[Administrator] Wharil Choc, welcome to Lake View (Northside) (Now)
[Wharil Choc] If there was anything truly remarkable about Wharil Choc at first glance it was probably how understated he was. But was it a natural aspect of the man, or something practiced? Something trained into him.
Take, for instance, his residence. If you think about the seasoned Euthanatos you might expect somewhere deep in the inner city, surrounded by the hard-edged society he's supposed to martial, by stereotypical views. And yet, instead, here he is in Lakeview. In a neighborhood where the housing market crash has struck hard. Here he is living in a modest fixer-upper. Here's his compact hybrid parked out front.
Here's a perfectly normal, understated home, for a perfectly normal, understated man.
[Administrator] Alex, welcome to Lake View (Northside) (Now)
[Alex] When an apprentice goes to meet a disciple of his tradition there are many curious expectations, strange little imaginings on what the secret life of the other entails. For instance, when Alex goes to see ashton, no matter how many times, it is always strange to see Marcy and read to the girl while possibly discussing matters of horrible natures. It is no different the first time Alex calls on Wharil.
Alex looks up from the address in his phone to the house in front of him. Surely not. Well, maybe. A hybrid? Not wharils. Not a disciple Euthantoi's. Still, the address matched the information given to Alex. He paces, hesitantly at first before quickly striding towards the front door. His hand raps upon the surface. Once, Twice.
[Wharil Choc] At first, silence. After a while though, there's the soft sound of a footfall, then growing louder and louder as galloped down stairs. When Wharil Choc opens the door he's smiling wide, as if truly happy to see the apprentice.
"Hey!" He says, foregoing even first names. "Come on in. I've got Pizza and Beer upstairs."
He's not wearing the black slacks and sports coat, and the stark white shirt he was wearing when they first met. His hair isn't pulled back neatly in a ponytail the way it was that night either. Instead he's wearing jeans and a vintage t-shirt, the letters 'PTI' in fading block font on the front. His hair is left loose. His feet are bare.
"You have any trouble finding the place?"
[Alex] Alex had been nervously rubbing his newly healed foot along the bracket of the doorway when it opened. His head lifts. This was a different Wharil, one Alex had not seen before. No formal greeting, no traditionalist names for the apprentice. Alex smiles.
"Hey, Sounds good"
Alex lifts his feet, stepping casually into Wharil's domain. He wears a simple fitted grey t-shirt, black jeans. His boots are missing, ruined, destroyed, in their place is a pair of skate shoes. Ashton had found that most disturbing.
"It was shockingly easy to find Wharil, but I guess that's a bit of a common trend, I mean ashton doesn't exactly live hidden away either." Or does she.. perhaps that was the point..
[Wharil Choc] "Plain sight. That's the key. It sort of helps that I don't keep much more than purely material things here. I guess it also helps that I don't spend as much time at home as the average person does."
Wharil starts up the carpeted interior stairs. From here Alex can see that there are more apartments on the bottom floor. Doors leading off to either side. He can also see, however, that the apartment itself looks as though it was in the middle of renovation, and then all work completely ceased.
The apartment upstairs isn't much different. There was drywall that had yet to be painted in some areas, and the doors didn't exactly seem sturdy enough to be permanent. Someone had doen the bare minimum to make it livable, and then stopped. Presumably to rent it out to someone like Wharil Choc. Still, this hadn't stopped him from putting up the bare minimum of decorations, if they could be called that.
Instead of paintings and pictures, the walls were decorated with framed magazine articles and newspaper clippings, mostly covering correspondences from war-torn areas like Darfur, or relating the situation in Myanmar after a devastating tsunami. There were even a few about apartment superintendents who'd cut off water supplies from residents and Water companies who'd been caught price gouging, all during three years of drought in Charleston, South Carolina.
Similarly, scattered about the place were tiny souvenirs, presumeably from these places.
In the kitchen, Wharil sits at a flimsy looking card table, upon which were an open box of pizza, and six pack of dark beer.
"Have a seat. Help yourself."
