That Idiot (Jacob)

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] It was a disaster. He had no idea who set them off but the panic was causing more issues for Lance than he had been prepared for. It was going to set everything back. Sure, it would help with his goals towards Felis but rumour was, it was causing other nobles to step up from out of the shadows. That’s was far from what Lance wanted. He needed them to cower and hide in fear. The damage could be fixed, it was just… Oh, Lance had such a headache. His beloved west was being eyed by the nobles. It was perfect the way it was. Powerless. If a new Duke or Duchess was appointed then there was a chance his factory would be investigated. That was the last thing he needed. “That fool better not be a part of this,” the blond haired man hissed to himself as he watched the rain hit the window beside him. It was a gloomy day out. The sky was blanketed in black clouds and though the rain was light, it managed to soak everything. With no sun to light, the small empty tavern had only candles to light it up. It caused a rather dull glow in the room while the lingering dust and smoke from years of abuse drifted about. Lance was sitting in the corner of the room, his elbow against the frame of the window while his chin rested in the palm of his hand. He had chosen this spot because it was far enough away that the Bar tender, the only other being in the room, wouldn’t be able to hear him talk. That was, if that idiot would ever show up. Alright, it was true, Lance had demanded Jacob meet him here at six o’clock and wasn’t even quarter to yet. However, Lance had shown over an hour early and he was in a bitter mood. Again. The drink on the small wooden table in front of him hadn’t even been touched yet. So it appeared. Lance had already managed to drink two glass’s of the aged rum while waiting. It was unavoidable. He simply couldn’t help but drink when depressed, angered or just plain upset. The only substitutes for his drinking seemed to be smocking or tea. His pokemon didn’t like it when he smocked and only drank tea when someone else made it. Not just anyone could make it either! There were a lot of fools out there who had no idea what they were doing. As for attire? Well, Lance was actually dressed rather well that night. His hair was tied in a low ponytail rather than the usual high ponytail. His suit was that of a dark purple with black trims and white undershirt. That of course was complemented with black gloves and boots. The gloves were sitting on the table next to his drink. Though the tavern it’s self looked old, the place was rather warm and cosy. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[DJ Boomkitty]

J A C O B



---

Rain. It was raining. It was dark, miserable, and raining. What did Jacob Stone do on such foul eves? Generally lounge in his comfy abode with the fireplace ablaze, and delve into one of his many, many books that he refuses to part with, a glass of wine on the side table to subtly sip at as he waits for a hooker to knock at the front door. Ah yes, that is precisely what the game plan would be. Should be. Should have been.

...What the Hell did he want, anyway?

Jacob sighed, smoke pouring from his nostrils as he exhaled, the flavor of the cigar leaving him. He reached up to flex his hat downwards in a futile attempt to stop the rain from reaching his eyes, muttering a sling of curses under his breath. The summons had been brief, laced with colorful language, and just... irritating. One part of him was tempted not to come, but the other already had a feeling as to what this was all about. That damn bombing. That damn, oh-so convenient bombing. A smirk came to his face just thinking about it.

The smirk quickly fell, however, as he entered the tavern, brown eyes gazing about coldly as he took off his hat, shaking the water from its frame. It didn't take long to find him, and Jacob started forward, completely ignoring the waiter that had approached him. He came up to the table with a glare, shaking his hat towards Lance once to (hopefully) sprinkle him with water, before taking a seat opposite him. As the waiter approached again, he simply raised a hand and stated "Bourban.", to which the man scurried off to fulfill the order.

A moment of silence.

"This had better be good." He finally growled, leaning back in his seat. His attire was also extravagant, a black suit with gold trimming and frilly cuffs. He slid his white gloves off and set them on the table, scowling fiercely. What a rotten night.

