Assasination Harem!

[Whatevr89532]

Of course Lucas knew about actors losing themselves in their roles; being aware of the problem had prompted him to learn to compartmentalize his thoughts in the first place. It's been an important skill her..his..whole life. That it wasn't working properly now...well, it couldn't possibly be her fault, at least not entirely. "It's..something must be wrong with what changed us in the first place," she mutters well under her breath, quietly enough that even Sonia might not have heard her without the cat ears. "The others aren't acting the same as they seemed at first, either."

This train of thought has some worrying stations. Are the stones or whatever they are defective? Did the people who hired her know that? If so, they must have expected one of the very early attempts to be successful, but they can't possibly have, knowing what Lance is capable of. That leaves either the possibility that they were supposed to lose themselves like this, or...the stones themselves had been tampered with somehow. And not just hers, but everyone's. By the same person? Why?

Estelle's ears droop a bit and she instinctively pulls Sonia closer again out of some instinctive desire for comfort. She's calmer now, but still unable to separate her emotions properly.

[Knight Errant]

Lily is quite alright looking him up and down. She had done something similar for other jobs. Assassination jobs where the target was a tough nut to crack. And this certainly was. Maybe she had been to hasty in her first couple attempts... figuring it would be easy. But not this time, no...

She lets herself look over him closely... looking for weaknesses... He seemed so oblivious. Openings for attack were everywhere. But she knew from experience that the moment she tried to act on them, they would close in an instant. She had to look deeper. Study his posture, the way he looked around, everything... looking for the best avenue of attack.

There was absolutely no ulterior motive... none what so ever...

[Zoey]

Diana grumbles to herself and huffs. She thinks on what she has to keep the idiot in line before it hits her. Diana's eyes widen and sits upright. She DID hit him! She... hurt him. Diana looks down at her hands and then up at Lance. "Woah..." she mumbles in this realization. What guns couldn't do... she did it, with this dainty arms. She can kill him! She can-...

Her gaze shifts to Lily who is so obviously ogling at Lance. What is she doing?! "HEY LILY!" she calls out to her banging the table with her hand. Gotta make her break eye contact with the idiot. The site of her doing that just sickens her.

[Knight Errant]

Lily looks over to the loud, obnoxious girl... putting her hands on her hips. "Yes, Diana...?" She says slowly, with an eyeroll.

[Zoey]

Diana glares. Keeping that look for a while since she didn't really think that far ahead. "... W-Why don't you help instead of just looking?" she replies while crossing her arms.

[Knight Errant]

Lily raises an eyebrow. "Help with what? The others are busy cleaning up. Which I don't see you helping with. Lance is calling for our replacement dinner. There isn't much else to do. Unless you want help hitting Lance and being obnoxious." She shifts her hips. "I'm afraid I can't help you with that." She says with a smug smile.

[Zoey]

Diana grits her teeth. "What did you say?!" she says standing up. She walks up to Lily and pokes her aggressively. "Say that again! I dare you!"

[Knight Errant]

In a moment... Lily grabs the offending hand that is poking her. Her soft fingers have a surprisingly strong grip... as she yank's Diana's arm... taking her off balance. She shifts down lower... kicking the girl's leg to further destabilize her. Diana teeters forwards, half falling as Lily shifts behind her... still holding on to that arm which she brings around, standing back up as she pins it behind Diana's back painfully.

"I said... you are obnoxious." She says with a humph... and a flaunt of her hair with her free hand... before the other shoves Diana... letting go of her arm to let her fall forward onto her face.

[Abillioncats]

Sonia slowly nods, "Yeah...I've notice that too, come to think of it." If there is something wrong with what changed them, what could they do about it? The only solution she knew of so far would be to successfully kill Lance, but if they failed to do so, were they doomed to be like this forever?

That wouldn't be so bad... Sonia is surprised when that thought crosses her mind. Did...did she prefer being Sonia over Ash? She mentally shakes her head as she continues to comfort Estelle. She still had the desire to be a hero, that feeling was definitely from Ash, she hadn't completely lost that part of her yet.

