triangularity | Open RP post!

Most of the precinct has been giving the former head of Special Investigations a very wide berth in the past couple months. Karrin didn't take well to losing her command, even if she has no regrets about saving the Carpenter girl. If she'd kept her rank but let a teen die? No, Karrin couldn't have lived with that.

All the same, she's downright hostile to most non-S.I. cops if they seek her out. The tiny blonde is the terror of the gym and shooting range, with her aikido black belt and all her marksmanship trophies.

Karrin still has a kind word for any of her own division, checking in with them while trying not to overstep any boundaries now that the place isn't hers to run. She's just finished lifting weights when she sees S.I.'s newest member across the gym. He's probably heard at least a little about what happened with Karrin, disappearing for 24 hours during an ongoing investigation, and clearly he's no stranger to disgrace if he wound up an S.I. cop so young. She hasn't gotten to know him well enough yet to get a feel for whether it was incompetence, inexplicable encounters with the supernatural, or just plain bad luck that got him landed in Special Investigations. They are, after all, the banishing ground for anyone whose career has taken a turn for the worse.

She smiles as she approaches, drawing raised eyebrows from one or two of the men subjected to her temper in the last week. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" she offers. Tea or anything else can be substituted, of course, but Karrin defaults to coffee.

Edited 2015-04-11 13:54 (UTC)

Despite the others giving Karrin lots of space, Ivan doesn't treat her any different. She may not be in command of him, but she is still his superior. Everyone is in Ivan's eyes. So when she asks him about coffee, he's taken back for that reason rather than her loss of rank.

"Eh?" Ivan looks up from the dummy he has been chucking shuriken at for the past hour or so. He barely keeps the one from his fingers from flying out of them, but if it had, it would have landed safely on the dummy. His aim has been improving since he was sent to S.I. There were so many reasons for the motivation. He's not quite at bulls-eye accuracy, but he hits the target now. Instead of every place around it. "Oh, um. Sure..."

He goes for a towel resting on his bag to wipe his face down. It's time for a break anyways.

"I think you're the only person in the precinct who's ever used those," she remarks. "Any other martial arts you're good at?" Karrin does much more of her training in a dojo than here at the station gym. She doesn't think the shuriken are a bad idea. Not for an S.I. cop. Steel is always handy to have around faeries, for instance, as Karrin knows full well. That investigation she disappeared during? She was off in the Nevernever saving a girl who'd been taken by the Sidhe. If Ivan wants to carry shuriken, far be it from Karrin to stop him, even if she did have the authority to do that anymore. No one will complain as long as the non-regulation weapons don't find their way into anyone human.

She gestures with a nod of her head. "Come on, let's go see if there's anything drinkable upstairs." If not, there's always the coffee shop across the street.

"Okay," Ivan answers quickly cleans up the area in case someone wants to practice with the dummy while he's gone. It doesn't take him long to do so.

"You could say that I'm practicing the ninja arts," Ivan admits as they start to go upstairs. Which is to say that if it's remotely ninja or Japan related, Ivan was interested. He prefers them to a gun and baton. He feels... more in control of them. They move only if Ivan wants them to. They can't fire accidentally like a gun, and there's more involved to using them than point and shoot. There's more responsibility. And after what happened with Edward and the fae being and the human, it's more than enough reason for Ivan to hone these skills over any others. It's not like he does much with mundane anymore.

"I, uh, I heard that you also practice some martial arts," he asks shyly. Not many people here thought to get to know him, so he's not sure what to expect.

The phrase 'ninja arts' garners raised eyebrows from Karrin, but she smiles anyway. Members of S.I. can't really cast stones, and at least Ivan seemed competent with the shuriken. They can probably find a place for a ninja in their division even if he might not fit in with the rest of Chicago P.D. "Don't let your marksmanship slip, and be careful who finds out what other weapons you carry while on duty. Steel's never a bad thing to have on you, though."

It's the closest Karrin will come to outright referencing the Sidhe or the supernatural, not until she knows whether Ivan has any experience with them. He might be here for entirely mundane reasons. She doubts it a little more after watching him train.

"Aikido, mostly. I'm not bad with a staff or a sword either, but I'm primarily an unarmed fighter if I'm not shooting. I spend a lot of time at the dojo."

It's good advice, and Ivan manages to nod. Steel has its uses in this city beyond that of construction. And he won't let his marksmanship rust away. He'll keep sharpening it until he rarely misses. Ivan has to.

"You can use a sword?" There's no mistaking how Ivan's voice brightens at the mention, and he loses his earlier shyness. He thinks of Karrin wielding a sword against the supernatural who'd harm their city, and he imagines her looking very cool while doing so. Of course, he imagines her equipped with a katana... which he doesn't know if that's what she means. A katana is his default when he thinks of swords.

But then he catches himself, having been the subject of much ridicule for his love of Japanese culture. "I-I mean... th-that's impressive..."

