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Post by Micki. on Jul 27, 2014 0:25:08 GMT -5
A one x one with Orrick and Veronica!
For once this rp actually has a plot. Orrick's team discovered a perfect dig site out in Egypt a few weeks ago, and they claimed it for themselves. However, another group of archaeologists showed up at the site recently, much to everyone's displeasure. Not only did the new group claim to have rights to the dig site as well, but they have also been quite rude to Orrick and his team since their arrival. Orrick and his team are powerless to stop them, since they appear to be Egyptian natives with official government papers saying that they have partial rights to the dig site. This new team has been picking fights with Orrick's team, and tensions have soared since their arrival. Veronica is a private investigator that's investigating something at this Egyptian dig site, and Orrick is determined to find out what she's up to. What is she investigating, and who hired her? Only time will tell!
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Orrick huffed and rolled his eyes as he heard the conversation between two of his colleagues passing him. The tall plumerian was laying flat on his stomach, stretching out his long legs and carefully brushing away dirt from a set of small, delicate bones. All of his co-workers had been on edge recently, and yet another fight had broken out today. He had attempted to break up the last, and he'd been rewarded with nothing but a black eye. He was certainly not going to play referee for his team any longer. If they wanted to fight then he would let them. If they wanted to neglect their duties because of feuds, then he would let them. Orrick would simply do everything himself on this dig site, and if he happened to discover something new and exciting, then he would take all of the credit for himself. He was out of patience for his colleagues, and had avoided being around them for most of the day.
Despite this, he had caught wind of a few new rumors amongst them. Apparently, some of the plumerians were accusing others of a number of things, ranging in importance from stealing their toothbrushes to unrightfully digging in another plumie's spot. Orrick had no doubt that a few toothbrushes might have been hidden as a joke, but he had issues with the accusation of one of his team members would dig on another man's site without permission. In fact, he resented that accusation. Even though he was out of patience with his team, he knew that they were all good plumerians, and they would never do such a thing. Of course, his protesting this point had mattered even less than his protesting about the new team digging on this site. The Egyptian team seemed to despise Orrick's team as much as his team despised them. This, undoubtedly, was the reason that a rumor about Orrick's team wanting to murder the Egpytian team had developed and made it's way around the camps.
Still, there was one even more troubling rumor. Supposedly, yet another outsider was coming to the dig site. There were about three different versions of who this outsider was, and none of them seemed particularly promising to Orrick. One version of the rumor stated that the new arrival was going to be a large, ex-military man that ran a drug ring through the villages around the dig site. Another version of the rumor said that an Egyptian government official was coming to the dig site. Orrick's team had already assumed that if this government official showed up he was surely coming to kick them out of the dig site, and he had to agree with his colleagues. There was one other version of this rumor that stated that an Egyptian man known to be a detective was going to pay them a visit.
The tall plumerian sighed as he thought about all of the rumors, particularly all of the different versions of the outsider rumor. He didn't suppose that it was true, but then again, the Egyptian team had somehow caught wind of the dig site and showed up. It likely wouldn't be that hard for an outside to make their way into the camp. Orrick sighed again and ran his fingers across the bones he was working to get out of the ground. He looked up at the darkening sky and glanced back at the bones. He should go back to camp and get some sleep, but somehow all of the rumors made him uneasy, despite his knowledge that they were likely all just rumors. Orrick stood up lightly, careful not to break the ground or anything that might be underneath it. Surely this skeleton was accompanied by others somewhere underneath the ground, and he didn't want to damage anything. With yet another sigh and some disdain, the plumie made his way back to camp. He didn't feel much like sleeping, though..
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Post by .chamomile. on Jul 27, 2014 0:52:44 GMT -5
Veronica stood in front of sand, vast flowing seas of sand. It wasn't even a nice color, though her fur did blend into it a bit. She was dressed like the locals. There was no way that she was going to show up here dressed in ridiculous Western clothes, unable to stand the heat and the cold because of it. Night was already beginning to set. The heat from earlier in the day had faded away and the freezing temperatures of the night were beginning to set it. With her, Veronica had a camel which was laden with various tools, instruments, food, and a tent. She was here to investigate a new digsite found by two separate archaeological teams. From what she had heard, the two groups were fighting. The Egyptian team claimed that they had government permission to dig on the land, and the other team of Plumerians, presumably from the West, didn't. However, none of this political chatter mattered to her. They could murder each other in their sleep and destroy their precious findings for all she cared; Veronica was here searching for something else.
