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Augustin is a massive, bustling capital city and culture hub in the country of Remus. People from a plethora of races and places can be found here. Its Royal Gardens are a major tourist attraction during the springtime. Once a year the royal family opens a section of their vast garden to the public as soon the flowers bloom. Another major hotspot is the Remusian National Museum connected to Augustin University. It has brave explorers in its employ who unfortunately rely on university funding when they aren't doing freelance work. A financial scandal unearthed in AU three years ago caused them to cut down on funds given to the explorers in efforts to recover. Soon after, the police realized the scandal extended into the capital's largest bank. Many business owners were forced to take out loans from smaller banks in order to keep afloat. The perpetrators were jailed but the city still had much to recover from, from business owners to the University. Times were tight and called for adaptation...

---------- Post added 11-10-2013 at 10:54 PM ----------

Character Profile
Name: Mary Leary
Also Known As: The Red Mare, Hawk Eye
Appearance:

Age: 24
Height: 5'3"
Race: Elf
Powers: Enchanced Strength, Enhanced Vision
Weapons:
"Martha" the Sawed Off Shotgun
Personality:
Mary is a woman with a big mouth and a big warm heart to match. No one would be at fault for calling her feisty or impulsive. She's not opposed to a man having manners enough to open a door for her, but balks the instant she truly has to rely on anyone but herself...especially when that someone is a man. Many a spurned suitor has compared Mary to the Ancient Remusian legends of the Red Mare, she won't fall for or marry a male that can't keep up with her. All the same, it's rare for her to have a harsh word for anyone but when angered she's like a forest fire. It shows and burns in an immense way. If one isn't careful, "Martha" might make a surprise appearance! Mary is incredibly curious to the point of appearing nosy. If something catches her interest she wants to learn all she can about it. That unfortunately includes dangerous places and ferocious animals.
Bio:
Mary was born into a humble but fortunate situation. Her parents were the butler and cook for the Duke of Augustin. The Duke mostly lived in his rural estate surrounded by forests that hid ruins from ancient times. When not having lessons or helping her mother in the kitchen, young Mary would frolic about the vast maze of ivy covered stone walls in wonder. Her mother warned her not to go there for superstitious reasons but that only fueled the girl's insatiable curiosity.
The older she grew, the more Mary would wander and search for legends. She also began collecting things she would find on her adventures as keepsakes. Eventually it would lead to her choice of becoming an explorer after graduating from Augustin University.

"Mary my darling, I'm sorry. For the tenth time, the financial department said I cannot approve more than two funded expeditions per six months per explorer. You know I wish I could but my hands are tied!" Mrs. Bolt the chief of the Exploratory Research Department at AU sat back in her chair and adjusted her pince-nez. The elderly Human woman pouted to make the point clear, folding her hands onto her lap. "Dolores!" Mary sighed, "I know there's nothing you can do but for all that's merciful please stop pouting! Fine...Then I have to do it, don't I?" The petite redhead put a hand on her shapely hips. Her other hand was busy holding vice tight to a piece of paper with her handwriting on it. Cornflower blue eyes looked out pleadingly at Mrs. Bolt, Mary hoped there was any other way to cut costs but find a roommate for her townhome.

"Don't worry dear. I'll have my brother run it in the personal ads for tomorrow's morning paper. I'm sure what you put will weed out any undesirable choices." Groaning, the stubborn explorer put the ad on her friend's desk and left. By the time she arrived home the kitchen clock read six. Mary had spent most of her day debating, justifying, and bargaining with different Uni staff but to no avail. All she could do was bide her time and try to drum up some freelance exploring or mechanic work to get by this month. Hopefully someone decent would answer her newspaper ad. Otherwise she'd have to live on her airship full time. That wouldn't be a bad thing except there wouldn't be enough room for all her possessions.

With a sigh, Mary collapsed onto the living room couch cushions after taking a shower and letting her long carroty curls down. Closing her eyes she prepared mentally that the guest room might become some stranger's bedroom. A woman had to do what she could to make ends meet. Maybe she'd be lucky and get another woman with a good head on her shoulders. If they got along well enough maybe a new friend! "Worrying about it won't do me any good. Better get some rest. Tomorrow's a big day." The next morning Mary woke up bright and early. She'd thrown on a cropped white t-shirt under khaki short overalls, the one who needed to be impressed was her. Hopefully whoever showed up would be prepared to be bombarded with questions and hospitality, Mary style.

