✎ 1x1 ✐ discussion

Np!! im thinking that we don't need to describe much about them since we're doing a more detailed rp.
Here are the basics:
Name: Luther Braun
Age: 21
Description: Blonde hair, green eyes, tall build, likes fancy but functional clothes.
Personality: Bold, hardworking, stops at nothing, cunning, firm.

Rose Valerie Smith

◇ 20 years old ◇ Homeless and destitute ◇

"Everybody has a chapter that they don't read out loud."



Rose has grown up on the streets, born from a mother too young to have her and her father nowhere to be seen. She has been on her own since she was about 10 or 11. Although she only knew her first name, she gave herself an entire full name because that was at least something she could not have taken away from herself.
Right now, all she is doing is trying to survive.

Rose Smith was, at least according to everyone around her, unlucky. Rose didn't even believe in "luck" but yet there it seemed to lurk, messing up anything it could for her. She lived in the streets and had since she was a young child. It wasn't easy to find food or shelter fast enough before bad weather would ride in or a threat of some kind popped up and made it so Rose had to once again flee.
While wiry strong, Rose was basically skin and bones and filthy. After so many years out on the streets, Rose blended in with all of the others. Sometimes the policemen riding by on their horses would stop to tell Rose to move on or get away from the buildings where she could "disgrace" the owners of the shops and discourage customers from entering. Rose would pick herself up and move on. That pattern occurred over and over again and no matter how hard she tried she could not find a place that would offer her a job except at the tavern and that was most definitely not a job she would ever let herself go low enough to take. So meanwhile, she wandered the streets, hoping she'd be able to find her next meal somewhere.
It was during the middle of a warm day. Rose had wandered near a small café and was waiting for someone to throw away the rest of their food for her to snatch up for herself. She hated this begging as if she was just a street dog, but she had no other choice. She stayed in the shadows, her eyes watching the outdoor tables.

((I have to head to work in half an hour so I might not reply until tonight. Looking forward to your post!))

((you are all good!! No worries whatsoever!!!))

Luther Braun pulled on the sleeves of his jacket, waiting in his carriage. As one of the most important figures in the city and beyond, he often was pulled around the city, meeting new and old clients alike.
He heard the rumble of wheels on the cobbles and he schooled his face into a calm but demanding gaze. He popped open the door and stepped out into the main road. His nose wrinkled just a bit, this was not where he normally wanted to meet, but this person, whoever it was, was as secretive as he.
The driver, and his only real friend, Thomas, followed him from a distance, because there was no doubt people were watching Luther's every move. He slipped into a table, the flowers covering the mustier scent with a sickly sweet aroma. He drummed his fingers, waiting impatiently for whomever was to come.

While Rose stayed hidden in the shadows, a waiter came out of the restaurant and approached Luther's table with a fancy typed out menu. "Good afternoon, sir," the waiter said. "I'm Abe and I'll be your server. Here is your menu. Is there anything I can grab to get you started?" He waited patiently, having done this job a million times over. Important businessmen no longer intimidated him like they used to when he started this job so many years ago.
Rose watched the two in conversation, hoping this businessman would be one of those who ordered more than they could eat and shamelessly toss the rest. She hated this, really, this begging, but what else could she do? She would die if she didn't wait for someone to eat first before taking the rest of their meal.

