venice ♔ oh this town kills you when you're young

[rationalizes]

♬ Shoreline - Anna Ternheim

WHO || Gar, Kat, Myri, Buffy [Closed]
WHAT || Team Failboat investigates Angelo Nassi
WHERE || Venice, Italy; Notturno club
WHEN || July 6, evening.
HOW || Actionspam; SINGLE THREAD

It's a breathtaking evening in Venice.  Lights reflect off the canals that serve as the main thoroughfares of 'traffic' and happy tourists and locals amble about the streets, shopping, chatting, or just taking in the quiet air.   It's a pleasant 70 degrees and cooling for the night as the Knights make their way to the building labelled Notturno: the venue owned by Angelo Nassi, who they've come to question about the activities of Chad Becksworth and NOVA Records, hoping for a lead that will connect back to the Talisman they seek.

Dumage elects to do some 'digging' around the city in order to find out more information on the gnoll, so it's left to the four other girls to take on the task alone.  Gar once again makes sure to warn both Buffy and Myri of the potential perils of discussing their "Shadowkind" nature: here in Italy, there's a strong amount of prejudice against non-humans, or those from another world.

The club itself is located right off the river, which they enter through a winding alley after taking a vaporetto  from their hotel.   Gar heads up to the ticket booth when they enter the lobby, but comes back frowning.

"It seems they've sold out for tonight's performance," she says in a quiet murmur, casting a look over her shoulder as patrons move past, dressed in fancywear and conversing pleasantly.  "And they said we can't get inside without tickets." 

Comments

[shootfirst]

Well, there's always the good old fire escape entrance way of getting in, but uh, mage here. [ she waves her hand at them and pulls out a blank slip of paper. ] If I know what we need it to look like, I can make this pass for a copy or four.

[ she sneaks a peek over her shoulder too ] Hey Buff, do you think you can get a cameraphone shot of someone's tic?

[slay]

Well, considering it beats the mugging plan ... Happy to try. Be back in a sec. [ she gives them a quick nod and disappears into the crowd, trying to find people who are set up or have their tickets out. she navigates near the ticket booth and pulls out her phone to try and get a shot of the tickets as they're handed over (sleight of hand check 14). ]

[rationalizes]

[ and with their awesome 5 spot check they totally don't notice a damn thing over there. they're too busy texting or sth.

meanwhile gar speaks in a low voice to kat and myri. ] Just make certain no one sees you, Kat, considering how they feel about the m word here.

[witchwoman]

[Myri doesn't need a reminder on how to be careful about hiding magic, but she is doubly worried for Kat now.]

There was an alley wasn't there? Not far. [She looks over her shoulder in the direction she remembers seeing it.]

[shootfirst]

Thanks, Mom. [ she rolls her eyes at gar but seems to accept myri's word and nods ] Once we get that pic, I'll pop out for a sec.

[slay]

[ she scopes out the picture, satisfied, then brings it back over. ] Pop away. [ she hands the phone over to kat. ] Why are we alley-ing?

[shootfirst]

Because paranoia strikes deep. C'mon. [ and she pushes open the door with gusto, yanking out for little slips when she's safely around the corner. glancing around swiftly, she passes a hand over them, looking at the ticket picture as she does so. ] Four seats to ... [ she pauses to read the name of the show ] Rafael Giovanni coming right up.

Identificus.

[ and sure enough the blank sheets shimmer ... and then produce what appears to be a perfect replica of the tickets. she grins and holds them up. ] Alright, these babies don't last long. Let's go.

[witchwoman]

[Myri is a little irritated that her caution is treated so flippantly, but what's a girl to do? She just nods when Kat holds up the tickets, taking one and looking it over as she steps from the alley.

It's still fairly chaotic, so Myri just sticks close to the others, migrating towards the doors.]

[rationalizes]

[ at least gar takes it s-so seriously, taking a ticket for herself and pressing through the crowd with a good number of polite 'pardon me's in italian. the pin striped suit wearing guy at the door has amazingly square shoulders and looks the size of five gars, but she smiles at him and holds her ticket up.

he glances down at it, then at her, as if sizing her up. there's a tense moment where kat braces beside the other girls, fingers itching for a fight... but then he pulls the cordon back and motions her through, along with the others as they hold theirs up. ] Front row, ladies.

[slay]

Thanks. [ buffy breezes in with them, giving the bouncer a bright smile and then looking to kat with wide, pressing eyes that are like oh my god i can't believe that worked. that was frightening. even though she probably could have killed that guy with one punch oops. ] I take it we're not going to the front row.

