Nine Swords

(This is actually what happens after my little character intro and is open for anyone to jump in so to speak, might even be a good way to meet Finnean without having to be online at the same exact time (thinking of timezones and all that.) to meet each other ingame)

With the pin badge tightly held in his hand he looks outside his window at the rain soaked passer-by’s.
Finnean shrugs, opens his hand and flips the pin badge in the air.
As it lands back in his hand, the Templar symbol points upwards “so be it. Temple Hall it is.”
With some visible reluctance he walks towards his bedroom and opens his closet. There are at least five to six different suits hanging about, some jeans, shirts and some t-shirts on the upper shelf.
With a quick flick of his hand he clears the left side of the closet, making a tiny button just under the top shelf visible.
As soon as he presses it, a series of clicks follow each other in quick succession. With a mere push on the backboard it slides aside and opens the secret compartment. In here he stores weapons, more “occult” items but most importantly…his Templar uniform.
Though he lives in an apartment nearly right across Templar HQ he still isn’t too keen on letting all this stuff lying about freely in his apartment.
Putting the pin badge on a small shelf, especially for that purpose, he takes out the uniform and starts to change into it.
The closet slowly closes and another series of clicks confirm that the secret compartment is once again hidden.

Perhaps it is a silly custom but tradition is there to be honoured. A visit to Temple Hall should be done in uniform and Finnean albeit only 31 years of age is perhaps worse than most “old timers” when it comes down to tradition and upholding the standards of the Templars.
It doesn’t take him long to get dressed and after a quick inspection in the mirror to see if his badges and all other “fringes” are in order he checks out his hair and moustache before putting his white gloves on.
With his umbrella in hand he closes the front door, ready to make the short, but unquestionably wet journey to Temple Hall to socialise with other Templars and hear some updates on current affairs.

Most of those that pass him, are trying to beat the rain by trying to outrun it, it seems, but Finnean himself keeps walking his calm pace, umbrella in one hand, a cigarette in the other, regularly taking a puff.

Katja looked up at the grey sky as she walked out of Ealdwick station. The rain fell down on her pale face and her mouth formed a smile. She started to walk toward Templar hall at the same time as she pulled up a red coat from her backpack. Even though this weather was welcomed after the heath from Egypt it was a little to chilly to walk with only her denim shorts and her red top.

It was not many people on the street, most of them tried to outrun the rain. As she walked she turned her blue eyes down to the coat as she tried to unfold it. Therefore she did not see the blond man in templar uniform and walked right into him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Her Scandinavian accent was distinct. "Are you alright?" She stroke away some of her black hair who had fell down in her eyes as she spoke to the man.

Jenn shoved a damp curtain of black hair back off of her face for the fourth time since she'd left the tube station at a jog. Her combat boots were splashing puddles onto her legs with every step, but she really didn't care. With only a tiny black and grey miniskirt and a sport bra on, she wasn't worried about having much fabric to dry out when she got to Sonnac's office.

The only thing she'd taken much time on with her outfit was the rifle in its soft but weatherproof case over her shoulder. The Edwards Arms logo figured prominently on the case, in subdued grey against the black. She held the shoulder strap forward as she ran, which kept the rifle from bouncing on her back.

She plowed into a particularly large puddle as she crossed the street toward Temple Hall, noting as the water flew up in an arcing fountain that one of the passersby she was about to soak was Kat. "Hey, Kat!" She waved as she dashed on, barely registering the man who'd been near Kat in deluge-range.

His eyes following the trajectory of the cigarette butt he just threw away, he did not see the young woman approach and walk into him. Two things happened rather simultaneously then, first there was the apparent and unavoidable walk in with Katja but what really did the trick was the gush of water he got over the lower parts of his trousers, courtesy of some woman, who was apparantly in a hurry.
“Godverd…”some other more obscure Dutch curse words followed, it was the one thing that remained very Flemish about him.
As he regained his composure and heard, but mostly see, the lady apologise, it was after all not exactly an unattractive lady in Finnean’s book, his disposition changed instantly and a smile appeared on his face.
“I’m quite alright, thank you.” He said rather quickly.
“But more importantly, are you alright? Here (Finnean holds the umbrella above Katja) maybe now you can safely get that coat on, for yours and others’ safety.” He said with a tone of voice and a facial expression that would give “smirkyness” a whole new meaning, and yet you felt it was all said in a jokingly, endearing fashion.

