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[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

Characters: Esther, Lilith
Date/Time: Monday, December 26, 2011
Location: Sousa Museum in Champaign, IL
Rating: Probably nothing too bad... PG-13 at worst?
Warnings: Possibly language
Summary: The JC women follow their second clue to Illinois...

Esther got to the museum early. Lilith was supposed to be meeting her here, though she didn't see the other woman right away. The last few days had felt all sorts of strange, and she would be eager to get this over with and try to return to life as usual.

While she waited, Esther fingered the small package in her purse. It was still Hanukkah for her, and she wasn't quite sure what Lilith celebrated, but she still felt there ought to be something to mark the holiday...

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[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

Lilith came in in a flurry of skirts and trench coat tails. She looked around, actually turning with her scan, her heeled boots clicking on the polished floor of the museum, until her eyes landed on Esther. Then she headed straight toward her, a smile on her lips.

"Hey, I'm not late am I? O'Hare was a nightmare."

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

"No, no. I'm just early," Esther assured her. "And before I forget..." She withdrew the little package wrapped in cellophane. "I wasn't sure what you celebrated, but it's still Hanukkah for me, and, well... This is for you."

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

Lilith blinked in surprise as she was handed the package. Her family really didn't do the winter holidays ever. Her moms always complained that it was a season of consumerism and less about anything spiritual. So shopping for presents during the holidays was never really a thing for her. But this lovely -and as she looked closer at the box, expensive- gift made her feel bad she hadn't thought about what Esther might have celebrated.

"Thank you," She said it with sincerity and bafflement. "I- I didn't get you anything though." She would have to come up with something wonderful. Last moment purchases were not something she did. That would just be cheap, no matter whatever she might choose cost.

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

"Depending on what awaits us inside, getting us through this might be present enough," Esther said wryly. "So. Ready to see what these clues have been leading us toward?"

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

She tucked the present in her coat pocket. She would go shopping for something for Esther, something just right. Even if it came out of season, it didn't matter to Lilith.

"As ready as I'll ever be I suppose." She gave a small smile, moving onward. She could think about shopping later.

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Esther looked around.
"Wow... There's virtually no one here... I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not," she observed. "So... if this thing is an artifact... it's probably very old... most likely behind Plexiglass..."

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

"And probably alarmed. Yeah, I've thought about that myself." For all the good it had done her. The only course of action she figured she could do was smash the glass, grab the thingy and run like the wind. But she probably wouldn't get away with it. "I'm not sure how we're going to get it out of here without ending up in jail."

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

"Well, these... Powers, or whatever they are, want us to have it, right? So, there must be a lawful way to get it in our possession," Esther reasoned.

And then she stopped.
"Oh... my..."

There, in front of them, being cleaned by an intent-looking young man as part of some sort of demonstration, was a very, very ancient-looking horn. She couldn't explain it, but instinct told her it was the Horn of Joshua. The real deal. And it was just ten feet away.

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

She felt the same absolute knowledge that the horn was the one they were after. And she had an idea.

Her hand pulled away the tie of her trench coat and she hurriedly handed it to Esther. Underneath she had a black sweetheart neck blouse with a matching short skirt and boots. She faced away from the young man and pulled her breasts up so the cleavage was fully showcased. She gave her hair a quick toss to give it volume. "I have an idea." Is all she gave Esther before taking the other woman by the wrist and heading straight toward the young man and their horn. She maneuvered them both to the very front of the small gathering of the demonstration. She made purposeful eye contact with the young man and flashed him one of her best smiles. She prayed he was straight.

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

Esther raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I suppose it isn't stealing if it's freely given to us," she conceded.

The young man looked curiously at Lilith, but his concentration was on the instrument, handling it very delicately.

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

Lilith flashed him another smile and stepped even closer. She turned her gaze down to the instrument, and then looked up at him through her lashes. No stops on this one. "The piece looks very old." She spoke her conversation starter in a totally different tone of voice, this one was her stage voice. She affected a lower sultry tone that had the hint of a purr in it.

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

"Yes, ma'am," he said, "It was recovered from an excavation in Middle East, and it's several thousand years old. We have it on loan from another exhibit." He looked at her, a long, lingering gaze. "...did you have some questions about it?"

Esther couldn't help but grin. The poor kid was going to be toast, and she knew it.