Her client hired her to investigate the area for hints of an ancient artifact, the details of it were not revealed to her. Veronica had simply been told that she would know it when she saw it. Along with this, she was to be investigating the murder of a Plumerian in Egypt too. The jobs were separate, meaning that she got more money. The murder mystery had been easy. It only took her a few weeks to find out the murder and to get him to reveal his motivations. Not long after that she had received her current job. Thankfully, her client had been kind enough to provide her with enough supplies to camp out in the desert for a week. And, she had been given a rental car and a hotel room in the city. //Not bad for a treasure hunt//, Veronica thought as she watched the last bit of sun disappear below the horizon.
She and the camel walked closer to the digsite, which she was only about a mile away from. Veronica didn't want to alert the archaeologists that she was here. Tomorrow morning they would notice, but it was highly unlikely that they would see her tonight. Shivering, she walked just a bit further away from it so that all she could see were the vague outlines of tents in the distance. She saw lights flicker off in the distance, indicating that most of the diggers were sleeping or beginning to go to bed. Veronica took most of the packs off the camel, swiftly and carefully setting up the tent. The night didn't stop the wind from blowing sand around, nor would it prevent her tent from flying away. The tent too was made from traditional Egyptian materials, though she was provided with a more comfortable cot and a writing desk. Veronica made sure that the camel had been properly secured before letting her hair down. She couldn't sleep, or perhaps she just didn't feel like it. Feeling that it was safe to take the risk, Veronica lit a small lamp and sat in front of the writing desk. She pulled out her personal journal and began to write. She usually liked to record what her various jobs entailed her to do and what she did to complete it. It was a way to store her memories and adventures, and it helped her go to sleep too.
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Post by Micki. on Jul 27, 2014 14:14:58 GMT -5
Orrick paced around his tent for quite a while, thinking hard about the rumors of today. 'Surely they're just rumors designed to make us nervous,' he thought, still pacing the area of his tent, 'Yes, surely..' His feet were beginning to ache. He had been walking around the dig site nearly all day, and now he found himself completely and utterly unable to stop pacing his tent. Maybe if he just went outside for a little while? The tall plumerian put on a decently warm jacket, wrapped a wool scarf around the bottom half of his face, and put goggles over his eyes. The night was almost always unpredictable here, and sand storms were more than frequent. Orrick left his tent, making sure to zip it up securely. Keeping his eyes peeled for any sort of mischief, he began walking around the camp.
Really, this hadn't helped much at all. It had just turned into Orrick pacing a larger area. He growled to himself at this realization, and decided that he should do something. Of course, he had no idea what he was going to do, as it was much to dark to dig, but he knew that he had to do something or he would go insane. He started walking towards the camels without really thinking about it. He rubbed underneath his goggles with his left hand, and petted his camel with the other. His particular camel was a very stubborn girl named Sandy who was rather fond of attention and spitting on passerbys. Orrick chuckled a bit as the thought about their introduction. He had been talking excitedly to someone on his team when Sandy decided that he wasn't paying enough attention to his newly bought camel and spat directly into his mouth. Of course, it wasn't funny to him at the time, but he could certainly see the humor in it now. "What do you think, girl? Would you like to take a nice relaxing nighttime ride?" The camel snorted and tossed her head up and down in response.
Smiling under his thick scarf, he opened up the make-shift pin and led Sandy out by the rope tied to her halter. He got on her and directed her, with much difficulty, straight ahead. Orrick closed his eyes as they went out into the sand, enjoying the cold air and peace. After a while, Sandy stopped abruptly, causing the plumerian to open his eyes. He was shocked to find that she had stopped at the meeting of another camel, to whom some newcomer was the rider. He growled to himself as he unmounted the camel and secured her next to the other. "Who are you?" Orrick demanded, approaching the tent. "Come out!" he demanded again, his voice loud and powerful. His tall, well built body was silhouetted against the dark night, making every inch of the 6'5" plumerian seem even more menacing than normal.
