Amidst the rubble of a war not long past, the stars seek to raise a new generation. Blessed with celestial powers that have begun to make their reappearance, the Gifted are individuals whose shoulders the future of the city rests on. Will you overthrow the dysfunctional government or work to keep it in power? Or will you undermine the whole game and play to your own advantage? No matter your motives, Hyperion is yours to shape.
eve was bored. her fingers drummed against the black countertop she was leaning over as she waited for someone - anyone - to enter her shop and make her life a little more interesting. the hours of madame lestrange's curios & more tended to be sporadic, with eve popping in when she didn't have something better to do, when she was bored out of her mind, and by appointment. she preferred the appointments and late night hours, though she tried to make weekends a little more consistent. really, all one had to do to reach her was call the number that was written on the door to the little business.
when all was said and done, eve had a fair amount of objects that were missing their owners arranged neatly around the store, which was dimly lit and offered a mysterious atmosphere. the carpet, a deep violet, spotted with tiny moons and stars, was perhaps the most colorful thing in the shop aside from eve's red pout, which contrasted nicely with the black getup she was currently donning. her raven locks cascaded down her back, smelling sweetly of grapefruit and vanilla. the store itself smelled pleasantly of the incense she was currently burning. a lively instrumental song played gently in the store, causing the woman to tap her toe along with her fingers. she batted her eyelashes and gazed around sweetly, wondering what she might be able to get out of objects today.
sadly, she didn't have time to ponder the question for long, as the gentle chime of bells alerted her to someone's having walked inside the building. her brilliant blue eyes turned to the entrance and her face lit up with a bright smile, causing the store to seem a little brighter. "hello," she chimed, "and welcome to madame lestrange's humble curiosity shop." her low voice carried well across the store, and she liked to think it made her seem mysterious - as if her hours didn't already.
@open ■ do ur worst - feel free to set the time & Etc.
Post by Lee Jun Daniel on Jul 13, 2017 20:20:04 GMT
tonight the foxes hunt the hounds
It was approaching evening and the sky was just beginning to turn a dusty lavender-pink, as the usual throng of office workers began to slowly stream from their buildings now that the day was done. A tall man with his hair tied up walked unconcernedly down the boulevard, vaguely out of place in this corporate crowd in jeans and a white button down with its sleeves pushed up, hands shoved nonchalantly into his pockets as he weaved through the slight throng.
Near the end of the street was a store he had passed many times, although its windows were usually shuttered with no opening hours but just a contact number printed on the locked door. The thing was Lee didn't even really know what the little store did, despite its name hinting at some business of the mystical kind, so calling the number would have been a little silly. But as he drew nearer to the store, to his surprise it soon became clear that Madame Lestrange's Curios & More was indeed open that evening.
Lee often stopped by District Two, either after he'd handed the counter to one of his employees or on one of his off days - mostly to harass Altair drop off a few lattes for the guy and his clinic staff - but out of all the times he had been down this particular street in the past year or so, he could probably count the occasions he'd seen the curious little store actually open to the public on one hand. Of course he had to go in. At the very least he'd learn exactly what kind of a business the shop contained and finally satisfy his curiosity.
As he pushed the door open and ducked through the entryway, the sound of jingling bells announced his entrance into the store. Lee was immediately greeted by the warm scent of incense and a soft, welcoming tune playing in the background. The interior of the store was a little darker than outside and he had to blink a few times to let his eyes adjust, during which time the store's owner called out to him. Her voice was pleasant to the ear and, as his eyes grew accustomed to the dim lighting, Lee saw that her smile was too.
"Thanks," he responded with a half-smile of his own, throwing in a sort of aborted half bow out of habit - when one stood behind a counter of their own for a good part of the week, service manners tended to become routine. "If I'm honest, I have no idea what you do in here. I must've walked past a hundred times before without ever really knowing. You're usually closed here too, so I never got to find out." Lee's light brown eyes scanned the walls of the store with interest as he spoke, regarding the multitudes of strange items with a sense of benign confusion. "I hope you don't mind me stopping in without much of an objective. I'd love to learn more about your shop, though." Advancing into the store, Lee took the liberty of looking a little closer at some of the knick-knacks she had on display about the place, though he respectfully refrained from actually touching anything - aside from that being rather rude, he had the feeling everything in this store was probably at least a little magical, and decided it would be safer to keep them at arm's length until proven otherwise.