Some things aren't harmed by guns, and she found out months ago that firearms don't work in places like the Nevernever. Karrin has been working hard on her swordsmanship since. Yes, usually with a katana, even if that wasn't what she took with her to Arctis Tor.

The eagerness does strike her as odd, especially from someone who's been sent to S.I. She wonders if it was just his taste for unconventional weaponry, under the command of someone who ordered against it, that got him sent here. Somehow, though, she doubts that. And she can already see him second guessing his reaction, so she doesn't say anything on the matter.

"I'm learning. I'm better with a gun or unarmed." But then, she's tiny. Just barely five feet tall, Karrin's martial arts skills are enough to let her stand up unarmed against most people with normal human strength. Unfortunately, S.I. doesn't deal just with those. She picks up new skills because she needs them. Karrin is still the most knowledgeable and well-connected member of the division, thanks to her friendship with Harry Dresden. She doesn't give the orders anymore, but she knows that a few of their number will still look to her for guidance in an emergency. That means being prepared for anything.

"You should come by the dojo. I do most of my training there aside from shooting practice, and it's probably more your speed than the precinct gyms." There are a lot fewer stares, and a lot more people with shared interests.

"The dojo? I... guess I could stop by. I-I won't be disturbing you, would it?" After he speaks, Ivan realizes that it's a stupid question. Karrin wouldn't have invited him in the first place. However, his own self esteem tells him that he'd certainly get in the way if he went.

Feeling the need to do something, Ivan goes to see if there is any coffee to brew. The coffee pot is currently empty, and given the low status of S.I., they don't get the fancier one-cup machines. Ivan opens a few cabinets to see what they have to work with. He has to stand on the tips of his toes. He's a little vertically challenged too, though he's seven inches taller than Karrin. Reaching blindly gives him an old box of assorted teabags that can be used in a pinch. There's also a two-thirds empty container of coffee. Okay, so coffee and tea are options.

Ivan still has to find a coffee filter however. Ah... who used this stuff last? "Um, which would you like?"

Karrin doesn't coddle anybody. She won't go out of her way to appease Ivan's low self-esteem, but she won't call attention to it either. Matter-of-factly, she tells him, "It's not my dojo. Plenty of people train there. Use your common sense and you won't get in anybody's way. If you want to learn, there are teachers there too. Not me. I only teach kids, plus a women's self defense class."

She won't turn down someone else providing the caffeine, even if she did invite Ivan to join her in the first place. "Coffee," Karrin answers immediately. "Thanks."

Digging around in a drawer produces one coffee filter that has been crumpled into a ball. Unfolding the wad proves easy enough for the young man who spends hours folding paper. He fills the pot with water to pour into the machine and adds the coffee to the filter. It's enough for two and a few refills. Cream and sugar will need to be found, but he'll worry about that later. There's probably some powdered stuff somewhere.

"Even if I use my common sense and have been there for a while, I still end up surprising people.... They just don't notice me until it's too late." It happens so often that Ivan has begun to wonder if he has some kind of curse or spell placed on him and if there would be a way to tell besides the tendency to be overlooked. He gives a sigh. "It's helpful when you're actually trying to sneak around, but when you're not..."

"It's an asset, especially in SI." Karrin says frankly. His admission is a big one, one she didn't expect from someone who hasn't gotten to know and trust her yet. She eyes Ivan speculatively. "Most of us wind up here because someone higher up the ranks doesn't like us. You avoid attracting attention, you'll do fine. You attract the wrong kind, you're out on your ear."

A lot of the men and women in their division are good cops. Stallings, loathe though Karrin was to be replaced, is a good Lieutenant, and one of her own men before her demotion and his promotion. That doesn't make departmental politics from outside of SI any easier to manage. Flying under the radar keeps people out of trouble.

Of course, Karrin has never been too good at going unnoticed. Her size and her looks mean she was always underestimated until she forced people to take notice. She's reasonable enough most of the time, but absolutely belligerent when challenged. Karrin takes shit from no one. "That being said, nobody can ignore you if you make them pay attention. Speak up for yourself, kick a few asses if you need to."

"I don't really mind being overlooked. I'm used to it, but when it causes problems for other people, that's when I worry about it...." Ivan says halfheartedly. It's hard to balance the desire to be ninja-like and the desire to be the target rather than another he cared about. Or even a stranger. If the fae had noticed and targeted Ivan instead of that bystander, would Edward be in the situation he's in now? If the fae had noticed Ivan, would it have taken a different action or maybe not acted at all?

Now, Ivan has to find a way to save Edward, and that's easier said than done.

The coffee finishes brewing, and Ivan starts pouring them into mugs: one white with some faded logo and one saying "World's Best Grandfather." He'll leave Karrin to adjust her coffee to how she likes it and hands the faded logo mug out to her. He rummages in a few more drawers to find some sugar packets and a powered creamer that's two thirds empty.

"Next time, I'll be ready, I hope." Or at least he'll be able to throw a shuriken at the fae and have a better chance of hitting something.

