Post by Opal on Oct 29, 2012 15:49:39 GMT -5
Back story between Opal and Curtis, set 3 years behind current timeline.
She couldn’t believe the silence, it was the kind that only the cold and fresh fallen snow could bring, it always took her by surprise. Sure you could find deep silence down in the tunnels but it didn’t seem so pristine, so still, so... peaceful. Gazing around the wreckage of a once great city, blanketed in white, she closed her eyes and tried to remember what it had looked like when she had seen it bustling with life, but she couldn’t. All she could see was the rust, snow, and death. With a small sigh she moved on at a hurried pace with her eyes darting from shadow to shadow knowing that at any time any of them could prove to be deadly.
So far they had seen nothing and heard even less since they emerged onto the surface. And when she meant ‘they’ she was referring to herself and him, Curtis. Her lip curled slightly in distaste as she thought about it. Pulling her heavy coat tighter around her as she shivered, Opal muttered to herself as the scene flashed in annoying clarity through her mind.
“I’m glad you decided to take this on Ms. Demidov. I know it is an unusual request from an old man but it is worth it.” The old man was weathered and wrinkled in times attempt to mask the strong features of his face and his once powerful build that had long gone to seed. He sat in his chair as if it was a throne and he the king awaiting his courtiers. The mental image made Opal smile. “Of course,” the old man added, “I can’t have you going out on your own so I’ve hired another.”
“There is no need…” Opal began but was cut off with a sharp hand gesture as he motioned for the door behind her to open. At the sounds of footsteps she hastily replaced her glasses and stood to greet her new partner. “You have got to be kidding me!” She cursed immediately under her breath; her body went rigid in contempt as the man stepped closer and her brow as furrowed in a glare that her glasses didn’t do much to hide.
“Ms.Demidov this is Curtis Zapp. Mr. Zapp this is Nadezhda Demidov. You two will be working this contract together.” Instead of rising a hand to shake his hand she whirled back around in a flurry of colorful scarves and bent over with her palms on the man’s desk, the fabric of her jeans creaked slightly as she bent over.
“But he’s just a kid! If this is as dangerous as you say it is I won’t have the time to babysit! I need someone with more experience, not some boy just out of diaper training.” She threw him an appraising glance over her shoulder. Admittedly he looked solid enough and held himself well but this was the surface they were going too, not a playground scuffle. Looking him up and down she cocked her head slightly to the side, he was handsome she supposed in a roguish kind of way, and actively avoided looking at his piercing blue eyes, the kind a woman could drown in. You didn't see eyes like those everyday in the Arbat stations.
The old man merely smiled and rested his chin on his steepled fingers. “I’m sure the young man can speak for himself.”
She couldn’t believe the silence, it was the kind that only the cold and fresh fallen snow could bring, it always took her by surprise. Sure you could find deep silence down in the tunnels but it didn’t seem so pristine, so still, so... peaceful. Gazing around the wreckage of a once great city, blanketed in white, she closed her eyes and tried to remember what it had looked like when she had seen it bustling with life, but she couldn’t. All she could see was the rust, snow, and death. With a small sigh she moved on at a hurried pace with her eyes darting from shadow to shadow knowing that at any time any of them could prove to be deadly.
So far they had seen nothing and heard even less since they emerged onto the surface. And when she meant ‘they’ she was referring to herself and him, Curtis. Her lip curled slightly in distaste as she thought about it. Pulling her heavy coat tighter around her as she shivered, Opal muttered to herself as the scene flashed in annoying clarity through her mind.
~*~
“I’m glad you decided to take this on Ms. Demidov. I know it is an unusual request from an old man but it is worth it.” The old man was weathered and wrinkled in times attempt to mask the strong features of his face and his once powerful build that had long gone to seed. He sat in his chair as if it was a throne and he the king awaiting his courtiers. The mental image made Opal smile. “Of course,” the old man added, “I can’t have you going out on your own so I’ve hired another.”
“There is no need…” Opal began but was cut off with a sharp hand gesture as he motioned for the door behind her to open. At the sounds of footsteps she hastily replaced her glasses and stood to greet her new partner. “You have got to be kidding me!” She cursed immediately under her breath; her body went rigid in contempt as the man stepped closer and her brow as furrowed in a glare that her glasses didn’t do much to hide.
“Ms.Demidov this is Curtis Zapp. Mr. Zapp this is Nadezhda Demidov. You two will be working this contract together.” Instead of rising a hand to shake his hand she whirled back around in a flurry of colorful scarves and bent over with her palms on the man’s desk, the fabric of her jeans creaked slightly as she bent over.
“But he’s just a kid! If this is as dangerous as you say it is I won’t have the time to babysit! I need someone with more experience, not some boy just out of diaper training.” She threw him an appraising glance over her shoulder. Admittedly he looked solid enough and held himself well but this was the surface they were going too, not a playground scuffle. Looking him up and down she cocked her head slightly to the side, he was handsome she supposed in a roguish kind of way, and actively avoided looking at his piercing blue eyes, the kind a woman could drown in. You didn't see eyes like those everyday in the Arbat stations.
The old man merely smiled and rested his chin on his steepled fingers. “I’m sure the young man can speak for himself.”