Luther glanced up. "A glass of whiskey." He told the waiter curtly. "And perhaps, the roast." He didn't plan on eating it, just needed a welcome distraction from the task ahead. The waiter left and Luther resumed tapping his fingers on the table.
An astonishing carriage came crashing around the corner and heaved to a stop Infront of the establishment. A woman, clad in a deep red dress and cloak, a red so deep is almost looked black, stepped out. Luther muttered a curse under his breath. "The Crimson Duchess." He thought, she was easy to manage, as long as you didn't step on her toes.
The woman walked briskly over and sat herself before Luther could stand.
"Mr. Braun." She nodded. Luther nodded in reply. "You are making a move on the Duke of Hapton. And how does that involve me?" Luther said, getting right to the heart of the meeting. The food was brought out and places on the table and the Duchess dismissed the server with a flick of her wrist. "In whatever way necessary." She told him, leaning in. "Your part is to arrange the next few months so our dealings are related. Whether our bondage comes through secrecy or by marriage is entirely up to him." Her voice was scathing. "Your first payment is already at your home. If you don't deliver, I will be ever so more impatient. I will get what I want, Mr. Braun." Luther kept his features schooled into uninterest, but his appetite was long gone. "Consider it done." Once me said those words she hurried off. Luther adjusted his jacket and stood.
However, Luther's eye for trouble was good and he saw Rose standing at the brink of the shadows. He rolled his eyes in his mind, his late mother's words ringing in his head, "If you are wrapped up in evil business, at least be a decent person." He scooped up the plate and placed more money on the table. He walked over and held the plate out.

Rose was not trying to be seen quite yet, but unfortunately, the businessman had seen her. She'd been watching the entire meeting between him and the woman dressed in red, but they had just been out of earshot. Whatever had been discussed was still private to the two of them. Rose would have lost her nerve and hurried off, yet like always, her hunger ground her in place. She had to wait to see what the man would do. Would he eat all of that roast, or would he possibly leave some behind and be a picky businessman with tons of money to waste?
Of course it surprised her when he walked over to her and held the plate out to her, the one with the hot roast still on it. Her eyes widened and she reached out to take it, then hesitated. "You don't want any of this?" Rose asked. Her surprise showed in her tone and she seemed unsure what to do. Then she decided to just take it before an entire meal disappeared in front of her. "Thank you, sir, this means so much," she said, holding the plate in her hands. There wasn't a fork with it but she didn't care because it was food and that was all that mattered.

Luther shook his head. He looked the girl over as she held the plate and began eating. She looked pitiful compared to what he was dressed in. He nodded briskly. "Put the plate on the table when you're done. And don't loiter here, the owner doesn't take kindly to people like you." He told her.
He turned on his heel and slipped his hands into his pockets. He made his way back to his carriage and Thomas popped the door for him. "What was that for?" Thomas asked in a question tone that would not usually acceptable. Luther looked over to the girl again, her curly hair falling in front of her face. "Mother." He grumbled and heaved himself inside of the carriage. Thomas groaned. "Broody." He thought to himself. He got into the driving bench and pushed the horses on and they cantered along until they arrived at his luxurious home. Thomas and Luther walked in as another servant came and grabbed the carriage. "Has the position been filled yet?" Luther asked Thomas. "None have applied yet. Your reputation is, to say the least, refutable. You've been involved in enough risky business, as well as the death of your mother. Sir." He added bringing up Luther's mother was a touchy subject. "Find one Thomas." Luther snapped as he slung off his jacket and stormed silently up the stairs, slamming the door to his study.

Rose began to eat the food with her hands, not ashamed to pick up the entire roast and gnaw at it with her teeth. It was the only way since she wasn't planning on going towards that table more times than she had to. "I know," she said seriously. She watched him leave and disappear back into a carriage. She stared back down at the delicious food and her stomach rumbled loudly. Before the owner of the restaurant came out and yelled at her, she needed to get out of here. Rose had gotten into trouble before that way and knew that someone could easily decide she was trespassing and get her arrested. She couldn't risk it.
Quicker than she wanted to, Rose stuffed most of the roast into her stomach and saved enough for a second meal by wrapping it up in a cloth she had. She returned the plate to the table and disappeared down an alley, content for the rest of the night.

Luther glanced at his watch and he paced the length of his study. Papers and maps and charts of the Dukes and the Duchess's businesses were strewn about the room, over chairs, tables and stands. He rubbed his face with his hands. This client wasn't even his toughest or deadliest, but there were too many unknowns.
And that was why he was looking for someone to do his bidding. Do whatever he said, in exchange for lodging, food and adequate pay. He placed his hands on the desk and hovered over a map of his clients land. The Duchess had much to gain and little to loose by getting involved with the Duke. He chuckled coldly, she was as much a businessman as he. He spotted a paper and pulled it out from under a book. The Duchess husband's name was plastered across it. And the date of his death.
Luther scrambled for the map again. The Duchess married into that family, but from where. That would be the first task for whomever decided to apply for the position. He needed that information before he set up an auction, a real one of course, but one with an alterior purpose.

