[Sonya Chernova]

The rain was the first thing that set today apart. There was a lot of it. It pooled occasionally where the path dipped from the constant press of foot traffic. A few people darted this way and that in the rain but otherwise the storm kept most inside. Shelves were bare among the freestanding market stalls. It wasn’t worth the time to set up in the morning with the weather like this. Even so, you’ve ventured out in search of something you only half-believe to even be real. A friend may have suggested it. An acquaintance. Or maybe just a little eavesdropping. Either way. You sought it out.

The storefront you see as you march your way through the soggy street is a simple one. The third building on the fourth block of Uruk Avenue. A wide window greets you first, likely one intended to display dresses or clothing given the platform immediately behind it. There's a pair of simple plants in the window right now framing posed mannequins wearing a remarkable likeness to the uniform given to Haven Academy students during their stay. As you draw in closer you can read the sign on the door.

'Astarte Incorporated, Huntsman Liason, Troubleshooter, Concierge and Support Specialists. If we can't fix it for you, we know who can.'

You push your way inside...

---

Tickticktiiiicktiicktickktiiiiiiiickkkk

Sonya waved her hand past her ear. She really needed to get that clock fixed. She narrowed her eyes, focused determination on her face as she pressed her cheek against the surface of her desk. One mechanical eye focused and refocused, lenses opening and closing with apt precision while she took in her work. Even a breath would set the whole thing to naught. She placed the card and sucked in air as it settled into position. Delight crossed her face as the last wall of her little card tower took shape. Perfect! She beamed and slid her chair back, snapping a few quick photos on her phone before turning around to make sure at least one was a selfie. 

She took a moment to appreciate the picture. Skin as white as paper or snow, hair the same lack of color with a faint sparkle to it. Her eyes were her natural diamond-blue today though she’d considered wearing them pink again. She liked that one. She was wearing an off-grey dress shirt and a blue tie to match her eye color for the day. Smiling to herself she shared it with a few of her local friends. Smiths, weapons engineers, technicians, and at least one doctor. A few responded but most were probably busy catching up on backlog because of the rainy day.

Sonya perked up when the door chime went off. A smile crossing her face wide enough to reach her eyes, real, genuine joy. She gave her tower a brusque salute and knocked it down with a snap of her wrist, snatching up her clipboard from beneath it and darting to the door. She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and grabbed the doorknob before throwing the door open with all her eccentric might.

”Hell-ooooooooo! Welcome Dearie to Astarte Incorporated!” She said, dropping into an enthusiastic bow and tilting her head up. ”How can I help you make the world a better place?” She asked, standing up straight and putting a hand over her heart.

[Bianca Sabbato]

Taking out a rain-soaked white cloak I had taken to guard myself against the storm, I gave a couple cautions steps inside the office.

Under the hood, I was wearing my plain white tunic as usual, but this time I had picked a golden (only in color) belt and some nice sandals as to not give out hobo vibes during what I assumed was going to be a professional interview.

I left the cloak on a nearby cloth hanging stand as I waited for someone to come welcome me.

And what a welcome it was. I instinctively grabbed Nereida from my back and gave a step forward to face what I was assuming to be an ambush from some kind of deranged huntsman killer... Only to find a woman in a suit bowing down and energetically welcoming in.

I was pretty much at a loss of words towards her little display. I had expected a little showmanship from such a small office that likely depended on its visible faces more than any big company did... But this was pushing things a little too far... Although I couldn’t say it wasn’t charming in its own way.

-Hello... My name is Bianca... I guess it's nice to meet you, Miss...?- I managed to ask after putting down my weapon and exchanging murderous intent for a neutral expression and an attempt at a handshake.

-...Can I have a glass of water?- I decided to answer with an evasive, more to get a little breather to analyze the situation than any real thirst on my side. The place looked clean enough, legit enough. It didn’t look like a simple front put up there to cover some money laundering, and that was encouraging at least.

The woman also looked clean enough. If a little eccentric. She dressed business-smart and har her hair almost sparkling in the light... Yeah, she was also pretty cute, there was something special about her eyes that draw my attention. Something that I couldn’t quite explain but that I didn’t fail to notice. But that I would do my best to ignore for the moment.

-How much is this consultation going to cost by the way? I’m not exactly swimming in money right now... So I would like to know more about that before we go on-

Yeah. I didn’t want to be too deep into this when she suddenly mentioned a 500k payment for every hour of her time or some shit.

I knew how some of these fuckers worked. And I also knew nothing really prevented you from just walking out on them since you didn’t sign any contract that could be legally enforced... But If possible I wanted to avoid something like that.