[Alex] The place was clearly a fixer-upper, still being fixed. And upped. Plain dry wall, unfinished doorways, there was an abundance of space in the house but it had yet to be utilized. Upstairs he pauses, eyes raking over the media articles. All related to strife in one way or another, coincidental or deliberate.. Wharil would probably say there was no difference between the two. A curious thing, for wharil to have these on his wall, theres curiosity in Alex's eyes, mixed with hope, hope that wharil is simply an avid news follower.
Waltzing to the table he slips into a chair, his hand reaching first for the pizza. His stomach was rumbling, Riley had made sure he was fed before she left this morning but he hadn't eaten since.
"Have you spoken to Ashton recently Wharil?"
[Wharil Choc] "Not since I last saw you, no. Why do you ask?"
He too takes a slice of pizza. There are no plates. Not even disposables. He perches it all with the fingertips of his hands as he bites off a corner, and waits for Alex to continue.
[Alex] The bite stopped halfway, eyes flicking upwards from the tasty handful to meet Wharil's. His hand drops, he chews.. Gulps..
"I came across some rather interesting information.. Rather disturbing information.. About a women named Hero."
The pizza, forgotten, hangs from Alex's hand half eaten.
[Wharil Choc] Information? He chews a bit longer, though he places the slice he was working on back into the box and reaches for a beer instead. There's an opener handy, and he pops the cap and sets it down in front of him, nodding to Alex with a clear mouth now.
"Keep talking."
[Alex] Alex takes the opportunity to finish the slice of pizza still in his hand, chewing it quickly before swallowing.
"It's not the information that worried me the most, well, the information is certainly a great concern. But also HOW the information came to me. From a blathering girl who.. let me tell.. she ain't one of us thats for sure."
He wasn't sure on Molly's tradition, she worked like a VA, spoke like a hermetic but gave off the feeling of a cultist. It was most strange.
"This girl.. she told me.. Well she told me that there.. " He pauses, frowns, eyes studying Wharil.
"She told me there is a Master from our tradition whos Atmen has been split whilst crossing the gauntlet, and that a piece of it is now in a cultist named Lara. She also told me that this master is now trying to get that piece back." A pause. "Ashton confirmed, gave the master a name. Hero."
[Wharil Choc] Well that was certainly interesting. Wharil probes the sides of his cheeks with his tongue, leaning back into his chair and picking up his beer.
"This girl, did she use exactly those words? She said it was his Atman?"
[Alex] He pauses a moment, thinking on that. Had she said Atman? Or had he simply heard Atman.
"She said soul. She also said this .. shard.. caused lara to awaken.. I interpreted."
[Wharil Choc] He nods. The beer still lingers in his hand.
"I don't suppose you know where either of them are? Hero or Lara?"
[Alex] Alex reaches for his own beer now. opening it and taking a small swig before answering.
"Hero? no.. Ashton may know more about Hero.. from what she told me she knows little more than a name.. Lara I have seen recently, this month at least. She is still in chicago from what I know of. I think she is friends with.. a. well " rose tints his cheeks, only for a second. "A girl a I know." He took a sip of beer.
[Wharil Choc] Another nod, a slow drink of his beer finally, and he sets it down. Wharil sighs.
"What do you think we should do?"
[Alex] A blink, eyes staring at Wharil questioningly. What do you think we should do?
"Well.. I mean.. I'm here to help Wharil.. if you are just curious to see what my opinion is on the matter well then.. " he pauses. "Ashton and I agree. We both feel that it is our responsibility to deal with this problem and that outside help should be limited as much as possible.. However we need more information and that may require looking elsewhere.. Ashton believes my friend Riley is the best option should we need it." it was obvious that he was still unsure about how much he liked the last part of this idea.
[Wharil Choc] "Riley? From Cabal-Three. The Adept, right? And do you think we can let Riley know without the rest of her Cabal finding out?"
[Alex] "I think.. I think it would be a hard thing to guarantee.. She can't lie to save herself Wharil, even if she wanted to."
[Wharil Choc] "Chela." He corrects, though softening it with a wave of the hand. "This is Tradition business now. You're right though. Not only are they a cabal of friends, they're a cabal of snoops. But..."