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

A slight toss of the hair, with a gentle shoulder roll of a shrug. "You handle it so...delicately." Loads of innuendo poured into that one word. "Is it fragile?"

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

"Well, it seems sturdy enough, but we don't want to take chances with such a priceless relic. We do our best to keep it in top condition," the boy explained, "You... have an interest in horns?"

Esther tried very hard to keep from laughing, and coughed to cover it up.

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

A smile spread across her lips, and she managed to keep it in the realm of seduction and not humor. The poor boy was so obvious. "Oh yes. They are my favorite instrument." She drew her lower lip between her teeth and slowly let it out. "Could I..." She swayed closer so her skirt brushed across his legs. "Touch it?"

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

"You want to... touch it?" The boy coughed and blushed a little. "I... I'm not sure that's allowed, Miss."

Esther rolled her eyes, and nodded for Lilith to push the envelope a bit. This would take forever at this rate.

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

She took the cue from Esther and put her hand on the boy's chest, sliding downward as she closed into his personal space. "I promise we won't tell." She enunciated the words so her lips were his focal point. "I am the sole of discretion." He put her other hand on the horn, easing it out of his grip.

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

Esther grinned, and decided to throw a little extra fuel on the fire.
"Honest. It'll just be our little secret," she purred, coming up on his other side, "We have every interest in making sure it's very well taken care of..."

The boy swallowed nervously.
"Well... uh..."

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

Lilith raised up and pressed a very slow kiss to the boy's cheek, the horn sliding out of his grip. "Thank you." She all but whispered it against his ear, and then slowly stepped back from him.

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

Esther signaled for Lilith to get the heck out of there.
"I can't tell you how grateful we are that you trust us with this," she murmured, kissing his other cheek.

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

Lilith withdrew, not running but moving as fast as she could and not look suspicious. She kept an eye out for security, but tried not to draw too much attention to herself.

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

Esther soon followed, doing her best to distract any attracted security.

Once they were safely outside, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, looks like we actually pulled that one off," she said.

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

"Oh I hope that poor kid doesn't get in trouble for this." She offered up the horn to Esther in exchange for her coat. Chicago was damn cold in the winter. "So what are we supposed to do with this thing anyway?"

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

"I'll be honest, I'm not quite sure. This has all been happening so fast... I assume we have to take it with us to where that clue in the party cracker said to go."

Esther looked the horn over thoughtfully.
"If the place we're supposed to go is one of power... It's probably well-protected. If this truly is the Horn of Joshua, the one that brought down the walls of Jericho, maybe we have to use it to get inside."

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

The idea was a little daunting. They'd already committed grand larceny in the name of an unknowable goal. Now they might have to break into some kind of fortress with an ancient horn.

"Is it just me, or is this whole scavenger hunt starting to feel a little too real?"

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

"Oh, I have the feeling it's very real," Esther agreed, "I don't know what all is being expected of us. I'll admit, the whole prospect is a little frightening. Just the two of us, against God only knows what? And all we have to our aid is an ancient relic... Speaking of, where are we going to keep this thing?"

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

"Uh..." She hadn't even thought that far ahead. She sighed and it came out as a cloud of white steam. "I think it's too big for a safe deposit box."

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

"I'm not sure we could put it into a safe deposit box without strange questions," Esther agreed with a sigh. "Do you think it would be safe enough with one of us?"

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

"I suppose so, as long as no one comes looking for us about it." She cringed thinking about the cameras that were probably in there. "I really hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the ass. I really have no desire to go to prison."

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

"Well... he did give it to us willingly... and we are supposed to have it..." Esther looked a little dubious. "I don't know." She shook her head.

"You hungry? Want to find some lunch or something?"

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

"Yeah, lets do that." Rather than think about how the police weren't going to just say okay to the reasoning that they were supposed to have the horn, she agreed with Esther. Do something normal and move on. If she had too, she could probably seduce the judge or jury to keep them out of jail, if it came down to it.

"We're in Chicago, we might as well enjoy the food."

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

"Or close enough, anyway. What do you think? Real Chicago deep dish?" she suggested.

[womanontop.insanejournal.com]

"Might as well." She actually chuckled a little. Life was getting stranger and stranger each day. But there was always pizza.

[queen-of-purim.insanejournal.com]

"Excellent. Know of anywhere good?" Esther asked.