Act 1, Scene 1: CEO ☆ S2FpYmE=

[opening_act]

[ A notification on your phone goes off, letting you know the purchase of your meeting with Exael has gone through.

There is an attachment. Where are you, when you open it? ]

Comments

[opening_act]

[ drops off her trapeze! ]

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[And catching!

More to get a closer look to see if she's human than anything]

[opening_act]

[ mmmostly? do humans usually bleed gold ichor.

if you're going to stare at her like that tho, after a moment you feel her form in your arms changing. her limbs lengthen, and. . . those aren't eyelashes, huh? they're feathers. Her eyes are all full of stars, the same as the ones out the window. ]

Looking for this?

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[His eyes do widen slightly but:]

Not exactly.

More curious about what happened to you at the end of that Horror House?

[Pointedly looking at the gold ichor on her lip]

Seems like you upset your boss. Azzy, was it?

[opening_act]

Oh, he isn't my boss.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Another actor then?

[opening_act]

Getting colder.

[ and she'll go back to her smaller form, stretching her arms behind her head ]

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Looks like I'm missing a few pieces then.

What was it about the game that got you in trouble?

[opening_act]

Good host tips! When the game makers give you a template, they probably don't want you applying it to their boss's vacation home! I don't think Azzy liked it, especially since I didn't clean up his mess first.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Slipped your mind, I'm sure.

[Finally setting Exael on her feet]

So what is dear old Azzy's job title?

[opening_act]

[ on her feet now, so she has to look way up to talk to Kaiba. Since her hologram usually floats, how short she is doesn't really come up most times. ]

You haven't guessed? He's one of the producers.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Does that mean he's at the top of the food chain?

[opening_act]

"One of the".

[ She repeats ]

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

So not the Executive Producer then.

. . .

So are we going to keep doing this ridiculous back and forth, hinting at the cards in our hands. Why'd you indulge this little meeting request? What do you get out of this?

[opening_act]

I think if I give you info now, you're more likely to do what I want later! We'll see how it turns out.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

[He gives the room a once over, gaze lingering on those stars outside before finally giving his full attention back to Exael]

Is this also being recorded?

[opening_act]

[ They are as dizzying as they were when viewed from the street ]

Not unless someone's bugged my apartment.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Then let's speak plainly. If you are offering an alliance, then I am accepting provided that our end goals are of a compatible nature.

[opening_act]

I'm not yet. I don't have that much to gain out of it. You can try again when you have something good to offer.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Touche.

But in order to be able to offer something good, I'll need to know what you want.

[opening_act]

Hm~ My position is still stronger. I'm not going to tell you right now.

What are you willing to put on the line?

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Everything.

[opening_act]

And what do you want? Short-term! I know your long term goals.

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

I’ll start with a partner on the inside. One who isn’t shy about passing along information, coded as it may be. And a discount on your meeting price tag.

[Reaches out to tap her phone if she still has it on her person]

While I appreciate the security this place provides, we don’t always have to meet face to face, right? Only when it’s important.

[opening_act]

What would you say to a little tit for tat? Should you ask me for one piece of information, you'll be required to do me one favor in return. Of course, you couldn't be more than one piece of information in debt to me! I'm not letting you run up a tab without proving you're worth something.