He takes another swig of his beer, using the opportunity to think to himself.
"What do we really need from them? They're pretty good at information gathering, but from what I've heard they're pretty sloppy as well. But right now there's a potential master out there hunting down a newly awakened girl, and we're hunting both. Lara, as you said, is easier to find. So lets find her, and lets keep Hero from finding her for as long as we can.
"This is where Cabal three can come in. If we can get them to hid Lara without knowing why, or better yet, without knowing that they're even doing it, then we'll improve our chances."
[Alex] A worried look appears on the young Apprentices face, something about the plan seemed to sit uncomfortably with him.
"I think.." A pause and he narrowed his eyes. "I think I could work my way into Cabal 3.. then perhaps there wouldn't be a need for so much secrecy.." The beer is placed back upon the table, a hand running back through his hair accompanied with a sigh. "Unless there is another way.. perhaps WE could hide lara.. maybe she doesn't know.. maybe if she knew she would let us help.."
[Wharil Choc] "She should definitely know, if she doesn't already. Of course, the opposite is true. If she refuses our help we have to let her be. But I still want to follow up on this Hero. And I intend to."
He takes up the beer bottle again, and takes up his pizza in his other hand.
"I encourage you to join Cabal three. They're not particularly powerful or learned, but they offer things you seem to lack so far. Like friends. And...trust. But don't do it if all you really want to do is manipulate them. When it comes to getting them to turn a blind eye, we'd have probably had more luck with money than subterfuge."
"How's your training with Ashton going?"
[Alex] His mouth opens, a protest forming on his tongue as Wharil speaks of Cabal Three.
"Hey.. I've got frie-" Cut off by the continuation of his elder.
"My training.. well.. I haven't really had much training lately.. unless you count the incident with the nephandus "training".. No.. I dont know what Ashton intends to do with me yet.. She hasn't made it clear.
And just so -I'm- clear.. I wouldn't manipulate Cabal 3.. my suggestion for joining them was to limit manipulation.. "
[Administrator] Alex has left Lake View (Northside)
[Wharil Choc] If there was anything truly remarkable about Wharil Choc at first glance it was probably how understated he was. But was it a natural aspect of the man, or something practiced? Something trained into him.
Take, for instance, his residence. If you think about the seasoned Euthanatos you might expect somewhere deep in the inner city, surrounded by the hard-edged society he's supposed to martial, by stereotypical views. And yet, instead, here he is in Lakeview. In a neighborhood where the housing market crash has struck hard. Here he is living in a modest fixer-upper. Here's his compact hybrid parked out front.
Here's a perfectly normal, understated home, for a perfectly normal, understated man.
[Administrator] Alex, welcome to Lake View (Northside) (Now)
[Alex] When an apprentice goes to meet a disciple of his tradition there are many curious expectations, strange little imaginings on what the secret life of the other entails. For instance, when Alex goes to see ashton, no matter how many times, it is always strange to see Marcy and read to the girl while possibly discussing matters of horrible natures. It is no different the first time Alex calls on Wharil.
Alex looks up from the address in his phone to the house in front of him. Surely not. Well, maybe. A hybrid? Not wharils. Not a disciple Euthantoi's. Still, the address matched the information given to Alex. He paces, hesitantly at first before quickly striding towards the front door. His hand raps upon the surface. Once, Twice.
[Wharil Choc] At first, silence. After a while though, there's the soft sound of a footfall, then growing louder and louder as galloped down stairs. When Wharil Choc opens the door he's smiling wide, as if truly happy to see the apprentice.
"Hey!" He says, foregoing even first names. "Come on in. I've got Pizza and Beer upstairs."
He's not wearing the black slacks and sports coat, and the stark white shirt he was wearing when they first met. His hair isn't pulled back neatly in a ponytail the way it was that night either. Instead he's wearing jeans and a vintage t-shirt, the letters 'PTI' in fading block font on the front. His hair is left loose. His feet are bare.
"You have any trouble finding the place?"
