over the age of eighteen. “And what, we go back to your place with that bottle?” She murmured, with a hint of amusement. “Anyways, if you need to speak with me now, that's fine. I saw most of the tower already so I'm fine to leave.”

ARIZONA of BACK TO NEVERLAND