Par nuit, tous les chats sont gris

  Aye, that they do. -He glances down at the platters and gives an appreciative smile. It’s not something he normally pays much mind to, but it is clear that a lot of work and thought goes into these sorts of arrangements. He catches her eye with a smile and laughs some with her response.- Maybe! Last day, eh? Endings aren’t always bad. A new job and a bigger project back home don’t sound too bad. It does not! Looking forward to the new project?

Yes, and it's embarrassing to admit but I haven't even managed to bake something myself. I'm afraid these don't pass for self-made? Oh... -she digs through her bag faster until her hands finally touch on the keychain. After she's wrapped it around her ring finger, she reverentially pulls on the ribbon of one of the platters and the plastic wrapper falls aside, revealing a platter of colourful macarons that she quickly takes from the stranger, and holds it out with a somewhat embarassed smile.- Would you like one? I think I will just have to smuggle them into the kitchen without the wrapping, or try and piece it together myself. Wasn't that even one of your fine writers who said that the end is where it all begins? I am trying to believe in that right now so I can look forward to all the work that awaits me, yes. 

  You did, from what I remember—your sense of smell? -Claire’s expression flickers back, briefly, into one of a challenge before those lines of tension on her face ease, and it’s almost more reminiscent of a look of defeat. No, not defeat…merely weariness. She’s tired of the world continuing to struggle in a war with a growing number of sides.- Someone does. -And maybe it is her. Back when she first came to New York, she was ready to not only put a stop to chaos, but prevent it entirely by aiming a gun at her own uncle. Now, maybe her finger was still on the trigger, but the target’s a hell of a lot bigger. Her gaze drops to the extended hand, before a faint smile crosses over her face. Claire shakes Vir’s hand and makes sure to meet her eyes.- I promise.

Well, see who started this confrontation then. But you should work on not getting defensive as fast. I am not even particularly good at drawing people out, all things considered. -She is glad when Claire takes her hand, as this relieves her of a dilemma, though she doesn't really let it show. When the handshake losens, Virginie reaches into her bag with the intention to give Claire a business card, but what's the point in that? She's all over the place usually, that's the main reason she isn't certain she still wants to be part of this for much longer, so she wouldn't be of much help. The next thing she thinks of is money, but that'd be incredibly disparaging. In the end, she withdraws her hand empty.- Good luck. -She doesn't wait for long before she starts to turn around.-

  - She’s right; there is a great irony in that. Who is she to think she can lead a double life-who is she to think she can do that as well as her Dad could? And even then, how well did he really do it, considering all that happened between them? Something passes over her face that she hadn’t hinted at before: consideration. There’s something insightful about what this other woman is saying, no matter how condescending it may come off as. They’re both trying to clean up other messes. How can they not find equal ground in that? - I guess my scenario isn’t that different from yours. I’ve been using my ability to run around at night, and I’ve been throwing myself into confrontations to stop people from committing crimes. - Her expression falls, and she rubs at her eyes before looking to Vir again. - I didn’t want to be confrontation. It’s just—it’s hard to not be when touching on matters like this. Don’t you get defensive yourself?

-At first, Virginie watches Claire with a certain satisfaction as the younger woman relents. That's what she can do, what she'll always be good at, using words to get what she wants (it's not manipulation if she has to put effort into it), but when Claire looks up again, that sentiment starts to feel wrong. She's meant the last few sentences, something is changing that she is feeling uneasy about, and she isn't quite sure whether she wants to continue to be a part of it. In any case, what she's gotten in return is Claire meaning it as well.- Well, who brought it up? You know, I am paid to not get defensive when I want to be. That isn't everyone's standard. -She sighs.- Listen, whatever it is that is on its way, you have to help stop it. I am not going to tell you to keep on doing what you have been doing there because that is your decision to make and I'm not going to attempt and make it for you. But someone needs to contain New York's chaos, and I have a feeling it is not going to be me. - She holds out her hand for Claire to shake; maybe a silent agreement that she will keep her mouth shut as long as Claire doesn't contradict now, even though it's maybe probably sort of not quite right, but what is even right anymore.-

- Tom’s on his way back to his place after a job; a nice, simple job that’s a nice, simple paycheck with no strings attached and no questions asked. Those are his favorite jobs to work. Better to remain anonymous and unknown-better to be something like a gun rather than the person behind it pulling the trigger. Weapons are faceless. And, that is his ultimate goal. When he’s approached suddenly by Virginie to hold the platters, Tom eyes her with clear surprise, but a smile is quick to cross over his face. He takes them and chuckles softly. - Not a problem. The best celebrations are the ones that aren’t necessarily planned out well, anyhow. What are you celebrating?

Well, thank you very much, they always put so much work into the wrapping, I certainly would not want to ruin it by leaving it on the ground. - This is said her with her standard smile of politeness that neither takes her much effort nor is it a rare occurence. After she has carefully handed over the plates, she starts searching though her handbag, but interrupts that for a moment at the question, and when she looks up to answer, her smile is one she hasn't displayed in years. Not like she's aware of that.- Then maybe I still stand a chance of store-bought cake being sufficient. It is my last day at work. Well, that accompanied by moving back home and starting, well, a bigger project. That certainly does not happen every day, does it?