[Alex] Alex had been nervously rubbing his newly healed foot along the bracket of the doorway when it opened. His head lifts. This was a different Wharil, one Alex had not seen before. No formal greeting, no traditionalist names for the apprentice. Alex smiles.
"Hey, Sounds good"
Alex lifts his feet, stepping casually into Wharil's domain. He wears a simple fitted grey t-shirt, black jeans. His boots are missing, ruined, destroyed, in their place is a pair of skate shoes. Ashton had found that most disturbing.
"It was shockingly easy to find Wharil, but I guess that's a bit of a common trend, I mean ashton doesn't exactly live hidden away either." Or does she.. perhaps that was the point..
[Wharil Choc] "Plain sight. That's the key. It sort of helps that I don't keep much more than purely material things here. I guess it also helps that I don't spend as much time at home as the average person does."
Wharil starts up the carpeted interior stairs. From here Alex can see that there are more apartments on the bottom floor. Doors leading off to either side. He can also see, however, that the apartment itself looks as though it was in the middle of renovation, and then all work completely ceased.
The apartment upstairs isn't much different. There was drywall that had yet to be painted in some areas, and the doors didn't exactly seem sturdy enough to be permanent. Someone had doen the bare minimum to make it livable, and then stopped. Presumably to rent it out to someone like Wharil Choc. Still, this hadn't stopped him from putting up the bare minimum of decorations, if they could be called that.
Instead of paintings and pictures, the walls were decorated with framed magazine articles and newspaper clippings, mostly covering correspondences from war-torn areas like Darfur, or relating the situation in Myanmar after a devastating tsunami. There were even a few about apartment superintendents who'd cut off water supplies from residents and Water companies who'd been caught price gouging, all during three years of drought in Charleston, South Carolina.
Similarly, scattered about the place were tiny souvenirs, presumeably from these places.
In the kitchen, Wharil sits at a flimsy looking card table, upon which were an open box of pizza, and six pack of dark beer.
"Have a seat. Help yourself."
[Alex] The place was clearly a fixer-upper, still being fixed. And upped. Plain dry wall, unfinished doorways, there was an abundance of space in the house but it had yet to be utilized. Upstairs he pauses, eyes raking over the media articles. All related to strife in one way or another, coincidental or deliberate.. Wharil would probably say there was no difference between the two. A curious thing, for wharil to have these on his wall, theres curiosity in Alex's eyes, mixed with hope, hope that wharil is simply an avid news follower.
Waltzing to the table he slips into a chair, his hand reaching first for the pizza. His stomach was rumbling, Riley had made sure he was fed before she left this morning but he hadn't eaten since.
"Have you spoken to Ashton recently Wharil?"
[Wharil Choc] "Not since I last saw you, no. Why do you ask?"
He too takes a slice of pizza. There are no plates. Not even disposables. He perches it all with the fingertips of his hands as he bites off a corner, and waits for Alex to continue.
[Alex] The bite stopped halfway, eyes flicking upwards from the tasty handful to meet Wharil's. His hand drops, he chews.. Gulps..
"I came across some rather interesting information.. Rather disturbing information.. About a women named Hero."
The pizza, forgotten, hangs from Alex's hand half eaten.
[Wharil Choc] Information? He chews a bit longer, though he places the slice he was working on back into the box and reaches for a beer instead. There's an opener handy, and he pops the cap and sets it down in front of him, nodding to Alex with a clear mouth now.
"Keep talking."
[Alex] Alex takes the opportunity to finish the slice of pizza still in his hand, chewing it quickly before swallowing.
"It's not the information that worried me the most, well, the information is certainly a great concern. But also HOW the information came to me. From a blathering girl who.. let me tell.. she ain't one of us thats for sure."
He wasn't sure on Molly's tradition, she worked like a VA, spoke like a hermetic but gave off the feeling of a cultist. It was most strange.
"This girl.. she told me.. Well she told me that there.. " He pauses, frowns, eyes studying Wharil.
"She told me there is a Master from our tradition whos Atmen has been split whilst crossing the gauntlet, and that a piece of it is now in a cultist named Lara. She also told me that this master is now trying to get that piece back." A pause. "Ashton confirmed, gave the master a name. Hero."