Anyway. On to the reason why I was here. It was not something I was actually ashamed of. Everyone is good and bad at something, after all. But that doesn't mean I was not looking forward to solving that problem, or at least to try and diminish its negative effects.

Sitting on a nearby chair, I faced the white-haired woman with a pleasant smile and a diplomatic tone.

-My problem right now is pretty simple, to be honest. I suck at aiming and all aiming related activities that don’t involve my semblance. You could give me a loaded gun and feel safe even if I pointed it at your face because chances are I’m going to miss anyway-

I made the little joke to help ease us both into negotiation territory. No need to get all anxious and shit about a simple transaction.

-Now, in regards to my semblance. It’s earth manipulation, so I’m pretty good at hitting things at a distance with it since it feels like I'm moving my body instead of launching a projectile. In light of that, I kind of got an idea for a workaround...-

I began explaining, but before I could continue that, I needed to address the elephant in the room, that no matter what I had in mind or how could she help me, I needed some kind of way to afford her services before going on...

-But before that, I need to reiterate that I don’t have a lot of money, so maybe we could explore... Some other, alternative methods of payment...?- 

I spoke in a suggestive tone. Letting the seconds drag on so she could fully grasp my idea to its full extent. A way in which both of us could get what we wanted without any negative consequence for the parties involved. Even if it was a little unorthodox, I was sure we both could leave that meeting feeling pretty satisfied.

There was pretty much no way to misunderstand what I was proposing to the cute, white-haired woman in front of me...

A sponsorship! Of course! What else could it be?

-Maybe we could work out a sponsorship deal or something?- I said, quite suddenly, and with a little hint of excitement on my voice, hoping my demeanor was contagious enough to get her on board with the idea.

-Could I wear an Astarte Inc. T-shirt every Monday or so? Or I could use the next time I'm on tv to sing your praises? I’m pretty open to any ideas you may have, to be honest...-

---

882 / 882 Words

[Sonya Chernova]

That was a pretty normal reaction, Sonya thought to herself. Reaching for one's weapon upon a sudden movement like that was the sign of good basic instincts. Though it also implied that they weren't confident enough or strong enoung to handle an initial attack without resorting to immediate retaliation. A student.

It was a cheap, shallow trick but Sonya loved using it to get a good initial measure for the person she was meeting. She rested her hand on her hip, flipping her hair back and casting forth a dazzling smile, her eyes flickering unnaturally at the distance between them -as if something inside them was moving. She nodded when the girl offered a handshake and took it easily. Sonya's skin was a bit on the cold side compared to normal people but it wasn't really anything to write home about.

"Certainly," Sonya said, turning to a small dispenser near the door leading into her office. She plucked a paper cup and poured out a measure of water before handing it to the girl. She waved her hand as she turned around. She laughed when the girl kept talking, not giving Sonya a chance to address her concerns. Instead, she remained politely silent until she said her peace. She stepped up to the girl and put the cup in her hand.

Sonya tilted her head as she watched the faint details in the girls expression, the way her eyes moved, the way her jaw was set, every detail was rapidly processed by those eyes of hers into information her unnaturally ravenous brain devoured. The girl found a seat and Sonya joined her a few seats away, crossing her legs and straightening out her skirt. She smiled again and drew out a pen from her coat, beginning to take notes on her clipboard.

Sonya nodded along, difficulties with accuracy. It was a weakness of sorts. She wrote a few notes down and perked up when the girl mentioned her semblance so openly. The porcelain businesswoman opened her mouth to interrupt but the girl kept going and Sonya continued to write, an earth manipulation semblance-and a walk in idea. So the girl had some thoughts already on how she could solve the problem but she needed the support. But first and foremost. Payment, or rather, alternative methods of payment. Again, Sonya laughed at the suggestive tone of it all, she leaned forwoard, resting her elbow on the arm of the chair and maintained almost unblinking eye contact.

The girl was cute, but she was a customer. If they'd met on the street, they'd already be in bed by now. But there was a line that Sonya was careful not to cross in many cases. Besides! She preferred a little bit more work, she wasn't about to use that kind of thing as an exchange for services. No, it didn't work that way. Not that it mattered. Besides, the girl was already trying to meander on to an alternative to the lascivious idea in order to throw Sonya off. A sponsorship deal.

Sonya burst into laughter, slapping her knee and kicking her legs. She laughed for a few more seconds before wiping a tear from her eye and took a few breaths.