---

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] There it was. The undeniable creaking of the door the followed by harder tapings of the rain outside and the thumps of footsteps. “About time” were the very first words that slipped past Lance’s lips. Of course, the words themselves were muttered and Jacob was too far away to hear them. While uttering the words, Lance had sat himself up, straightening his back against the hard wooden chair. His endless blue eyes slowly raised up to the tall red headed man only to be closed tightly moments after. A small, “Ugh,” like complaint followed the closing of his eyes as water from Jacob’s hate speckled his face. It was purely disgusting in more than one way. On most day’s Lance would have grumbled some sort of insult comparing Jacob to wet mutt but today he held his tongue. Instead he dug into his pocket and pulled out a small white handkerchief, using it to dab the water off his face. That moment of silence passed, broken by the man Lance both hated and admired. “The nobles are taking over the west,” Lance announced, folding his arms across his chest. He wasn’t about to waste his time with ideal chit chat and instead got straight to the point. “It’s only a matter of time before a new Duke is appointed. This would have never happened if it weren’t for the bombings.” Lance growled before his voice dropped to an almost threatening tone, “It better have not been you. I do not take kindly to those who go behind my back. And by gods, I best not have to explain to ‘why‘ this is an issue.” Lance would have his work cut out for him. He could keep any noble attempting to take the west from getting it for a while but how long would it last? Lance was certain he couldn’t hold it back forever. It would happen and it would have to be dealt with quickly when it did. Of course, Jacob would probably enjoy such news. If he didn’t cause the bombing he certainly would get his chance to add to it. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[DJ Boomkitty]

J A C O B



---

So his suspicions had been correct after all. As he heard Lance out, brown eyes remained cold, while his mind was very much alive. Well this was... unexpected. The Nobles wanted the west now? Why? They hadn't bothered with it for the longest time, the Duchess Marcella being conveniently dormant... Jacob snorted. Maybe she was dead. That was always a pleasant thought. Regardless.

As the accusation came forth, emotionless eyes suddenly lit up, flaring in aggravation. "What would I gain from causing a spectacle like that?" He spat, pausing for a moment to glance to the right, hearing footsteps behind them. The waiter had returned with his drink, to which Jacob snatched and took a large swig of, waving the man off. Once he was out of earshot, Jacob continued onwards. "I had nothing to do with it, you idiot. If anything, its either a third party or an independent chain of the rebels." He paused for a moment, before sneering. "Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if any of the other higher-ups went ahead and did something without telling us. Lord knows they haven't done that before." He grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Jacob shook his head, swirling his cup before sipping from it again. "Don't you worry your pretty little head, however. If anyone tries stepping up, I'll simply... knock them down." He chuckled then, drumming his fingers on the table. "My hands are already painted red from the other day... it is a rather fetching color." Another chuckle, this one much darker, as he reflected on events prior. He couldn't believe how easy it had been just to... get rid of her. It was such a liberty.

---

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] It was clear by the look and posture of Lance that Jacob’s first claim of innocents was far from believed. A raised eyebrow, the stern frown and the slight tapping of his finger on his folded arm. However, as Jacob continued Lance’s disbelieving glare dwindled and finally shattered with a sigh that escaped his throat. Jacob hadn’t done it. That was both a relief yet just as frustrating as before. Yet all he could do was lean against the chair and raise a hand to temple as he listened to Jacob. “I’m surprised,” Lance finally replied rather broadly, “I was under the impression your hands were always painted red, Jacob.” He long dropped the use of the man’s family name. “What’d you do? Murder some whore because they cost more than your allowance?” as enjoyable as insulting Jacob Stone was, Lance still had other matters to press. “I’ll give you the names of any foolish noble that sticks his neck out too far. The last thing we need is someone attempting to investigate the factory. Which leaves us with the second reason I called you here.” Yet another moment of silence as Lance finally sat up again, this time leaning in so he could stare Jacob straight in the eyes. “Your son. Why is he giving my brother the goggly eyes and how much does he know about me? I do not need some colourful fruit buttering up Felis.” Oh how saying those words were even more enjoyable than his first insult towards Jacob. Yet this was no time to gloat. Lance desperately needed to know if he was in danger of being ratted out or not. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[DJ Boomkitty]

J A C O B



---

He couldn't help but laugh at Lance's guess, finding it just so... funny. "You could say that." He mused, lips twisting into a sinister smile. Even as Lance continued on, the grin remained, Jacob nodding in agreement; that was a sound plan. Once he received a name, any name, of anyone that thought themselves worthy enough of taking the western seat... haa. They'd be dead before they even got a chance to sit in it.

