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Having relocated due to Robin going rogue, Annie made sure to let Aaron know the location of the apartment she's sharing with Eugene. Right now, though, she's sitting on the couch, idling away the wait by playing on her Switch.
By and by there comes a knock on the door, round about the time Aaron is due to be showing up. It is followed by his familiar gravelly baritone, "It's me."
Cue Annie pausing the game, standing and moving to the door to let Aaron in. She's dressed fairly casually today - blue jeans and a light green teeshirt reading b'tzelem Elohim around a rainbow magen david. "Hey, Aaron. Thank you for coming." She steps aside to let him in. "Shoes off at the door, please. Can I get you anything to drink?"
"Some water would be great, actually. I biked here." Aaron has his bike helmet looped around his arm and his go bag on his back, which testifies to that being the case. He slips out of his street shoes once inside and sets bag and helmet down near the door where they won't be clutter. "I hope you enjoyed Shavuot. I'm still on leave from Rodeph Sholom, so I've been over at Kol Tzedek more these days. They seem to have less issue with a cop punching rabbi."
"I did enjoy Shavuot, yes," Annie says, padding into the kitchen area to get the requested water. "Do you think Rodeph Sholom are likely to take you back at any point?" Returning from the kitchen, she places the water glass on one of the coasters kept on the coffee table before sitting back down on the couch, tucking her legs under her as usual.
"Depends on how the trial goes, I imagine. I can't really be a rabbi for a congregation from supermax. So they'd have to let me go at that point. If I'm acquitted, which would take a miracle to be honest with you, they still might let me go for other reasons. Some of the congregation are of the opinion I no longer reflect the character of the congregation. Which some of rest of the congregation responded to by saying that's because the congregation forgot whose side they're supposed to be on. I'm keeping my mouth shut, perhaps unwisely, and putting my energy into learning how to be Harry Potter. It's been good for me." Aaron gets out of that out before gulping down half of the water in one go. "It's been a weird month."
Annie wrinkles her nose in distaste at the mention of Harry Potter. "I do not think I will ever understand the popularity of those books, but I am glad to hear that learning about your new community is good for you." She smiles at him. "What are things like on that side? I am still learning how much goes on that Sleepers, for lack of a better term, are unaware of."
"It's a cultural touchstone that everyone gets at least on some level, and it's a pretty apt analogy for what I'm going through right now. Different schools of magical thought trying to win me over to their way of thinking. Mostly the debate surrounds praxis and theory. Everyone agrees, more or less, on magic and where it comes from and how to do it. They differ on what to do with the power it provides, and how to live a moral life when you can snap your fingers and influence nations. I have to say, my life up to this point makes this particular part of learning a piece of cake." Aaron heads over to take a seat on the couch, still holding his glass of water. "What are things like in what sense? Culturally, or?"
"Yes," Annie deadpans. "Mostly culturally, but also the breakdown on what the schools of thought are like, at least from your perspective."
"Why are you so curious?" Aaron turns the question back on her, not precisely defensively. But curiosity for curiosity, perhaps. "I ask in part because one of them dislikes it when people talk about all things mage with outsiders. I'm sure you have people like that on your side of things, too."
"We do, yes." Annie considers him for a moment. "If this is not something you are comfortable talking about with me, we can change the topic, of course."
"It's not so much that, I'm just wondering why you're curious. And you're not answering the question." Aaron gives her a wry grin at that, as though hanging a hat on the fact. "Which probably means we should change the topic, yeah." Aaron finishes up his glass of water and carries it off for the kitchen, setting the empty into the sink and returning to the couch again. "How's living with Eugene going?"
Annie positively beams at that. "It is wonderful. They are amazing. I do wish the move had happened under better circumstances, of course, but I would not go back to living alone for the world." Yeah, she's pretty clearly still in the honeymoon phase. Which isn't unreasonable, since the relationship is barely a month old.
"I'm ecstatic for you," Aaron offers with a smile, "you deserve every happiness. So good for you. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Eugene, myself. I've met a lot of people that speak very highly of them, though. And you love them, so that figures. Lux and I have been getting closer together. They made me new kippot! To replace the one I lost during the riot." Aaron tilts his head forward, displaying his new rainbow kippah.
