Nice Dream (Solo)

[Neptune]

Fog seeped from the shore, concealing the docile city of Scara Brae in a thin blanket of frigid haze. The sun tucked itself safely behind the sleeping sea on the horizon, hiding from its pursuer, the moon. The Waxing Gibbous Moon gave the subtle hint that his big brother, The Full Moon, was coming soon, a sultry reminder to The Baron of his peculiar objective of abduction in Scara Brae. That thought, though, simply fluttered away gently to the back of Neptune's mind after a longing gaze of the clear stars above, which shone and twinkled like justice. All was right in Scara Brae, as far as Neptune was concerned.

A couple snuggled close, walking hand in hand, to lovingly protect one another from the chill that had unexpectedly and surprisingly swept the city from sea. Shop keeps and hagglers alike packed their own respective items of merchandise and finished business, eager to see their families at home. Even the strays that roamed the streets, from vagabonds to feline, seemed to have a home that night, under the stars in Scara Brae. Sea Dogs and gentlemen shared tunes of peace in the pubs, which had a bittersweet invitation to come drink the world away.

Neptune felt bloated with a warmness, ready to burst at the seams. This night was rewarding him the substantiation he needed to prove to himself that the undeath stricken on him hadn't sedated his emotions. He held his lengthy violet cape tight to his body, to ward the tired cold away. Neptune seemed to trek without a particular objective, slow, and uncalculated. He let his concentration flow away, and just took in the scenic evening for every bit. A lonesome park bench beckoned The Baron to join it in relishing in the beauty of the universe above them.

Neptune scanned the bit of avenue visible to him, to seek a silhouette, or tell-tale sign of someone who would make better use of the bench then himself. No such being was found, so Neptune, weary at first set himself on the edge of the seat, leaning slightly on the armrest. He looked to the stars, counting, and collecting them all to himself. However, this moment of bliss was obstructed by an unlikely visitor. A large, glossy black bird glided overhead, then circling around over the star gazer dropped a small brown piece of parchment, rolled and stamped with the mark of The Defilers, a small dagger superimposed on a star, the same mark Neptune bore on his shoulder. The large raven disappeared into the sky overhead, leaving Neptune feeling jilted.

Neptune picked the up paper, which had landed in his lap, and broke the waxy seal unraveling it. "Objective Details" Was written in a extravagant script, spread across the top of the letter. Neptune felt a teeny bit of resentment toward his faction, for breaking up this moment. He then choked said resentment down, remembering that it was them that returned him from the dead, however, they were the ones that ended his life, as well.

[Neptune]

Objective Details
Defiler: Baron Sayid Neptune
Objective: Recruitment
Target: Human Lycanthrope "Sampson"
Target Details: Located in Scara Brae, works the counter at a bakery named "Chic Sweets", Lives above said establishment; Approximately 5'8"; Brown eyes; Red Hair, long.
Notes: Neptune, as you know you have been sent to Scara Brae on the grounds of recruiting a initiate for The Defilers. This will be a delicate operation, said target has no knowledge of their curse, as they contracted Lycanthropy only days ago. You have been chosen by hand, by the Lich himself to operate this mission, don't fail him. He believes that you are the most in touch with humanity of us, considering you are the freshest corpse of the lot, and your profession in life. Recruit "Sampson" at all costs, abduct them if you must, we'll work it out when you bring them back to us. This is your first solo mission, and I would hope it not your last.

Don't disappoint,
Magrine Kloose, Director of Operations

Neptune read over the details in full, stopping to laugh at the idea of a man with a masculine name like Sampson working at a Lilly sounding "Chic Sweets". He knew the mission was important, and he felt pride in the honor of being hand picked by the leader of The Defilers for his humanity, a minor victory of its own. However, that evening was just to beautiful to spend anywhere but on that bench, gazing at the unknown. Not to mention the fact that coming to a door in the middle of the night, talking business of recruitment, doesn't exactly portray a respectable organization's motif. It could wait until morning. He remembered seeing the shop,in particular because of the sweet aroma that lifted the mood of the otherwise morbid street it was stationed in. In actuality it wasn't far from the small inn and pub that he had been staying at in his visit to the heavenly Scara Brae.

