Beneficial Excursions (Juliet, Icarus)

When it came to daily errands, there were few tasks Juliet found necessary to complete in a twenty four hour cycle. Grocery shopping only was required once, perhaps twice a week. Since she did not drive a vehicle, there was no need to pause and refill any tanks. Though she occasionally received post, Juliet had a box in her apartment. For this reason, she rarely had to venture to the post office itself; for that reason, it did not make her list of daily locations to visit when running errands. Laundry was a biweekly necessity, and thank the snarky gods for that. If she'd had to wash the clothes and sheets more frequently, Juliet would have had to rearrange her whole schedule.

The point was, she had a very specific way of accomplishing tasks that regularly needed to be done. Aside from keeping up with her bills, appropriate appointments, and work related actions that needed to be taken, Juliet found time to block in practicing magic and working on improving herself. After all, she needed to become stronger in order to accomplish her goals. Still, even with everything, Juliet occasionally found herself with nothing to do. She didn't purposefully add in extra downtime, but possible areas of waiting around were always accounted for. Today happened to be one of those times when she had finished a job early and had nothing more on her plate. Her ticket for the train back to her city of residence was stamped with a time four hours from now, thanks to a client who had exaggerated the difficulty of their mission. While she would of course accept the extra jewel she was paid as a result of the apparently higher requirements, Juliet would rather have not wasted time at all.

Regardless, there was nothing to be done about it now. She was stranded in Rose Garden for the next few hours, since returning early would only be inefficient. For this reason, Juliet had selected to walk around the city and enjoy the time she had unwittingly arranged for herself. Truly, the city was a marvel of architecture, technology, and culture that Juliet took immense pleasure in experiencing. Despite her neutral expression, inwardly she was in awe of the sights to be seen and enjoyed even the frivolous inventions of multicolored bubble fountains, though she would never admit it. One thing in particular caught Juliet's eye. Strangely enough, it was not some wonder of mechanics- in fact, it was simply a swarm of people, all crowded outside of a small, nondescript building. Though it appeared to be a bit run down, with faded grey paint and a sign in the front with unreadable blue block letters, obviously something of interest was drawing patronage.

Juliet changed course from walking alongside one of the foot paths to heading directly for the building. Once she had slipped through the throng of people and reached the front doors, it was far easier to understand what was happening. So crystal clear was the situation that Juliet was hardly surprised so many had come out to try and register. After all, passports were typically quite expensive, and it was difficult to receive them since a Fioran passport granted access to virtually every other nation in Earthland. All of the countries desired to receive rich tourists that would benefit their economies. Juliet supposed that the stereotype of the high upper class foreigner from Fiore might die out now, though, considering that passports were available free of charge and for virtually everyone. According to the sign posted next to the front door, mages were also able to acquire these passports in order to carry out missions in foreign nations.

That, in particular, intrigued Juliet immensely. As she pushed open the door of the building, slowly so as to not injure any person hovering behind the heavy frosted glass, she thought with satisfaction that today's schedule mishap had led to good fortune. Once indoors, she noted that there were several counters at the front of the room (which appeared far larger inside than she had first anticipated it would be judging from the exterior). It looked to operate in a way similar to the DMV, since a hanging sign instructed for her to pull out a piece of paper from the machine. Doing so, Juliet discovered her number: 603. With a glance to her left, she took a seat on a nearby chair, trying not to think about the numerous strangers who had previously spread their germs in the same place. While she would have preferred to keep standing, doing so for long periods of time made her antsy and nervous, a bad combination when she would be needing to talk to an official calmly in order to present herself in the best light.

Juliet refrained herself from looking immediately when the person to her right addressed her with the ticket number. Instead, she busied herself finishing zipping the slip of paper away securely into her bag, secure to prevent any loss of it. Even though she would have surely been permitted to grab another, it would have been a waste of time to go through waiting all over again, had she discovered that her original number was missing. Finally finished with that step, she turned to the man sitting next to her and offered him a polite smile. In turn, he waved his slip and returned the pleasant expression, though his was traced with a bit more impatience, if she were to be so frank.