((I'm assuming that maybe Rose would take the position? How should she find out about it?))

((yes, it would be advertised in a news paper maybe?))

((Okay, cool. Maybe I'll skip a few days or something to when she comes across it?))

((Tots fine with me!!))

A few days passed since the strange contact with the businessman had occurred. The meal he had handed over filled Rose's belly for quite a long time and when the meat was gone, she had to venture back out to find something else to eat. Unfortunately, since Rose was a homeless woman, she often found herself at the garbage bins searching for something to eat. She was there now, behind another small café. She kept an eye on the door in case the owner came out and found her there, but for now she was safe. Rose nudged aside some gritty looking chicken bones and an old container of something smelly (she wouldn't dare touch the contents longer than necessary if she even had to). She hadn't found anything useful yet and definitely nothing worth eating. She was about to give up when she spotted a relatively fresh newspaper sticking up from under a canister of old coffee grounds. She tugged it out and flipped through it. Rose used to nab newspapers all the time, reading through them in case there were any advertisements for jobs that she could possibly take. But after being turned away more times than she could count, she'd given up. And this newspaper seemed just as useless as the ones before--wait. In the bottom corner on the front page there was a notice requesting service. It was sort of vague in what was required but what pulled Rose to it was that they'd offer food and lodging. And pay. If she could get this job, she might be able to do it long enough to help herself out. She had no clue what she was getting herself into but it was worth a try. Rose ripped out the ad and threw the rest of the newspaper away. It was hope. Hope that she might make it. Of course, she had to stop hoping right away because she had been turned away more times than she could count. Why wouldn't this be the same? Either way, Rose read the address she was to go to and started on her walk, occasionally asking pedestrians who didn't immediately shy away from her for pointers.

Thomas was arranging the check for this months mortgage when he heard the ring of a bell, signaling that a servant had seen someone enter the premises. Luther hadn't come down, so he sighed and decided to handle the visitor himself.
He walked to the door and pulled it open, the ornate maple door, heavy in his hands "The Braun residence." He said as the girl stopped at the bottom of the marble steps. "I assume that you are here regarding the ad in the news paper?" Thomas asked her, and he swept a hand into the entrance room, as an invitation to come in. He glanced at the girl more fully and realized that she was in need of a new wardrobe and a bath. He pushed against the urge to wrinkle his nose at the slight smell. "Mr. Braun is currently... occupied." He said curtly. "But you are the only applicant, so we need the help that we can get. Come along."

Rose waited on the front porch, nervously shifting from bare foot to bare foot. She wondered if this was a terrible idea. She opened the slip of paper in her hands and scanned through it again. Food and a place to stay. It couldn't be all that bad. It couldn't be, not with those offers. She glanced up at the sound of the door opening. "Um, yeah, that's right," Rose said, stepping up the last two steps and entering the entrance room. Everything around her screamed of money. This man had so much at his disposal that he even seemed to want random detailed carvings set on shelves made from some fancy wood, and gold covering little parts of the room. Excessively fancy, Rose thought. But it was all so beautiful.
She was pulled from her thoughts again when the servant in front of her spoke up. "Oh, I didn't realize that. Are you uh, taking me on, then?" She asked, following him as he led her down the grand hallway towards a staircase.

"We have to." Thomas said bluntly. He turned away from her, his manner of a man much older than him. "Follow." He led her to the stairs and escorted her up the stairs. Luther's door was cracked and through it Thomas could see Luther slam books onto the ground, rifle through cabinets and let out a string of flamboyant curses. He pulled the door closed silently and quickly as to not let the girl see anymore. He led to a room at the back of the house. He clicked the door open. "This is your room. Your meal will be delivered here. Your pay is five dollars a week until you show more usefulness than a scullery." He told her. The room was an emerald color with a dark green bed, gold adorning the walls as well as mirrors, and cherry wood furniture was placed throughout. It was simple, clean and functional. And Luther's sister's room but she was long gone.