Yet, it seemed that would not be all. A brow rose curiously as Lance stated as such, wondering just what on Earth he could want now. He remained calm, even taking a casual swig from his glass, but nearly spewed it forth at the mention of his son. With a grimace, he swallowed his whiskey, meeting Lance's eyes with his own, something broiling within them that threatened to burst... but suddenly dissolved into nothingness, just as it had come.

He didn't reply right away, instead flagging down the waiter for a refill of his beverage. As it was poured, he linked his hand together on the table, thinking. Xavier... what an annoying, useless brat he had become. As the waiter left, he found the voice for his opinion. "That boy is no son of mine." He growled, face hardening. "I thought he would amount into something... anything... but instead chose the path of the fabulous, flaming Flareon." His nose wrinkled at the thought, disgusted, but was soon overtaken by a strangely smug smirk. "I don't know his thoughts or ties with you, or your brother... if anything, you sound pretty jealous." A snort. "Regardless. Don't worry about him either. I intend to end him, just as I did his mother... the whore that cost me my allowance. So to speak." And there it was, the confession of his crime, which only served to sprawl his smirk wider.

---

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] A roll of the eyes. Yes, that was often the reaction Lance gave when part of an insult was true yet still insulting. He was jealous, a bit. He certainly didn’t like his brother giving some random man more attention than himself. Not to mention that his brother had made yet another friend so easily. Why did Felis always get all the attention? He was the Duke now. Shouldn’t he be friendless and locked up with work to do like he had always been as a kid? It wasn’t fair in even the slightest. Regardless, Lance was not going to admit it and instead he let out a small, “Ha ha,” in a strong sarcastic tone. He then continued to listen a small smirk playing on his lips as Jacob confessed to killing his ex-wife. “Put your knickers in a real twist when she left yah, hum?” Lance snorted before shaking his head, “I could care less if your son is simply there on his own accounts. What I do care about is how much he knows about the events that took place almost three years ago. He was there, wasn’t he? The burning of the castle. I don’t need my cover broken because your fabulous, flaming Flareon has the hots for my brother.” With that said, Lance finally lifted his glass of the table and swigged it down before replacing it onto the table. “It shouldn’t surprise me though,” He just couldn’t hold it back, “Like father like son as they say. Regardless, if he knows anything then I expect you wont wait for the next bombing to get rid of him. Otherwise I will take the issue into my own hands.” Something he didn’t want to do. It was too close to home. To Felis. It was true that he had gift at finding the most ruthless killer’s in Era but even they had a chance of failing. It would do him no good to have Felis catching anyone that Lance had hired. He had been expecting a reply almost instantly from Jacob but before he could listen to the man’s response the waiter had returned once more. It seemed the man knew Lance a bit too well for had replaced the glass of rum with a new one and left almost instantly. Problem was, Lance wasn’t ready to have himself plastered. At least, not yet. With the three glasses of the hard liquor already in his system he knew the forth would begin to impair his judgement. Something he didn’t want to happen in front of Jacob. It was hard enough getting the upper hand on the man. Alright, so it was true, Lance had never actually been able to but he still tried. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[DJ Boomkitty]

J A C O B



---

He normally wouldn't rebut to such a remark involving 'knickers', but... clarification was needed. "Actually, I'm the one that ditched her. She was just so... irritating." His brow twitched subtly, recalling the woman with a wrinkle of his nose. "She nagged too much. 'Where have you been?', 'How are you?', 'When are you coming home next?', ugh. She was too nosy. I'm sure you know how that is." He sighed, ending that conversation with a long swig of his drink, setting the cup down harder than he meant to.

As for his son... he almost smiled at the mention of the Forest Castle fire. He wished he could have been there, but... those were busy times; he had been elsewhere. "Yes, he was there. He was a part of the Rebellion, actually. But if what you say is true, and hes fancying... him, of all people..." He shuddered at the thought. "Then he must have abandoned the cause. Its a shame, really, but... he's only become another thing to worry about." He finished, ignoring the under-handed comment Lance made to question Jacob's sexuality. He was used to that, honestly, coming from this man. They were always at each other's throats in one way or another.