Her thoughts are interrupted as she notices Diana and Lily are getting into a little argument that has now coming to poking, grabbing, and shoving. She resists the urge to roll her eyes and simply frowns in disapproval. "Oi! Girls! I know you're hungry but that's no reason to start fighting like a bunch of preschoolers! The pizza will be here soon enough." Sonia was usually a bit more passive than that, but the part of her that was still Ash could be commanding and authoritative when she wanted to be.

[muffinstud]

Whatevr
=====

Thankfully for Estelle, the companionship and the hug seem to have eased her emotions. Both sides of her now feel in control again... but to what end will she use that control? Her own emotions, the actions of the others, it all brings up so many questions, questions that shouldn't be asked in front of Lance.

And what of the stones? It seems so strange that these powerful people that want Lance dead would use some strange rock to get their way. There are so many other, more conventional methods they could try for this same kind of infiltration. So little of this makes any sense. Perhaps... she could make more sense of it by pooling their resources. And they would have to agree to a meeting of the minds, all of them. Trying to off this guy one at a time like this... it doesn't seem to be working.

Abillioncats
=====

It... wouldn't be bad, would it? She's not exactly uncomfortable like this. On the contrary, she feels so... natural this way, even in the revealing swimwear. In fact... the snug material is reminiscent of the costumes heroines wear in the comics. Well, some of the less progressive comics. Even so, these girls all look so divided, disorganized. Isn't it a hero's job to help people? To bring them to an understanding of being a part of a greater whole?

As she barks out her chastisement to the other girls, she finds that it comes easily to her. There is no flush in her cheek from the sudden outburst, or the notion of stepping on others' toes. She could... bring these girls together. She already has the friendship and confidence of Estelle. Perhaps... she could gain that same friendship and respect from the others. The thought keeps her ears standing up straight.

Knight Errant
=====

Lily studies Lance... purely for academic purposes. Although, it is strange. For someone as spacey as he is, he carries himself with a surprising amount of confidence. There are all sorts of openings for attack as he walks back and forth on the phone. But... that isn't what keeps her eye on him. No, it's the way he moves. Deliberate, purposeful. His every motion belies a hidden strength he may not be aware of. It is that hidden strength that keeps her looking at him, that makes his movements so... interesting.

Zoey
=====

Diana's efforts to antagonize Lily seem to work, perhaps a little too well. With such quick, elegant movements, the other girl sends Diana flying face first towards the floor. And it looks like she's going to be eating her words and the flooring very soon. But just before it looks like her doom is sealed, a blur speeds towards her. Strong arms wrap around her as she tumbles to the side, her fall cushioned by someone a little larger than her, with a... broad chest.

In a flash, Lance has reached out to catch her, the two tumbling in the process. Once they stop, Diana finds her back on the carpet, looking up at Lance, who is looking just as startled as her. "Holy cow, are you okay? That was one nasty trip..."

He... he had caught her. And he's oh so close... the man who went out of his way to keep her safe. Butterflies dance the mambo in her stomach, his proximity above her mixing with the adrenaline to keep her heart pumping wildly.

Mendi-chan and Knight Errant
=====

All of a sudden, Lance jumps out and catches Diana. Tumbling together, they land on the floor. Lance propping himself above her, the two looking at each other from such close proximity. Seeing this, both Teresa and Lily can't help but feel a little knot of jealousy. Why her? She... she doesn't even like him!

[Zoey]

Diana grunts as Lily effortlessly manhandles her. She can't help, but let out a sudden girly yelp as she twists around, about to hit the floor, before... she's caught? Both her and Lance, soon find themselves in quite the positions. Diana breathes heavily as she is suddenly staring at Lance. Her hair messy, eyes wide. Mind racing as she thinks on what to do now. Diana's stomach just flutters around with butterflies. "I... Lance..." she says with quivering lips. "You..." she adds as she lifts her head a bit. Her mind completely clouded from judgment. Teenage hormones going ballistic as she tries to head in for... a kiss.

