03 && PSYCH CALLS

[✖STRIDE✖]

All was completely silent within the dark room. The curtains couldn't keep out all of the light that attempted to creep in through the cracks in the sides, but for the most part they did their job. The lack of full light gave the room a ghostly air. It was obviously late morning on the day of Saturn which gave the freedom to rest for most of the day. He certainly would have if his phone hadn't begun to play music expectantly. Who would dare wake him up this early on a saturday morning? How dare they?

Creeping out from under the warm covers a barely visible hand reached out to the bedside table and grabbed the singing device. Flipping up the hovering lock he didn't even read who the caller was. He didn't really care at this point in time. If the call wasn't to his interest he would just simply hang back up and go back to sleep. 

"I'm busy..." He said simply and grumpily. Mornings were never really his thing. Even people at school knew to stay away from him until after first period. He wasn't exactly the nicest person. 

[maka albarn]

Jade held the phone to his ear, listening to the "outgoing call" ring. Bright morning sunlight shone through the open slats on his window, illuminating scattered stacks of paper covered in sketches, spidery notes, and equations. It was Saturday morning. Jade had a specific routine for Saturday mornings: he got up, did superfluous breakfast-and-chores things, then went up to his room and worked on architectural design. But today had been different. He'd broken the routine to log into BOW, and it had certainly been worth it. Lilly had called him not fifteen minutes after he appeared up in the Diamond capital. Now it was time to make a call of his own. Even if the recipient would want to draw and quarter him for it.

"I'm busy..." Uh-huh. "Luke. It's Jade. And it's morning. Productive people are awake. Doing things. Listen, I usually don't call you this.. erm... early, but Lilly just asked me to help her get a team together for the Lost Crown quest. Of course, you were the first person on my list. Can you hear me yet, or do you need me to give you a minute to wake up?"

[✖STRIDE✖]

"Luke. It's Jade. And it's morning. Productive people are awake. Doing things. Listen, I usually don't call you this.. erm... early, but Lilly just asked me to help her get a team together for the Lost Crown quest. Of course, you were the first person on my list. Can you hear me yet, or do you need me to give you a minute to wake up?"

If anything, Luke wanted to smash someone's face into the pavement at this very moment. But at the mention of the Lost Crown Quest the teen was quiet. He lifted the phone away from his ear for a very brief second to check the time and the name of the caller. 10:28 am. The boy allowed an exasperated sigh to escape his lips as he shifted under his covers for a moment and then sat up within the bed. "Hold." he said in as few words as possible before setting the phone down so that he could get himself up. 

There was several minutes of silence mixed with shifting around before a tap on the screen could be heard. "Details Jade." Said a distant voice, still a bit groggy and grumpy to be fully awake. But Luke was now up and getting dressed with a small room light on. He wouldn't turn the brighter light on until he was more awake, unless he went into the virtual world. It was likely the room would stay as dark as it was. He enjoyed it that way, the light wasn't distracting then.

[maka albarn]

"Hold." Jade waited, holding the phone to his ear. He picked up a pencil and started sketching on a piece of paper, half-listening to the muted sounds coming through the cell. "Details Jade." Jade smiled a little and set his pencil down with a click. "Lilly is indebted to Stargazer, the Ace shadow elemental from Spade. Got him into some scrape or other with the Black Daggers. Stargazer was going for the LC quest by himself, Lilly told him that was ludicrous, and directed him to me. Stargazer needs a team. I'm trying to assemble one." Jade leaned his chair back on two legs, squinting against the bright sunlight. "You know how comprehensive the LC quest is. Stargazer needs a quality team. Healers, illusionists, melee fighters. I can't think of another Lore Master in the system at your level. Stargazer needs you. You'll give him an edge that no one else has, because there are no other Beta-tester Lore masters in BOW. Besides. You could catch him a dragon."

[✖STRIDE✖]

Luke listened quite intently as he finished pulling his comfy BOW t-shirt over his head and sat down at the desk in the back of his room where his computer was. As Jade spoke he slipped his hand forward and turned the monitor on. The screen lit up dimly due to the dull light around the room and was very gentle on the owner's eyes.

"You know how comprehensive the LC quest is. Stargazer needs a quality team. Healers, illusionists, melee fighters. I can't think of another Lore Master in the system at your level. Stargazer needs you. You'll give him an edge that no one else has, because there are no other Beta-tester Lore masters in BOW. Besides. You could catch him a dragon."

There was a long pause on Luke's side of the line. The information that Jade gave him did seem to give him a slight buzz within his brain. Some interest even. He sighed and leaned back in his chair thinking. A slightly shorter pause followed before...

"Stargazer huh? Haven't met him, but I've always wanted to. Kid seems intriguing." He paused again in thought. "Of course my name would be the first on your list Jade. Especially on a Saturday morning." He thought for a moment more. If anything Luke was a thinker. He needed to think through everything before actually making a decision. And this was a big one at that. What was it he was working on at the moment? His exhausted mind took a moment to remember the last time he had been in BOW. Oh yeah... He was working on an important document for a simple quest he had started. Of course the LC quest would be so much more important than his own.