"Take a breath dearie, please, relax a moment and sip that water there, mm?" She offered, trying to control her amusement. She leaned forward a bit, only a seat between them, and rested her chin on her own palm. Her eyes narrowed and grew just a little lidded, her smile sultry, her hair slipping down just a bit over her shoulder. "You want a sponsorship? We haven't even done lunch yet, talk about an exciting first date," She teased, raising a finger to her lips and winking.

"The first consultation and service here is always free. Think of me as like your own personal genie. Just one time, I will do everything in my power to make your wishes come true." She tilted her head to the right and cracked a smile. "You're so hasty, relax a little. I am here to help~" She laughed again and leaned back patting the spot above her heart and fanned herself.

"Phew! That was fun, now! A few other things. While this is my property, there's only a pane of glass between us and the outside world. I'd rather not discuss the details of your equipment, services, or semblance in the waiting room. Lets go to my office, I can make you some tea or coffee. I have some candy and a comfortable couch you can sit at. We can talk and I can show you my workshop as well as a list of specialists I am connected with who I can outsource to. Don't worry, I'll help you however I can, dearie." She said, raising another finger and tapping her nose.

She got to her feet, turned and glittered a little as she stepped over to the door. The air behind her carried a slight almost wintery chill. She took the doorknob and opened the door revealing her cozy office, desk, tackboard, couch, table, and computers. She bowed once; "Ladies first." She winked, gesturing to the room.

[Bianca Sabbato]

I was taken aback by Sonya’s sudden outburst of laugher. For a second my smile faltered, thinking she was laughing at my proposal. But then she began to speak, and I understood she was more amused at the way I had been so direct with it than the idea itself.

A little embarrassed, I took a sip of the offered water. Although I couldn’t help to think she was the one needing a breather herself. I tried to keep a straight face myself, but couldn’t prevent the slightest of smiles to form on my face.

Also, she liked to tease, which was nice even if it leads to nothing. So I needed to up my game if I wanted to keep up with her... I refused to be out-teased by some random woman!

-I don’t like beating around the bush when there is something I want...- I said from behind my glass of water, making sure to maintain eye contact with the white-haired woman... The way her gaze stayed fixated on me was... A little unnerving. Piercing, to put it on mundane terms. Like she was trying to see something under and beyond the surface.

It kinda made me wanna give up and look away first. But it wouldn’t be the first time I had to face someone with that kind of attitude, so I wouldn’t give up ground, but steadily push even further.

-...But I don’t mind being patient as long as it’s worth the wait- I knew why I was doing it. I felt a little nervous and kinda defaulted to that kind of attitude. But I realized I was maybe having a little too much fun with this, to the point I ran the risk of forgetting why had I come to Astarte Inc. in the first place.

I nodded wordlessly as she made the offering to take things to a place beyond prying looks. On a personal level, I didn't see much of a point in being secretive. After Vytal, anyone with access to a scroll or a web network could simply tune into my fights and see what I was capable of... But if she felt better doing things this way, I wasn’t about to complain.

Even beyond her efforts to calm me down. I still kept an edge of caution around the woman. My intentions when coming here were to explain my problem, ask for a price, figure out payment, and go away once the deal was sealed.

In and out in 5 minutes or less. That was what I liked. I was no good in long, dragged out fights.

-I wouldn’t mind some tea- I said. Fully aware that offering comfort and luxuries to your client was more often than not a way to make them lower your guard so you could screw them with a deal. At least that was what we used to do, killing them softly, as they said. There was more to any successful gang than just mindless violence after all.

Even deeper I could relate to the idea of “the first one’s always free” Since it implied there was something that would make me keep coming to her in search of more, as to allow her to cover the expenses of her free sample...

So, I started wondering what was the catch...

I thanked her as I entered the office, with a slow, but purposeful stride. If there was a plain chair for me to sit down, I would choose it over the couch, if not, I would sit down on it with a straight back as I waited for the tea.

-I see you have everything pretty figured out, so I’ll let you take the lead. That’s more my style anyway-

She had made it clear she owned all of this, so I would play by her game as long as I was on her turf. It’s a known fact that you should always trust the judgment of professionals over your own half-baked ideas. Even if you didn’t fully trust them on a personal level, their technical abilities should never be underestimated.

So I simply would wait for her directions regarding this whole ordeal. It was her business after all.

---

703 / 1585 Words

[Sonya Chernova]

Sonya's office was a simple one. Her desk was situated at the far end of the room and a pair of chairs were settled in front of it. Going from there to the side of the room that Sonya and Bianca entered on; there was the door to Sonya's workshop. The pair of sofas and table that Sonya used to entertain clients, the door to Sonya's personal living space, another desk, the corkboard, and at last the door to the waiting room. Sonya stepped in front of the cork board and gestured to the sofa. She went into her private living space for only a few moments before coming out with a kettle and a can of tea. She put a few shavings into a teapot and set the water to boil, soon after pouring it in and letting it steep.

