Knowing she is still worried about him makes him happy, but doesn't stop him from teasing her... within reason.

"How am I? Well, there is not much to tell outside of work really, or at least nothing of spectacular significance comes to mind." Lyla would probably know if he would be hiding anyhing big, but it doesn't really seem like he is. Of course he doesn't tell about details unless asked about directly. "If anything major would happen to me, the news would probably tell all about it. How about you?"

Even he doesn't know what the press knows.

She gives him a dumbstruck face, before pulling from her cigarette.

"I would kind of hope that if something...anything happens.. I'd hear of it from you, and not my agents or the press," she sighs, giving a rub to her forehead with her thumb."Well, I guess no news is good news. Heard you've been stirring up the political pot quite a lot with your newly acquired celestial form."

A small moment passes as she thinks.

"Me? Oh, nothing new...ah, wait, something new. A scar on my shoulder. Had a quite the unpleasant mission from the Core that involved our opposition and the sidereals. Come on, lets take a seat somewhere more secluded than the counter, and I'll talk of it more."

She strides to a nearby booth, that Kendall probably had managed to spot earlier but had not quite yet made it there, before she verbally assaulted him.

*Cough* "O-Blyat..."
Those fateful words were uttered, as Arkady wobbles in through the door of The Callsign, stopping for a moment to lean on the door frame to scan the area and catch his breath.

He's wearing... A suit-ish? Black slacks with a black shirt, a bright red vest with a pair of suspenders, and a bit off shade red tie. On top of it all is a makeshifty holster harness for his silver 1911 and a few spare mags.
The holster actually doesn't look too shabby.

"Oh shit! It's the siblings, out of which now both are sun's chosen, holy shit!" *Cough* "Who would have guessed!" *Cough* "Just a second... Blyat."

He walks to the counter and orders three shots of Vodka-ish alcohol, and downs them one by one, grimacing after each one. Then he orders three more and brings them to the booth where Lyla is sitting. "Wow, Kendal our suit getups almost match. Hah! What are the odds!"

As Arkady is chugging down the shots, Kendall walks to the booth and sits down next to Lyla and says, "Well, you were the first one I called when I exalted, so nothing of the same caliber of importance has happened at least." He pauses, "Sidereals? Sounds stressful enough in itself, I also ran into troublemakers and politicians with bad intentions."

He greets Arkady with a friendly wave as he sits down, "If it isn't my favorite Russian friend, how is live treating you?"

*Cough* "Like shit to be honest." *cough* "Imma need more booze to fix this cough though. Also Wearing ties fucking sucks. How do you stand it?"

He shuffles through his pockets for a cigarette and lights one. A bitter smoke with slight touch of motor oil lingers in the air.

"Sorry people, I need to get comfortable. I've had a terible day, consisting of business lunches, Infernals and void demons... And the worst of it is wearing a tie. Fuck this tie."

He pulls off his tie and opens the top button of his shirt, and pulls his 1911 off it's holster and places it on the table like some mafia boss and leans back against the seat.

Another smoky exhale of satisfaction.

"That's better. *cough* Suka.. So how's your end Kendal? You stirred quite the bit of a shit show. Pretty sure your campaign manager had a stroke when you exalted."

When Kendal sits down, she notes:"Our Sidereals are fine, this one was...something between the lines. I even surprised myself that I managed to track her down from that wild goose chase....ah, politicians with bad intentions. really?"

She smirks a bit.

"Yeah, do tell what that was all about. I got a report concerning that whole event on my desk."

As Arkady appears by the table, she tilts her head subtly to the side:"Hi Arkady. Quite the look. Suits you though... You look like Kendal and your day sounds like a typical day for him. Have you decided to take the same route, climbing the political ladder?"

For a moment she eyes the gun he just placed on the table. Then while tapping some ash from her cigarette to the tray, she adjust its position a bit so that the essence pumped shadow hides the gun away from sight.

"Lets not be rude to Jolie with open weaponry."