However, he broke his silence when Lance boldly stated how he would take matters into his own hands, laughing briefly before fixing the blond with a bemused look. "I'd almost pay to see that." He hummed, before chuckling once more, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. "How would you do it? What sort of tactic does the oh-so refined Lance Rossi use to murder someone?" He whispered, sneering. "I prefer strangling myself. But if that fails, a pistol works wonders." He stated darkly, an odd glint in his eye, as if this were a hobby...

---

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] [/scrolly]Heh, Lance did oddly understand how Jacob felt. His father was always questioning him the same way. Well, dropping the “When are you coming home next” and replacing it with questions on his studying. It had been more irritating than words could describe. But it was over now. Lance no longer had to worry about it just as Jacob didn’t have to worry about his wife any longer. “Well, she can nag along side my father in hell now.” Lance had muttered, just barely loud enough for Jacob to hear. He didn’t even look at the older man while saying it. And thus Lance’s accusations were right. Xavier was the red headed man he had seen that night. Which only left how much Xavier actually knew about that night. It almost caused a sickening feeling to fall into the pit of Lance’s stomach. He could ruin everything. But why hadn’t he? It was true, Xavier had become another thing to worry about. “I need to know how much he knew! Does he know which side I was on? If he tells my brother anything about that night involving me we might as well say goodbye to our plains.” Oh hell he didn’t want to be forced into hiding nor did he want a one way ticket out of Era. Of course, of all the things Jacob could pick apart, it had to be that. Lance almost regretted his choice of words. ‘His own hands’ … he should have… well it was too late now. All Lance could do was look away with a bit of reddish embarrassment touching his cheeks. “I managed to kill half my family,” he grumbled, refusing to look Jacob in the eyes. Ha! His family… he knew that would be nothing more than a joke to Jacob. Lance may have started the fire but beyond that it was out of his hands. The rebels did the rest of the work while Lance ran off like a coward. “I can figure something out.” [bg=black]

[DJ Boomkitty]

J A C O B



---

As Lance demanded to know exactly how much Xavier knew about his involvement with the Rebellion, Jacob resisted the urge to openly sigh. He had just gotten off the subject of Casey's nagging, and now he sounded just like her. Setting his chin in his hand, elbow propped on the table, he took on an uninterested and somewhat lazy visage. "I don't know what he knows about you, but he still hasn't a clue that I play a part in all this." He answered dryly, fiddling with his cup. "He is pretty stupid... never went to a proper school or college. So I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't a clue with you either." He finished, shaking his head disappointingly. Really, how could his only offspring go so... bad...

At mention of Lance's family, a red brow rose, a smirk tugging at his lips. "So you'd set him on fire? That's pretty brutal." He paused then, thinking, before snorting. "I like it. The flames would match his hair color..." He chortled at his own stupid joke, before falling silent once more. "I'll take care of him. It will be easy enough... invite him for dinner to discuss something trivial, poison his drink. Dead."

But... "Although... I could just shackle him into that factory of yours to do slave labor all day. Maybe make up for his uselessness thus far." Jacob hummed, smiling slightly. He actually liked that idea. After another long swig, he looked over at Lance fully. "Speaking of which, its going along rather nicely, all things considered. It should be fully operational within the next few months." He grinned then, taking pride on his accomplishment. To build a factory took immense time, patience, and cheap labor, to which Jacob had exceeded his time frames. He was ahead of schedule... as always, of course.