[shootfirst]

Actually, I totally went with front row to get us closer to the stage doors. I figure when the lights go down, it'll be easier for us to make with the sneaking. [ yep, she's heading straight for some seats at the end of the front. ]

[witchwoman]

[Myri follows after Kat, pleased to see that they didn't have any sort of scuffle at the door.]

It will be dark. What should we do if we get separated?

[rationalizes]

Kat taught you how to use your telephone, I think? We can contact one another there.

[slay]

[ buffy glances around uncertainly, but shrugs and follows after kat, taking her seat up front beside her. ] Better question: what about when the actual front row-ers show up?

[shootfirst]

Routine ticket snafu. Happens all the time. Now are you gonna stop worrying and relax for a mo'? [ she checks the seat numbers, then plops down, before perking her head back up ] I wonder if they sell snacks...

[witchwoman]

[Myri takes a seat next to Kat, continuing to look around, trying to observe as much as she can before things go dark. She's quiet, but that's fairly normal for the start of a mission. So far, she's had to do some substantial healing each time they've gone out. It makes her nervous.]

[rationalizes]

[ gar just takes a seat as the lights start dropping, but she's clearly nervous about the possibility of someone showing up like buffy suggested... ]

[romanticidal]

[ ♬ VIDEO CLIP GET

An Italian announcer comes over which... neither Myri nor Buffy would understand, but they can catch that name again from the tickets: "Rafael Giovanni". At which point there's a lot of loud clapping and cheering from the obviously very enthusiastic crowd. As the music swells up, there's a dramatic convergence of lights on stage that reveal a silhouetted figure. In fact, it plays out exactly like the video. And that is exactly the song he sings.

And with a 34 performance check, it's clear after only a few minutes why the crowd seems so excited. The guy has a set of serious pipes, and what can only be described as an impressive stage presence. It's not so much that he seems to connect with the audience as he sings however, as that he seems to be singing with an intensely personal, almost intimate level of emotion.

The singer himself is about six feet tall and slim, with a wild curly head of dark hair. Kat watches him skeptically for a few moments, before slumping in her chair, apparently unimpressed with the style of music, her eyes casting about for a door that will lead to the backstage area.

Gar on the other hand, looks completely caught up in watching this guy perform, with her awesome crit fail of focus... go team. ]

[slay]

[ as soon as the lights go down, buffy all but forgets what they're supposed to be here for. because holy hell, that voice. it's hard not to get caught up and cream your panties over it. which, okay, admittedly, she does for a while there, but she shakes herself out of it when she spots kat glancing around courtesy of a focus check of 14. she looks at kat, and asks in a hushed voice; ]

You sure we can't investigate him? [ because she would really like to. thoroughly. tonight. that said, she'll actually glance around for the stage doors to be productive to the mission (spot check 16). ]

[shootfirst]

Too scrawny for my taste. [ her spot check makes it apparent that... this place is jacked and there are no direct doors that seem to lead behind stage. Maybe they're hidden or disguised or in the lobby...

but what she would see is that the wings of the stage are pretty wide open and there's someone standing back there, watching, who doesn't look like a crew member. he's probably about seven feet tall, covered in hair, and wearing what can only be described as a pimp outfit, replete with cane. oh, and he has the head of a hyena. ]

[witchwoman]

[Rover

Not that anyone here would know what that means, but that's what Myri first thinks of when he begins to sing. Rovers are said to have special magic and they are known to sing. She's wary, which helps her stay focused on their task (focus check 18).

She leans forward to look at her three companions, noticing Gar's enthralled expression.]

Someone may want to shake Gar.

[rationalizes]

[ gar rouses herself at the sound of her name, looking embarrassed. oopsie doopsie. she clears her throat a bit as the song ends and the crowd bursts into enthusiastic applause. ]

He's very talented.

[slay]

He has company on stage. [ buffy nudges kat and points out the hyena guy. ] Who is that, and how did he not get the memo that the 70's are over?

[shootfirst]

[ kat sits up straight as an arrow. ] That's him! Angelo! [ her eyes dart around, appraising her options, and she apparently makes a split second decision, getting to her feet and slipping to the side of the stage in the darkness. ]

C'mon, while no one's watching! [ and with that she hoists a leg up and makes a NAT 20 CLIMB CHECK to scrabble her way onto the stage against the wall. ]

[witchwoman]

[Climbing? No one said anything about climbing

Yeah Myri rolled a 5?

So witness as she gets halfway up and slides back down.]