3 AM: The best time to arrive unannounced.

[applewatcher]

WHO: Lucien Lachance, Alfie Solomon
WHERE: Alfie's headspace
WHEN: A late night in early March
WHAT: A bit of socializing!
WARNINGS: Mentions of murder and violence, as to be expected in your average social call.

Another night, another sleeping mind to search for. He'd grown curious about Alfie after their conversation the month before, and was rather pleased to find that the man seemed to be involved in disreputable dealings. But how much did their professions overlap?

Enough that the man's dreams felt tangible enough to grab hold of. Excellent. They would have something in common to talk about.

Carefully he pulled free of his body and into the swirling mass that greeted him every time he entered another's mind. Still, it was gradually becoming less disorienting, and things tended to resolve into coherency with less fuss. As much coherency as dreams might hold, that is.

For the moment, all he could plainly make out was himself. In his familiar black robes as usual, but this wasn't a particularly formal call. No need to present himself as a Speaker first and foremost, Alfie already knew a little about him.

He lowered his hood, smiling placidly as the dream came into focus around him.

Comments

[devoutish]

Alfie doesn't typically have very vivid dreams, at least not that he remembers when he wakes up. But tonight, like many nights, he's dreaming of home - or at least something like it. He's sitting at a desk in a dark, windowless office, the only light coming from a couple of table lamps placed strategically around the room. Despite the lighting situation, it's not a terrible or gloomy place. The dark wood furniture is nice, if mostly plain, and if the fact that one entire wall is missing is something strange or unusual, Alfie certainly doesn't seem to be reacting to it. A sunny country meadow can be seen through the gap, though oddly, it doesn't let any extra light in at all.

Alfie lifts his head and blinks, pinching his pince-nez off of his nose and letting it dangle from its chain around his neck. He clears his throat and tilts his head in Lucien's direction - a little puzzled, a little out of sorts, but not unwelcoming.

"Can I help you?"

[applewatcher]

A lovely place. Quite peaceful, in its odd contrasts. Once Alfie turns to him, he bows.

"My apologies for visiting unannounced, but I noticed one of the abilities I've been granted could reach you, and curiosity got the better of me." Usually he might not mention that he's really here, rather than being a part of the sleeper's own psyche. But he'll be a little more forthcoming tonight.

"If this is a bad time, we can speak when you're awake instead."

[devoutish]

"I would ask next time. I don't much like having my head broken into." His tone turns a little more clipped, and his face just a smidge more stony, but his body language is still all in - he leans forward towards Lucien, clasping his hands together in front of him.

"You're here already. Go on."

[applewatcher]

"I understand completely, but I'd no notion of where to find you. I don't precisely trust the network for subjects like this." He didn't know how it worked, and until he had a better understanding of it, he didn't know whether conversations could be intercepted by legal authorities.

"In brief: I am a professional assassin, and this power of mine can only reach other murderers. I was pleasantly surprised to find you are among them." A shame he didn't know details, but it was a good sign regardless.

[devoutish]

Interesting. Alfie's posture and body language barely changes, but he does lean forward just the slightest bit more. His tone stays the same, but hey, he's hardly turning the guy away.

"Right. What you do in a situation like this is you contact me on the network and tell me that you wanna speak privately. Yeah? Surely that isn't unreasonable."

[applewatcher]

"You are right, I should have done that. My usual preference is to never contact anyone publicly on a work-related matter, even if it's not explicit. But I am willing to adapt to the technology here." It was a courtesy to others, and a safety measure for his siblings. No matter how discourteous it might feel when he suddenly turned up in someone's house in the dead of night.

[devoutish]

Alfie waves a hand and grunts. He's a little miffed, and would have preferred things had been done differently, but he's not going to harp on it that much more.

"Right." He unclasps his hands and picks a fountain pen up off the desk, twirling it in his fingers. "You've got a job for me, then?"

[applewatcher]

He shakes his head. "Oh, no, actually. I came to offer my services, should they be required. And to ensure I'm not about to unwittingly wander into anyone's claimed territory." The Dark Brotherhood didn't exactly honor those sorts of borders, but they didn't do so rudely unless there was no other choice.