---

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] Lance found himself letting out a small sigh as his eyes closed and mind relaxed. If Xavier was as stupid as Jacob was claiming then perhaps he was safe. Lance had been sold on the comment of Xavier being oblivious to the fact that Jacob was part of it all. It only added to ease his mind to know that Xavier didn’t even have proper schooling. It was a lucky thing Xavier at least had good looks on his side. Poor guy would be in a ditch by now if he hadn’t. At least, Lance fully believed that. Of course he couldn’t ignore it. He saw the eyebrow raise from the corner of his eye and he knew there was a smirk on the mans face. Yet he did his best not to look at the man. A failed attempt. The snort that came out of Jacob caused Lance to face the man once again, though the look on his face was far from amused. At least, for a moment. His own lips found themselves curving up at the mention of poison. “Poison also sounds more like me. Don’t want to stain your hands again?” Alright, so he was teasing himself as well, but it was true. Lance didn’t like getting his hands dirty and poison would be a perfect way. Jacob was more one to make them suffer, wasn’t he? A slave working in his factory? Oh, that was an idea Lance enjoyed. Free labour was something he always dreamed about. Though with the economy as it was now, Lance knew he would be paying his workers so little they might as well be working for free. It was amazing what the poor would do for a scrap of money. Lance was actually going to comment on it, perhaps suggesting tossing Xavier onto one of the boats but his mind was distracted from that thought. His new baby was almost complete but... “Next few months?” he whined a little, his hands cupping his glass on the table, “It feels like you’ve been building that thing ages now.” All because the land ha a slop. Or at least that’s what Lance concluded from pervious chats with Jacob. “Does it at least have walls now?” He asked before lifting his drink to his lips and sipping down about half the glass. He really shouldn’t have been drinking it at all. But that wasn’t in his mind at the time being. No, Lance was actually rather interested in the progress of his factory. As it was, Lance hadn’t actually been over to see the progress of the building. Mostly because all he did was nitpick and piss off the workers. Finally it had come to the conclusion that it was better off if he left Jacob in charge of the builders. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[DJ Boomkitty]

J A C O B



---

A frown overtook Jacob's sneer at the complaint, tapping his finger against the table impatiently. "Of course it has walls! The building itself is up and stabilized." He began, pausing for a swig of his drink. "That was the easy part, besides the leveling. Right now we're working on the inside furnishings... you know, electrical work, plumbing, flooring... all those finer details that have to be taken care of before any actual machinery moves in. You don't want to rush it and have an electrical fire, now do you?" He spat, shaking his head. The naivety of this man when it came to building and smithing... ugh. Typical businessman.

He fell into a brief silence again, his mind working at the idea of stuffing Xavier into the factory. The more he thought about it, the more he... liked it. "Its settled; Xavier shall be a worker." He suddenly declared, a wicked grin sprawling across his face. "He has to come back to me soon enough after he comes to terms with his mother being dead. But if he shows up at your door first..." He paused then, snorting. "Tell him his anxious and concerned father is looking for him."

[/color]

---

[/blockquote]

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] Lance out a rather hefty sigh and gave a slight roll of the eyes as he listened to Jacob’s small explanation on the factories current standings. In all honesty all Lance heard was ‘Blah, blah, blah. Even longer. Blah, blah, blah, money.’ None of those words were actually spoken but it’s what registered in his mind. “No, I wouldn’t. But back up a moment…. Building the walls was the easy part?” he exclaimed before grumbling a little and letting out another sight. “After how long that took, I’ll be an old man before the inside is complete. Can‘t you find some more hands to help build it? Time‘s more money lost than putting on a few more people. I‘ll just fire them when your done.” Yup, a business man he was. However, the solution to the problem with Xavier had Lance’s business side jumping with excitement. Free labour! Well, not completely free. He was certain Jacob would expect him to supply the cell Xavier would live in. Not to mention he would still have to feed him so he would be strong enough to do the work. None the less, it was much cheaper than any other worker he would have to hire on. In the end, it brought a rather large grin on Lance’s face. A grin the soon turned into a bit of cynical laughter as Jacob continued to speak. “Are you trying to tell me he is stupid enough to believe that shit? Do the world a favour and never reproduce again.” No way in hell could he hold that one back. It rolled off his tongue before he even had time to think about it. “But sure, I can tell him that.” [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[DJ Boomkitty]

J A C O B



---

He couldn't contain the twitch this time around as Lance continued to... complain. Ugh, what he would give to just smack a bitch right now... and by bitch he meant... the one sitting across from him at the moment. With a subtle grind of his teeth, Jacob simply laced his hands together on the table, giving the man before him an unsavory and unwavering leer. "Is the only thing you know how to do is complain? Or are you just that proficient at it?" He growled, huffing out some air before relaxing his features, taking on a more bored visage. "I'll hire more people and just toss them into the furnace when its all said and done, so stop making mountains out of molehills." He spat, taking another swig.