20 minutes of stargazing passed, even after that, the seeker felt like he could spend forever looking for answers to nothing in particular in the universe painted above him. The clouds thought otherwise, though. They Marched in, and secured the patch of sky visible from Neptune's spot of choice. A hostile, and unwelcome, takeover if he had ever seen one. The Baron, now reluctant to move, waited for the stubborn clouds to move their rude heads from his view, but they didn't budge. Neptune surrendered, and gave the stars his blessing, who were fighting to free themselves from the repression of the gray swarm. He strolled slowly to his temporary place of residence, once more, sucking the scenic views of the city, passing the workplace of his target, and said target's home.

[Neptune]

Sun peeked its head up from inland, seeing that the moon was making his way out, then springing up to push the settled fog out of the city. The city streets now flooded with people, merchants pushed their wares, Drunks settled down, citizens shuffled and bustled around. The city of Scara Brae showed that though its a beautiful calm resting stop, its also a real city, with real people. The sun cast a large shadow over most of the streets at this hour, being early in the morning, but where it did shine through it made the dew from the earlier morning's fog shine and glimmer, like the stars from the night before.

Neptune had left his window open the last night, waiting for another chance to see the stars, but the bully clouds stayed covering the sky until far past when Neptune had fallen to sleep. Sun poked his nosy head into Neptune's room through a window on the second story of a pub which he had been staying at. While readying himself for the day ahead, a sweet oder of chocolate slipped through the other window, above the headboard of Neptune's bed, which had been closed. The aroma teased Neptune, and reminded him that he had work to do. "Sampson" He said loud at first, then quietly, embarrassed by the fact that he was talking to himself again.

"I need to go to this Chic Sweets and have a talk with this Sampson," He thought "It's just down the road, only about a block and a half on this side of the fish market." Neptune took a second to thank grace that the shop was on this side of he fish market, if it where the other way around his morning would have been a lot worse. He draped his cape over the head of his spear, which was leaning in the corner of the room, quietly, waiting for work. It was quite warm outside, not too humid, not too hot, So a heavy cape would just make the day a little worse. Neptune rolled up his sleeves, revealing his pale white and blue skin, and kept his gloves tucked on his pillow. Neptune was going casual today, it was just too perfect of a morning for all that heavy gear to ruin it.

Neptune left his inn, through the front door in the pub, to a busy cobblestone street sprinkled with stalls, and shops. He headed toward the docks, toward the fish market, and his detonation, the bakery. The route there wasn't a very hard one, Neptune had it almost committed to memory. The Road it was on had a large building on the corner where it intersected the road his inn was stationed on with the words "Jhonen's Cloths and Linens" written across the face. A small man, rather horribly dressed, with shame in his eyes wandered up to Neptune in search of change. "Spare som' change fo' an out of work dow' in the dumps sailor, son?" Neptune barely understood him, though, feeling in the spirit of generosity handed the man a few gold pieces. "Good day, pal, get yourself a drink on me." He knew what the money would be used for, no use hiding it.

Upon arriving at he shop, Neptune gathered a few details which escaped him at the night before. The shop, only one story, was bordered by two large buildings that were used for residence of the working class of Scara Brae, tall and inviting. The bakery itself was a stucco sided, mustard yellow, quaint building, with a durable wooden door, and a large plate of glass to the right serving as a viewing glass for the delectable treats placed on the shelves inside. The smell here, though, wasn't as lovely as it had been at the far end of the street, for the chocolate smell mixed with the malodorous smell of the fish for sale only on the other end of the street.

Neptune eyed inside through the glass, spotting no man in sight, but a girl who appeared to be around her early twenties, or late teens. Her hair was pulled up in a bun, which was a bright cherry red color, her eyes a pale blue, shimmered from the small bit of sunlight which had worked its way through the city into the shop. "Maybe that's Sampson's daughter, or niece" He thought after viewing the young girls hair. "I'd better go in and ask for him, I can't wait out here all day." He opened the door, slowly, a bit nervous, a slight jingle came from a string of bells that hung from the door handle on the inside, as a welcome to the wonderful shop.

[Neptune]

A wall of aromatic joy stopped Neptune dead in his tracks, He let the door's handle out of his hand, and by natural forces swung close again, with a satisfying jingle as the door slammed shut. The temperature was perfect in he small shop, much cooler then the street of the city outside, and the door which seemed air tight and tough to open blocked out the boiling fish smell completely, it was in fact a sensory delight. The young lady behind the counter looked up from her work, rolling peanut butter balls in chocolate to shoot a sincere looking smile to Neptune, quickly looking back down at her work.