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Post by .chamomil. on Jul 27, 2014 16:04:51 GMT -5
Veronica hummed quietly as she wrote. The journal entry was growing long as she filled it with the details of her day. One page, then two, and finally, five pages. She closed the book, the pages uttering a soft sigh as they fell on each other. The pen fell onto the desk with a light knocking sound. Veronica lay back on her cot. It was quite comfortable, compared to other ways she had camped out. This investigation was turning out to be more of a vacation than she thought. The soft light of the lantern filled the tent, outlining vague shapes outside. Perhaps she should go stare out at the stars for a bit now that the moon had finally risen in the sky. It must be beautiful out there, Veronica thought as her eyes drifted shut, and I'm in here, trying to sleep when I could be gazing up at the stars; like those teenage hipsters dream of doing, she mused.
Outside, it was almost silent. The wind made small noises and shifted the sand around, and occasionally her camel, named Jaiboh, would snort and move around. She paid no attention to him. The camel was rude, sassy almost. A lot like Veronica, if she were turned into a smelly, four legged animal that spit on anything and everything. He was impossible to deal with, and to say the least, they didn't get along. So when she heard more activity outside than usual, she ignored it. Veronica figured that he was just settling down or asking for attention.
Veronica froze, her eyes wide open when she heard the demanding voice of a man. I guess I didn't camp far enough away, she thought, a twinge of annoyance in her thoughts. Quickly, Veronica fixed herself. She pulled her hair back into a low bun, and wrapped her hijab around her face. Composing herself, Veronica unzipped the tent and stood outside. Hopefully, he would buy her disguise of being a local. "My name is Rania," she said, doing her begs to put on a heavy Arabic accent, "who are you? Why are you here?"
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Post by Micki. on Jul 28, 2014 17:05:06 GMT -5
"Mmmhmm, yeah," Orrick mumbled, closing his eyes as he nodded up and down slightly. The response was more to himself than the other, but he couldn't care if she heard it or not. "You know, Rania," he began, taking a step towards her, "Nights out here are unpredictable, you shouldn't be out in this land all alone. As I'm sure you know, of course, since you are a local." He raised an eyebrow and took another step forward. "Rania, if you would allow me to help you pack up your things, we can proceed on our way back to my camp. I'm an archaeologist working here at this dig site, and our camp is only about a mile away. Before you protest, I truly insist that you come back with me. It would be very ungentlemanly of me to leave a local lady out in this unforgiving desert, and I simply won't do it," he spoke with careful, deliberate words, but his speech was still fluent and smooth.
He stood up straight, looking down at the female local. 'Surely she's just a local,' he thought, smiling warmly at the lady, his pearly whites straight and very, well, white. "Nice hijab, by the way, I like the pattern. You don't see many with patterns around here. Although, I suppose maybe you do, since you're the first woman I've seen since I arrived in Egypt," Orrick's smiled widened a bit, and he gave a quick little wink. If she caught the wink, then she would likely choose to ignore it, if she were truly a local, that is. Orrick had been to Egypt more than he could count, and he was incredibly familiar with their customs. Indeed it seemed strange to him that a local woman would be camping out in the middle of the desert alone, especially in such an unforgiving area, but he went with it. If she were some sort of local then no harm would come from him asking a few questions, and if she weren't, as he strongly believed, then it would be her fault if her plans got foiled.
"So, why'd you run away from your family?" the tall plumerian began softly. "You're not from this area of Egypt or you wouldn't be camping in this place, so clearly you've run away from your family, but why? Arranged marriage? Bad marriage? Strict father? Ahh, yes, probably a strict father. Most of them are you know, even if they're not traditional Muslims, so you should give him a little bit of a break," Orrick's voice was warm and thoughtful, concerned even. He opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it again upon remembering how frequent sand storms were out here. "Well, anyways. I suppose we can talk about it back at the camp, which you most certainly are coming to. This particular area is known for it's nighttime-"
Orrick stopped speaking at the strong whirling of wind. He hissed slightly and pushed the other plumerian into her tent. Quickly, he zipped the tent back up before saying, "You see? This is why you shouldn't leave your family. Sandstorms are a bitch." He slumped down in the chair at her desk, sitting with the back of the chair in between his legs so he could still keep the lady in his sight. "You might want to get comfortable, Raina," the tall plumerian cooed, "It could be a while before the storm lets up. Oh, and just in case you're worrying about your poor camel out there- don't. Camels have two sets of long eyelashes and a clear inner eyelid to protect their eyes during sandstorms. Plus they have hairs at the opening of their ears to stop sand from getting in them, and they can close their nostrils."