"Stargazer must either be very dumb despite what I hear about him, or very brave without the correct connections to go after the LC quest by himself. Who else have you called or are going to call?"

[maka albarn]

"Of course my name would be the first on your list Jade. Especially on a Saturday morning." Jade shrugged. Of course. Who else had the priveledge of dragging Luke out of bed on a Saturday? Jade waited, watching the wind stir the leaves of the tree outside his window. He knew that Luke was sorting things out in his own mind, mulling over the information Jade had given him, thinking before he spoke.

"Stargazer must either be very dumb despite what I hear about him, or very brave without the correct connections to go after the LC quest by himself. Who else have you called or are going to call?"

"Or he's both very dumb, and very brave. Somehow, I think there's more to that Red gem story than Lilly knows. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Stargazer has one of the Red gems. Not sure which one yet. Anyway, I've called Red Dragon and Blaze. They're meeting me at the House in..." Jade looked at his watch. "Thirty minutes. Other than that, its' just you, me, Lilly, and Stargazer. What do you think? Can you be at the House in thirty minutes?"

[✖STRIDE✖]

"Or he's both very dumb, and very brave. Somehow, I think there's more to that Red gem story than Lilly knows. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Stargazer has one of the Red gems. Not sure which one yet. Anyway, I've called Red Dragon and Blaze. They're meeting me at the House in... Thirty minutes. Other than that, its' just you, me, Lilly, and Stargazer. What do you think? Can you be at the House in thirty minutes?"

The tan skinned boy narrowed his eyes, irritated. "Is that a joke?" he asked in a low menacing voice. Course, when he was waking up, Luke had never been very tolerant of stupid questions. Even when the day progressed, he didn't like people asking stupid questions that required very little brain power. They were a waste of time and of little use. OF COURSE Luke could meet at Jade's place in thirty minutes. It wasn't like he had been across the country or anything. In fact, Luke had a manor house right next to Jade's. The question was probably aimed to prevent him from going back to sleep, but Luke found that both offensive and degrading. Jade had woke him up for this, OF COURSE he would meet at Jade's place. Not like he had anything better to do.

"Since when did you become someone's secretary Jade?" He asked, keeping his temper in check but not being afraid to show his aggravation. Luke was a nice kid once you got to know him, honestly. He just hated mornings. That was all.

[maka albarn]

"Is that a joke?" Jade closed his eyes and sighed. There it was. Something he'd done ticked Luke off and he wasn't sure what. Something in addition to waking him up, which put him on edge in the first place. Jade ran through their conversation in his mind. He had forgotten to tell Luke about the Gem. Maybe that was it. Or... he had asked if Luke could be at the House in thirty minutes. Jade grimaced. Luke probably categorized that as a "stupid question".

"Since when did you become someone's secretary Jade?"
Jade felt a short stab of anger. "Lilly is a friend of mine, Luke. She asked for help, so I helped her." He let his chair fall back into place with a soft thud. Luke was never at his best in the mornings. Jade knew that. Besides, Jade had a thick skin. In a moment his anger had subsided and he continued talking. "When I asked if you could be over in thirty minutes, it was a kind of courtesy. almost a formality. I look forward to seeing you there."

[✖STRIDE✖]

"Lilly is a friend of mine, Luke. She asked for help, so I helped her."

It took a moment for Luke to realize that his friend sounded upset. He opened his mouth to respond but Jade had quickly spoke again. He let out a soft curse that sounded dimly into the phone. He hated mornings. Hated them. But that gave him no excuse to chew his friend out. Jade had merely asked for his assistance in something that was asked of him as well. He was sharing the time and moment with him. He cursed a little louder and then stood up from his chair and walked over to the phone that was still sitting on the bedside table. He picked it up and turned it off Speaker phone and placed it to his ear.

"Listen man... That was uncalled for and I apologize. Yes. I promise I'll be at the meeting in twenty-five minutes. In fact. I'll be early just to make up for my stupid question. Count me in on this LC quest."

With that he opened a drawer at the bottom to the night table. From within it he pulled out his virtual head gear. He was merely in the next house over. It wouldn't take him long to arrive anyway. So might as well get there and calm himself down with some tea before he went all taiquando on Lilly and the crazy guy.

[maka albarn]

"Listen man..." Jade could tell by the change in sound quality that Luke had taken him off speaker phone. So. Whatever came next would probably be serious. "That was uncalled for and I apologize..." Jade listened. He knew that Luke's apology was sincere, but really, his comment hadn't upset Jade much. Well, maybe it had a little. "Don't worry about it, Luke. I know mornings aren't your best time. Look forward to seeing you there." Jade thought for a minute. He clicked his cell phone shut, and pulled a drawer open on his desk. There it was, his gear. Walking over to his bed, Jade laid flat on his back and slipped the virtual gaming gear on. He'd just log on now, to get some maps together, do a little research, and be there when Luke showed up a little early.