Beppo
- In the Duggins -
haapi baasudei! %\1\%
Posts: 60
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Post by Beppo on Feb 9, 2010 19:19:07 GMT -5
Ah, the charmed and charming life of a would-be model, no? In Rome or on Luna she'd have had no need to pick pockets, but it was a skill, and she liked the challenge. Cheap thrills. Hadn't always been. If it hadn't been clothes and various small indulgences it had been things of slightly higher priority, like food and a bed without a stranger sleeping the night off in it. Or a couple brothers and sisters.
Beppo held onto her own bag a little tighter and tried to look unremarkable and artistic. All the while, checking out backs of heads, pocketbooks, handbags. Wallets. Queues were not nice places. Well, not so much a queue as a jostle of people, and not so much a jostle as a loosely assorted crowd. Here a well-dressed woman, there a gentleman who really had to find a better tailor, and-- hark! A mark.
Vaguely indeterminate gender, hello. And a lotta dark hair, though-- quick, check and make sure-- strictly the ordinary black variety rather than navy blue. Kind of the skinny type, not that she'd object. She fell into step, listening to her own heels clicking on the pavement.
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Post by Rip van Winkle on Feb 9, 2010 19:26:59 GMT -5
For the obvious reasons, it was rather easier for a vampire to survive. It was still just as hard for them to "live", though, if one could forgive the poetic phrasing. And, of all cities to try it in, Paris. Rip van Winkle was not exactly thrilled. The one redeeming feature of Paris, in her book, was the opera house. As it might prove useful, though, why not try and find out more about the place today? she considered.
Her hair was impeccably brushed, her suit pressed, and she was ready to greet the world, strolling down the way at a leisurely pace, bright parasol in hand (and musket in parasol). Despite the inconviences, she found herself pleased by the nice weather today anyway.
After a little while she was half-convinced she heard noises behind her, but having learned never to give away an advantage, she waited to see what would happen.
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Beppo
- In the Duggins -
haapi baasudei! %\1\%
Posts: 60
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Post by Beppo on Feb 14, 2010 20:42:22 GMT -5
Beppo quickened her step, coming up on the side and trying to look prettily aloof. Ah, so what have we here? Man, woman, neither, alien... not that Beppo was one to reinforce a sturdy gender binary. Woman. Even if, paradoxically, the umbrella threw her thinking in the opposite direction.
Lunan, maybe? Certainly odd. Not bad off. She resisted the urge to sneak in and stick a hand in one of those suit pockets to find out exactly how it was lined. Turned up the natural unevenness in her step on these heels and forcing a tipsy uncertainty into her voice:
"Hey, er--" Mister? Ma'am? Miss? "Hey, you!"
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Post by Rip van Winkle on Feb 14, 2010 21:08:09 GMT -5
Rip happened to be farsighted, and though she got a glimpse of somebody in her peripheral vision, she couldn't be sure who. Not that she expected much danger. If so, they'd only be risking their neck (so to speak), and she tried to be polite.
Though Millennium would certainly have made moves on it eventually, were they consistently succssful, Rip had nothing to do with the moon. No, as one would soon find out, her offness came from several entirely different sources. As whoever-it-was finally decided to speak (and blearily, too! Rip didn't entirely approve of drinking), she turned on her heel.
From the front, too, she could be either a foppish man or a somewhat unfemine woman. Her suit was neatly pressed, gloves starched, and for the moment, her pendant--which would have been somewhat awkward to be seen with in Paris--was tucked out of sight.
"Vat have ve here?" she said, and adjusted her glasses. At least her voice was somewhat more womanly, if accented and oddly cheerful. "Who are you, child, and vat is it you're looking for?"
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Beppo
- In the Duggins -
haapi baasudei! %\1\%
Posts: 60
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Post by Beppo on Feb 20, 2010 10:02:23 GMT -5
She instinctively raised up on her toes a bit, despite wearing rather formidable high heels already. She wasn't exactly petite, either, but spending formative years running around with Vampa not entirely sure what was for dinner probably left her stunted or something, thank God for that. Twirling a tendril of the stranger's hair around a finger.
"Mister, I'm lost!" Quick, make cute faces. Look like you've misplaced yourself rather than merely in the spiritual sense. Oh, how cute, he had freckles! (She'd settled on that, and hey, fifty-fifty. No need to be rude.) She slunk a little closer- rather too close for personal space. Damn aristocrats. "Can you help me out?" Beppo added, in the exact same breathless tone, "my God, you've got lovely hair."
Where the hell was that supposed to be? Eccentric German aristocrat?
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Post by Rip van Winkle on Feb 20, 2010 11:14:08 GMT -5
Being in a good mood, Rip settled on being merely curious, and she allowed the girl to play with her hair, even. The urchin was small, no doubt underfed--she could relate to that. She smiled, without opening her mouth too widely; no need to scare the child away.