(Also, you could register an account instead of posting as a guest, if you would prefer. p:)
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Post by .chamomile. on Jul 28, 2014 17:35:24 GMT -5
Veronica listened to Orrick speak, his voice was lulling and deep, much like a narrator for a children's book. It was hard for her to process everything he was saying, probably because he was saying a lot and the wind would sometimes carry his voice away. If this were a different situation, where her identity wasn't in danger, Veronica would have paid more attention to how handsome Orrick was and how he acted with a gentlemen like ease; her impression of him was that of a university professor who had been studying the natural sciences for years before her parents had even been alive. "I am here for my brother," she said when he mentioned the dig site, "he said there are dangerous men there; my brother wants me to be safe." It seemed like a viable excuse for being camped so far out. She had dug herself into a bit of a hole already, if Orrick asked for his name she could be in trouble. Then again, she didn't know if Orrick knew everyone on the Egyptian archaeological team, though it was safe to assume that he did.
She gave a small smile at his compliment, grateful for it both as Rania and Veronica. She had picked the pattern herself. It was a blue and white fish scale pattern, which she had thought complimented her nicely. Veronica noticed him wink and ignored it, pretending like she had never seen it. She had been smart enough to read up on Muslim and Egyptian traditions before she came here, though she was bound to forget the finer details of their culture. Veronica listened some more as he tried to figure out why she was out here, shaking her head at them. "No, I am here for my brother. He said to come visit, so I can see what they find," Veronica explained.
Her heart pounded in her chest as Orrick pushed her inside the tent, she hadn't been expecting that. She knew that flirting with men was not something accepted in the Muslim culture, and touching was most likely prohibited too. Veronica chose to stand at the entrance of her tent, unsure of what to do. It was definitely not a good idea to go lay down or sit on the bed, or sit on the floor either. In a sense, she was trapped. Orrick was going to find her out, and quickly too. Her disguise was falling apart thread by thread. Orrick was an educated man, and he was not one to be fooled by her. She could tell that he was trying to get her to reveal her true identity, and he wasn't making it easy on her. Clearly, Orrick had been to Egypt before and knew a lot about the Muslim culture and ways. And so, trapped in her cage, Veronica stood there, casting her gaze away from Orrick.
"I can not come with you," she said, "my brother said there are dangerous Western men there who are willing to kill." That rumor was mostly true, though it was the Egypt team that was more likely plotting murder than Orricks team. Either way, it was a good enough exaggeration of a simple rumor to make it seem like she really did have a family member on the Egypt team. This was not a good idea, Veronica thought, I shouldn't have put up this whole disguise. Now I'll have to stick with it until my investigation is over. And if he gets me to take this Hijab off, I'm screwed. I'm pretty sure Muslim women don't dye their hair, and don't they usually have dark colored hair too? She sighed mentally in frustration. Her natural hair color could be easily explained by genetics, somehow. But the bright red tips? Maybe not.
{ I'll go do that, thanks for letting me know ^^ }
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Post by Micki. on Jul 29, 2014 3:26:00 GMT -5
Orrick smiled lightly and watched her closely before speaking, "I can assure you, no one on my team has want to kill you, or anyone else. We find things and people long dead, but not one of us would ever dream of murder. My men would treat you just as kindly as your family, possibly more so considering your brother has made you camp so far away where so much could go wrong." The smile played on his lips was genuine, as he was quickly growing fond of the woman, even if he suspected that she may not be who she claimed. "Which one of the Egyptian men is your brother? I haven't heard any of them talk about having sisters, only the occasional conversation about brothers, though it could be that I just haven't talked to them much.. Ah, well, anyways," he studied her again as he waited on a reply. He crinkled his nose slightly, the goggles making it itch, and for the first time Orrick realized that he hadn't completely uncovered his face, nor had he taken off his goggles. Orrick laughed softly, almost inaudibly at this realization as he reached his hand up to take the goggles off.