As for the comment on reproducing... "Don't you worry, I've realized that having kids is not only a waste of money, but a waste of space and just so tedious. Heed my advice, don't ever have any, they'll just turn out so terribly wrong." He folded his arms, falling silent as he thought on the matter with a disgruntled gleam in his eye, before suddenly shaking his head and resuming his usual 'don't give a fuck' expression. "That's be most optimal, because I'm not sure where that idiot went off to, and I know he'll turn up there... eventually." He murmured with a hint of distaste.

---

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] Lance rolled his eyes at Jacob as he asked the rhetorical question. “Of course I do other things. You’d hear less complaining if things were brought up to my standards.” But none the less, Jacob agreed to hire on more workers meaning once again Lance had gotten his way. He really did love getting his own way and even that slight agreement caused his mood to lighten considerably. Not to mention the talk about Xavier was exciting him even more. A waste of money as well? Well, Lance wouldn’t have known that, but then… he had never had an issue with money either. If he finally gained the audience with the man who owned the shadow lab… well then he may feel the weight of over spending and actually have to pay attention to what he was spending afterwards. But for now, he was fine. Alas, another sigh escaped Lances throat. “No doubt he will.” Damn boy and his attempts to take advantage of Felis. “Felis is too kind of his own good. He lets his guard down around others and is too quick to trust a complete stranger. It’s weakness and that’s why he is our first target. Sadly it is also why he was so foolishly conned into taking up friendship with your son. Stupid boy. Heh, but it may come in useful anyway.” He After that he lifted his once again full glass and swigged half of it down. “Speaking about my brothers foolishness, did I tell you he captured a thug a few months ago?” Lance asked, sitting back in his chair as his hands cupped his glass. The drink after drink was starting to catch up to him, allowing his tongue to become loser and his body to grow more relaxed. “He locked the man up in the prison we have the in the basement. Apparently he isn’t going to hang him. No, he’s going to let the worthless thug live and instead has plains to chain him to work. Is that not the most rediculas thing you’ve ever heard? Mursy to a no one.” He chuckled after that, allowing some more of the smooth liquid to run down his throat, finishing off his drink once more. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[DJ Boomkitty]

J A C O B



---

His finger tapped the table slowly as he listened to Lance, humming somewhat as he mentioned how they could take advantage of his brother's easily-gained trust. He barely even registered the mention of a 'thug' in the basement, no... his mind was in another place. It didn't show in his eyes, but Jacob was already working out a plan in his head, gears turning rapidly as he digested this information. After a moment, a smirk cracked on his emotionless lips, followed by a sinister chuckle. "I have an idea, then..."

"You're working so hard to gain his trust... why? Why take the effort when Xavier can do it for you?" He paused, gauging Lance, before pressing on. "If what you say is true, the two of them are close, but... not together, at least not yet?" He didn't even wait for an answer. "That's a critical point in relationships, just before they form... to build up trust, to which it sounds like he's doing already..." He suddenly started laughing. "That idiot of mine had been helping us all along!"

Jacob then leaned forward, grinning at Lance. "Its so simple... I steal Xavier away, stow him in the factory, show up on Felis' doorstep playing the distraught father looking for his son... 'He's always talking about this place, I was just hoping he'd be here'... and boom." He leaned back. "He'll either fall into a depression over how Xavier 'ditched him', which gets him out of your hair for a while, or... even better, he may go look for him. Either way..." His grin widened. "He'll become the easiest of targets to finally dispose of." His head tilted somewhat. "What say you?"