[Knight Errant]

Lily goes from a moment of supreme satisfaction to surprise... then horror as she sees Diana in Lance's arms. She isn't supposed to be there! Lily is the distraction. She's just supposed to be... that... stupid girl!

She stomps her foot into the carpet furiously. "You... stupid brute! Why do you ruin everything?!" She says, though if its to Lance or Diana, its not entirely certain. But with that, she pivots on her heel... storming out of the room.

Teeth and fists clenched, she stomps out. At first not certain of where she is going. Just wanting to be... out. But as she goes down the hallways, she passes the door to the hotsprings. Why not... maybe she could relax a bit by herself. Its not like anyone would come along with her. That would be going according to plan. And nothing goes according to plan.

He tugs the door open angrily, stepping in and slamming it behind her. The thud likely echoing through the house.

[Whatevr89532]

Estelle watches the tumble and Lily run off in a huff with a frown. It's going to be hard enough to get these people to work together (especially with Teresa already against what probably should be their common goal) without whatever's messing with their minds, but at least being made aware of it might help. Well, whatever. She's seen drama worse than this with people supposedly just getting together to have fun.
"...I don't think they were listening to you," she says to Sonia, and moves to stand up, feeling reasonably put back together by now. "I'll see if I can talk some sense into Lily." If not prevented, she gets up and follows the noise of a door slamming to the hot springs, making a far quieter entrance.

[Mendi-chan]

Teresa frowns, trying to quickly finish the cleaning of the soup. It... it shouldn't have bothered her nearly as much as it did, but she couldn't help but think of how unfair that was. She was sitting there, having been caught in Lance's arms and Lance didn't even realize that she'd have just as soon killed him if she had the chance. Shaking her head, she wonders whether maybe if she could meet up with Estelle to try and see if she was maybe changing her mind about completing their 'mission'.

[muffinstud]

Zoey
=====
Diana cranes her neck upward. This close, looking at each other, it feels so right, so perfect. Maybe it's the butterflies, maybe it's the quickened pace of her heart. Whatever it is, this feeling is wonderful... and it seems it's about to get even better as her lips approach his.

And then Lance gets up, brushing himself off before he reaches down to offer her a hand. "Sorry about that. Here, let me help you." Help her? But... she was about to... and he just... he... he ruined it! How could he not see what was happening between them? All of the butterflies immediately stop, her heart still racing as the tender feelings drown in the anger and frustration.

He's such an... idiot!

Knight Errant
=====
Slamming the door feels oddly satisfying. Lily makes her way through the central courtyard area, to the very natural looking hot tub. The bamboo shoots, the smooth rocks, it all looks like a traditional, natural hot spring. The discerning eye can see the lines where the concrete begins, but it's very subtle. Subtle, unlike that... stupid girl Diana. It's hard to tell what angers her more: going against the plan, or being so close to Lance. She was supposed to be the distraction. She was the one he was supposed to... look at... and be close to...

Whatevr
=====
Estelle finds her way into the courtyard, Lily still looking very peeved as she approaches the traditional japanese-style hot spring. The frustration is very evident with her every move. Talking her down before she does something drastic would be for the best... not only for dissipating the drama, but to get them all back on target. She and her, they have a job to do. And it's going to take more than just a pot of poisoned soup to do it.

Mendi-chan

With how much the spill seemed to affect her, maybe Estelle does have other priorities. Hmm, perhaps if she could find out a bit more about these girls, she could find where their interests lie. And then, if they work together, they could disarm the ticking time-bomb that potentially is Lance. No one would have to die. And she could... spend more time with him. That certainly keeps her perked up, and now that the soup seems to be dealt with, she should have no problem following through. Although... all of these girls have their swimsuits on. If they really are going to spend time in the hot spring, perhaps she could put on something more... eye-catching.