She nods. "I guess you'll have to work on balance there. I'm always in people's faces, and I don't really think you should take after me. A little more standing up for yourself or pushing to get people's attention shouldn't hurt, though."

Accepting the mug, Karrin drinks her coffee black. It's as much tough-girl habit as it is her actual preference. Once she'd proven herself on the force, she was already so used to black coffee that she doesn't always add anything to it.

"Next time?" Karrin asks. That's the important part. The thing that Ivan says that cuts through everything else. Next time means there was a first time, that something went wrong. Karrin does want to know what it was, if Ivan will tell her, but his response is telling enough. Ivan's taken it exactly the way Karrin would want anyone in her division to take it. Like the tempering on a blade, honing his determination to protect people.

She thinks she could get to like him.

"I had a friend named Edward. We went to the police academy together, and we worked together a lot. Edward was a rising star really... I was just the tag-along behind him," Ivan starts as he pours some of the powdered creamer and sugar packets into his coffee. He never lifts his eyes from the task. "We got a call, and when we got there, there was this fey harassing a woman. We... couldn't believe what we were seeing at first... but it was... supernatural. There's no mistaking that."

He pauses to stir the contents of his mug, buying for a little more time to figure out how to relay what happened next. "The fey saw Edward, panicked, and then held the woman hostage. Edward tried to free her... The fey didn't notice me, and I-I... got scared. I didn't know what was going on or what to do." So, he ended up doing nothing and regrets it to this day. Ivan bows his head to obscure more of his face behind his wispy blond bangs and speaks more softly. "The fey killed the woman with Edward's gun and took Edward somewhere."

But the meekness Ivan shows evaporates as he grips his mug. Hard. His eyes meet Karrin's with a fire that's out of place for the quiet young man. "The official record says that Edward killed the woman and ran, but he didn't! I don't know where he is right now, but he's not a murderer!"

Karrin put a hand on his shoulder. "Not everyone will believe you, even in SI," she warns him, "but some of us will. I lost my command because I disappeared during an ongoing investigation. Rescuing a kidnapped girl from faerieland wasn't something I could put in my report."

The official reports will often say things that aren't true when it comes to SI cases. "I'll be honest, it's awfully hard to clear names when we can't offer an alternate culprit."

She might not be able to help. She won't promise anything she doesn't know she can deliver. But Karrin knows she might be the first person who doesn't greet the revelation with skepticism.

And just like that, the fire dims and smothers out like a thick, dark blanket has been drawn over him. His shoulders sag, and he drops his gaze back towards the floor. He's not in the SI or even law enforcement for his own benefit and career anymore. He has a mission he'll do just about anything to see through. What happens after, Ivan has no idea. He'll worry about that if--when he finally rescues Edward. Someday he may be harboring a fugitive of the law because he can't think of another option.

But perhaps this is the first time, Ivan doesn't feel completely alone, not to be completely disregarded and thought as crazy for his goal.

"I know..." Ivan says, lowering his voice again as if one of their superiors could hear. "But, I can't just leave Edward in the hands of that fey... I have to do something. I'll sacrifice my life if it means he'll be free from him."

"First things first. We'll need to get a clear description of whatever Sidhe you saw into the hands of someone a lot more knowledgeable than I am. We'll do this off the books, no city funding, but I can throw in a little money toward our consultant's fees. I'll give him a call and come with you if you'd like." Harry's the best friend Karrin has, but she really does hate asking him to work for free. She knows he barely manages to pay his bills every month.

"Then, you should keep training with less conventional weapons. Simple is better if we're talking about the supernatural. Steel is perfect for what you're looking for. Be careful around the station, because it isn't going to do you any favors with the rest of the force. It's worth it." She meant it when she said he ought to train at the dojo. Karrin has a feeling Ivan will fit in a lot better there than he seems to in the precinct, and it would be good for him. It's one of Karrin's favorite places. She can tell when she has that in common with someone.

"And Karelin?" Karrin waits to make sure he looks her in the eye, at least for a moment, before she continues, "Being willing to do anything necessary is good in a lot of ways, but don't be so quick to offer up your own life."

"I have some money in savings." He doesn't outright say it as Ivan's not sure just how much a consultant of this nature actually costs, but he doesn't want to burden Karrin with part of a bill. Ivan's not rich, however. Who is in his position?

He slumps into his hair with the coffee mug between his hands. He sees the look in her eyes and frowns. "I owe him a lot. I wouldn't be where I am now without him," he admits. Edward had been his only true friend at the Academy. They did so much together, and how does Ivan repay him? By going unnoticed and unable to help when Edward needed him the most. There's an emptiness in Ivan's life without him by his side. They are supposed to be a team. Not like this.

"I'll go to the dojo and practice more. I want to be ready when I come across it again. The fae moved like smoke, but it was able to pick up a gun and fire it. Can they even do that?" A gun isn't pure iron, so perhaps it doesn't hurt it as much, but it's metal.

Open RP post!

Karrin Murphy | post-Proven Guilty

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makes up some kind of fae 8|;;