A short silence seemed to fall upon the room, briefly stilling time for every person in the area, before whispers started back up again and conversation flowed freely. Juliet did not allow her expression to fall into informality, but when he asked her a question about travel plans, she was struck with a bit of resignation. Even though it was entirely possible for her to straight out ignore his inquiry, Juliet had not reached that state of complete unbotheredndess as of yet. Her expression agreeable to conversation, Juliet answered quietly, but fully. "Not specifically. I simply wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, should it be advantageous in the future." In return, she offered him a question, just to keep alive the casual conversation that he seemed to be seeking.

"Do you intend to travel in the near future?"

Juliet understood his intentions, at least the level he was communicating them openly. As pure as they were, and worthy of admiration, an inkling of suspicion remained in her heart. Easily, he could have been doing something unsavory in Desierto and lying. A few individuals she had encountered in the past seemed to have had a strange obsession with deceit.

"That sounds terrible. Let me know if you need any help," Juliet finally said, reaching into her pocket and grabbing a business card. While it could have been seen as a bit stiff, or formal, her iLac number was printed neatly on each one. It was a much simpler method of delivering that information without having to recite numbers and requiring the stranger to jot them down somehow. "It is irritating to wait around for bureaucracy, but what can you do?" She admitted, once again feeling keenly the same pain he described. Border crossing could be finicky without prior approval. It wouldn't do to get Fiore in trouble with any foreign governments. Ah, there was his name. Perhaps it had been rude of her not to introduce herself sooner. Still, while Juliet remained... open... to human interaction, she had no real desire to chit chat. "Juliet. Nice to meet you, Icarus," she would be polite, if nothing else.

Apparently, the queue was going faster than it would seem from the outside, since the next number called was 514. Not bad at all, but still a long ways off from the six hundreds. "Tell me a bit more about what's happening in Desierto?" Her tone conversational, she gave him her attention.

Although she made an effort not to stare at the ripped openings in his shirt, it was difficult not to at least notice them, offhandedly. Perhaps he was accustomed to getting into fights. There was any number of possibilities to explain such strange holes, but regardless, she would not dwell on their presence. Especially as Icarus seemed to be becoming more engrossed into their conversation, judging by his body language. She felt it polite to at least feign the same amount of interest. If he did choose to take her offer of support as genuine and try to enlist her help, she would happily follow through. "Mm? I'm listening," he did have her attention. It would be rude to not listen.

An international job request... while not unusual, she was wary of Desierto. After numerous accounts of bandits and raiders patrolling the borders to pick off unwary travelers, Juliet had no strong desire to go to that nation. However, she was acquiring the passport for the purposes of dealing with international crime. This certainly fit the bill. While Icarus didn't seem to be as concerned with the free will of the people as much as the corruption of... nature, or something of that sort, Juliet would bite. She hated slavers with every bone in her body. Their only purpose served to perpetuate the idea that humans could be property. A disgusting concept. "Intelligent of you," Juliet stated evenly, when Icarus admitted that he could tell when assistance was necessary to complete a mission.

A potential demon could be more of a threat than a slaver, depending on the level. If peoples' lives were being sacrificed for the sake of its summoning, the monster was probably stronger than the type ordinary blood rituals could bring. "Yes, I understand," she finally said, after he had summarized the situation very well. To be completely honest, Juliet would be more than willing to take on any part of such a mission but was most intrigued by ridding the world of another slaver and freeing any captives. Any type of corruption was revolting, but she did not have enough sympathy for nature to balk more at that than the nauseating practice of selling humans.

For these reasons, she allowed herself to clearly say, "After we get our passports, perhaps we should reconvene and discuss this mission more concretely." By that, she meant travel plans, battle plans, strategy, and the like. There was no harm in planning as much as possible, so long as it did not waste valuable time.