Ignoring the metallic knob extension Arkady put on the table, "Tie is a part of formal wear so if you don't want to look formal, don't have one, but if you do, wear it with confidence" He says to him, afterwards taking a sip of his tasty drink.

Then he turns back towards his sister saying, "Well, they had... or still have this elaborate plan of making the demons hate everyone else and everyone hate demons even more to instill chaos and revolution, all in the name of 'fuck the living fleet' and maybe either fuck everything up or consolidate more power to themselves."

And then Back to Arkady, "High octane action, partying and murder mysteries with beautiful women, you know, basic solar stuff." He jests.

"Oh shit, sorry." He grabs the pistol off the table from around where he though he put it and tucks it back to it's holster. "In my circles the guns on table is pretty standard. That means they're on the table and not in someones hands when a fight breaks out... And no Lyla, being a researcher attracts some politics, and those politics steal time from my actual work and that kinda sucks..."

Listening to Kendal's description on formality of wear and his recent solar exploits, and continuing to Lyla's compliment on his attire, he looks almost jealous.

"Man, I'm only wearing this due to my regular clothes being abso-fucking-lutely shredded and soaked on some flesh eating void acid. *Cough* Of which some still resides in my fucking lungs..."

He takes a sip of his turpentine

"And even that's better than the lovely business lunch with Shun Xiao, and the fact that we agreed on an intern exchange... Oh BOY ain't that gonna be something, blyat... I've got nothing against infernals in general, but her showin up on my shop door with a legion of yes men seemed like such a bitchy show of power I KNOW she'll try to rush patent my stuff or some shit..."

"True, if this place would be in the Underdecks then it'd be a standard. Lets hope nobody starts a fight, even though it'd be interesting to see one dry out immediately," she sips her drink before snickering: "Politics always suck, if you ask me. Most of the politicians also suck. So you can't except much political correctness from me."

When Arkady opens up about Shun Xiao, she seems to be in agreement with a sigh.

"I had a run in with her as well during my last mission. Wasn't a pretty one, and I'm sure she'll be bitter of it for long. Can't blame her, I was too aggressive, but I'm not buying it when any infernal tells me that they are doing this solely for the good of the people...and not trying to benefit from it as much as they can themselves. Anyway, I'm derailing," she puffs some smoke into the air."Well Arkady, sounds like they wasted no moment with you. Interns from her? I'd totally expect espionage. Much like with brother here... Wanting to pull him through the mud immediately with the demon case. I understand all the dirt they want to throw on us, older Solars, but I wish they'd give you newbies a moment to process it all instead of playing the game. If I was petty, I should go after the next new Infernal should one appear to give them hard time, but I like to think we are above that part..."

She empties her drink and orders a new one.

"Relax about the patent, this isn't the US where everything you do or make will be turned against you and besides, I don't think anyone, not even an Infernal would have the balls to publicly say 'I made this' to a Solars face with something they tried to steal." He comforts Arkady, to his knowledge the patenting goes more like in the former EU where everything you say or make is straight away copyrighted.

He listens to them talk about Shun Xiao while sipping his drink. "Haven't met her myself, but as far as I know the Infernals are just as quirky as Solars are." He remarks from the sidelines. "And besides, Arkady. I heard that reality itself is just another tool in a Twilights toolbox, there is stuff ONLY you can make I believe."

"Quirky is not quite it. There are some fundamental differences, of which Daniel could probably talk all day...so ask him next time," she points out. "Also...flesh eating void acid? Where? In your ship? I heard some issue being with some ship."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:59, Mon 27 Apr 2020.

"Haha.. yeah. It's totally espionage, but I'm sure they'll have their hands full with the crew. It's gonna be tough for some clean lab rats I tell you..."

Another sip off his drink, like he's savoring it but not for the taste. He's just not ready to get more yet.

