[Action]

[fairly]

[Zack is hanging around the shop plaza, doing a little investigating to try and see if there's anything special about the place now. If the supposed portal is going to open there, he's curious to know if there's anything in the area that's changed. You might find him poking at the fountain, circling the sunken well, stopping and crouching down to check the ground beneath the snow sometimes. He's pretty focused on his work, though it probably looks strange.

Bother him?]

Comments

[wingenvy]

[Poking, poking, poking- ...hello, that is a monkey.] ...huh?

[aureatus.livejournal.com]

[It's going to be staring at him like in the icon. What are you looking at.:|]

[wingenvy]

[What are you staring at, monkey-face. 8|]

[aureatus.livejournal.com]

[Okay, before this staring match turns into something worse, Zack will hear footsteps from behind him.]

Hello.

[wingenvy]

[Zack blinks, straightening up and looking back.]

Oh, hey! Is this your monkey?

[aureatus.livejournal.com]

[The monkey shoots past Zack and settles itself beside Mrs. Coulter.]

In a way, yes.

[wingenvy]

[Sure looks like her monkey.]

So what brings a lovely lady like yourself out in the snow today?

[aureatus.livejournal.com]

The portal won't just appear out of nowhere. Something has to trigger it - I'm here to see what will.

[a pause as she thinks about something]

Of course, I'm operating on the assumption that what the letters are saying is true.

[wingenvy]

Well, I think the part about the portal showing up is true. Not so sure about the rest of it.

[aureatus.livejournal.com]

I presume you're not taking the offer?

[wingenvy]

Not a chance. Luceti's stuck with me for a while, I guess.

[aureatus.livejournal.com]

[She'd question him further, but they've only just met and and she needs to tread carefully.

She extends a hand for him to shake.]

My name is Marisa Coulter.

[wingenvy]

[She's more cautious than she has to be with Zack, but she has no way of knowing that yet. He takes her hand without hesitation, giving it a firm shake.]

Zack Fair. Nice to meet you!

[aureatus.livejournal.com]

Likewise, Mr. Fair.

[She gestures towards the monkey at her feet.]

And this is my daemon.

[wingenvy]

Your what? [That can't be right.]

[aureatus.livejournal.com]

My daemon. He is a part of my soul.

[at his puzzled look, she decides to add something]

I understand that it isn't the widely held definition here.

[wingenvy]

So... your soul has a real live monkey? [Dude, that is so cool. He's not too sure how he's supposed to handle this, so he crouches down and offers his hand out to the monkey.] Does he have a name too?

[aureatus.livejournal.com]

[The moment Zack offers his hand, the monkey scampers up to Mrs. Coulter's arms. She throws him an apologetic glance.]

I apologize for that. It's rather uncomfortable for other people to touch your soul, you see. But he does have a name - it's Ozymandias.

[wingenvy]

Ah, that's okay! Figured it was worth a shot, anyway. Nice to meet you both.