Something New, Something Old

[Nora Sheeley]

Little in life surprised Nora Sheeley, and this was no exception. She was thankful he wasn't turning that power on her for what she had done. Nora wasn't entirely sure how she would fare against powers like that. Her entreatment hammered home with a touch slipped from his body as he slipped into the abysmal void - one she could not blame him for after what had rained down on him moments ago.

Independent and versatile to a fault, Nora drove her sports car around back, not wasting anytime. A patient hunter when necessary, and a woman of action to execute a directive just as strongly mastered by the New Orleans native. She could tell things had shifted as their playful banter in spite of it all was tossed aside and passed over for efficiency where black humor held no sway. The cynical flirtation had disappeared somewhere along the way without reason where fresh sarcasm was replaced with a purely business-like demeanor.

Reaction nor the way she carried herself did not change for Nora. She was still a genuine version of consistent self and her personality still served to smooth the rough edges that had marked her with numerous scars beneath the thick façade she chose to present as a protective veneer. Leaving the car running she popped the trunk and pulled the tarp up so she could roll and wrap the body. She had been hoping to pick at Josef's brain on all this on the drive.

So, the woman fluidly moved to the infamous 'Plan B' as she confidently sauntered over towards the door and opened it. She laid the tarp out on the floor, letting the silence marinate. Methodical and proficient, Nora's professional conduct was effective and bare bones.  As she inclined her head, hoping silent understanding would pave the way for the obvious, she waited a few beats before she moved around to the side to begin tucking and rolling the body up her suspicion the obvious conclusion as her body tensed for a moment, and then training kicked in and she made a point of relaxing her body language, focusing on the task at hand.

"Small world, mon cher. How do you two know each other - mighty coincidental, isn't it - and me being at the wrong place at the wrong time all comfortable and relaxed with someone, no less, from home in this big, old city when it turns out I'm the one this little cocksucker is looking for, hm?"

It was said almost casually, though the words were heavy and intense. She wasn't exactly accusing anyone of anything, but it served purpose to state the obvious and as she looked up from her crouched position rolling their dead little friend up, her eyes were reflective of her element - her 'superpower' - and the sandstone color hardened beneath a fleeting squinting of her eyes as she regarded Josef. She wondered, just exactly, what part he was playing in all this.

[Josef Carroll Boudreaux]

"Small world, mon cher. How do you two know each other - mighty coincidental, isn't it - and me being at the wrong place at the wrong time all comfortable and relaxed with someone, no less, from home in this big, old city when it turns out I'm the one this little cocksucker is looking for, hm?"

 

An unusual thing to ask of him, an entirely odd coincidence indeed.

 

He’d been calm, or at least able to calm enough to squelch the slither of rage that was creeping just under his skin like dirty swamp water. The Cajun could even smell it, mixed with blood, sweat, the taunt of youth and cruelty. It had been stuffed in a forgotten box so long, he’d buried deep the hatred that he could feel. The world was drawing to him at the moment, a drop in the bucket was his usual rule to stay under the radar, this was profoundly more than that- a droughted sponge drawing in every droplet of water to parch the environment around it. He’d heard her words, eyes on their dearly departed friend, finally shifting to blink at her with the weight to melt stone as he stopped collecting from the rivers in the air. The magus was primed to unleash hell at a seconds notice...

 

She’d come to him, with the questions, he was the guy after all that could help her or so the word on the street was… perhaps it was she that had brought him to the Cajun. To what, finish the job? Finish a childhood feud? Unlikely, it had gotten particularly nasty- but didn’t seem enough to chase him halfway across the world for.

 

It was more likely she was Order.

 

God damn it.

 

The thought had prepared him to burn the flesh from her bones, angry enough… unwilling to go back in one piece.

 

Long sigh oozed from his nose, arms crossing as his eyes found a place on the floor to cool. She was not Order. He knew that. It wasn’t logical. There were no coincidences in this world, which left him wondering WHO had sent her in his direction with this little punk trailing behind her. To spurn the recognition and make him step wrong? To cast her into suspicion automatically and use his caution and powers of self-preservation to take out an enemy undetected and put him on the chopping block? It also meant someone may know his secrets, that someone could even be as far as the Order. He didn’t like any of the options.

 

The wind down of his “jet engines” was profound, the heat spiraling from him as he released the catch back into the river.

 

[jojo]He almost killed me when I was nine.[/jojo]

 

He was silent for a while, eyes back on whatever was dead in front of them.

 

[jojo]Caught me on a sneak-out from my parents’ estate and tried to steal my wallet, then proceeded to give me a swamp swirly until I said uncle. Almost got my face bitten off by a gator in the process before some girlfriend of his yanked me out and kicked his ass.[/jojo]

 

The Cajun’s words were so calm, they had to be or he was going to completely flip his shit.

 

[jojo]Who told you that I could answer your questions. I need to pay him a visit.[/jojo]

 

He didn’t need to explain why, she was sharp. He was betting heavy on whomever had pointed her in his direction, he didn’t like being set up to take a fall… not one bit.