"Reality being one of the tools of the Twilight? I guess there's some truth to it, but I'm pretty sure I should start with creating and inventing conventional shit with existing laws of reality... Well at least until I get bored with existing reality. Then I'll start poking it. Though I think I might have already broken some rules in a drunken holistic fit, since As I recall perpetual motion is... well.. is supposed to be impossible. Though Kendal, I'm still waiting my letter to Hogwarts! You're a Wizard Arky!"

He spins the murky contents of his glass in thought, grins and replies to Lyla: "Yeah we had a small Demjen incident at the Bogatyr. Prolly crawled in through the void docks from the outer shell of the ship. A REAL bitch that one was, but I managed to get my hands on... like... The most prominent combat epidemiologist on the refuge and we managed to cleanse that bitch of a tumor off my ship. Didn't even need to call the Sanc's... One of the laws of reality I'm never gonna change is the principle of Kill it with fire before it lays eggs." He lets out a hearthy laugh, and a hacking cough afterwards.

"Impossible as a concept is rather lenient these days. Glad to hear you are pushing the limits. If there are even any. I guess that is what it is when you Exalt to a world that you already know that is filled with wonders like demons and elementals and the stuff. Geez, it was a pain 10 years ago to accept these things as reality," she facepalms with a small chuckle. "Sounds like its been quite the ride so far...At least you got to keep your ship...even if its a bit singed. You need to make your tri poloski out of some more durable material, so you can actually use them on missions. Purge with fire? So...whats next, shots with fire to purge that out of your lungs?"

Its hard to tell if she is joking or serious in her suggestion.

Looks Lyla in the eyes with a perplexed look and a short silence broken by another hearty laugh.

"A firey drink sounds like a good idea, though it sure as fuck wont fix my lungs! Ha! and tactical tailored tripoloski? It kinda defeats the idea of wearing one if it ain't a cheap knockoff. And If you find me a pristine set of original Adidas tripoloski, I'm pretty sure it would be more expensive than that suit your brother's wearing! Ha!"

He drags another cloud of bitter smoke off his cigarette and empties his shot glass, placing it top down on the table. And returns to Kendal's topic:

"Well, If getting my ass ahnded to me by Patent schemers, then I'm sure as hell some influential people will try to fuck me over with business and politics and shit. Unfortunately, Science and innovation requires money, and with the scale I'm planning, a lot of it. I will be offered that money in troves eventually, but with a fine print. Scrapping and prospecting Ain't bad income, but it ain't enough to feed my ambition."

He looks at the smoke drifting towards the ceiling and seems to be somewhere else for a moment.

"I should get a cruiser."

She empties her current drink, and orders another one along with a set of 8 flaming shots.

Lyla shrugs:"It might clean it. Just ask the elemental or god in the flame to do it for you. Also hells, I can't comment on vanity for originalitys sakes or price as long as I keep smoking these."

She inclines to her cigarette, and taps it against the ashtray.

"hey as long as there is armor beneath and you won't find yourself fighting naked with an Abyssal, it's all good. "

She waits for no speeches or anything, before downing two shots in row.

He listened them talk about the Bogatyr, leaning back and sipping his drink. "Well, I think that as long as you are proactive and go talk with the right people yourself, you should get sufficient backing in anything you do, it's only if you sit idly, then the vultures start to appear. Usually people would demand prior accomplishments, merits etc. But being an Exalted will most probably bypass all that doubt."

He pokes Lylas cheek with his finger for no real reason.

"Yeah, it was hard to get used to... It's still hard to get used to."

Puffs her cheek a bit when its poked.

"Its a bit concerning though, how often there are these accidents with the Void these days. Daniel had the run in with the Gunzosha, Kendal has this issue with oppressing demons which most certainly comes from somebody in the opposition pulling the strings, Arkady had this Void demon infestation, and I had to look into the murder of our Endings...only to find out that out his exaltation had somehow been directed to the worst possible person...who wrecked havoc," she runs her fingers through her hair. "Managed to stop her after she'd destroyed a flight deck and killed numerous people so yay. Why does it always feel like fucking up when we succeed..."