The plumerian reached behind himself and placed the goggles on the desk and felt a small journal sitting there. He thought about stealing it, as he surely could without her notice, but decided against it for a reason that he couldn't explain. Orrick then unwrapped the scarf, for the first time revealing all of his face to this other plumerian. "Well, it's a bit more nippy than I'd expected," he commented, a bit surprised by how cold it was tonight, "Normally it's not quite as cold," he continued, cocking his head curiously to the side. Suddenly another realization hit him, "Raina, you must be cold. That hijab doesn't look like it's made of very warm materials, as pretty as they are. Here," Orrick got up and walked towards her, hand outstretched, "Take my scarf, I insist. I can't let-"
"Raina, don't move an inch," he warned, his voice low and full of urgency. A rather large sidewinding snake had found it's way into the tent and was sitting at the entrance beside the woman, posed to strike. Slowly, Orrick crept to the side of the venomous snake. In one quick, fluid motion, he grabbed the snake behind it's head and held it tightly as it squirmed. "Raina, if you would be so kind as to hand me my goggles and help me wrap this scarf around my face, I would be very grateful," Orrick sounded very calm and patient and he spoke as he directed the head of the snake away from both of them. The snake spat venom angrily, but the venom only fell onto the ground, rendering it quite useless.
(No problem! I would have told you sooner, but I hadn't realized that you'd been posting as a guest, silly me. c'x)
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Post by chamomile on Jul 29, 2014 21:04:28 GMT -5
{ sorry for taking so long to reply, I've been feeling a little sick today ^^ }
Veronica shook her head, feigning an expression of guilt on her face. "I cannot name him,"she said, shaking her head. It was safer to say nothing at all about her 'brother' than to come up with some fake story about their family. "He does small work, writing down what they find,"she explained, hoping that the explanation was both accurate and believable. She wasn't afraid of Orrick, or his men. Truthfully, she was worried about the Egyptian team for a couple of reasons. Veronica would be intruding on their dignity, even if she was pretending to be a local, and she was looking for something, and they seemed like dangerous men. The government would probably be more lax with them, considering that they had provided some funding for this project. The Egyptian team could probably get away with almost anything, except murder; or anything that would ruin diplomatic relationships with other countries.
Veronica studied Orrick's face intently, for purely detective like purposes. She studied his bone structure, the markings the way the corners of his mouth raised when he smiled, the curiosity in his eyes. Veronica stored his face in her head, reminding herself to sketch it out later and write down any information she had gleaned from him. She had a separate notebook for this, which she kept in her personal bag. She had barely noticed that he was walking towards her, and she took an automatic step back, not noticing the snake. Veronica, though she dealt with many men in her job, wasn't used to this kind of thing. She hadn't really had any relationships beyond simple partnerships, and she wasn't used to being approached like this, genuinely. Every man who came near her was either a waiter, or wanted to injure her.
She almost jumped in surprise when Orrick pointed out the snake, which was dangerously close to her. Her initial instinct was to grab the knife strapped onto her waist, hidden by her skirt, and kill it. Somehow, she managed to keep that impulse in check and let Orrick handle the situation. She didn't make eye contact with him as she moved away to pick up his goggles and scarf. She placed the items in his free hand, wondering just what he was planning to do. Self consciously, she adjusted her Hijab, drawing it to cover her face more, "thank you,"she said, staring at the snake in his hands, "I didn't see that." |
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Post by Micki. on Jul 31, 2014 21:46:25 GMT -5
(It's fine; it always takes me forever to reply. c'x)
Orrick smiled again at the woman's thanks, as she seemed to be the type that didn't easily offer her gratitude. He wrapped the scarf around his face with one hand easily, and put the goggles on with a tad more difficulty. He looked at the snake curiously as it wriggled in his hand, "It's rather cute, if you ask me. I wouldn't like to be taken unawares by one, but still they're quite adorable. I bet their skulls would be fascinating, as well.. those spikes on the back of their head would be interesting to look at.. I wonder if they're like an elephant's tusks- removable from the skull, or if they're actually part of the skull.. Hmm, I might have to look into that sooner or later." He had begun actually speaking to her, but soon trailed off into his own thought, almost completely forgetting she was even there. "Ahh, my apologies for rambling, Miss Raina- it is Miss, correct?" the tall plumerian raised and eyebrow curiously at his own inquisition, very interested in her answer. 'Miss. Definitely Miss- she's a bit too retaliatory to have a husband. I doubt there are many men around here that would put up with that sort of behavior in a woman, at least a native man,' Orrick thought, his smile breaking out into a full out grin underneath his scarf. She likely wouldn't be able to tell he was grinning, but he quickly forced himself not to, just in case.