She did all this with a quiet smile on her face, her mechanical eyes twisting now and then as she changed the angle of her head. She smiled calmly, not even looking back at Bianca as she reached for the two cups and spoke; "An earth based semblance, mm?" She considered, a faint ticking sound began to pick up in the room. It was hard to pin down the source of the sound, but it faded as soon as it started up. She turned back after pouring the tea and set it down in front of Bianca before finding her own seat on the opposite couch.

"Why don't you tell me more, dearie," She said, crossing her legs and leaning back to get comfortable.

"Lets see where you are with your ideas. I know that the common philosophy is to humor the customer and their mad ramblings, but I prefer to have a little faith in the huntsmen and huntresses that make it to my office. If you have enough brains to work out where I am located and can acquire the information required to narrow it down..." She shrugged; "You must be smart enough," She laughed, admitting that her store was actually a bit difficult to find, it wasn't like she did any personal advertzing... yet.

She reached forward for her own cup and took a sip of the tea, smiling a little and then setting it back down with a low hum. "I have some initial theories and ideas, but I prefer to know where you are first before we go forward..."

[Bianca Sabbato]

I raised an eyebrow when the woman mentioned the nature of my semblance. She seemed pretty interested so I figured out it wouldn’t hurt to go a little more into detail about it.

-I'm going to take out a pouch from under my tunic. It’s filled with common, backyard dirt-

I said before making the big mistake of reaching for something hidden inside my clothing in front of a stranger. That’s how you get shot in the face while trying to take out a lighter, after all.

Taking out the pouch, I made the earth come to life inside of it, hardening and sharpening it into razor-like fragments of rock that easily tore their way through the fabric. Only to remain floating a small distance above my head. Outside of my field of vision.

-It’s like moving a part of my body, I can control pretty much all earth and rocks around me in a small radius. Not all at once, mind you- Unless I REALLY exerted myself, but that wasn’t something she needed to know -For example, I can tell you haven’t dusted the internal part of the sofa very well, But I could probably only make a needle out of it, not a lot of material to work with, you keep this place quite pristine all things considered-

There were still some secrets and hidden functions about State Change that I preferred to keep secret until I was forced to use them. But revealing something she could easily discover by looking at my vytal matches was not something I was afraid of doing.

Now, in regards to how I found her...

I could tell she was trying to stroke my ego to lure me into a sense of security. You don’t tell a person they are smart on a first meeting otherwise. Especially if you are hellbent on selling them something. Still, I decided to concede her some points, maybe follow her game a little, without letting myself be entrapped by it, of course.

-If you know the right people you can find anyone you want in this city- I responded calmly as I gave short sips of the hot beverage. Enjoying the warm flavor of the tea leaves after coming out of the cold rain.

-Well... Onto the good stuff- I said, putting my tea away for a second as I reorganized my thoughts into more concise ideas.

I wasn’t coming here empty-handed, after all. I had made my fair share of investigations and testing on my own. And only decided to come here once I was sure I wouldn’t be able to do it by myself.

After a moment of silence, I began.

-Have you heard about Kerch? I was one of the students dispatched there. And they gave us some sweet dust grenades to use. I managed to operate mine remotely by inserting a piece of hardened earth in between the mechanisms-

I started to my explanation of where I had gotten my idea, shaping the earth into the bare silhouette of a grenade, one pretty bulky that I had no option but to keep on my belt, and with quite a classical design all around.

-Thing is, it had a timer. So I had to set it to the lowest possible count and preemptively set it off before making it float towards my target, and still, it was kind of clunky-

As I kept giving her the retelling of the story, I made a small, ringlike portion of the construct fall of and the rest of the body hover a couple meters away from me before expanding outwards in the rough shape of a cartoonish explosion.

-Which is all fine and dandy if I have no other alternative, but considering I’ll be facing things, or persons, who can move as fast as a bullet, I’ll need something with a more immediate detonation mechanism. And I also would like it to be as compact and unassuming as possible-

I was thinking something about the size of a woman’s deodorant can. But that was negotiable. As long as they did their job I could put with a little encumberment. I was willing to give up a lot of my ideas as long as they made it actually usable... Even more considering the fact I wasn’t actually planning on buying the things directly from Astarte... And this was probably a good moment to bring that up before giving her the wrong idea.