She downs another two shots, leaving nicely 4 for Arkady and Kendall to share.

"That was the thing I was supposed to mention earlier but couldn't out in the open really talk of it," she notes to Kendal. "The incident still grinds my gears."

"Oh fuck, yeah..." let's out a slightly awkward laugh.

"I should get some armor. Why hasn't the thought crossed my mind before?"

He grabs a shot off the table and downs it immediately, slamming the glass down on the table and without waiting he picks up another one and downs it too.

"Ooooh blin, this is good stuff. For being heavy drinkers, we Russians are also the most un-imaginative drinkers. It's like beer or vodka straight 90% of the time."

He reaches for a third one straight afterwards. I mean, It's alcohol, he didn't pay for it, and it's just there... all alone. Fast ones eat the slow ones.

"Whoa Lyla, can I call you Lyla? Well, anyways, yeah it all sounds like a clusterfuck every time. Like, the sole survivors guilt and all that shit... Well, trying to to get stuck on that though. Always been a survivor."

He blasts down the third before anyone gets a word, like a rat that scurries away with scraps.

"Still I feel like there's some shit going on, like, we're fixing problems as they appear without knowing what causes them. This shit seems too frequent to be just random. I got that gut feeling you know."

"Lyla is fine, at least when not working. What else would you use...miss Raines? Ewh. Anyway, I've toiled ten years to keep my face and name hidden from the opposition, so I'd like to try to keep it like that. Might be harder now, but hey at least I might get the ranking and reputation I should have," she returns the poke to Kendal's cheek.

"Yeaah...random? Ah, hardly. They have Agent Orange prodding around for these sorts of loopholes to abuse the parts they can of the Loom. Hmh, anybody talk to you guys about Yama or her in general? Do they give any sort of debrief to these things?" she inquires curiously.

Finally finishing her stress-cigarette she dumps it on the ashtray, and shoves the shot towards Kendall:"Come one then, don't wuss out now. If it makes you feel better, we can toast for your Exaltation."

It'd seem that the usual half-smirk of hers has by now turned to a grin with the assistance of alcohol and an opportunity to drop her usual mask.

He has an identical reaction as Lyla when she pokes his cheek.

He looks at the shot offered and returns the smirk to his sister, "Oh, don't worry." He downs the shot "Ahh, as they say all politicians are alcoholics but not all alcoholics are politicians... hmm... Although they say that about a lot of professions."

Being lazy, he uses the Callsign app on his phone to order more shots.

He looks at Lyla with a curious look, "Yama? is that something having to do with the yakuza or something?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:14, Fri 01 May 2020.

"Yeah, Yama sounds like some moon speach or something... To be honest I wasn't really briefed beyond Good luck and don't fuck it up." he to Lyla as he tries to poke his finger on Kendal's phone to order a little extra.

"Tell me Lyla, What kinda shit do you get yourself into usually? I always thought that you original 1st class exalts were like... I dunno, Drinking martinis or sleeping in cryostasis until called into action like some super heroes. I thought you guys get paid enough so you don't need to do basic legwork... Or is this some Need to know basis Special agent shit?" He looks genuinely curious as he keeps on trying to poke more random drinks to Kendal's order.

Lyla cringes at the mention of Yakuza:"No, its not about Yakuza, even though I still personally consider them a shady bunch. Its quite worse."

She fiddles with her cigarette case and takes a sip from her drink.

"I personally didn't realise how they just throw you in this all. I have had Sayeed, an ifrit, with me since the beginning to whom I could direct my stupid questions. Personally haven't met Yama or Agent Orange, but I consider that as a good thing. Daniel has had run ins with both so he can say what things from his own perspective..." she ponders for a moment."I feel like talking about them is like summoning a boogeyman. I can send you a list of things you can read from the records. But to put it bluntly we have the opposition with Deathlords, and then they have Yama and Agent Orange. Yama is much like...if you'd take the concept of Lucifer and just make it want to destroy and torment the world. Agent Orange was a Sidereal like the rest, but took to their side, which means they also have access to the loom and they have the capability of doing things without us knowing."