Profile:
Name: Lakota Mace
Age: 26
Species: human with a very distant ancestry to a cat people. I doesn’t show in much of any way except he’s naturally nocturnal and can see better than most at night.
Occupation: botanist who dabbles in potions and teaches at the university
Appearance: http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps32b3fa82.jpg
he's a bit over average height and pale. More lean, but he had broad shoulders and natural strength in his look and stance.
Weapon: plants and whatever he can mix up with them
Personality: Often seems brusque, but he’s actually friendly. He’s used to plants and studies, not people though. He can talk kindly and clearly to a student, but meeting someone on his own times tends to end in more awkward conversations. He’s passionate about plants. He’s curious and he will spend hours trying to solve a new puzzle, staying up very late into the night. He’s not a morning person and will be a grouch until mid afternoon if he’s awake.
Bio: He comes from money, but makes very little himself. His parents were the kind that saw his intelligence and he began to research rare plants and their applications with their encouragement. He has traveled often, but mostly within groups of other researchers. He has lived in the city his entire life.

~~~~

Lakota stared at an ad in the newspaper with mild interest. He was a smart person and made decent pay with his job, but he'd callously chased his interests rather than saving that pay for more practical things. He was currently in the process of selling his small house, although he did not have another place in mind already. Rash decisions. You would not think he was the scholarly type to look at his black hair currently in a messy halo around his head and the situation he had gotten himself into. It was just that his passions tended to get in the way of his common sense. The ad he was looking at just might be the answer he had been looking for though and he was glad the cat howling outside his window had woken him earlier than usual, enough so to get the morning paper.

The ad was looking for a roommate to share a townhouse. It seemed like a good bet. There was nothing in the ad that warned him away, so he headed to the address listed to see if he was a desirable match. Although it was already afternoon when he set out walking there, he did not see a problem with this. The morning was not natural. He had a tendency to forget it existed. He stopped in front of the townhouse's door and just stood there for a minute, composing himself. He pulled his fur lined copper colored jacket closer about him. If you ignored the dark brown soil and plant oil stains on it, it was a good quality jacket. After fixing his boot laces, he finally knocked on the door with his usual stoic stare in place. He wasn't sure what to expect when the door opened, so best to be prepared with some distance between him and whatever lay beyond.

"Coming!" Mary yelled with excitement. Finally someone had arrived. She'd been baking and cooking up a storm for just a time as this! Barefoot as the day she was born she ran from the kitchen and slid across her living room floor. She stopped just short of the front door in record time. Opening the door, a bright grin grew on Mary's face...then fell to a curious half-smile. A slender bookish looking man with dark unruly hair stood on the porch. "If you're here for the roommate ad, come on in and make yourself comfy! My name's Mary."

She led the way in, offering him a seat on the living room cushions. "So tell me about yourself shug." The petite redhead brought out a tray of chocolate chip cookies, tiny meat pies, and a big pot of spiced tea. "No need to be shy if we're gonna be living together. There's got to be more to you than those adorable glasses." Mary's blue eyes sparkled playfully. She sat down and watched him closely. Curiosity had set in, unfortunately for Lakota...

Lakota eyed the woman nervously, but he still offered her a smile back. "Eherm...yes. I am here for the ad," he said as he followed her inside. Whatever he had been expecting, this bubbly sort of woman was not it. He was a bit put off, but not to the point that he would show it obviously on his face. He was still going to give this a chance since he had no real reason not to.

"My name is Lakota. It is quite nice to meet you, Mary." He glanced around the room as he sat down on one of the cushions in the living room. His analytical mind would have been content to just sit and silence and observe, but it didn't seem that Mary would let such a thing as that happen. She whisked food onto the table and he just stared for a second. Finally he decided to pour himself a cup of tea because it would be rude to do nothing. He fiddled with his glasses, self-conscious of them at Mary's mention of their 'cuteness'. "Er...what exactly do you want to know?"

"Lakota, that's a nice name." Mary smiled and took a miniature meat pie of the platter. Taking a bite, she chewed thoughtfully before answering. She had so many questions, it was hard to narrow them down into bits manageable for others. Looking over him again a few immediately took precedence. "I do have a few questions to start us off. You can ask me some afterwards if you'd like. That way you know what you could be getting yourself into."

He seemed to be a young man and wasn't too bad looking. That meant he had to have some kind of entanglement of the physical kind, more than likely. Last thing she wanted was to be woken up in the middle of the night by someone's monkey business and hollering. One after another the questions started building up again. Might as well voice them. "Let's go with the basics. Where do you work, how old are you, do you smoke or drink, and do you have a girlfriend or boyfriend?"

These seemed like reasonable questions to begin with. The rest of her list would have to wait. Mary wasn't particularly good at waiting but in this case sating her curiosity gave a juicy incentive. She finished the meat pie while she listened and poured herself some tea. Lakota had her undivided attention.