-Before we continue... I want you to know. Since I’m looking forward to making this entirely out of stone, what I would actually want is to buy the design for these things. The blueprints, or however you want to call them. Is this fine by you?-

This had been my original idea, but I doubled down on it when I heard her say the first service was free of charge. You should never pay for something you could do yourself. And if this was my only shot at having a wish granted without charge. I would do the most of it.

Seize the day and everything you can!

---

853 / 2438 Words

[Sonya Chernova]

Sonya tilted her head to the right and began to write on her notepad. She would stop, sip, and listen. Though at one point she would grab a few more cubes of sugar and plop them into the tea, acting if the excessive sugar was the most normal thing in the world. She'd look up at Bianca and smile before sipping easily and letting her cheeks flush, a delighted look in her eyes before resuming her work. So the idea was to cover her own difficulties in a twofold way. She wanted to replicate the dust grenades that they had provided the students using her own Semblance.

Sonya tapped her chin and tilted her head; it made sense to a degree. She wondered if the girl had the fine control over her abilities to be able to create something so precise though. Admittedly, Dust could go off with a significant enough shock so she could see how just bundling up dust inside of a thin stone body and hurling it at someone would be effective, but it could also be wasteful if done improperly. Depending on the shock and impact reaction to dust can be risky, and unpredictable. Sonya didn't like unpredictable. She tapped her chin again and took a few more notes, letting out a breath through her nostrils before smiling.

"I can see where you want to go with this, I have some suggestions but I do think I can help you get to where you want to go with my skills alone. The most important thing to remember is that you want to keep yourself flexible when you are on the field, dearie~ that's where I am going to help you. Your idea has given me an idea~" She got to her feet, setting her tea cup down and crossing her arms behind her back before nodding and grinning.

"You certainly know how to take advantage of that one wish~ Good show~" She laughed and spun once, throwing her hair back and making for the door to her workshop. She threw the door open and the cool air of a clean, almost sterile Atlas Style work environment wafted into the otherwise warm room. Sonya reached for a lab coat on the inner wall and stepped inside, pulling her arms through the sleeves and glancing back at Bianca.

"Join me, dearie?" She said, crooking her finger playfully and offering a teasing wink.

[Bianca Sabbato]

I didn’t mind a little sweetness in my life, especially if we were talking about chocolate or fruits... But did this woman really needed to put one another handful of sugar cubes into her tea? And I thought Nasrin had it bad with her sugary pink monstrosities. But this woman seemed to be aiming to dethrone her!

After she was done taking notes. I had already finished my tea. (no sugar, she had put enough for both of us in hers) And was currently entertaining myself by listening to her talk.

Although I had to make a small clarification, at least the woman started running to wild with her ideas and dragging us both into impossible roads.

-Depends on what you mean by flexible. I’m not skilled enough to be a jack of all trades, so if my equipment is good for doing one thing, I want it to be really damn good at doing it-

A huntress was either a cog in the greater picture of a team or good enough at doing one thing that she could basically live by only doing that. Being good in a lot of things meant that there’d always be someone better than you at everything, basically.

In a perfect world. I may have been able to fit multiple spots and participate in a wide variety of functions on the field... But sadly, too many fucking years of being trained to do one thing, and one thing alone had left some irrecuperable sequels in my fighting style.

-Swift, and quick single target elimination, that’s the basis of my training, that’s what I specialize in. So I don’t mind sacrificing a large area of effect for raw power. Unless you mean being flexible at that, in that case, I agree-

The implications of that were less than nice... But that’s the way things roll. And wherever you are, Garrik? I hope you burn in hell. But as long as I live, I’m taking those lessons and using them to do good.

And if doing good meant scamming this woman out of her free trial period. Then so be it.

-You’re a businesswoman, you would have done the same- I said matter of factly, shrugging off the small commentary with a smirk of my own. If you had one wish, you better make it count.

Being hit in the face by a wave of cold air was, on the other hand, somewhat unexpected. I had expected her to be a middlewoman to put me in contact with a subsidiary workshop or laboratory. Not to have it all here.

Nevertheless. It was convenient since it meant we could iron things out in a single night.

-I hope this isn’t the part where you start bisecting me, right? Not sure if I’m into that. But if we are playing doctor, I wouldn’t mind a matching outfit-

I said, motioning with my head towards another white coat currently hanging from the inner wall.

If she didn’t protest, I would suit up as well. Trying to be as professional as I could, but if this woman kept being so playful... I may have to reconsider that posture.

-So. What do you have in mind?-

---

535 / 2973 Words.

[Wolfe]

XP Distribution:

Bianca: 29

515 + 29 = 544