The smile, though quick and sweet, made Neptune feel slightly uncomfortable after thinking about how he used to look, and how he'd changed. Not to mention his left eye was shielded by a patch, Though innocent, usually made people uneasy. His other eye, on the other hand was essentially a yellow glowing orb, somewhat pouring from his skull, like light through a crack in a wall. He was befuddled to why he wasn't the victim of more dirty looks, but thought again about the number of races that there are on Althanas, and how welcoming the people of Scara Brae are. Not wanting to abruptly pull this girl from her work, he walked around the shop, browsing the treats placed lovingly, and calculated on the shelves, creating a very welcoming pattern through out the shop.

"M-May I help you?" a innocent and shy voice muttered from the delicate looking girl behind the counter. Neptune looked up to insure that he was the only other person in the shop. "Yes," He proclaimed sounding like he had been put on the spot "I've come to Scara Brae, this shop, actually, to find someone named Sampson." The girl let her head drift back slightly eying Neptune carefully, to make sure he didn't mean any harm. "What for?" She said, with a stated concern in her voice. "So, there is a Sampson?" he questioned back "I assure you that I'm only here to talk to Sampson about a business offer, nothing serious." Neptune felt a bit ashamed lying to her, it was rather serious, Sampson was coming with Neptune one way or another.

"Ohh," The girl breathed a sigh of relief "He is my brother, he works in back on the oven. I'll get him." she nodded slightly. The beauty opened a small service window behind the counter, and yelled through it "Sampson, you have a man here to see you." A dampened clank was audible then a deafening of a bellowing noise that Neptune hadn't noticed until it was silenced. Neptune could hear Thump thump thump closing in, getting louder with every thump, from the best he could figure he was running down stairs. A large man, at least 5 inches taller then Neptune, emerged from a door which had been hidden by a colorful curtain behind the counter.

"Good Day Sir" the muscular man bellowed from the bottom of his chest "Name's Sampson York, How can I help ya?"

[Neptune]

Neptune looked the brawny man who had appeared from behind the flamboyant looking curtain. He was at least 6 foot and 2 inches, from the best Neptune could estimate. He wore a thin undershirt witch sweaty and greasy muscular arms came out from, bearing work worn hands, calloused and tanned. His face was hardened and serious, Neptune could draw that he hadn't appreciated the interruption. His Hair was a greasy brown red, not like the description given to him, it was slicked back not falling far behind his ears. Neptune bowed in respect keeping his head angled so he could see the man as best he could. "This man will be excellent, so well built." he thought to himself. "Though, he looks absolutely nothing like I thought he would, Damn papers got everything mixed up. Its a good thing that I had a Name." he couldn't help but mock the shaky system behind the Defilers orders.

"Thank you for this moment of your time, My Name is Baron Neptune" He couldn't help but think of himself as a door to door salesman. "I've come to offer you a position working for a very prestigious association of people." He raised his head from the bow, and waited for a response, which didn't arrive fast. Sampson stood a second, starring straight ahead, at nothing in particular.

"Not interested" The obviously peeved man grumbled. "Now please buy something or leave."

Neptune noticed that his sister was peeking up from her work to eye the exchange of words between the men. To keep sensitive matters private, Neptune thought it would be best to move away from the ears of unwanted listeners. "Can we speak in private, Mr. York?" Neptune said quietly and slowly, announcing every syllable clearly, lowering his head. The massive man looked to his sister, then back to Neptune.

"No, Baron Neptune." man's annoyance grew "If you can't say it in front of Sarah, you can't say it here." He stepped back once, leaned on the granite counter top behind him, then looked down to Neptune. "If you want to talk to me, you do it in front of my sister as well." Neptune nodded slightly, breaking eye contact from Sampson to look to his sister, who was now working frantically to act like she couldn't sense the tension between the two men. Neptune Continued to stare at the girls actions, watching her struggle to lift the tray she had been working with onto a shelf, but he began to speak quietly.

