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Tommy/Bones
Tommy Shanks sat at the corner booth, reading the newspaper. A mug of coffee was being brought up to his lips, a carafe next to him.
He wore one of his nicer suits for the get together.
Piera/Peri
Piera's entrance is marked by the sounds of their feet's slow shuffle and the clack of the end of their cane on the diner floor when they step through the entrance. To all appearances they've made less effort to dress up for the occasion, with a red sweater over a black hoodie and a pair of jeans. Their hair is in a loose french braid down the back of their head. Much like last time they're wearing leather gloves on their hands.
Once they're inside the look around, quickly spot Tommy, and start the short trek from entrance to table as a faint smile makes an appearance. "Good morning," they say softly. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting for long."
Tommy/Bones
"You're a master of time, isn't this where Gandolf's Law comes into play?" he teased in return, standing as they arrived.
"Good Morning, Peri. It is a pleasure to see you. For reference, I am currently Dr. Thomas Shanks, the Archaeologist, not invoking the Shadow name at present, but if it is easier for you to call me Bones, I will understand. Was it easy enough for you to get here? Can I entice you with food or drink?"
Piera/Peri
"I don't think I'd say I arrived when I meant to, but I did come at the pace I intended at least." Piera puts a hand on the table so they can use it for steadying as they slide their cane onto the seat and carefully lower themselves onto the bench of the booth. It's obvious that the process of sitting down takes some effort but it's an effort they've adapted to. "I thought that I'd take my time and enjoy the morning instead of rushing, if I was going out."
Once they've had a moment to get themselves settled they start answering questions. "Please call me Piera," they say. "Names have too much power for me to want to be Peri here. Would you prefer Dr. Shanks? Tomas? I don't eat or drink any more so I'll pass on those but don't hold back on my account. I made a choice and that's mine to exist with. It shouldn't stop you from enjoying yourself."
Tommy/Bones
He nodded, "Tommy is best. That way no matter what my gender of the day, the name works for me. Piera? That's a pretty name!"
And then the order for Pigs In Mud pancakes was placed. While the order was cooked, he sat back down and looked over to the fellow Mystagogue, "Nice to meet you outside the Athenaeum, Piera."
Piera/Peri
"It's Italian for rock." Piera's soft laugh and hapless shrug say they don't mind the fact. "I truly don't know why my indigenous Venezuelan's mother and Persian father picked an Italian name for me when I was born, or why that one, but they did, and it does sound pleasant." They put their gloves hands on the table in front of them, one on top of the other, and wait patiently for the order to be placed.
"Tommy is a good name. It feels like comfortable name for an affable person to me. In this context, at least. It could probably sound like a gangster's name in another context, but I can't put my finger on..." It comes to them and their right hand comes up with its index finger extended. "Tommy guns! That's why, I think. Sorry. It's nice to have a reason to leave the Athenaum, so thank you, Tommy."
Tommy/Bones
He smiles and chuckles, "I've heard Tommy guns more than once. Certainly one of those pop culture and historical notes for Tommy. Rock, huh? Maybe foreshadowing your future association with Matter and thus stone... Oh I've been doing a lot of study in Fate, sorry."
Piera/Peri
"That poses the question of which was cause and which was effect." Piera puts their hands together on the table again. "If there is a relationship there, was the name chosen because this is who I was fated to be, or did I become who I am because of the name? Meanwhile it's entirely possible there's no link at all. I'm not sure if it matters, so I've never felt any compulsion to investigate it, but it could be an interesting thing to look into at some point."
Quickly looking toward the kitchen and back at Tommy they say, "chocolate pancakes. Do I detect a sweet tooth?"
Tommy/Bones
"Fate is my last Arcana. THe rest, I'm at Apprentice or above. So, I thought it time.
"Oh, yes. Especially once I developed Life magic... It is my cheat. I'm also never going to be wise," he laughed, "Sweet tooth abounds. Sweet teeth even."
Piera/Peri
(I don't know why I can never remember Inferior Arcana correctly. I had to go look it up again)
"I'll probably get to Spirit last," admits the Wraith. "I can't imagine that's a surprise. I haven't had a lot of reason to worry about Life, either." They pick their hand up to gesture at themselves. "Do you want me to let you in on a secret? I've never cared for chocolate, for reasons that are more complicated than they probably seem. When it came to sweet things I always preferred fruit."
Tommy/Bones
"Because of the way that modern chocolate stems from colonial powers invading and changing how it was made to fit their needs?" he wagered, total guess, but history nerd.
"I, myself, picked up Death because of all the ruins that I explored. Kept running into things that I couldn't see."
Piera/Peri
"That's a good guess, but no." Piera reaches up to slide up their glasses, which have been slowly drifting down their nose. "If I hadn't had other reasons that would have been good enough, but for as long as I remember eating enough was always a struggle. I usually had to make myself do it. I think there was never enough of what my system thought it needed, so there was always something else it would much prefer I was putting in me. I started to really hate the texture of solid chocolate, and then I associated the flavor with that texture and I ended up not liking any of it at all."
"Your reasons for learning Death make sense to me. There might be a little irony in the fact Spirit comes so slowly to me now. I was Wolf-Blooded before I Awakened, so the few experiences I had with the supernatural before I became a mage were all with spirits, or things spirit-adjacent."
Tommy/Bones
"Ah. Yes. Your illness?" he wagered, "And so then that all makes sense to me."
"Oh. I see. Well. I can help a little bit when you do get to that point, if you wish. I am a Disciple of Spirit, and hope to master it one day soon."
As the food arrived, he refilled his drink from the carafe and prepped it again.
He started to eat when polite between conversation.
"So you don't eat or drink... a legacy thing or prefer to use Life magic or...?"
Piera/Peri
(My girlfriend is off today and wants to come pick me up to go get breakfast. Do you mind if we pause this to be picked up another time?)
Tommy/Bones
(Go have fun)
Piera/Peri
(I've been having fun here, too! If I'm going out I need a shower and to get out of my pjs, though. Thank you for understanding and I'll look forward to picking back up)
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