tampered | Log-Complete.

When; Monday afternoon.
Rating; PG-13.
Characters; Caterina Sforza (

juste_ultionis) & Isaak Fernand von Kämpfer (

rozenmagician).
Summary; Isaak guides Caterina through several spots of the city. Tres ~~stalks~~ guards his Duchess.
Log;
Tic-tic-tic-

The noise stopped as soon Isaak summoned kohoruto to keep him company. The adorable, ravenous monsters growled and followed him through the shadows of his tidy laboratory, pushing the madding, incessant ticking out the Magician’s mind.

It was not the noise itself what disturbed Kämpfer or the possible countdown linked to the carousel. No, those things were meaningless currently, low priorities in his thoughts. The unnerving aspect was that each tic represented a second and made Isaak aware of time itself.

He who had chosen to forget the pass of time.

Self-absorbed as he normally was in his research, Isaak had been anticipating his appointment with the lovely Duchess Sforza. He had already bathed and chosen a proper outfit to stroll with the Iron Lady through the streets of the charming but nonsensical city. He still wore black but a still wore black, but a virgin wool gabardine with a grey tweed vest beneath instead of his Order uniform. The squared, small spectacles on his nose aided to project the perfect gentleman image he sought to maintain.

They would attend to a quiet place, Isaak had planned. None of the sultry and dangerous underworld whose sights were terrible for a lady of her rank. Not on this occasion at least. He would have plenty opportunities to show the Duchess all the attractions hidden in the town.

Abruptly, two of his kohoruto rushed towards the main door, scratching the wood blindly. Cocking an eyebrow, Isaak’s lips curved into a small smile. There she was. His servants had sensed her. They would recognise her. With a snap of his fingers, the beasts were gone. He opened the door and held it, inclining forward on a bow before Caterina had a chance to announce her presence.

“What a coincidence, Duchess of Milan. Good afternoon.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Caterina had noticed his agitation at her remark on the decor and, though it was contrary to logic, felt a touch bad at having unintentionally insulted him. A demure smile supplanted her red lips as she looked at Isaak and inclined her head, "If your behavior continues this way and you mean your offer, I would accept to seeing your laboratory on another location."

From his quicker pace, and irritable invitation for Tres to enter, Caterina realized that Isaak was irked. And that he had closed off, perhaps not willing to speak in front of Tres. She cursed inwardly and removed her gloves in a last ditch effort to appease him.

When Kampfer returned, Caterina reached for the glass he offered, fingers brushing against his own as she took the glass of wine. "Kampfer," She addressed him, tone soft, "We will have the chance to speak privately together later, please indulge me in this matter for now." And unhesitatingly took a sip of the wine.

Eyes narrowing in calculation at the Duchess' unhesitating sip of wine, Tres ran off figures on the probability of Kampfer taking the chance to poison her in his presence. The results did not please him, as they gave him no reason to put a bullet between the Orden member's eyes. His gaze was once more settled on Kampfer, watching each movement, each breath, each gesture, searching for any clue to ulterior motives.

Isaak was assuaged of his minor foulness at her sudden change of disposition. Her soft words, her smile and the brushing of their fingers together stirred some alien thrill within his system. While he had been attracted to Caterina Sforza, physical pleasures had never been a priority to enjoy for the Magician (if they were, Helga would have undoubtlessly triumphed with her wiles during their past clashes), intellectual equals and conversations were bliss enough.

She was changing the rules of a game he had carefully designed. Isaak approved and found himself draw to see what did she want with her own brand of subtle, feminine manipulation.

“How are you adapting to the life in this city, Duchess?” asked Isaak, shifting the subject to a more mundane, pleasant conversation as he took brief sips of his wine. “It’s an unique experience for a diplomat of your caliber to strike alliance with other worlds. I would assume you are seizing the chance.” He remained silent as Caterina drank and glanced at Tres’ calculating gaze. So the cyborg was worried? He shot him a rather, taunting smirk.

“Cardinal Sforza, I would take the wine in brief sips. It’s quite strong and dazzling like most in this realm.” He would not enjoy the excursion with Caterina tipsy and dizzy by the alcohol. He preferred to converse with a sharp, lucid person.

"This city is a far cry from anything I have imagined," Caterina admitted. "The places and people are nearly overwhelming, though I find myself becoming quickly accustomed. However, those whom I have seen are mere children and seek only a way out, hardly a chance for diplomacy."

Then took another, smaller, sip of wine, "If the chance comes along, I will not overlook it." And set the glass aside, "The wine is delicious, Kampfer, you seem quite familiar with the differences between this world's vintages and ours. Could wines be one of your hobbies?"

Caterina did not intend to drink much for the sake of her mind as much as her health. She had to have all wits about her. While she spoke to him, she ensured that her posture was erect and that she leaned in slightly towards him to show interest in the conversation and in himself.

Isaak kept his posture straightened and dignified. While he may relax and lounge carelessly on Dietrich’s presence, he was fully aware that such manners would be frowned down near a lady. Especially one of Caterina’s breeding.

He assented at her guess, his gaze briefly scanning her body language. She was good in loosing people’s tongues. Her accomplishments were unsurprising.

“Very good. Tobacco and wine. I’m accused to be easily addicted to luxury,” he commented. “Once, Duchess, I convinced the Puppet Master that my quest for a special wine was really a mission assigned by Mein Herr,” added Panzer Magier with a very secretive voice, lower and mirthful. “The Pale Bride. Ironically, we saved some lives when we stopped some mad scientist and a band of pirates that took over the boat that the wine was being offered.”

She noted his attention to his posture and both appreciated as well as found amusing the fact that he was taking so much care around her. In some ways, Caterina did feel as though she had the upper hand.

To his small story, her eyes widened a touch, mirth colouring her cheeks and turning up the soft corners of her lips, "Your story is delightful, Kampfer, and you tell it will." Which he did, lowering his voice, keeping his tone conspiratorial.

She granted him another soft smile and tucked her gloves on her pocket, leaving her fingers bare. "We should begin our tour, Kampfer, I am sure you are as eager as I to capture a few moments in privacy."

And of course, manipulating those moments and each other were high on the agenda.

Tres' attention was fully captured by the Duchess' move to begin the tour. He was in favor of this, as being so firmly entrenched in Kampfer's arena left his sensors buzzing near to overload. Being somewhere that could well lead to harm coming to the Duchess was definitely something he was against, and his moving towards the door, waiting there for Caterina and her companion to pass first, made it more than clear.

He did, however, override his urge to help his Lady from her seat as he normally would, adhering to his earlier orders to stay as inconspicuous as possible, only making his presence overtly known if necessary.

She was smiling genuinely, Isaak knew that was not a trick; he would have been able to distinguish a fake gesture than a real one. He felt different, less dull and indifferent but the glimpse of that was weak still, easily quieted to the best objectives. The need to focus was strong for if he failed the Duchess would also suffer the brunt consequences.

Dietrich was quite correct. His sentimentalism was wasteful.

“Thank you,” Isaak answered, rewarding her interest with an attentive nod. “I wouldn’t go into details to not bore you to tears. Dietrich would also never forgive me. He was absolutely miffed at the entire endeavor.”

When Caterina reminded him the excursion, Isaak set his empty wineglass aside and rose, bowing to offer her a hand to stand. “First, Duchess, we will visit Xanadu. They are lovely gardens. I thought you might want to enjoy the less… dangerous sights this place had to offer.”

The paradisiacal gardens were as beautiful as they were peaceful. A perfect place to start a serious conversation. Isaak hoped the open, green spaces were deserted enough.

Log-Complete.

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