[devoutish]

Alfie nods, approving.

"I've got no gang here, and no formalized territory." But he appreciates being approached all the same - because if he did have an organization set up, he wouldn't look kindly upon infringement. "You'd like an alliance, then, is that it? Something informal."

[applewatcher]

Then his guess had been generally correct, at least with regards to Alfie's background. That was gratifying.

"Indeed. My own organization is similarly in pieces, but I'm loath to give up the profession." He wasn't going to mention his brother here. That wasn't relevant. They were broken, without a full Black Hand or any junior members, before you even began to talk about the theological concerns.

"I offer completely covert services, from negotiations to completion of the contract. Method of killing is negotiable, but quiet work is of course preferred."

[devoutish]

"Weapons?" Alfie sticks with the methods that he's used to - namely, guns - but he knows that plenty of people itch to try out their powers in new and exciting ways. And for all he knows, this guy had superpowers at home, too.

[applewatcher]

He indicated the shortsword at his side. The dagger hidden up his sleeve was going to stay hidden. "Blades, and some magic I've brought from home. And may I ask your preference?"

[devoutish]

"Do you know what a gun is?" He's guessing no. At the very least, he figures that he doesn't have them where he comes from and therefore isn't very experienced with them.

[applewatcher]

"Only academically. I saw them on the soldiers around the Porter." And in many, many depictions of them in pictures. They seemed to be a bit of an obsession here. "They seem quite useful, but too loud for my personal tastes."

[devoutish]

"The soldiers around the Porter have got very big guns," Alfie clarifies. "I use handguns. Much smaller; much more convenient. And much more common than swords." Alfie raises his eyebrows at Lucien - the implication here being that if he's a known sword-user, a killing by sword would be more easily traced back to him.

[applewatcher]

Well, he only does a portion of his work with long blades, so-- "Oh, this particular one just keeps coming with me whenever I do this. Haven't the faintest idea why." It wasn't anywhere near as symbolic as the Blade of Woe, certainly. Maybe it was just because he'd been wearing it when he arrived.

"I'm sure knives are still in use at least, aren't they?"

[devoutish]

"Knives are more common, yeah." And swords probably aren't as uncommon as they would be on Alfie's world, let alone a more typical 21st century American world - this place tends to drag people in from everywhere, after all.

"I would like to talk about this in reality. Face-to-face, in a proper meeting. But alliances - those are useful. Yeah. Always useful. And if one of us should need something done that wouldn't be wise for us to do ourselves..." He trails off, assuming that his meaning is clear. He's making no promises, but he's not at all against the idea, either.

[applewatcher]

"Oh, good. I would worry for this place if they weren't." Swords he could see giving way to guns, but knives had their own special place.

"In person, then. Do you have a preferred place for these sorts of private discussions?" Other people's heads had been a perfectly functional location so far, but unfortunately he kept hearing otherwise. At least his brother had been amenable to the idea, which was much appreciated. Their connection had to be kept as secret as they could possibly manage.

[devoutish]

"My home." But in case Lucien wants more neutral territory, he has a follow-up suggestion. "I know places in Maurtia Falls, as well. Parks, pubs. Places where people don't listen in or ask questions."

[applewatcher]

"That would be perfectly acceptable." Often a risk, but the offer is interesting in itself. "Wherever it might be, I can make my way there."

He chuckles. "I'm slowly becoming used to those taxis and buses you mentioned. They're awful creatures, but certainly useful."

[devoutish]

"I'd give you my address to write down, but seeing as we're in a dream--" He glances around the room, as if noticing the weirdness of the setting for the first time. Huh. That meadow is definitely not normally there.

"Send me a message using that dreadful network that you hate, eh? I'll send you my address."

[applewatcher]

He held up his hands. "I've a decent memory for these things, but I concede defeat on the network issue. There will be a message waiting when you wake up."

[devoutish]

Excellent. And dream or not, Alfie's going to lean forward over his desk, holding out his hand for a shake.