---

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] Lance listened quietly to Jacob’s proposal, hanging drop of venom that slipped off Jacob’s tongue. Enough so, that he had even lifted a hand to his chin as he thought it over. It truly had his mind racing with thoughts and possibilities. He liked where Jacob’s mind was going, but Lance felt it wasn’t… well, big enough. Sure, it would be a step forward if Felis fell, but Lance had plans for more than just him. “I like it, but…. I have a few changes to add.” Lance replied, lowering his hand to his lap, “It would be personally satisfying to watch Felis fall due to his own stupidity, however, Felis isn’t our only target, is he? Why limit ourselves to one measly Duke when we take down a hold herd of them at the same time? Hum?” The grin on Lance’s face grew that much wider as he leaned in closer to Jacob, the colour in his eyes fading a bit to black. “Steal Xavier away. Go to Felis and have him believing your son abandoned him. Felis will fall into a depression. I know he will. That will make it that much easier to convince and warp him into doing what I want. Once he agrees with my ‘views’ the rest of the east, and possibly even some of the other regions, will fallow suit. The east will be ours and with their guards down….” That grin grew even wider, his eyes narrowing with an almost crazed lust of excitement, “We ‘dispose’ of them all.” The end of the nobles as they knew it. With the east fallen Lance was certain the rest of the nobles would be crushed that much faster. Oh, it has been so… perfect the day he learned Felis, that foolish, foolish young boy, had taken over the east. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[DJ Boomkitty]

J A C O B



---

His grin had twitched in a frown when Lance declared changes be made, and he almost argued the point but instead held his tongue, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms. As he listened, Jacob didn't move a muscle, nor blink, he just... watched, envisioning every detail the blonde in front of him suggested. And... he liked it. It was a rare moment indeed, but Jacob Stone wouldn't deny a good plan when he heard one. "I like the way you think. Sometimes. Perhaps I am rubbing off on you." He jeered, a shadow of a smile ghosting his features before it vanished into the coldness of his eyes.

Having broken his statue spell, Jacob quickly finished what was left in his mug but didn't bother flagging the waiter down for a refill, instead opting to digest his current load of liquor. A hand rose to slowly stroke his chin, rubbing his fingers through the small red stubble of a goatee that was found there, contemplating. "Snatching him will be easy enough, but when should I meet with this... oh-so fine duke?" Even just saying that made his skin crawl. "It should be an important day to leave a lasting impact..." A wide sneer crackled across his maw. "Any plans for Christmas?"

---

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] “My dear friend, I think you have yourself confused again.” Lance cooed, sipping the last of his drink before reaching out to set the empty glass onto the table. His hands then rested in his lap as he leaned back again. “I’m the mastermind behind everything we do. You… you are more of the lackey.” Yes, he was pleased with himself for that one. It was… satisfying to say the least. However, he knew Jacob would have some sort of come back for it. Lance rarely won these battles. Oh-so fine Duke? Lance snorted at that title, almost wanting to roll his eyes. Felis was far from a fine Duke in Lance’s mind. None the less, people liked him. It was silly really. Though as the mention of Christmas was brought up, that sly smile found its way back on to Lance‘s lips. “Getting up at six in the morning for presents no doubt.” Lance replied, the smile fading a tad, “Humm, I’m certain if you came sometime in the morning, it would be most pleasurable.” A friend, abandoning another friend on Christmas. What a perfect time it would be. “Though if I know Felis well enough, he will have you come in to join us for breakfast. Remember that.” Jacob having breakfast with nobles? That was a laughable sight. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[DJ Boomkitty]

J A C O B



---

The sneer suddenly twisted into a very foul frown as Lance called Jacob a... lackey? A lackey now? A lackey. Oh, no he didn't. With a twitch, Jacob flagged down the waiter and leaned over, mumbling something into his ear, before shoving the man off with a hand. He then took a rather calm visage, considering the man before him with cool eyes that burned with irritation. Nobody calls Jacob Stone a lackey.

The waiter returned quickly with a glass of ice water, sliding it on the table and scurrying off. Jacob remained still for a moment, before slowly reaching his hand out to grab the cup, leaning forward while he did so. "I take that back. I'm not rubbing off on you at all. After all, the first lesson is to never inflate your airhead with stupid ideas. Allow me to cool your ego." He spat, reaching over to dump the contents of the glass onto Lance's lap, dropping the glass along with it. "I am not a lackey, nor will I ever be. Claim that again and it'll be my boots between your legs instead of water." He growled, settling back in his seat.

And to make things even worse... "Service! We seem to have a spill on aisle three." He called, the waiter blinking from a distance and walking over, towel at ready, only to pause and look around. "You'll find it over there." Jacob pointed, the waiter following his finger and landing on- oh, dear. He blanched considerably, while Jacob's sneer returned. Forget business for the time being, payback was beautiful.

---