[ open ] freedom hangs like heaven

[cesar]

Date & Time: anytime in September
Location: all the places
Characters: Cesare Borgia and YOU
Summary: Cesare knocks on certain people's doors or otherwise trawls the city, all formats are fine by me!
Warnings: n/a

Fortune favors not the bold, but the early bird, the night owl, the one who sleeps not. She favors those who know precisely where to aim before the enemy even rouses himself from sleep, from pleasure. It takes only one shot to make or break one's fortune, yet there is so little time and so much to learn, too many red herrings to eliminate.

Only five more years until his twenty-sixth year.

Cesare spends so little time in his room when he isn't bathing or sleeping (sadly still a necessity), usually returning home as the night sky grows brighter and leaving just before noon to start his nocturnal wanderings again. But when he is home, he keeps to himself, silent as a ghost and as absent as if he isn't there at all.

He gives training only the requisite number of hours, because strength and force will never be his advantage. This he already knows. Better that he deals in stealth and information, in learning more about this world to figure out which strings to pull if he were to secure his and his mother's freedom. The Initiative's intent to overthrow the tyrant is a fool's errand so he would lend it little assistance unless the mission keeps him in their good books or aids his eventual escape.

Otherwise Cesare can be found in the city, cloaked in black velvet with the hood drawn up to hide his face. But even his attire would easily betray him, since his vanity would not allow him to dress in rags to hide himself better, and the sword on his hips gleam too brightly against the dismal surroundings. His hand grips the hilt warily as he moves from one shop to another, seemingly in search of something. He would be careful not to reveal his intent while there is another customer in the room, pretending to browse the goods on display, unless they catch him in the middle of a discussion with the owner. Then they might overhear words such as maps and pearls and bullets being discussed.

 

Comments

[justgo]

[What Tess catches of that is little; she isn't sure what it is that has him off-kilter but with the next set of words, those eyes are falling to the book, head tilting ever so slightly in her scrutinizing of it. There's enough effort in the wrapping that any gamble would work out for the culprit - win, lose, the shopkeeper gets something in the end.]

May I? [She extend a hand out to hold the object for further examination. Her shoulders drop and with the way they're facing each other, her only way out is through him, if he's wary that she might try to make off with the object. Still, she keeps her voice low enough, just so it reaches only his ears.]

Course, blind faith can turn a good run bad so it wouldn't hurt to get another opinion.

[cesar]

[ He gladly hands it to her. It is perhaps a character flaw that he would trust women more easily than he would men, but there lies the advantage for his sister, his mother. Besides, the shopkeeper has accepted no payment just as yet and he expects he has ways of making sure the deal is upheld. ]

I would assure him that he can charge me the same price even without the delicate packaging.

[ He nods to the owner, meaning that as a swipe against him. The benefit of having someone else, of course, is in being able to argue for a better deal without doing so directly, because he's only bantering with his newfound friend, surely. ]

Would that make a fair deal, do you think?

[justgo]

That's generous of you. [An easy smile, lips pulling up at the thought. Testing the weight of the item in her hands, she dares to fiddle with the packaging - it doesn't tear, and Tess hardly makes a move that would out her as she examines it. There's not much to look at, but it's in the touch, the body language of the shopkeeper.]

You get your money's worth out of this, it helps the reputation of who you got it from. [A little jab to add onto things, because it isn't the first time Tess has been around the block. Still, she passes the item back to the other, brows lifting.] And if not, well. Business has always been a gamble, but fair's fair. On both sides, I'll add.

[Tess' motto always has been 'if you don't get what's yours, then take it'.]

[cesar]

[ The shopkeeper twitches nervously when the woman tests the packaging, as if the paper is the very thing he means to sell. Perhaps it is. He tries his darndest to seem unaffected, clearing his throat to announce to them that he's still there.

Cesare is only smirking at the woman picking up right where he left off. Charmed, surely. ]

Fair's fair. [ He digs into his pocket for the coins, placing them on the table before drawing away slowly. ]

I treat kindly those who prove honest. Otherwise...

[justgo]

[She'd be lying if there wasn't a smile on her face, some sense of amusement for the reaction of the third presence. A glance over the shoulder to the keeper just as those words sink in, and maybe she catches the sweat that's just hit. Tess moves after with a soft breath, shaking her head.]