Rose just nodded, tugging at her dirty hair, and obeyed, trailing behind him up the stairs and past the door with the cursing man. She wondered if that was...her boss? It sounded weird that she'd be put in that category, having a boss, but things were always changing. It could be for the better. She paused in front of the door, then stepped into the room. It was so beautiful, even in its simplicity. This was her room? She never thought he'd offer her a room like this. It wasn't huge, but it sure beat living in a cold alley and watching for creeps to come bother her. Not that she knew any of the people here weren't creeps themselves. "Thank you, it's very nice. When can I start working?" The last thing Rose wanted was to sound too surprised at the conditions, like she was overwhelmed or something, or not used to living like a regular human being.

"I already have an assignment. This will prove whether or not you are worthy of this position and of meeting Mr. Braun. I need to to find out where Saramantha Lossinger is from, her place of origin. We need that information as soon as possible." Thomas told her. "Can you do that for me? For Mr. Braun?" His speech was disrupted by the he creaking of a door and the step of elegant shoes into the hall. "Thomas." Luther called out. Thomas stepped into the hall. His gaze settled pityingly on Luther, his shirt half unbuttoned, his hair disheveled, his eyes dark. "Luther." Thomas said trying to stop Luther from speaking. Before he could Luther snapped, "Yes I know what I look like. I need that information."

So Rose was to be a spy. She wondered about it, whether or not she could do it. But she didn't really have a choice. It was either to starve to death in the streets, or find a way to get information about this Saramantha. "I could certainly try," Rose said. "But I don't know a thing about her or where she is right now." And how on earth would she be able to know this woman looking like someone who crawled out of a garbage can? At the squeak of the floorboards, Rose stepped out into the hallway as well. She guessed this was Mr. Braun. It looked like she was meeting him after all. "Hello, sir? I'm Rose Smith. I found your ad in the paper and thought maybe I could help?" She said, although it came out as a question, like she wasn't so sure about it. She was, she just...it was so weird, this sudden new world she'd just stepped into. This morning, she was looking for something to eat, and a few hours later she might have found a job with the necessities of life taken care of. She hoped they'd let her take a bath.

Luther looked from Thomas to Rose. He cocked his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Street girl." Luther said, a hint of curiosity and incredulousness in his voice. "You don't look fit to be here, or anywhere of stature. There are clothes in your closet. Oh, and take a bath." He said, gesturing at her room. "Thomas, get that information. Last I know, she was residing in Lochan and she dines at Orin's, tonight. Well, I suppose that's your job now." He said looking at Rose, then Luther looked down, and buttoned his shirt hastily. "I'm going out." He said. Thomas groaned and gestures for Rose to go back to her room. He then clamored after Luther. He slipped into the study. "Luther what in the--, I don't even know what to say. You look awful." He shouted. "I'm fine, go on." Luther said. "I'll be back this evening." Luther put on a good facade of drunkenness, but tonight he had one job in mind, testing Rose's capacity for this job. As long as she got the information and passed his tests, she could stay. He needed her help more than he cared to admit.

As much as Rose knew it was true that she was a street girl and definitely needed a bath, his words were sort of shameful to hear. She blushed at that, almost staring down at her bare feet. But that wouldn't do. If she couldn't even face this man how on earth would she pass these tests he was expecting of her?
"Thank you, that sounds fine," Rose said. Even if it meant she had a chance for a bath and some clean clothes but everything else failed, at least she had that. She knew where Orin's was and sometimes she found meals there to eat. She also knew where Lochan was. The benefit to having been homeless was that she knew basically where every location in the city was. She didn't need a map since she knew it like the back of her hand. "Shall I go clean up first, then?" she asked, glancing at the first man since Mr. Braun had left. "I'm afraid I didn't get your name."

