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A Not-So-Subtle Matchmaker
Topic Started: Jan 13 2014, 08:57 PM (3,872 Views)
Demoness
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Despite being the dead of winter in the northern hemisphere, all was not gloom in Demoness. The season was called Second Summer and was indeed more like its counterpart than an opposite. The weather was warmer and slightly humid, though the latter was due to the shower was predicted to visit Sacred Rock later that evening. For the time being, the weather was overcast as Ned Davion descended into the airport. He would soon be followed by Gavrila de Sud, but he was not quite aware of that fact yet.

Visits between Fenwick and Demoness had become more than routine, with the prince representing his country more often than his father, and they had lost all their formality; a simple phone call announced his arrival and a car would meet him at the airport with little fanfare. He was admitted to the Plateau and after a little witty banter with the Guardian of the Gateway, an ex-girlfriend, he was led into Jia Li's private solar.

Though technically a solar, it was more specifically a library and Jia Li lounged with her legs across her husband's lap; a chitael, either Nemesis or Aphrodite, lay in hers. She propped up a book on her chitael's head, reading happily while her husband reviewed something on a tablet. She looked up as Ned entered and smiled. "Hey, Ned-mitsu," she greeted. "I'd stand but..." She indicated the hundred pound animal purring on her lap. "When did you get in?"
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Cetatsenia
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"Wait, ze government does not recognize any religions?" Gavrila asked, one of her eyebrows raised, "So does zat mean zat none of the Churches in Fenwick are exempt from paying taxes?" In Cetatsenia churches were considered tax-exempt organizations since they were classified as charitable organizations. However, the absolute control of the nobles meant they decided which religions actually counted as religions for that purpose, and could choose to strip a church of their tax-exempt status should they so desire.
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Fenwick
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Ned nodded. "That's correct. Though, like any citizen, they can write off any documented charitable expenses. Otherwise, they're treated similarly to motivational groups."
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Cetatsenia
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Gavrila shrugged, "Eh I guess zat works out. In Cetatsenia churches are not tazed unless zey happen to screw up. At least, zat is how it is supposed to work." Her second sentence made it fairly obvious things didn't always work the way they should, and she was not particularly happy or amused by that.
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Fenwick
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Ned noted the body language. "I take it that isn't always the case?"
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Cetatsenia
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"Cetatsenia is an Absolute Monarchy. Sure, ze Knezi and Bani and Voivode are seen as having a responsibility to provide for zeir people fairly and justly, but I am not ignorant," Gavrila said, shrugging, "I am well aware of ze issues wiz ze system; and zat is zat nobles can use zeir power for zeir own damn gain. I mean, zey need to hide it because zat is a sure fire way to royally piss off my cousin but it still happens. A couple of years back zere was a major scandal wiz a Ban requiring all ze Churches in his Banate to pay him in order to stay tax-exempt; Cetatsens fucking hate crooked nobles. Zey hate zem as much as everyone else hates crooked politicians."
Edited by Cetatsenia, Apr 14 2014, 12:13 AM.
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Fenwick
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"Ah yes, pay me a tax so that you don't have to pay taxes. I love it when they have logic like that too. I assume he got the wrath of god brought down on him?"
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Cetatsenia
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"Ha! More like ze wrath of my Uncle Mircea," Gavrila said, suddenly grinning, "His name may sound like 'mercy', but I can tell you zat he did not show any. While Mircea could not just remove him from power, my Uncle made him pay for what he did. And hell, ze public backlash was enough to make ze porc abdicate to his heir. Granted he was already getting up zere in years, but nobody in his Banate approved of him after zat."

Gavrila just stood there staring off into space for a few moments, grinning. Then she looked over at Ned and laughed, "It is just great when people get what zey deserve, right?"
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Fenwick
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Ned nodded. "Indeed. It can be exceedingly satisfying. Just like feeding time in the aquarium exhibits, which is in five minutes. Want to catch them feeding squid to the sharks?"
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Cetatsenia
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At Ned's suggestion Gavrila perked up and her grin grew even wider. "Oh hell yeah, zat sounds awesome," she said happily, "And besides, zis is supposed to be a date. We should not be talking about shitty stuff like zat anyway."

Then she looked around, "I have no idea where zat is, so I am going to need someone else to lead ze way."
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Demoness
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Even though she believed Ned knew the way, Adiwyn obediently led them to the exhibit. The aquarium itself was its own section of the zoo and was further divided by location, temperature, and depth. There was a popular exhibit where no light was allowed: it created the illusion of being in the deep, cold sea and though visually, not much could be seen since the animals at that depth utilized bioluminescence for hunting, it created a creepy atmosphere.

But that could be saved for later. The exhibit in question displayed tropical sharks native to the Demonessian coastline and showed a wide variety, along with a few species of fish and manta rays that could coexist peacefully. While the sharks were fed, one of the workers spoke over a mic and explained the biology of the shark and answered questions. The sharks appeared to be rather docile, which could be expected from a display animal, but the zoo also worked to correct the image of "killer" sharks as well.
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