Doubt there's much reason to finish that sentence. [She pulls her hair to one side, the ends draped over a shoulder.] Quite the businessman, I'd say.

[cesar]

[ Cesare's smile is pleasant when he give the shopkeeper the smallest bow, amused and pleased at the man's fear. Perhaps the threat was all only an act. He nods to the woman too as he rests that package against his side and prepares to make his exit, halting slightly to allow her to follow should she wish. ]

Have you much interest in literature?

[justgo]

Read a few books, course where I'm from there's not much time for leisure reading. [Her head shakes to and fro to support the answer before she considers things. A look back around the shop and she figures there won't be much that's worthwhile, so she steps forward to join him, tugging her hood back up.]

Yourself? Sure seem interested, from what I just saw.

[cesar]

[ He even holds the door for her. She might be wearing pants but old habits die hard. ]

Reading has its uses.

[justgo]

[As she passes over the threshold, she may be giving him a small look for the action, lips pressed in a slight smile. And the say chivalry is dead.]

Learning by doin' can get your foot in the door a little faster.

[cesar]

[ Chivalry thrives by social pressure in his time. ]

It can get one's foot broken faster as well if one knows not where to step.

[justgo]

[He certainly does look the part, all things considered. Makes sense.]

Oh, I know someone who's a near testament to that. [She almost scoffs, opts to shake her head instead.] Better safe than sorry, for you?

[cesar]

Always.

[ He holds up the book and starts unwrapping it. No matter that there's a light drizzle about, he's too impatient to wait. ]

I must thank you for your help.

[justgo]

Anytime? I'm a big fan of making people nervous. [A little smile as she teases, moves to reach for her bag and pull out an umbrella. Least she can do - she's kind of curious herself, and the contents are no good ruined.]

What is it, anyway?

[cesar]

[ Cesare lets the wrapping paper fall along the path though he takes greater care when prying the book open. The pages are made of cut-up pictures rather than text, mostly faded, but he seems happy at the find. ]

Mappa mundi. A map of the world.

[justgo]

[A whistle as she sees the contents, brows lifting a little as she steals in a few glances, longer than she'd admit to.]

Well, I'll be. How'd you ever learn about it bein' in that shop?

[cesar]

There are a handful of ways of making people talk.

[ His glance indicates that he decides those ways don't bear reciting, but he notices her interest and holds up the book for her to take if she wishes. ]

[justgo]

Been around more than once, huh? [It doesn't need an answer, with the way she quirks a brow.

Still, she takes the book with a small nod and 'thanks', just fingering the pages with a light touch. Don't want to damage anything, of course.] S'nice. Real nice, if I can say anything. That all it for, just the general area?

[cesar]

[ He's been around the block for someone his age, and for a cleric. ]

It could be a start. Gathering intelligence. I am unfamiliar with these lands, these times.

[justgo]

[Well isn't that a little scandalous.]

You need some help, it's always a little fun watching someone pick things up. [A small gesture of a hand before she goes back to looking through pages.] Anything I could try and answer immediately?

[cesar]

[ The name is Borgia. ]

Immediately? Perhaps your choice of clothing to start. It is uncommon for women to be wearing trousers.

[justgo]

Oh? [A little pause as she looks down to her attire, and then a small shrug.] Maybe back where you're from, but where I came, being in a skirt or dress would've gotten me killed a lot quicker.

You're old-fashioned like that, huh?

[cesar]

[ He frowns. He doesn't take kindly to being called old-fashioned when he tries to keep up with all things contemporary. ]

Where I am from, skirts and dresses can be as lethal as swords. When are you from?

[justgo]

[Whoops.]

Can they outrun infected in them, how about other people? I could be convinced otherwise if I saw that. [Shift in her posture.] 2033, more or less. You?

[cesar]

1498.

[ He gave another man the wrong year before, but let them be confused. ]

We have different enemies. Outrunning mine will bring you no victory.

[justgo]

You're a ways from home now, huh? [A whistle before she brows lift at the idea- shame any cultural references would probably be lost on him.]

Well it's a good thing that your enemies aren't mine and that mine aren't yours, huh?