"I shall have to introduce you at some point, then." Annie says, smiling at the new rainbow kippah. "I did not realise they were making you new kippot, but that is excellent. Much more fitting than the plain one I got you, since I was more intent on making sure you had one than that it was rainbow."
"I cried, I'm not going to lie. It was so thoughtful as a gift. And they are avowedly atheist. Or at least agnostic. But they're very respectful of my beliefs. I was very worried about whether or not our relationship really had any future. With them being very openly poly and very not Jewish, and all. But I decided to give being happy a shot, and so far so good." Aaron wears a lopsided grin at the end there, "Maybe this is just my midlife crisis. But I'm having more fun with Lux than I would with a GTO, and I'm saving money this way, so."
Annie chuckles, then. "This does seem a better way of having a midlife than getting a fancy car, yes. I am glad to hear they are respectful of the faith, though." She pauses for a moment, taking a sip from her own glass of water. "Speaking of the faith, would you be interested in a celebration of the high holidays for our communities? I know we are most of the way to a minyan, between your community and mine."
"Absolutely! I'd be happy to! Have shofar, will tekiah...ravel. That joke sounded better in my head. In any case, yes. I'd love to do a high holidays observance with everyone. Assuming we can make a Minyan. I'll have to do the-- maybe I can leave a message at Maddy's Wafflehouse and get people to respond to it. I should maybe do that just on general principles. Make it known there's a rabbi in town involved in the supernatural and able to offer his services. For advice. Life cycle events, and so on. Might do a lot of good, actually." Aaron's brain hamsters have begun circling the wheel, clearly.
"A wise plan. I know a lot of people visit there. From our communities and the vampires, even." Annie smiles slightly. "I actually met a Kay there the other day. She said you were looking into helping her learn more about Beta Israel's traditions?"
"Oh, yes! Kay's a very sweet young lady, and very earnest. She was there the first night of the riot. I have some friends in Israel that I was going to ask for resources. I'm obviously not of that community and don't want to offer improper information to her. She's been a very eager student, though. I'm glad you met her! I think you'll like her if you decide to spend more time with her." Aaron makes a mental note, "I'd forgotten about her entirely with respect to the minyan. I'm not sure if she counts herself yet."
"I barely knew it existed, Before, so I am not in a place to offer any more accurate information than you are." Annie admits. "Without her, I think we are halfway to a minyan? Less if we do not count Mearcstapa, I am not sure how observant he is."
"Yeah, I'll have to do some math when I get back. And I'll probably swing by Maddy's on the way to put up the notice and see who answers it. I'm sure there's some ones we don't know out there who are keeping things quiet. I can't imagine it's any easier being Jewish in the bad place your kind get taken to than it is being Jewish in the real world. Plenty of reason to keep your identity quiet." Aaron does take a moment to count on his hands, though. "I think we can pull it off. If I can get my hands on a Torah, we only need nine, even."
"I do not remember much of what it was like Over There, to be honest. I can make educated guesses, yes, but the details of any specific point? Not so much." Annie sighs. "And there is so much variation in the places my community were taken, and what happened to them. I know one who was a valkyrie out of the Norse Eddas, another who was the Christian idea of an angel..."
"That's... wow. That's a diverse set of interpretations of more or less the same idea. That's. Huh. I never would have figured that would be the case. I don't want to say it's 'cool'. But it's very interesting. Fascinating, even." He's been a mage for a month and he's already off chasing mysteries, the poor sap. "The angels I saw were very much old testament. Lots of eyes. Rings of fire. Be not afraid. That sort of business. I'm wondering if what I saw was for me, though. Like if someone else would have seen it differently. Really interesting thought, that."
"Possibly? I assume Mei saw much the same thing you did, since she went through it with you, but it might be worth asking others in your community what they saw." Annie shrugs slightly. "I only found out your community even existed a few weeks ago, though, so." She pauses for a moment, taking a sip from her glass of water. "Are there many of us in your community?"