As said she types a list of records the two could look into in their own time.

"Huh. Me? What do I do? Hmmh. Oh damn, it would be so cool to just wait in cryostasis for when the occasion calls but unfortunately the occasion never ends," she snickers a bit, trying to form a proper answer."Yeah, if you were normal citizens, we'd not be here talking of this sort of things. But fellow exalts get a bit of priviledge. When I'm not on official missions, I have my own Ombra agency to look into the troubles beneath the surface. Spying and information gathering. Most of them are actually from Underdecks, utter crooks who still want something good for this home of ours. Wouldn't be surprised if you'd already bumped into some of them by accident without knowing."

"Yeah, my type of shit is usually infiltration and tracking and information gathering...and ridiculous flight stunts. As already mentioned my previous mission was hunting an Endings gone awry through the ship. Then there was the battle of Onyx Spire, where I took part as Diamond Sky... Had to disguise my essence and self, because otherwise they would've blown the ship in an instant in an attempt to rid us of a Pre-exodite. And before that I infiltrated the Abyssal prison ship Pyongyang, so if you want to know how lovely its to be alone inside a working and fully operational ship, I'm your go-to-gal. Sorry, I can't remember when was the last time I actually got to talk about what Lyla and Blue Fox do in a same sentence so it's a bit of mishmash."

"Admittedly, we get paid enough not to do the basic legwork, but neither myself nor Daniel are unable to sit still. So my salary goes to Ombra and charity mostly..."

After letting Arkady order some extra stuff, he finishes the order and puts his phone away to lean back again.

He snickers a bit, "Heh, that sounds not at all intimidating." He comments sarcastically under his breath when she compares Lucifer to Yama.

"Can confirm what she said about sitting still, workaholism runs in the family." He jests, "Speaking of ships, I wonder if Battles found that interceptor for me..." He thinks out loud.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:30, Mon 11 May 2020.

"... Whaddaya mean Found an interceptor for me? Aren't you supposed to pay for it yourself? If I could have just gotten a ship I would have sold it and got something else than a broken ass tub..."

He waits eagerly for the drinks to arrive and takes a sip of... whatever he managed to order.

"We really should get like a proper briefing and a manual... Or if we got one i've... I wouldn't have missed it. I guess it was just really boring then, Blyat..."

"Yeah, it'd be useful... Then again getting more Solars was highly unexpected so maybe they weren't prepared for it," Lyla agrees with Arkady.

It takes a moment to sink in, but when it does she turns to look at Kendal with a tilted head.

"Excuse me what. An interceptor? To you? Are you kidding me. Ugh. I..." she glances at Arkady. "Sorry you have to witness this Arkady."

She turns back to Kendal with a deep frown:"Yeah, I get it exalting as a Solar is cool and all and you totally deserve it, but do you really have a deathwish? Do you not realize how dangerous this all is? Being an exalt doesn't make you impervious to damage! You get a fancy shining target mark on your forehead. An interceptor? To you? You can't even fight properly! I've spent my previous ten years trying to shield you from the Void, the Abyssals, Agent Orange, from whoever would benefit from destroying me mentally by getting to those close to me. They've already gotten Jess, and Daniel has lost everything before he even had an opportunity of having. You are the reason why I'm Blue Fox and not Lyla Raines, and I'd choose that route any day to keep loved ones safe. And then you get an interceptor for fun and games to join the front like it was nothing. Like you'd not even realized how many die there. And now I can't even protect you anymore... I'm not going to start a ruckus here, but you better come to the training hall with me so I can hand your ass to you..."

She is genuinely angry at him as she digs for another cigarette from her case, mumbling to herself:"Battles will hear about this."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:32, Wed 13 May 2020.