Eve Ingersoll // i'm super rusty sorry if this reads a little weirdly,, i hope you don't mind me taking some vague liberties with the location of the store!
Owner of @_Home, net cafe located in District 4, seeking to maintain what peace that can be held onto, however long that may last. Currently a stray cat to the other districts.
A set of heeled boots clicked along the cement walkways down the street with a taxi cab driving away behind them. The sun was setting, making the windows on the outside turning lavender and denim hues in the early onset of the afternoon. The woman looked more focused than her usual musings. They referred to their phone for what time it was only to heave a sigh at the hour. "Just a quick venture," she reminded herself to not delay too much for a late night appointment elsewhere. A quaint store came up to her right with little more than a simple sign outside stating the location, madame lestrange's curios & more. It didn't exactly stand out too much for attention but that all changed as the brunette opened the door to sound off the chime.
Aah, it's that sort of place, were Reyna's thoughts as she kindly closed the door behind her. The sunlight outside must have been just as glaring as before. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting but a pleasant smile appeared after being welcomed with the scent of something...sweet. Yes, something sweet did smell from somewhere in the room with a touch of a burning smoke behind it. To be honest, this would be Reyna's first time here. The location was recommended from her employees in a mixed review. Basically a mysterious place run by a witch or the kind of store you'd buy faerie and dragon statues. From the looks of things so far, Reyna gathered that this was more like a fortune tellers booth than some earthly spiritual store. They spurred me on again. Those kids. The woman shrugged to herself before waving a greeting to what appeared to be the owner of this store.
"Good afternoon. I'm curious about your curiosity shop," Reyna greeted openly of her purpose of being here. Just an atypical cat lured by the curious store our of curiosity. "It's quite lovely." They added in, speaking about both the smell and the store as a whole. But now that her eyes did gain more sight in the dim room, she now noticed that a customer was there as well due to how differently he dressed. "My apologies, I wasn't aware you were occupied." Due to how small the store was, Reyna began to assume that it was more of a one on one sort of business. Rather than leaving right away though did Reyna wave kindly to them both and sought to browse the store a bit by taking a closer look at the items upon the shelves. If this store didn't have those earthly mystical items then what on earth did they sell? She began to hum to the lively tune softly with hands behind her back to occupy herself while the gentleman and lady before her carried on. A common practice that can be seen as a child keeping quiet in the back while the adults talked.
[googlefont="Roboto:700,400"][googlefont="Quicksand:700,400"][googlefont="Source Sans Pro:700,400"]
[newclass=".PlotTitle"]float:right;background-color:transparent;border:1px dashed #324956; padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;text-align:center;color:#324956;height:5px;font-family:'source sans pro';font-size:13px;margin-right:4px;margin-top:-10px;text-transform:uppercase;margin-bottom:-5px;[/newclass]
brilliant blue orbs studied the newcomer, taking in his attire and funneling assumptions directly to her body's control center. should she be able to get her hands on one of his possessions, she'd probably end up knowing more about him than he'd like her to. the pretty smile remained upon her angular face, her white teeth dazzling in the low light of the shop. she offered a low chuckle when he bowed to her, beginning to wonder what he did for a living. she might be able to con him into a reading and satisfy her lust for information, but that would have to wait until after formalities were finished. it seemed she'd need to explain herself, after all. she waved politely to the brunette who had entered and returned to matters at hand, though she took care to ensure that the woman felt comfortable in their midst. "no worries, doll - there's room here for all of us." eve batted her lashes and turned her attention back to the curious male.