Though she would have loved to make serious plans while waiting in the queue (so as to not waste time), she still had no idea what kind of a person Icarus was. Juliet did not trust him yet enough to go on a mission in a foreign land with him. Claiming to be from Sabertooth was a claim, nothing more. She herself was lacking any guild affiliation at the moment, and she understood that titles of legal and dark were nothing more sometimes than a label of who was favored or not by the Magic Council. "I would like to do my own research into this situation. Even though this mission is of pressing importance, you comprehend my meaning, right?" He must, otherwise she would be disgruntled by such rashness. Just because a job was approved by the Magic Council did not make it valid in her eyes. She had a healthy... awareness, and understanding, perhaps respect, of authority but did not instinctively trust those in positions of power.

Juliet was relieved that Icarus apparently perfectly understood her hesitation. "I will do so," she answered in turn to his suggestion of calling him later. In truth, she was trusting him more already for his easy acceptance of her delay in a firm response. Reaching out with her left hand, she took his card between a few fingers and slipped it into her own bag. Although it would be only a few hours at most until she had all of the information necessary- at least, according to her estimations- calling would be the most efficient way for them to communicate after parting. He seemed to be an honest sort, which Juliet appreciated. "It won't be 'more than a couple days'. If this is legitimate, I will most likely contact you before the day is over," Juliet had no problem telling him this. That way, if it turned out to be a hoax and she didn't call him to warn him, he would also be able to go in solo with the knowledge that she had thought the mission fake.

Their low volume conversation was disrupted by a call from a nearby cubicle. Judging by the look on Icarus' face, he had heard it as well. "Yes. Take care," giving him a slight smile, Juliet wished the man good luck and safe travels. She didn't have much time to think more about the conversation, though, for her own number was immediately called afterwards by a different cubicle. Pulling herself to her feet, Juliet moved her cape more over her shoulder so that it didn't flap too much in front of her arm. As soon as she stepped in front of the man who was working at that stall, he glanced her up and down. Muttering something to himself, he began to type on the computer furiously. Juliet's mind whirred with confusion. Perhaps she appeared to be suspicious for some reason or another. However, any of her musings were disrupted when he finally spoke. "Sorry about that, just marking down some obvious details to make our time together go a bit faster. More efficient for you all's sake, you get me? Now, let's take a picture. Stand on the X in front of that camera there," he gestured to a nearby box looking thing.

With no small amount of curiosity, Juliet stared into the lens and didn't blink in the slightest when a bright flash of light was emitted from it. Extremely interesting... she found technology more and more fascinating with every invention she saw. Cameras, huh? Forcing her mind away from the possibilities and back on her current conversation, Juliet paid attention to the man. He asked her several questions, including her age, birthplace, etc. He did not ask for her gender or any physical features, so she guessed he had already marked that down. This, she thought, was a little bit unfortunate for those who came in to get a passport with an appearance markedly different than the usual. After what felt like far too long in time had been wasted here, he finally printed out a slip of paper and slapped it onto the counter. "If you want, we can get you your passport right now. It will be extra, though." Juliet cursed the money hungry bureaucracy and the unrestrained capitalism before pulling out her wallet. Nearby, Icarus seemed to be done with his own business, flashing her a crooked smile before heading out the door. A few minutes later, she left the agency in the same way, with her passport. It had cost far too much but she had also gained valuable insight into a possible mission.

It did not take very long to investigate the credibility of the Desierto job which Icarus had mentioned. His proposal was definitely legitimate; at least, the Magic Council had approved the job and there were records of killings and kidnappings by slavers. Juliet tapped on her iLac furiously as she collected more and more reports of suspicious activity. Certainly, it seemed that there was a demon or a different otherworldly creature going about and enacting its toll on nature. Even though she did not observe any majorly threatening forces of corruption, Juliet understood that the worst was likely yet to come. The slavers probably had not managed to summon the demon of the worst capacities yet. It would be prudent to prevent them from doing so. Furthermore, she agreed it would definitely best to attempt to put an end to such business before the actual arrival of such a creature was accomplished. Nodding to herself, Juliet swiped away from the tabs and tabs of research she had pulled up on her iLac. Tossing the few newspapers she had investigated into a corner of her kitchen, Juliet dialed a number on her iLac. "Hello. It's Juliet. I've decided that the mission is legitimate. When do you think we should..."