Iron Station Savage Masks IC III

[InTheMachine]

Keith
“Is that what you call this?” he asks as he looks at the screen again. “Telenovela… It’s… interesting to say the least. I’m very confused by what’s happening, but I haven’t been watching long. Until recently, I was sleeping.“

“If you say it is late, I believe you,” the demon says with a slight smile. “With no windows, I have no way to perceive what time it is, and my sleep schedule is in disarray. Though I am unsure how much sleep humans need. Do you sleep every night?” he asks curiously.

He considers Keith’s question for a moment. “This place is infinitely better than where I was confined earlier. It is comfortable. I am allowed to have delicious food and water. There is entertainment, however odd it may be. Even though there is an Erelim that stays here, I currently do not fear for my life. If anything, I could use a new book,” he says, gesturing at the one on the end table. “I finished that one earlier.”

Louis
As she learns how the bike behaves, Izzy’s death grip loosens slightly, and she relaxes into Louis. They pass by the front gates of Briarwood University and then into a parking lot that contains student apartments only a minute or two down the road.

Izzy gets off the bike and lets out a shaky breath as she pulls off her helmet. “That… was kinda fun. Once I kinda got the hang of it,” she says with a smile at the hero. Her expression dampens a bit as she looks around the parking lot, looking for anyone that seems to be out of place. She waits for Louis before she quickly heads for an apartment on the first floor. “I’m glad the cops dropped off my keys,” she mumbles to herself as she unlocks the door to 121.

Before she opens the door, she looks back at Louis. “Do… you want to come in? I was going to order a pizza or two for dinner.”

Spoiler: If Louis Goes Inside

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The inside of Izzy’s one bedroom apartment is clean, but full. She has a bright red keyboard set up on one wall. Next to it is a black hollow body guitar with a rose and thorn inlay on the neck. Sheets of music, both printed and handwritten are scattered on a table next to the instruments where a laptop is also set up.

Farther into the room, there’s a tv with a dark couch opposite from it that has a small coffee table in front of it. Several scratching posts and cat toys are on the floor. The kitchen is slightly cluttered, with a lot of counter space taken up by a coffee grinder and drip machine.

A fluffy, pure white cat trots up to Izzy with a loud meow, rubbing up against her legs. She picks the cat up and lays it against one shoulder. “This is Ray,” she says as the cat purrs loudly. She looks like she suddenly remembers something, and returns the cat to the ground before going to fill up Ray’s food and water bowls, which are dangerously low.

John

Spoiler: Text from Mimi

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Please return promptly once you’re finished with your wooing. Seraph has approved your outing, so long as you return with no detours.

Spoiler: Notice TN 8

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Sticking just slightly out of her journal is scrap of paper. It’s too far away to read, but the writing on it is in a scrawling hand, definitely not Emi’s neat one.

Emi takes the offered shoes and then takes the ones she has on off, setting both pairs on a shoe rack in her closet. “It bothers some men greatly. I thought better safe than sorry. I know for next time now though.”

As John confesses his nervousness, a seductive smile spreads across her face. She puts one hand on his chest pushing him over to her bed until the back of his knees hit the edge, forcing him to sit. “John,” she says in a low voice as she holds his gaze with her dark eyes. Slowly and deliberately, she reaches up to undo the topmost button of his shirt. “I appreciate it, but I don’t think you need to be so concerned. I told you not ten minutes ago that I trust you. But, if you want, I can do that for you.”

She smooths out his collar before giving him a gentle kiss. “I’m also open to what I suggested earlier. Just talking. And a massage.”