"since you've done me the favor of being forward, i will do the same to you. in this shop, as you may have guessed, i assume the title of madame lestrange. i offer readings to those who are interested and dabble in a variety of other areas of fortune telling, though the items you see around you are also peddled at a fair price." she gestured to the items that were stashed here and there, some on shelves where the woman had went, and some laying on tables that were covered by velvet fabric that was deep purple in color. "everything you see before you was pre-owned, and each item was selected and placed here due to its unique characteristics and interesting past, which i would be happy to share with anyone should they inquire about it." the whole point of having them around was to sell them, though the majority of them required the holder's imagination to work properly. the artifacts hardly had any magical properties of their own; eve excelled at assigning them.
because she felt it would make her more marketable, eve rose gracefully from her position behind the dark counter and moved toward the man, selecting a hand-carved coral hairpin and lifting it from its plush resting place. "this one was hand carved by a young woman's grandmother before she perished in the war. it was offered up to her daughter as a coming-of-age gift, and then bestowed unto her daughter in a similar fashion. that little one was obsessed with mermaids, and believed this pin would bring her the power of the seas. from what i was able to divine, she was capable of doing just that, and she very much fancied the idea of being the daughter of the sea king. if one's heart longs for the seas, this pin could help to ease the longing and soothe the aching heart." the woman placed the delicate artifact back on its little pillow and looked to each of her guests, smile still causing her to radiate friendliness.
"as for the rather unusual hours, i'm too stubborn to hire an associate to run the place, and i'm typically using my talents elsewhere as a medium for any who are interested. it's really just a hobby shop for yours truly," these words were just as sincere as any that had ever been spoken before. the place wasn't very profitable due to the things she physically sold - information was where all the profits were made, courtesy of Nostra. "as such, i take no issue with those who are curious. curiosity is crucial to drawing others in, and i'd like to think it's my abnormal hours and peculiar artifacts that draw people like yourselves in." the woman's voice was soft and carried with it a low, mystifying characteristic that had caused many people to - eventually - hand over their belongings and let her get a reading on them.
"as a public service, i also help to return lost objects to their owners. should someone bring me something that they've found on the street, i do my best to get it back to them safely. you'd be amazed at what everyday items wish to say about their owners," 'especially cell phones'. it was far too often that she learned more than she ought about people and their habits, though she was so shameless it hardly mattered. it took a lot to fluster eve ingersoll.
in an effort to continue conversation, eve was compelled to try and set some hooks in the two inquiring minds that were before her. "if anything caught your eye, please, be sure to let me know which it was. i'll tell you the story of it, and let you know if it may be able to assist you in your journey through life. or, if you tell me something that ails you, i could also recommend a cure." a particular twinkle crept into her blue eyes and her grin became more alluring than before. "or i'd also be more than willing to play a little game." playing games with witches was a dangerous business if the stakes were high, but eve had no intentions of scaring the two off. in all reality, she was only marginally less bored, and wished to have someone to keep her company for a little longer.
Post by Lee Jun Daniel on Jul 15, 2017 19:03:58 GMT
tonight the foxes hunt the hounds
As soon as Lee had finished speaking, the doorbell chimed again to signal the entrance of another customer, at which Lee's eyebrows furrowed just the slightest bit. Glancing over his shoulder, his gaze fell briefly upon the lady who had entered the shop, and he sent a vague nod of acknowledgement in her direction - customers entering his own store was all good and dandy, but additional customers in a place where he was a customer too tended to make him feel a little crowded, especially in a small store such as this one. Thankfully this time it was just the one lady who had entered and not a larger group as tended to happen in places Lee would visit - at times it seemed as if people just followed him around town to corner him in little places, and he didn't particularly like feeling stifled.
Looking back in the direction of the storekeeper as she began to speak, Lee schooled his features back into an expression that was more pleasant - after all, more customers were good for her business, he was just vaguely claustrophobic. There was a reason why his own cafe space was as large as he could rent it, with its huge storefront windows and minimalistic interior. As it was, her fascinating spiel did a quick job of vanishing his temporary discomfort, especially now that he was finally satisfying his curiosity about the curious little corner store that he had wondered about for weeks, probably months. Divinations and future readings weren't really something he had ever paid much attention to before, though his father had spent much time and money having the futures of everyone in his family read - it seemed a very traditional Chinese thing to do, and in his youth Lee had taken great efforts to try and thwart the medium's reading of his own future just by virtue of being a little shit of a teenager. He had, though, always vaguely wondered if any of them were indeed the real deal. After all, there were gifted people all throughout the city.
Lee's eyes followed the storekeeper's movements as she pointed out various items around the store, then approached him to show off an ornate accessory that had clearly been made with the utmost care. He appreciated things like that, people putting their heart into making one-of-a-kind items to pass to others they cared about. Whether or not the hairpin's story was indeed true didn't particularly matter to him, as even false stories themselves had the merit of being entertaining, but her companionable smile and forward demeanour did make him more inclined to trust her tale.