He shook his head to the side once, bringing himself back to the task at hand. "Close your eyes, and don't open them again until I say," he instructed; his voice was gentle, yet it allowed for no arguing or dilly dallying. Clearly, Orrick was a leader, not a follower. Maybe that was why he was growing fond of the woman? Whether she was really Muslim or not, she was acting the part, which involved following and not leading. He had a sneaking suspicion that she was more of a leader than she was letting on, though, so maybe he was simply fond of her because he was fond of her? 'Whenever a man can deny a pretty face, the world will surely be coming to end,' the thought surely wasn't about this woman. 'No, surely not. I can't even see her face properly,' the plumerian rationalized, taking the zipper of the tent in his free hand. Orrick glanced over at the woman to make sure that she had her eyes closed before unzipping the tent a little ways, and throwing the deadly viper out into the sandstorm. Quickly, he zipped the tent back up, and took his goggles off once more. "There, problem solved. You can open your eyes again," he cooed softly, stepping towards her, "but I suggest waiting a few moments." Orrick reached his hand out in front of himself, and wiped the sand from around her eyes.
"Please excuse my actions. I know it's against tradition for any man aside from a husband to touch a woman, but I wouldn't want sand to get into your eyes," he started to back up as he spoke, but then stopped. Orrick unwrapped the scarf from his face and handed it to her, "You'll have to excuse the improper manner of my offer, but please take my scarf. It's getting quite cold out, and your hijab isn't very warm, I'm sure." He looked apologetic for both offering her the scarf and touching her, as he was taking precautions just in case this woman was Muslim, as she claimed. The tall plumerian backed up a considerable amount, trying not to intrude any more, so as not to offend her if she were truly Muslim. "And again, I must offer my apologies, but I insist you tell me your brother's name and that you come back to camp with me after the storm has passed," a soft smile played on his lips. It was quite obvious that he was attempting not only to stay away from offending her, but also that he was somewhat concerned about her well-being.
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Post by chamomile on Aug 3, 2014 11:56:47 GMT -5
Veronica listened as Orrick rambled on about the snake and its skull, paying almost no attention to it. It wasn't that she wasn't interested in what he had to say, which she was, but Veronica was wrapped up in her own thoughts at the moment. She was stuck here, in a failing disguise of a Muslim woman, with no where to turn. Orrick wanted to know the name of her 'brother' and return with him to camp; things that she didn't want to do. However, she couldn't just kick him out. That was probably uncharacteristic of Muslim women, and that would probably result in her revealing her true identity. She was already tangled up in her web of lies with no way out except the cold truth. Veronica was tired of pretending to be submissive and shy, it was totally against her nature. She was always the one to get whatever she wanted out of people whenever she needed it, and now the situation had flipped on her and she had no idea what to do. You got yourself into this mess, she reminded herself, you could have just told him who you were from the beginning. But who knows what Orrick would have done then? As kind and gentleman like as he seemed, Veronica was sure that he could easily injure her or scare her away from the dig site.
Veronica did as he said, wondering what the point of closing her eyes was. Its not like she was afraid of the snake, nor of seeing his face. Are Muslim women supposed to be afraid of snakes? She wondered as he tossed the creature outside. God, this sucks, she thought. Veronica hated being part of a group, or being a follower of any kind. She never agreed with anyones decisions, and was much better off working by herself. Having to take orders from Orrick and follow them was annoying her to no end. And to have him treating her like that, like a little girl who didn't know any better, made her want to scream. She began to open her eyes slowly, realizing that some sand had gotten in the tent. Oh, she thought, he was just trying to protect my eyes from the sand. Veronica was about to reach up herself and wipe away the dust, but Orrick had already done it for her. She was tempted to smack his hand away but instead settled for stumbling backwards and glaring at him with weary eyes.
A small grin formed on her face before quickly disappearing. She warned herself to not give her identity away. The situation had solved itself, she now had a legitimate reason to ask Orrick to leave. And, she didn't have to tell him any more valuable information. Veronica pretended to flinch at the thought of his words, "I must ask you to leave," she said, her voice shaking slightly, "please get out," she said gesturing to the exit. Veronica didn't take his scarf, and decided that staring at the ground and not looking him in the eye was the best course of action. But after that, what would she do? She was confident that most Muslim women would pray for forgiveness, but she didn't know any prayers. The wind outside would cover up any words she might say in here, so perhaps she could get away with it. Veronica desperately wanted to kick him out herself, but asking was the only method she felt safe with. Hopefully Orrick would realize that he had offended her greatly and would leave without asking any more questions.
