[Sodium_noir] Killing Time at Harlequins

[David Rodemaker]

Michael Gaunt, Tess Martin, John Black, The  Urmen 
Mage, Mortal, Mr Mystery, Vamp, Garou and Mummy 
a Booth 
Club  Harlequin

Tess turned to Michael for a bit of visual reassurance and, more out of long
established habit, put a hand on his leg and gave it a small squeeze.
Supernatural types tended to make her a bit nervous, especially when they
moved in a group as unique as this one apparently was.  It was hard to know
what to expect from them.

Michael stroked the back of her hand and then reached up to caress the back
of her neck beneath her hair where Tess had always carried her tension. His
fingers pressed there, easing the stress as he did so - the long buried
gesture resurrected by her nervousness.

Her attention went back to Columbine and, in a casual, easy tone (and hoping
the question didn't arouse the anger of this creature), Tess asked,
"So....you and Harle back together again?"

Michael looked around the group at the table. While he'd been lost in his
reverie, the murmurs of the Phoenix Queen filling his consciousness with
omens and portents, he had managed to retain at least a small bit of his
focus on the Urmen, as well Mr. Black. These three women were all quite well
liked by his Lady, though not for the same reasons, and not for any that he
quite understood at the moment. Remembering the exchanges between the
Harlequin and Columbine the other evening, when the Canes had been
destroyed, he awaited her answer with interest.

The thought of the Canes troubled him. The souls of it's victims had been
freed, and they had wreaked havoc on the lands of the dead as they ran free.
That particular act had been a grievous but ultimately minor blow to
Hannibal... Michael was certain that the legacy of the Canes would come back
to trouble Gotham however. The very short time he had carried it had given
him a certain insight into the nature of what had twisted it - an insight
that did not give him any comfort.

(tag)