Katja tried to take a step back to avoid the water but in vain, her legs and knee high boots got splashed. "Hey!" she cried out after Jen, something that was not meant as an greeting.

When she heard the man spoke to her she looked up, once again. At his words about her and others´ safety Katja slowly got a pink shade on her pale cheeks.

"I am. Thank you." She gave him a little embarrassed smile as she pulled on the coat who reached her to the middle of her thigh. It would probably be a nicer look if not her thighs had been splashed by muddy water but she did not show any sign to notice it. Or if she did, to care about it. Instead, she looked down at his uniform and then up to his face again. She gave him a look full of curiosity.

"I have not seen you around. Are you new here?"

Finnean noticed the slightly embarrassed smile and when he heard she was alright he nodded with a returning smile, as if saying “good, very good”.
Even though it was merely a coat she pulled on, his eyes had already noticed the more revealing, summer themed clothing she now wore underneath.
A healthy man of his age can certainly appreciate the more…revealing garments of female fashion, nonetheless after he had noticed the length of the coat and subsequently her muddy thighs, he averted his eyes as quickly as he could, after all staring at a woman's thighs is not very gentleman like.

“New is relative, my lady. But you are correct in assuming that I don’t walk these streets very often. Then again seeing as of all places we, literally, run into each other here, would suggest you know all about spending time in far away places, would you not?” His eyes now slowly returning to meet hers again, after all it was only polite to look at someone when talking.
“The name is William, but by all means, call me Will, miss…?” He extended his hand, slightly more tilting and open, than one normally does for a handshake.

"Katja Holm." she took his hand to shake it. She had an amused glimpse in her eyes. "And yes. I do. And from the look off you, that would not be... um..." she struggled to find the right words for a couple of second, "...something you are a stranger to either."

She looked toward Templar Hall. "I'm sorry... I really should get going... Even though I do not think there is a rush, Mr Sonnac asked me to turn in my report, so..."

He knew this gesture usually is percieved as upper class, old fashioned and frankly, out of place in modern society but he loved it and as in other things it was the link to tradition that appealed to him. As Katja took his hand he slightly lifted it and gave a gentleman's hand kiss, making sure the lips did not touch her hand and then released it "A pleasure to meet you, miss Holm." Looking at her to see her reaction, which, must be said, wasn't always positive for the above mentioned reasons.
"Would I know? But surely I'm just a normal man who's been...to some places." he winks as his voice cracked up from soft laughter near the end of this sentence.
"To Temple Hall you say? I was just on my way there to meet Dame Julia. As always as you are well aware, for some thorough lecture on how previous generations were superior to ours." he grins.
" The thing is, that in some cases she is often right, but don't ever tell her that. Perhaps we can share this (points up to the umbrella) tool and at least try to keep the rest of our clothes as dry as possible? and perhaps afterwards I can offer you something to drink in Temple Club?" he smiles as invitingly as he possible can.

When he kissed her hand, the pink on her cheeks turned into a deeper color, although she did not pull her hand away. when he let it go she cleared her throat a little and stretched a little on her back.

When he spoke about dame Julia she seemed to relax a little. She looked at him with a serious look.

"Be aware... no small talk, for the love of god!" She could not keep herself from laughing. She began to walk next to him towards Templar hall.

"Maybe. It depends on if Mr Sonnac want me out in the field right away. If he doesn't... why not?"

The reaction he received was more than enough for Finnean, at least it wasn't a slap in the face, and as he could neither refrain from a hearty laugh over her dame Julia impersonation he moved the umbrella more to the centre so that both her and himself be shielded from the worst of the rain.
For a second he thought about offering his arm to hook in, purely out of wanting to be helpful, but for that he didn't know her well enough yet.
His arm had gone up ever so slightly though, so he wasn't sure she had seen that.

"Sounds like a fair deal to me. it would certainly make the Temple Club a whole deal more interesting than having the same conversations over and over with grumpy and stuffy historians. I should know, I am one." he replied with a healthy tone of self mockery and a grin on his face.