  You seem to have a lot to say about the world and the people in it. Do you think you’re above those observations? You make it sound like you’re so far above everyone that you’re around, everyone that you talk to. Or, do you feel them heavy on your shoulders? Claire wants to be angry-she knows she should be, being confronted like this-but lying isn’t who she wants to be. Maybe it’s best that she’s getting confronted like this. Maybe it can be a stepping stone to something better. I know I do. I’m not proud of what I’ve resorted to, but I’m helping people. I helped you, didn’t I? Sometimes doing the best thing isn’t doing the good thing. The question almost deflates her-almost. She doesn’t let it show, and instead rolls back her shoulders to straighten her posture. I already have an idea of what would happen. Why, you want to tell? When it comes down to it, it’ll be word against word. Smell isn’t great proof, especially not now when people like us are getting crucified left and right. You’d be selling yourself out too, not just me. Is that really what you want? Or are you getting at something else?

Do I have to be perfect in order to be entitled to make observations? I like narratives, but see: I'm standing in front of a girl whose face changed the world, and who is now hiding behind a mask. I am not going to lie, that has quite the irony to it if I may say so, but I hope you won't feel insulted if I say that this is not the first time that I have seen social memory broken with. Does that not entitle me to make my own deductions? But since you asked, yes, other people's errors are heavy because someone has to make up for them at some point, and very often, that person has been me. Don't tell me that's not exactly what you have been doing as well, alleviating others' mistakes.- A somewhat bitter laughter, her of all people being judgemental when she's just gotten further and further from perfect.-  And sometimes doing a good thing isn't the best thing. -She sighs.- Who would I tell anything to if not even your face is enough to stop people from turning into murderous maniacs? And I may be selfish, but I have not forgotten that you saved me, no. I just keep thinking....something is about to change, I just do not know what yet, though I would like for my role to be something other than, as you have so carefully observed, a reckless exploiter of my genetic advantage. Though I am curious about your scenario. 

”Christ,” Colin exclaimed as he bumped right into a person he’d completely missed being so deep in thought. ”I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you at all there,” he said with an apologetic smile, looking at the person in front of him thoroughly to reassure they were alright (not that he cared but seemingly he did, he always did).

Virginie retains the balance of the coffee in her hand with feline ease, but still puts on an irritated expression at first that then becomes replaced by an ostentatiously polite smile. Say whatever you want about her ability, at least she doesn't constantly bump into people - but they never seem to repay her that favour. She brandishes the coffee cup: "It is quite alright, it seems like nothing got spilled there. But you should look out, not everyone is as polite as I am, and dry cleaners' prices have gone through the roof, it is abominable."

  Yes, we all make choices. We all have different motives, different baggage that affects our decision, and we all try our best to do what we think is best to do - right or wrong, doesn’t matter. What’s right for one person is wrong for the next, and it all can become so subjective that even loyalty is questionable. It’s all a matter of perspective. - One man’s monster, after all, is another’s savior. For so long, Claire’s perspective was a dirtied reflection of those around her; how much had she wanted to be like her Dad and like her Uncle Claude when she was younger? How much did she want to achieve Peter’s idealism and hope for the world after meeting him? She does try, but where others think that working in the light is the only way to operate, Claire has realized that working in darkness is a necessary evil. Better it falls on her than Peter. - That would depend on who you ask. Your loyalty probably means a hell of a lot to certain people. Why not your employer? Why do you think your employer would not notice if you were gone? - What would it be like to be faceless and unknown? She doesn’t know, but she does; being faceless and hiding behind a mask are not far off from one another. - 

You are absolutely right in that everyone makes their own decisions because everyone has their own story, which ultimately means that we would all have a right to act according to what we see fit in a particular situation. And in a perfect world, I would have no qualms about agreeing with you and calling it a day, but alas, the world is not perfect, and in my experience, people are far too simple-minded for that to be the way of the world. I feel like people are looking for narratives and grand patterns to grant them stability, and concepts such as subjectivity are very hard to fit into that. And people are notoriously bad at taking others' perspective. -Virginie sighs somewhat ostentatiously and crosses her arms in front of her chest. She has decided that her person doesn't matter all that much at Nexus, sure, her work does, and her ability is a nice added bonus, but her person? At the embassy a bit more, but even then, her highest principle is hard work, and that logic precludes her from seeing herself as anything special. Not that depressing a thought as one would expect, actually. It just means that she's extraordinarily hard-working. Claire, on the other hand...what does it feel like to change the world with a more or less unmeditated action?- Because what I do is work hard, and anybody can work hard if they put their mind to it. There is nothing special to that. Sure, discipline is a rare capability to come by, but it is by no means impossible. -It irks her a bit that Claire hasn't gotten what she's getting at, but Virginie is far too polite to let that show.- Claire, what do you think would happen if people were to find out what you have been up to?