"Mei's also Jewish," Aaron points out, "so it's hard to say." Aaron's shoulders shrug, since it's not as though he's going to get an answer to that question now or in his lifetime, even. "I'd say it's about reflective of the community as a whole, really. I don't think whatever makes us what we are has much of a concern for religious identity. There's a former Catholic priest and an AME Bishop in our number, even. Quite the ecumenical group."
Annie nods. "Ours does not either. I do not know if we have any religious teachers in our number, active or former, though." Beat. "AME? I am not familiar with that denomination."
"African Methodist Episcopal Church. It's a pretty uniquely American denomination arising from the time of segregation, even among the Methodists. It's a fairly progressive black christian church, as a rule. I love working with them, though. They're generally of a sunny disposition and devout in their beliefs. Even if we don't always see eye to eye." Aaron's explanation is offered with a small shrug of the shoulders.
"Ah. One that arose while I was Away, then." Annie shrugs in turn, chewing on her lip for a moment before she continues. "Speaking of devout Christians, who would you recommend for helping with queer religious trauma, in that context? I have a friend who could use it." A sigh. "I have done what I can for her, but someone who shares her faith might be better."
"I don't know the orientations of any of the individuals I mentioned. My hunch is the former Catholic would probably lend this person a kind ear. I'd be willing to take a crack at it, too. I'm at least trained for those sorts of conversations from an ecumenical perspective, even if I'm not myself a Christian. I can ask around? The Attic might have some resources, also." Aaron shifts in his seat to find his phone and jot some notes into it.
"I can put her in contact with you, then. Thank you." Annie sighs again. "I wish it was not necessary, but at least the help exists." She smiles at him. "Any help you can provide is appreciated, believe me."
"Who should I not be putting through to voicemail if they call me?" Aaron asks the question with a small grin. He's a busy fella, and that's where most of his calls go when he's not expecting them. "I try not to make people leave messages in this situation if I can help it. A face to face is often better, too, right out of the gates I've found. If you can help arrange that, that is."
"I should be able to, yes. Possibly at Maddy's, if you have been shown where that is? Somewhere that is likely to be neutral ground and reasonably private would be best, no doubt." Annie pauses for a moment, pulling her phone out of a pocket. "Let me just check if they are okay with my giving you their number."
"Sure." Aaron is a patient fellow, most of the time, and he's not keen to push issues of comfort, clearly. He plucks out his own phone, checking his messages while Annie confirms she should even be having this conversation with him.
Annie's phone beeps not long after she hits send, causing her to glance back up after reading it. "###-###-####. Ask for Charlie Miller." She smiles at Aaron, then. "Thank you for this. Let me know if you want help arranging a face-to-face meeting?"
"I think we can probably arrange a face to face ourselves, but if she seems hesitant to meet up, I will definitely reach out and we can discuss a better way of making it happen. People tend to trust me, I've found, for better or for worse." Aaron offers her a grin at this. "Charlie Miller. Got it. Any advice? Topics to avoid? Things not to wear? I've come to understand your people can often times have a lot of unexpected triggers."
Annie considers that for a moment. "Nothing I can think of right now. The problem with unexpected triggers is that, well, they are unexpected. A lot of the time even to us."
"It never hurts to ask," Aaron suggests with a small nod of the head. "I'll ask her directly. She'll probably appreciate that. Thank you for putting us in touch! Hopefully I can be of some help to her, even if we don't share a faith tradition. If not, I've resources now of other supernatural people from different faith traditions. So maybe she can talk to them if we don't gel."
Annie nods. "Even someone who is not supernatural but shares her faith tradition would be helpful, I think, even if she would not be able to discuss everything with them." The ghost of a smile crosses her face. "I know talking to you helped me when I first came back, even if I did not have the same trauma as she does."
"Then I am doing my job. I'm glad to hear it." Aaron saves her number into his phone and then stuffs the phone away with a little pat. "Hopefully the fact that I laid out a cop with a right hook won't be an issue for her. I'm finding it's being viewed as a good thing in a lot of people's eyes, so who knows." There's a small pause. "On that note. If I'm convicted...? Dumbledore will probably want to hide me. It's not so much 'we'll get you off' as 'we'll make sure you don't go to prison'. So if I suddenly disappear after the verdict... That's why."