Lakota sighed, trying to keep pace with this very energetic sort of woman. Even her speech was energetic, rambling off more questions than he would consider a few. He had a feeling that he wouldn't need to ask any of his own. He was already getting a very good idea of what sort of person she was. He would just deal with the questions that had been dealt to him, and he answered in rapid fire, clipped sorts of sentences that offered little explanation, only answers.

"I work at the university as a teacher of botany and the uses of plants. I am 26. I do not smoke, I rarely drink." He paused only before his last answer. "I have not had a lover for quite some time. Are these the only questions you have for me? I hope that my answers are satisfactory." He sipped his tea, not quite able to make eye contact with Mary.

"Well how do you like that! I work at the Uni too smack dab between Archeology and Anthropology. They hire me as an explorer, you know." Mary chuckled and a few seconds later nodded. Sure, giving a colleague a break with their budget cuts was the least she could do. Even though Lakota seemed to be a tough nut to crack, hopefully he'd open up eventually. Even if he didn't at least she'd be doing some kind of good for someone.

"Alright shug, you can have the room! If you do bring a special friend keep it down and if you do drink, save me some! Hahaha! Oh my...well you go on and take a look around. I've got nothing to hide here. Meanwhile I'll go clean this up. The room's fully furnished so all you have to bring is you and your possessions. Feel free to use the office by the bay window for your posies and daisies. It's empty since I never found a real use for it, but a nice place none the less." Hopefully Lakota would like it, if not the search would have to begin again. Mary felt a teeny bit put out that he didn't want to ask her anything but then again, to each their own. He'd see everything he needed to eventually...or hear it...Whichever came first.

A smile cracked on Lakota's face. "What an interesting coincidence, but then again, a lot of people work at the university and it's a hard life," he said. The fact that two different people who worked there had fallen on hard times and needed to room together did no surprise him, but it did make him like Mary. Not that he disliked her before, but points of similarity did help him figure out how to talk to her.

"I've done my share of exploratory research, but I doubt I will ever go on such a trip again. Too many wild goose chases after rare flowers that may or may not exist." he shrugged one shoulder and put down his tea again. He did not consider this a great lose, but instead, a fact of life. His critics were probably right after all, he had only been wasting money. It was why he didn't have any anymore so he would simply stay away from rare flowers. He decided to take Mary's advice for now and look around the room. "Anyway, you have a very nice place here."

"Thank you, I try!" Mary brightened as she hustled back from the kitchen. Letting out a sigh of relief, she plopped back down on the cushions. Thank goodness her search for a roommate had been quick and painless. She would call the paper to have them remove the ad as soon as mortally possible. Having another Uni employee under roof would be interesting.

When Lakota mentioned his annoyance with wild goose chases, the small Elf's eyes widened as she nodded emphatically. "You are preaching to the choir. Do you know how many people have told me they found a map to Atlantis? Every time, it leads me to nothing but a coral reef!" She laughed. "But the journey is most of the fun to me. Don't get me wrong. Finding stuff is great. But getting to see parts of the world in a way you never have before? That's what being an explorer is about!"

The doorbell cut their conversation short. "I'll get it. You go get your things whenever you're ready. I'll leave a key under the mat for you." Hustling to the door she opened it to see the postman Charlie. "Good day to you Ms. Mary! Looks like you have a letter from a high profile client this time! Oh and your airship looks like she's ready to fly again. You have to take me too one of these days!" The affable older man held out two envelopes.

Mary took them and shook her head grinning. "Charlie Brackleburn, you're more curious than a brand new puppy. One of these days I'm going to get a letter so passionate it'll make your ears turn red for two weeks! Then you'll learn to stop reading people's mail!" She giggled and waved as he left. Finally, two more bits of excellent news she'd been waiting for. "Lakota! I got an exploration client! Oooh, it's from a Johnathan Morton Husque, Esquire! Sounds fancy...You want to read it with me?" She bounced back into the living room smiling ear to ear.

Lakota was busy pondering how long it would take to move in his things when the doorbell rang. He nervously pushed his glasses up his nose and stood where he wouldn't be seen from the door, but that didn't stop him from watching with intense curiosity. He picked up every detail between Mary and the person who appeared to be the postman. They had an interesting way of interacting--friendly and personal. Neither were things Lakota was good with, which was why he stayed out of the way until the postman left. He stepped forward then, finally allowing his curiosity to get the better of him.

"A client? That does sound very good for you. Please...ehem...I'd love to read it with you," he said, catching himself before he said anything more than he already had. His curiosity was something that could not easily be contained. He nearly started talking, saying anything that would come to mind. That sort of unfiltered talk that came out when he was nervous, excited, or very curious tended to be what pushed people away from him though. He simply walked to Mary's side and offered a small smile. "It's good your ship is ready to fly then. If the job pays well enough, you won't need a roommate like me."