[Wharil Choc] Well that was certainly interesting. Wharil probes the sides of his cheeks with his tongue, leaning back into his chair and picking up his beer.
"This girl, did she use exactly those words? She said it was his Atman?"
[Alex] He pauses a moment, thinking on that. Had she said Atman? Or had he simply heard Atman.
"She said soul. She also said this .. shard.. caused lara to awaken.. I interpreted."
[Wharil Choc] He nods. The beer still lingers in his hand.
"I don't suppose you know where either of them are? Hero or Lara?"
[Alex] Alex reaches for his own beer now. opening it and taking a small swig before answering.
"Hero? no.. Ashton may know more about Hero.. from what she told me she knows little more than a name.. Lara I have seen recently, this month at least. She is still in chicago from what I know of. I think she is friends with.. a. well " rose tints his cheeks, only for a second. "A girl a I know." He took a sip of beer.
[Wharil Choc] Another nod, a slow drink of his beer finally, and he sets it down. Wharil sighs.
"What do you think we should do?"
[Alex] A blink, eyes staring at Wharil questioningly. What do you think we should do?
"Well.. I mean.. I'm here to help Wharil.. if you are just curious to see what my opinion is on the matter well then.. " he pauses. "Ashton and I agree. We both feel that it is our responsibility to deal with this problem and that outside help should be limited as much as possible.. However we need more information and that may require looking elsewhere.. Ashton believes my friend Riley is the best option should we need it." it was obvious that he was still unsure about how much he liked the last part of this idea.
[Wharil Choc] "Riley? From Cabal-Three. The Adept, right? And do you think we can let Riley know without the rest of her Cabal finding out?"
[Alex] "I think.. I think it would be a hard thing to guarantee.. She can't lie to save herself Wharil, even if she wanted to."
[Wharil Choc] "Chela." He corrects, though softening it with a wave of the hand. "This is Tradition business now. You're right though. Not only are they a cabal of friends, they're a cabal of snoops. But..."
He takes another swig of his beer, using the opportunity to think to himself.
"What do we really need from them? They're pretty good at information gathering, but from what I've heard they're pretty sloppy as well. But right now there's a potential master out there hunting down a newly awakened girl, and we're hunting both. Lara, as you said, is easier to find. So lets find her, and lets keep Hero from finding her for as long as we can.
"This is where Cabal three can come in. If we can get them to hid Lara without knowing why, or better yet, without knowing that they're even doing it, then we'll improve our chances."
[Alex] A worried look appears on the young Apprentices face, something about the plan seemed to sit uncomfortably with him.
"I think.." A pause and he narrowed his eyes. "I think I could work my way into Cabal 3.. then perhaps there wouldn't be a need for so much secrecy.." The beer is placed back upon the table, a hand running back through his hair accompanied with a sigh. "Unless there is another way.. perhaps WE could hide lara.. maybe she doesn't know.. maybe if she knew she would let us help.."
[Wharil Choc] "She should definitely know, if she doesn't already. Of course, the opposite is true. If she refuses our help we have to let her be. But I still want to follow up on this Hero. And I intend to."
He takes up the beer bottle again, and takes up his pizza in his other hand.
"I encourage you to join Cabal three. They're not particularly powerful or learned, but they offer things you seem to lack so far. Like friends. And...trust. But don't do it if all you really want to do is manipulate them. When it comes to getting them to turn a blind eye, we'd have probably had more luck with money than subterfuge."
"How's your training with Ashton going?"
[Alex] His mouth opens, a protest forming on his tongue as Wharil speaks of Cabal Three.
"Hey.. I've got frie-" Cut off by the continuation of his elder.
"My training.. well.. I haven't really had much training lately.. unless you count the incident with the nephandus "training".. No.. I dont know what Ashton intends to do with me yet.. She hasn't made it clear.
And just so -I'm- clear.. I wouldn't manipulate Cabal 3.. my suggestion for joining them was to limit manipulation.. "
[Administrator] Alex has left Lake View (Northside)
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