"I work for a group of people titled The Defilers." Neptune hadn't noticed until this moment that recruiting a honest working class member of society to a secretive faction named "The Defilers" would be much more difficult to do honestly, than by force. Neptune had given Sampson the chance for confidence already, and it was Sampson's fault that he had to be told about his condition in front of family. Neptune's eyes met Sampson's once more. "You've contracted a violent disease called Lycanthropy, it occurs wh-" The man scoffed loudly cutting Neptune off, wide mouthed and narrow eyed, he mocked Neptune. "I know what it is," Sampson said loudly and clearly "and you can be damned sure that you have been misinformed, I haven't so much as seen a wolf in years."

Though it sounded like an excuse, Neptune believed him. He had a good sense for when people lied to him, and there was no marking from any type of attack visible on his arms or chest, which was easy to view through his moist, thin shirt. Neptune stood dumbfounded for a moment, viewing Sampson's sister once again. She grabbed a rolling pin with her left hand from a shelf at eye level to her, then dropping it down quickly, only to brace it with her right hand. She then switched the pin to her right hand, and lifted easily with her right hand, compared to the opposite.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, Sir, But its not you I should be speaking to." Neptune Said very confidently. He paused, keeping focus on the girl who was struggling to keep calm. She Checked her sleeves to make sure they were all the way to her wrists, then continued to work very furiously, rolling out a large slab of golden dough.

"I should be speaking with Sarah." Neptune announced, very loud and clear. Sarah's rolling pin slipped out of her hand on this declaration and fell to the floor. She leaned foreward on the counter, slammed her elbows on workspace, and rested her head in her hands, hiding her face, showing her shame and guilt. Neptune walked in a direct path to her, only to be intercepted by Sampson, who held an arm out like a fence to stop Neptune in his tracks.

[Neptune]

Neptune froze at the halting motion by the gorilla of a man who had stepped into his path. This action, though, didn't stop Neptune completely, only crippled his movement momentarily. Like a child walking under a low table, Neptune ducked under the behemoth's appendage shooting out from him. Sampson, shocked by the audacity stood speechless for a moment, thinking that maybe a man with this much drive might have something important to say.

"Sarah, I'm sorry that you have to deal with this, but believe me, we can help you." Neptune sounded sincere and concerned, his voice with a slight pleading factor to it. The solemness of the statement, though, let Sarah know that she was truly stricken with this curse. She had no doubt that she was bitten, but she had not felt the seriousness of her wound until then. Her arm, were afflicted began to feel constricted as she focused on it. Sarah began a tearless weep , feeling the weight of the two men in the room's glares bearing down on her, pressuring her. Her emotions felt strong, she always had stern control of her emotions, she never let them get control of her, she guided them. Though, this was different, she felt like her brother would no longer love her, and shun her, she would never be able to bake again, she would have to leave. It was all too much for her, She raised her head, taking a few deep breaths in to keep the tears from coming, her face as deep a red as her hair.

Sampson hadn't seen his sister act like this in quite a time. With their mother dead, and their father gone at sea, she had always been a very strong, and level headed woman. To see his sister break down like this, caused him too, some emotional discomfort, his whole body shaking from the stranger who had come into their shop and stirred their whole life into oblivion in only 5 minutes. "Leave us." His voice crackled. Sampson bent over and looked to his feet, trying to hide his face, which was also turning a rosy hue. He pointed Neptune to the door, with a very forceful action, swinging his arm from his side to shoo him from the shop.

Neptune held his hands in front of him, as if he were being held at sword point. He backed off slowly, sidestepping around Sampson, keeping his body facing toward the two the whole way out. He stepped backward into the door which, again, let out an ironic harmonious jingle of joy, adding more tension to the melancholy sent in the air. "Its going to be harder on both of you when I have to kidnap you from here." He thought to himself. "I have to say something... I need a way to make her feel obligated."

"Sarah, Please, If you don't learn how to take control -" Neptune said, though he was starting to be drowned out by Sampson who was yelling his own own plea for Neptune to leave, and who was now making his way for Neptune, very aggressive and bear faced. Neptune paused only long enough to hear that Sampson was yelling for him to leave, then continued "Listen, you take control, or you hurt someone!" He had found himself yelling to keep up with Sampson's bellowing growls. Sampson rushed toward Neptune, and grabbed him by the shirt, screaming out "Yer fine Sarah, don' listen to this nut case." He pushed Neptune through the door, which swung open violently, Slamming against the stucco exterior of the building.

