venice ♔ to remove the stain of my love

[romanticidal]

♬ My Confession - Josh Groban

WHO || Rafael Giovanni, Kat, Gar, Buffy, Myri [closed]
WHAT || Invited to the home of the talented singer, the Knights attempt to learn more about his connection to NOVA Records.
WHERE || Rafael's villa, an hour outside Venice, Italy
WHEN || July 6, evening.
HOW || Actionspam, NO TAG ORDER

With Dumage MIA and not responding to her phone, the girls quickly got ready for an evening at the home of the exceptionally talented singer who had dragged them in front of the audience at Notturno. Gar looks nice, if subtly so, in a mid-length red dress and simple make-up (11 Disguise check which is what I use for people prettyifying up). Kat's own attempts to do her make-up when left unaided in the bathroom left her coming out looking like Rocky Raccoon, unhappily smeared in blush and metallic eyeshadows (crit fail :( ), but after the other girls helped salvage her (15), she looks really pretty, though still not wearing anything remotely close to a dress. Ever.

The girls take a ride outside of town, driving through Veneto at breakneck speeds, because someone let Kat drive (check 17). What should be an hour's journey takes them half that time, and they pull up to the impressive sight of a dual story white and red villa that all but screams luxury.

Comments

[witchwoman]

[Myri opens her mouth to protest, but thinks better and closes it, looking to Kat and Gar. She doesn't like letting one person go off on their own, but she knows Buffy is capable of taking care of herself. Plus, without Rafael around, they may be able to take a look around and see if there's more to learn.

Yeah, Myri can be underhanded. It comes from running for most of your life.]

Be careful. [She says with all sincerity. The last thing she wants is Buffy hurt somewhere and not to be able to find her.]

1/3

[savemyself]

[ The moment the Corvette goes peeling out of the garage, Isabella enters in a flurry of skirts, eyes wide, demanding: ]

Where did Rafael go?

2/3

[rationalizes]

[ Gar looks a bit flustered, whirling around to face Isabella. ] He and Buffy simply went for a er, spin, I do believe, perhaps about the block?

[savemyself]

They did what? [ She sounds insanely scandalized, and goes stalking towards the garage door entrance, swinging out to watch the car vanishing. And then starts speaking rapidly in angry, angry Italian, apparently cursing from the way Gar's flinching over there. ]

[witchwoman]

I'm sure they will be back soon. [Myri offers.] He said we were to... have a look around until they returned. [Yeah that bluff check only hit 10. She's not the greatest, but she wants to buy them time to regroup or something.]

[savemyself]

[ Apparently, she's so distracted and irate that she doesn't even question it for a second, although she affixes them all with a clearly disgusted expression. ]

He did, did he? [ She raises a hand to her temple in a gesture of exasperation, waving a hand dismissively in the direction of the house. ] Go bother Hiro, then. I am not his babysitter.

[ She turns around to watch the car pull around the house entirely, narrowing her eyes and muttering something else in Italian. ]

[witchwoman]

[Myri nods and steps back, glancing at Kat and Gar before turning to head back to the house. This is an opportunity she doesn't want to lose time on.

She waits until she's out of the garage and stable area completely before speaking, and even then, she keeps her voice low.]

Perhaps we leave Hiro to his other duties? [OBVIOUSLY, but she doesn't want to say anything too incriminating. She's paranoid, okay.]

1/2

[shootfirst]

I'm all for snoopage. Beats hanging around on Animal Farm.

[rationalizes]

I can't say I expect to find much evidence that would assist us, however... [ she hesitates ] It does seem... odd, don't you think? Just how welcoming Signor Giovanni has been...?

[witchwoman]

Perhaps it is just his custom? [He keeps mentioning that they are American. Even if she doesn't really get what that means, it clearly doesn't mean he is as well. Different people act differently, Gar.]

I was thinking that perhaps he has a... library or office? A computer? [She looks at Kat. She's watched her Knight research enough to know that it's a decent place to start.]

1/2

[shootfirst]

I like the way you think. They don't do things that differently here. There's got to be at least one place wired in this house. [ She gets to the back door and puts a hand over her eyes, pressing up to the screen to make sure the coast is clear before yanking the door open ] Anyone asks, we're looking for the bathroom.

[rationalizes]

[ uncertainly: ] All of us?

[witchwoman]

Of course. We didn't want to get separated. It's such a large house. [Myri actually smiles at Gar. She's getting the hang of this.]

1/2

[shootfirst]

That it is. I'll bet Isabella has three bathrooms just for her ego.

[rationalizes]

Shh, she might be listening! [ gar puts a finger to her lips, but she's smiling behind it at both girls, her eyes shining, and it's clear that no matter how cautious she might be, she's also having a bit of fun with all this. She nods to the hallways to the left. ] Shall we?

[witchwoman]

[Myri heads in the direction Gar motions to, trying not to laugh. At least this mission seems low-danger... so far. She continues down the hallway until she reaches a door. She steps close, holding up a hand to the two Knights and listening close (Listen check 23) to see if she can hear anyone behind it. They still haven't seen Hiro, after all.

If it seems quiet, she'll open it.]

1/1

[shootfirst]

[ that it does, and the other girls stand on tip toes to poke their heads in as well.

the room is large, and mostly white, with hardwood floors and a large piano in the far corner.

on the walls hang several decorative crossed swords, and there's also a rack of fencing foils and various other gear in here. ]

[witchwoman]

[Well, it isn't an office, but they may as well have a look around, right? Myri begins looking at the walls, the swords- she even makes her way over to the piano, even if she's never seen such a thing before. Even if she doesn't know exactly what she's looking for, she's looking (Search 17).]

Is Rafael a swordsman?

1/2

[shootfirst]

Fencer, maybe. The snooty rich person's version of a swordsman. [ she draws one of the weapons right off the rack and gar goes running right over to her to make her put it back. ] What? I'm just looking.

[ Meanwhile, Myri would uncover under the piano lid a whole bunch of sheet music, scrawled all in the same frenetic hand. Not all of it's in Italian, actually, and it seems like lyric sheets, piano scores, guitar riffs, etc. etc. Most of it's slapped inside a leather padfolio thing. Buried in some of the bottom pages would be lyrics written in a completely different hand as well, which has also left commentary on the sidebars of some of the top sheets - along with little drawings and smiles and >:( faces and other adorable things. ]

[rationalizes]

Kat, don't touch those! [ Gar frets, looking over her shoulder towards Myri ] Did you find something?

[witchwoman]

[She's got the leather binder in her hands, leafing through the pages. Anything in Italian is lost on her, but once she spots a few doodles, she stops. With a confused face, she walks over to the others.]

Our Rafael is an artist as well? [She's clearly confused.] It seems... young.

[shootfirst]

[ kat puts the sword down reluctantly and glances over at them ] Looks kinda girly, if you ask me.

[witchwoman]

Isabella? She does not seem the type.

[rationalizes]

She certainly doesn't.

Perhaps some friend of Rafael's? I am sure he has a great deal of ... er, friends.

[witchwoman]

Another musician, then. [It's not a question. She can see that it looks like two different hands wrote these papers.] But if she was here, he would have introduced her. [That one, she's less certain of.]