As she next alluded to her little lost-and-found service, Lee's expression (which had resembled that of a student in an interesting class up til then) broke into an easy grin. "And you'd be surprised at how many customers of mine leave all kinds of shit in my cafe. I'll gladly bring them down to you, if it'll help them get back to their owners. There's a whole box of phone chargers and the like in my back room." He stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels, as if he was sharing with her an inside joke. Then, as her introduction drew to an end with the mention of a game and a glint in her eye, Lee returned it with a wicked smile of his own. "A game? With our lovely Madame Lestrange, who reads the future for a living? That doesn't seem like a game I can win." As Lee spoke, he withdrew a small leather card-holder from the pocket his hand was in, out of which he took a little white namecard. On it was a logo, his full name and the words higher ground in crisp gold lettering. "But where are my manners. I'm Lee. I own the coffeeshop on Coronation Avenue in District Three." He held the business card out to the storekeeper with a neat flick of his fingers before glancing over at the other lady in the store, shrugging one of his shoulders and waving the card-holder in his other hand. "You can have one too if you want. We got the best coffee in town."
Owner of @_Home, net cafe located in District 4, seeking to maintain what peace that can be held onto, however long that may last. Currently a stray cat to the other districts.
Reyna nodded to show that she was listening till the conversation went back to the man that Reyna tuned them out as background noise. That main really didn't seem to enjoy her being her. Reyna rubbed a finger along the arms of her glasses to try not to have it concern her too much and sought to just absorb more of the location. The place was like those typical fortune teller places; dimly lit and stars thrown about like glitter. As for the items before her, well, they were an odd collection of nick knacks. What did they say this place was? A lost and found? Reyna held her chin in thought of these lost belongings. Phone straps to hair pins to watches and old lamps rested so neatly in their cushions that it wasn't like a lost and found but a treasure collection.
Over her shoulder was she able to catch something about an heirloom comb of some kind made of seashell. "That's a pretty thing," Reyna assumed by description and story alone without turning away from the shelving unit. A minor comment from the peanut gallery Reyna was sure didn't matter much to either of them. Have patience. If it was going to be a one customer a day thing, they would have asked you to leave and come back another time. She thought to avoid feeling gloomy. She slowly stepped down the rows of lost items with restraint to not pick up everything that looked cute or antique. There wasn't a sign that said to keep hands off the merchandise but the way they rested so neatly upon velvet made even the sturdiest rock feel fragile. Maybe I should get something for home or like a travel charm. She has been wandering the off beat streets more when the train wasn't at its most convenient.
"A game?" The key word there made Reyna turn her head from a jade pendant wrapped in red tassels to find the man also motioning her way with a case of some kind in hand. It looked taunting in a way but they both sounded to beckon her over so Reyna obliged. "So you say, I'll have to try after some daily routines," Reyna replied while coming up from behind the man to join him before the madam lestrange. "Is it complicated to play or need tokens of some kind? I'd like to play if knowing a bit more of what I'm suppose to do," she answered but made note to voice concerns. She didn't enjoy games that felt to have made up rules on the spot against players just to make them look stupid.
[googlefont="Roboto:700,400"][googlefont="Quicksand:700,400"][googlefont="Source Sans Pro:700,400"]
[newclass=".PlotTitle"]float:right;background-color:transparent;border:1px dashed #324956; padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;text-align:center;color:#324956;height:5px;font-family:'source sans pro';font-size:13px;margin-right:4px;margin-top:-10px;text-transform:uppercase;margin-bottom:-5px;[/newclass]
Created by Graves, Finley, and Dimas with thanks to PHAROAH LEAP of WICKED WONDERLAND for various codes! Mini profile code by TIMELAPSE OF WICKED WONDERLAND. Shoutbox remodel code by Alisha of Adoxography 2.0. Any and all content is copyrighted to STAR★SIGNS. Copying, altering, or stealing any of the site's content is prohibited. All of STAR★SIGNS characters are the original work of their owners may not be replicated or stolen. All images and graphics belong to their rightful owners and STAR★SIGNS does not claim to own any of them.