Neptune slid out from the forceful push of Sampson into the dew covered street, completely transgressing the sidewalk in his fruitless struggle to oppose Sampson. He could still see Sarah, standing alone in the shop behind the counter. She hugged her self, arms at hips. Her face was winced and her eyes puffed, a solitary tear ran from her face, making a path for more to run down. In this, Neptune felt like a monster, but she was coming one way or another. Neptune swallowed these feelings and told himself, that no matter what he said it would be easier for them this way. "Sarah!," Neptune barked sounding out of normal demeanor. Sampson had begun to shut the door, as he had made it back inside from their trip to the street. "You're gonna' hurt someone!" Neptune screamed, emptying all the air out of his lungs and straining his throat, but it was in vain, the door had slammed shut.

Neptune held his hands to his face, burring his eyes in his palms. He stood like this, quiet for only a moment, then noticed the absence of noise. He removed his palms, peeking out from behind them. The busy street, the stalls, the travelers, the movers and shakers, had all stopped and were staring Neptune down. Neptune's Head sunk into his shoulders, suddenly, he was on the other side of this familiar action, and he didn't like it. He regained whatever resolve was laying around, and stormed off, stomping and kicking down the industrious street. "There's gotta' be another way."

[Neptune]

This Post Makes reference to "No Surprises (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=6176)" Basically, "No Surprises (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=6176)" takes place in between the last post and this one.

A slight breeze blew down one of the streets of Scara Brae, pushing against Neptune's drooped head, then spinning around him to run past as to say "See you later". He walked aimlessly toward the far end of town, to think a bit. He had tried the docks, but that didn't work out as hoped, He had spent the time from his leave of the shop to present fighting for his life. Neptune knew that this situation would be somewhat delicate, but he ignorantly didn't expect to upset the whole world of the two who ran the bakery.

"I need to find a way to handle this. I don't want to have to resort to kidnapping unless I absolutely must.", he thought to himself in a pitying manner. "What the hell is wrong with you? You used to be a diplomat, Neptune. You could talk your way through anything."

Neptune quivered a moment, quickly regaining composure after realizing what made his situation such a tedious one. "Family" He said aloud. Suddenly it clicked, he felt enlightened. The only thing that was different about this situation from all of the others he had handled before was family. "Splitting family up is not easy." He thought, being an expert on the situation himself.

Scara Brae had begun to disappear into the distance, waving a good-by to Neptune as he left its gates. Neptune found a nice, simple, soft sloped hill perched over Scara Brae, like a watch tower. He could see all the way to the ocean from his hill, and the city seemed so small from where he was. He sat crossed legged on the hill top, hands behind him buried in the grass, and supporting him. The sun was now behind him, and as best he could guess it was getting close to late afternoon.

The sun felt warm on his skin, which was nice. He kicked his arms out from under him and stared straight at the sky, laying stretched out across the hill, taking a second to ponder the difference of night from day, but quickly faded to a blank mind. His eyes lids felt heavy, and the grass below him made somewhat of a springy cushion for him to lay on. Before Neptune had a chance to fight it, even if he wanted to, exhaustion had seduced him into a deep slumber.


Neptune stared at a dark palette in front of him, only hearing crickets playing melodies, and wind zipping by to say "Hello" again. He opened his weak eyes, to see a million eyes staring back at him, in light of the moon. He closed his eyes, rubbed them gently with his hands, then reopened them to see that the eyes were actually stars painted across the sky. He followed one very bright blue one to a nearby faint red star, which shot his line of sight across the sky to the moon, who was peering menacingly to Neptune.

Neptune could almost hear the moon laughing at the groggy eyed sleeper. He smiled slightly, before all the tumblers in his head began to snap into place. "Shit." He said aloud. "A full moon.". He looked around to the surrounding hills, much like his own, to see that the moon was illuminating all of them, like the light of lighthouse, guiding the hills. All of the stars seemed to join in with the moons chuckling, as Neptune ran to the once more docile City of Scara Brae, which was bathed in the Full Moon's light.



http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i179/FetishMachine/NeptuneNiceDreamreduex.jpg

[Taskmienster]

This thread has been sitting for a full year. Since no response has been made to create activity I am going to be moving this. If you would like it to be reopened please feel free to PM myself or another admin and they will be able to move it for you back to Scara Brae.