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Post by Micki. on Aug 15, 2014 5:06:14 GMT -5
(Sorry this took sooo long to reply. Lots of things going on right now.)
Orrick sighed before sitting back down in the chair at her desk, once again with the back of it between his legs. He smiled and closed his eyes, nodding slightly. "You see, I would certainly leave if you were a true Muslim woman," the smile still played on his features as he opened his eyes to look at her. "I'm afraid you haven't answered any of my questions. Forgive me, Raina," he began, raising an eye brow as he said her 'name', "but I won't leave until you give me answers. If you are who you say you are, then I am deeply sorry for my actions. However, if you are who you say you are then you can easily confirm your identity. Tell me the name of your brother and recite a Muslim prayer for me, if you will. My Arabic might not be perfect, but I'm sure I'll be able to manage to comprehend, especially since I'm rather familiar with most of the Quran."
Clearly, he had known she wasn't who she said since the beginning and had simply accepted the lie to make things easier. "Or, if you'd prefer, we could simply start with your real name and purpose. You don't look like a Raina to me, nor a native woman," Orrick shook his head, his smile now dimmed to a slight smirk. He looked slightly apologetic as he spoke again, "By the way, in case you're still thinking about trying to pass for an honest native woman, your dialect is slightly off for this region. You should have agreed with me when I suggested you were a runaway bride, at least then the dialect could be forgiven, and I might not have been as suspicious."
"Next time you lie about who you are you should be more familiar with the culture of your alias, and you should research who you're dealing with. If you had, you could have easily found that I've been to this particular region on multiple archaeological digs, which would have warned you not to attempt lying to me about being a native. Also, always have one on hand so you don't have to make one up on the spot. It'll make you less likely to have your cover crumble," the plumerian shrugged slightly after he spoke. Clearly, he wasn't going to leave without answers, nor without her.
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Post by chamomile on Aug 17, 2014 23:48:29 GMT -5
{ oh it's fine, I've been busy too ^^ }
Veronica let out a sigh, crossing her arms in exasperation. Damn me for being lazy, she scolded herself. It's all because of him, I was going to study later tonight and tomorrow, but know, he shows up an sees right through me! She was a little annoyed at Orrick, and a lot annoyed at herself. He was right, it was her fault and her laziness that had gotten her into this situation. Veronica desperately tried to make excuses for herself: she had only gotten here today, she was tired from her last job, she didn't know Arabic well. There was no hiding the fact that she was completely unprepared for this. Veronica took off the hijab and let her hair down, twirling the scarf around in her hand.
"I wouldn't have to make one up if it weren't for you, and my boss," she mumbled, clearly irritated. Now all that was left was to decide which lie to use. Veronica would rather get stung by a scorpion than let this man break her down again. And besides, now that he knew she wasn't from here, she could easily lie about America. She had lived in enough places there to be anyone from anywhere, except of course, Egypt. I swear to all things beautiful that I'll read the damn Quran after this, she vowed, having a sudden urge to surpass Orrick in all his knowledge though she knew it wasn't possible.
"Alright, fine," she said after a long moment of thinking, "I'm not a Muslim woman, that much is obvious. I'm an American freelance journalist, here to study about this archaeological site. I've heard some rumors going around about your team and the Egyptian one fighting, and over what is what I'm trying to find out. Oh, and I heard there's some sort of relic or treasure buried around that area too, so I'm trying to find out about that too." Veronica felt satisfied with that. It was pretty much true, and it would be easy to fake being a journalist. She had plenty of notebooks, information, and a nice camera to prove it. "My name is Lauren Wickham, I was born in Montana but raised in Los Angeles for most of my teenage life. I've been a freelance journalist for a few years now, and I went to UCLA. That enough for you?" Veronica stared at Orrick, her gaze defiant. For a moment, she thought he looked handsome sitting there with the soft lamplight illuminating his body; but she immediately shook the thought away. No matter what he said or did, Veronica knew that he was a dangerous man and to lie to him again was probably not a good idea.
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