"First Lieutenant," she corrected gently, settling on the English version to make things easier. Of course, it was equally androgynous. She pushed her glasses up her nose, scratching a faint itch, and looked sympathetic. Being brushed up against was not really an issue, as she wasn't afraid of...well, almost anyone. "Oh, dear. You poor thing," she clucked sympathetically, being nice, and obviously complimented by that. "I think I can help. Vere vould you like to be?"
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Beppo
- In the Duggins -
haapi baasudei! %\1\%
Posts: 60
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Post by Beppo on Mar 13, 2010 20:17:45 GMT -5
There was a momentary little quiver of nerves that wasn't entirely faked. Quick! Change tactics. God, look at those eyes. Self-consciously, she felt for her hat. Nothing goes wrong when you've got your hat.
"Say, I've got to get back to my hotel..." Another little stumble and she latched onto the First Lieutenant's arm for balance, managing to more or less look accidental about it. "Can you spot me some money?" Never go so far as to say you'll make it worth somebody's while, not unless you want to lose all remaining self-respect, and damn it, a girl has standards. And some pervert might take you up on it.
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Post by Rip van Winkle on Mar 14, 2010 0:30:26 GMT -5
Years of experience had taught Rip the art of reading emotions. She noticed the sudden flash of nervousness. It would seem that the child was not entirely foolish, despite what she may or may not have been trying to do. She glanced down casually at that, allowing the contact for the moment. It wasn't nice to hurt children unless necessary. Speaking of necessary, the latter wasn't at all, and despite her various eccentricities, she would not have accepted. "Vell, let's see." Now that she thought about it, she did have a few francs in her wallet, merely for old times' sake. However... "I have a better idea. Vhy don't you tell me vhere this hotel is, and I'll take you there?"
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Beppo
- In the Duggins -
haapi baasudei! %\1\%
Posts: 60
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Post by Beppo on Apr 1, 2010 19:30:41 GMT -5
"You're not supposed to go off with strangers, you know. But you're all right, aren't you?" She smiled in a way she'd been practicing in mirrors for years, practically designed to engender trust and exude distilled cute. Every model has their particular look.
Beppo shut her eyes, murmuring an address under her breath as if for her own benefit. (It was actually entirely fictitious. All the best hotels are.) And she tightened her grip on that arm, idly trying to work out the whereabouts of wallets and pocketbooks.
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Post by Rip van Winkle on Apr 1, 2010 20:49:09 GMT -5
Oh, that was a good touch. Rip laughed. Really, she had no idea what she was getting herself into, even if her intentions were genuine. It was cute, though, and she smiled. "I think I can handle myself, yes.
"Vell, let's go, then." Of course, she kept her wallet in an interior pocket of her suit. She may have been spacey at times, but not stupid.
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Beppo
- In the Duggins -
haapi baasudei! %\1\%
Posts: 60
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Post by Beppo on Apr 5, 2010 9:37:17 GMT -5
She manufactured a suitably convincing beam. God-- were those teeth? Honest to God pointy teeth, well, hell. Like it hadn't been long enough since working for Baron von Blue And Threatening.
"I can't thank you enough!"
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Post by Rip van Winkle on Apr 5, 2010 12:26:22 GMT -5
Noticing that she'd seen, Rip turned anyway and flashed her a full grin. That'd keep her from making trouble, hopefully. Yes, it was a mouthful of huge shark teeth in that far-too-large grin.
"You're right, you probably can't," she chuckled, but set off at a fast, military clip, presuming the girl could keep pace. This had better exist.
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Beppo
- In the Duggins -
haapi baasudei! %\1\%
Posts: 60
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Post by Beppo on Apr 5, 2010 13:17:28 GMT -5
Aww, hell. Screw breakfasts and lunches and rent and new shoes, those were some teeth. Not to be credulous or anything, but this kind of thing gave her the creeps. Wasn't even the weirdest thing she'd seen in Paris, but seriously now. For a moment, her skin just crawled.
And that, that just wasn't fair. She tried valiantly to keep up. Maybe there was a chance of making a run for it, well, gee whiz, guess I got it wrong...
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Post by Rip van Winkle on Apr 6, 2010 20:03:28 GMT -5
"Vat's wrong?" Rip raised an eyebrow as she marched steadily along, twirling her umbrella in her free hand. "Just vorried about where you're going, I assume?
"Oh, and--ahah--I don't think I got your name..."
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Beppo
- In the Duggins -
haapi baasudei! %\1\%
Posts: 60
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Post by Beppo on Apr 7, 2010 10:36:46 GMT -5
She gave a nervous peal of laughter. Cripes, this person was dapper. That wasn't intimidating at all, really. And the fact that they loomed, intentionally or not, gave her the creeps.
"This is just... no one'd stopped to help me yet, you know? It was starting to get scary..." She put an alcoholic little tremble in her voice that wasn't very hard to fake at all. "Everyone is so rude here!" God, compared to a crowded night of Carnival, this was a peaceful walk in the woods with soothing music playing. Practically on cue, one of her heels caught on the pavement, and she stumbled, as gracefully as possible and with a little shriek.
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