[Backdated] Hide with a false pleasant face what you know in your false, evil heart

[makethemguilty]

Who: Gregfred & Mangory von Edgeworth
When: Backdated to July 21st - 28th
Where: Von Karma's suite/The city streets and various places
Summary: Backdated log for the bodyswap between Gregory and Manfred von Karma
Warnings: Violence, angst, attempted bloodshed, rivals being rivals, pretty dark and gloomy, etc.

This morning had started as any other; Manfred prepared the tea bright and early at 7'o clock sharp. The silence between the two men—attorney and prosecutor, remained like a veil as he steeped the earl grey leaves to perfection. Stirring in the cream and sugar he knew the lawyer preferred along with something a little extra had become their routine: A regular course of procedure that took place before he attended court. Of course, given this was the weekend, he knew it to be the day that Gregory waited his son at the baseball Diamond. Hence, he would take extra caution in preparing it.

Given the extreme importance with which he took measures in placating his dear long-time rival Manfred would dust a little powder from a single white crushed pill into the bottom as well—that alone would be sufficient. It simply wouldn't do, after all, were he to slip a little stronger dosage. It had to be just the right amount…

"Your tea," von Karma murmured, and slid it along with a saucer in front of Gregory, his hawk-like demeanour scrutinizing him as though he might somehow see into his plan in a bare instant.

Comments

[sharp_belief]

One had to admit, this strange, almost domestic lifestyle as of late would have certainly been cause for concern to anyone who knew the two rivals personally. Yet in the passing weeks, Gregory had found himself at ease despite the circumstances; a compromise of sorts. While the stringent man who sat across from him was as the comicbooks would say, "his dreaded arch nemesis", Manfred von Karma had been the first and last familiar thing to him since his arrival. The only entity that was not completely alien. The last link to his homeworld and his past.

It shouldn't have been as comforting as it was. It shouldn't have. Yet how else was he to feel? Could he go on with the constant nagging feeling that Von Karma was to knife him in the back? The taxing anxiety of that prospect had left Gregory tired and over-compensating. In the least... the prosecutor could brew a brilliant cup of tea.

He practically groaned a quiet sound of relief as the citrusy scent of bergamot orange unfurled every deep line of worry marking his noble brow. There was a brief eye-contact and a polite nod to issue his appreciation.

"Thank you, Prosecutor." Perhaps they were in familiar close-quarters now, yet it was hardly enough to keep Gregory from his formalities. They weren't friends, after all, not in any officially acknowledged sense anyway.

He allowed the tea to breathe for a moment, the steam alone fogging his lenses slightly, but waking his exhausted eyes. The Darkness hardly allowed for him to sleep well... he envied Von Karma's resilience against it in a way.

"I take you slept well?" Asking the usual courteous protocol.

[makethemguilty]

Over the years von Karma had advanced not only in age, but also in the sort of duplicity only a prosecutor of his station could have. The passage of time had granted him cunning and all the bitterness of a man who never forgave a soul for a slight. He would no more forget the hatred in his gut for this attorney than grant mercy on a hardened criminal.

Instead, Gregory Edgeworth could gain all the comfort he wished from von Karma's presence, but in the end, he would be lying to himself were he to grant his greatest enemy a chance to twist the knife. Miles Edgeworth would no longer become a concern to him. Nothing would. For he would never even know he was here, and that he had come face to face with his own son.

A mocking, but mistakenly courteous smile curved his smarmy mouth the moment he saw the pleasure echo itself upon the plain defense lawyer's hard features, secretly amused and pleased himself that he hadn't lost his touch. Despite his ill intentions, von Karma would still prove to be a rather hospitable man when everything was falling into place as desired.

There was, of course, no kindness or warmth in the expression. The smile simply held its own, as if urging Gregory to be drawn into its conniving machinations without a fight.

"I should hope that it pleases you, Attorney," was his curt reply as he observed the man and the darker circles beneath his eyes, noting his own sleeplessness.

"Hm. Well enough," Manfred purred in his deep, rumbling voice as he slid himself down into the chair opposite and tended to his own tea.

"…Are you to look for him again, today?" Was his idle comment as he then proceeded to stir in a little cream, his brow raising slightly in inquiry.