"My community tends not to be fond of cops, so I do not think that will be an issue," Annie grins. "Though I am glad to hear that you will not go to prison, even if the verdict goes against you." Beat. "How are things going on that front?"
"I filed my plea. Not guilty. The way limited liability works, though, I don't know if they'll care. The entire defense hinges on the fact that they were beating peaceful protestors hard enough to crack their skulls open, and that I was undertaking a defense of others. I can't fathom the state letting that argument stand, it would defang their entire system. No, I think they'll make an example out of me. Or try to get me to plea down to a lesser charge. Which I'm not doing." Aaron shakes his head a bit after he says that, a bit flabbergasted about his situation even now. "Funny thing is, if I had it to do over again, I would just have made certain I had some form of protection. My old powers would have kept me in that fight-- sort of. There never would have been a fight if I'd still had them."
Annie blinks at that. "I did not know you had powers before that fight. What were they like?" She considers him for a moment. "Assuming you can tell me, of course. I understand the need to keep things private."
"I was part of a radical pacifist movement. They reached out to me when my brother was shot and killed in South Philly. Not to recruit me or anything, but just to be there for me. I really took to their message. The movement started here in Philly, which is part of what attracted me to it. A local solution to a global problem. I could stop fights before they started, infect people's minds with the reality of the violence they were causing. Push back lines of police with a thought. With a touch and a prayer I could heal wounds, cleanse sickness. I still have some powers like that now. Kind of. Similar, but different."
Annie nods, then. "I can definitely understand the appeal of that, even if I am not a pacifist myself. Being able to heal easily is one of the things I value most about the community I am part of, even if the ability is something that must be taught, and only so many of us can learn it."
"I'm able to heal some again, just not as easily or as well as I could once upon a time. I will figure that out soon enough, though. And I have some new tricks which are pretty sweet. I'm still just learning about all that's possible yet, so. I have no idea where my powers will end up. It's pretty neat. Learning something new, I mean. The history, and all of that. I'm trying to look on the bright side, because it's not like I can ever go back to what I was." Aaron's shoulders shrug with more than a little fatalism. "It was nice to know that my faith wasn't misplaced. That there really are angels, and that a higher power really does look down on us. Divinity exists. I've seen it. Spoken with it. It does put things in perspective."
Annie nods again. "I imagine they have a lot of history to learn. Though I can definitely sympathise with wanting to look on the bright side because of an inability to go back to who you were." She considers him for a moment. "I do not know much about what your community is fully capable of, of course, but is there anything you are especially wanting to focus on?"
"I want to be able to do what I did before, basically. Heal. Defend. Protect. Put my body between violence and the good of the people. I've hooked up with people that can help me do that, and my old mentor is still tutoring me on how to heal. So. It'll come in time, I'm sure. For now, I'm studying self defense techniques, getting myself back into shape. Honing my body into the proverbial temple." Aaron folds his hands over his stomach and leans back into the couch with a sigh. "It's a process. I kind of let myself go in my 30s."
"If you want an exercise partner sometime, let me know? My fitness regime is likely different to yours, but having someone doing it with you can make all the difference." Annie shrugs slightly. "In any field one needs to learn, I have found."
"I jog and bike everywhere, it's my actual core strength that's suffered. But I'm getting that back. Upping my jogging and biking with all my newfound free time. Been hitting the free weights, too. Got myself a trainer and the whole thing. But, sure, if you want to link up for whatever part of that sounds appealing, I'm all for it. Trying to make a temple out of a forty year old house is a chore, let me tell you." Aaron starts to roll up to his feet, knees cracking as he does so, as though they were listening to the topic.
"I can imagine." Annie grins at him. "My father used to complain about his back all the time."
"It's true. Aging isn't fun. But, I guess I do have magic to make that whole business more graceful, now. I should be going, though. I need to check in with my mentor and my attorney for that matter. I'm trying to do all my training on a crunch because I know once the trial heats up I won't have the time. I'd like to be through all my initial stuff before then."
"Fair enough." Annie rises, offering him a hug. "Thank you for coming, though."
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