"Thomas." The man said as he made his way to the steps. "Your curfew is one in the morning, be back by then." Thomas told her. "And there are some, precautions, waiting in your dresser." Thomas remembered putting blades and a long black cloak in the drawers for whoever was to come to this position. He walked down the stairs with a casual grace, fit for a man like himself.
Luther slipped on his jacket and slid two blades into his boots, unfortunately, his work had become increasingly messy. He hoped it wouldn't jar the girl too much. But he was going to watch over her, just for the night. He put on the facade of drunkenness and walked out of the house, and then it quickly faded. He went down the side alley and began climbing the discreet ladder he had built for himself, up to the rooftops, where he would track Rose's every move. Of course, he knew where Saramantha was from, but perhaps this girl would uncover more secrets than paper and lineage reports could cover.

((This is sounding great!!! However, I am leaving for a three week camp today, so I will not have a chance to be on tech whatsoever. My sincere apologies to you. I will respond as soon as I get back to technology!! I wish you all the best in the next three weeks. It was a pleasure rping with you so far.))

((Thank you for letting me know! I appreciate it. I hope you enjoy camp and I'll see you back when you are available again :) ))

Rose nodded. Thomas. She was still a bit surprised what these men wanted her here for but she would certainly try her best at whatever they wanted. Spying on this woman would be a first start. She hoped she could get all the information they wanted tonight; besides from being back at one am, she wondered what deadlines she had to prove herself worthy of staying in service. "Thank you, Mr. Thomas," she said before slipping back into her new room and shutting the door. Thankfully there was a lock, so she locked it shut. Even if the men of the mansion had keys to unlock it, it made Rose feel a little safer.
After taking some time to really appreciate her surroundings, Rose went to the dresser and sorted through the clothes, pulling out a dress that would hopefully fit properly. She was still skin and bones so she had no clue. She took it to the bathroom and shut the door, turning on the tub and waiting for the hot water to fill to the top. Once her bath was done, Rose stepped out of the murky water and used her fingers to detangle her hair. She looked transformed into a new person. As tired as she felt, as appealing as the bed looked, Rose knew she'd need to go to Lochan first. But how to get in? She didn't have any money to buy something and they certainly didn't like random people entering without permission. Rose smoothed down the front of the green dress and thought a moment. Maybe Thomas would go with her or give her money, allowing her into Lochan either of those ways. She would go ask him about the money first.

(( Hi!! ))

Thomas walked around the lower floor collecting the things he would need, blades money, and silk gloves. He carefully left a stack of money on the front counter with Rose's name on it on the kitchen table before silently slipping out the side door. He ambled down the street, looking nonchalant as ever. His hands which were neatly placed in his pockets, fiddled with a small blade. Impulsive people would take uncalculated risks, he'd learned the hard way.
His mind wandered off to Rose. He needed this job position to stick and he needed the information more desperately than anything. But of course, the up and coming businessman was not an inconspicuous role to play. Rose, had the advantage here, she looked the role of hired work and she was an unknown face, easy to slip in and out of places with little to no notice. This bit of information would get him to the next step in his plan and that was all he was looking for, all he was waiting for.

Rose headed out of her room to find Thomas, the man in control. She knew that she'd need her acting skills to come in handy, at least whatever acting skills she had. If they didn't work to get into Lochan, then she might as well give up at the job and think about the life she'd return to out on the streets. In a way, it was that fear that drove her forward.

She stopped in the kitchen after hearing some noises, but all it was, was the door leading to the outside shutting. Rose hesitated, then stepped in further. She first noticed the money. It was just what she needed. This made her remember that it added up to yet another thing that would be hard to act out. She hardly knew how to read or write or count.she could do it, but it wasn't easy.

Rose stuffed the stack of money into the purse she wore from her shoulder. Then it was time to head out.

She directed her steps to Lochan and hoped all would turn out alright.

((I should probably end this RP. I have too many and I'm so busy. Sorry for any disappointment.))

((You are all good!! I am overly busy too.))

((Okay thank you 🙂))