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Adhoc:
City Hall police and security are stationed at the arch ways into the courtyard, and at the entrances and exits. It's a Sunday, and apart from essential business, most of the actual work-week staff are at home dreading the commute tomorrow morning. In this atmosphere, two separate columns of marching college and medical students converge on the city hall commons. An area has been helpfully organized with barriers on the north side plaza to facilitate the crowd. The plaza lights are up to help make certain the dimming skies won't be a hindrance to safety.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Having heard about the march both from the news and the folks at UPenn he had reached out to in offering aid to the cause Jeremiah had decided to join them, both to support their efforts and to see the beautiful thing that was humanity fighting against injustice. He walked with pride alongside the students, head held high and eyes peeled for anything untowards that might come their way.
Anneliese Kiel:
Having spearheaded Temple Medicine's campaign, Annie is at the front of the column coming from the north, down Broad Street. The Fairest is dressed in the same scrubs she wore to visit Aaron and Mei, which actually helps her blend in amongst the other medical students.
Alexis Bartram:
Alexis is actually physically present at the protest, unusual for her - she usually feels she's better off helping with her tech and communication skills than just being another body in the crowd. But this time its gotten a little too personal for her to stay detached behind a screen. With the hood on her N7 hoodie up, she blends in quite well with the students from UPenn, especially since virtually all of them are noticably taller than her.
Myra Sage:
Myra.... patrols? The crowd, keeping an eye on people and holding brief conversation with a few of the other protesters. She passes out water bottles to people who seem like they need it, offering advice to a few others should they ask. She also takes the time to see if there are any familiar faces around, not against stopping to talk to a friend of acquaintance should the opportunity arise.
Hearth:
Hearth wasn't normally the type to come to these sorts of things but she was on a mission and trying to keep a discrete eye on Alexis in spite of the difficulty in the growing crowds.
Anneliese Kiel:
Recognising Myra from the protest against the fashion show a month ago, Annie is more than happy to chat with the other healer, though will decline the offered water bottle, since she has her own with her.
Adhoc:
Some of the kids from Ibrahim's mosque, teenagers mostly, have a bullhorn and are shouting for all they're worth. They've attracted a bit of a crowd, since the kid that is up there is lighting it up. It's one part political rally and one part old school revival over there. Some folks from the nearby AME church are there in their sunday best, right next to kids in track suits, all nodding to the same message.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
A flash of the shortness in the black hoodie made an eyebrow arch a touch before Jeremiah pulled his phone, sending Alexis a quick You at the city hall rally? text. He couldn't say for sure at this distance, but it was worth checking...
Wren:
Through the crowd weaves a small figure, beanie over her hair, cloth facemask obscuring her features, jeans and sneakers and nondescript grey clothing. Her Mask is reinforced, meaning that nobody sees the big, soft, doe's eyes that are watching from behind that ironclad veil. She's on the outer edges of the crowd, watching to see what officials show up and how things are handled this time.
She wasn't present to defuse the nastiness last time.
She won't make that mistake again if she can help it.
Lethia Rose:
Lethia Rose is here, bold as brass and ready for a fight. She lends her considerable lung power to the chanting.
Dandelion:
There's an older white woman in a dark brown pantsuit who seems almost like she's lost; she doesn't anchor to any of the groups, and seems to be wandering around thoughtfully, looking for all the world like she belongs in an entirely different setting. But she does place herself near any police presence, as you do when you're a white woman wielding your privilege like a bludgeon.
Myra Sage:
During the conversation Annie strikes up with her, Myra glances over at the kids every once-in-a-while. There's a smile on her face, a fierce pride at the younger generation.
"Got to admire the passion."
Alexis Bartram:
Alexis glances down at her phone, looks around the crowd in an utterly futile attempt to see anyone, and then goes hunting for a perch from which she might be able to look over the heads of at least some of these people. Where's an elf with a box when you need one? Her thumbs frantically type away at her phone, sending back a yah ofc. w8, r u 2?
Anneliese Kiel:
"Indeed," Annie nods. "Even if I might wish they had less need to be passionate about this."
Diamond:
A Black woman in a hoodie walks onto the scene, discreet, quiet, wielding a rather warm smile. A Black hoodie, loose black pants, her hair hiding within the hood. She seems to move alone in the crowd, looking for something in particular, her phone is in her hand.
Hearth:
Heather frowned at her phone, sending a couple texts while scanning the crowd and jumping up to try and spot Alexis again. It was hard to keep track in the crowd.
Myra Sage:
"I couldn't agree---" She seems to be distracted by something, a frown coming to her face as she glances around for the source of the magic, "---more."
Dandelion:
The woman in the pantsuit (of course, one Dandelion by name), makes her way over toward Myra and Annie, greeting the former with a wave and a small questioning look. "All good on your front, ladies?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah smirked at the reply, letting out a whistle at the rather impressive text-speak. I am, yeah. Where you at?
Anneliese Kiel:
"More or less. Angry over what happened to my friends. And the imam, of course." Annie gives Dandelion a questioning look of her own. "Do you know Myra?"
Diamond:
Kay climbs onto of a bench or a trash can to peers through the crowd, trying to find someone in particular. She jumps down the can and head toward another part of the protest. A glance at her phone and quickly fires a text.
Myra Sage:
Myra's attention is grabbed once again by another distraction - this time, a welcome one. She smiles warmly and nods at Dandelion, "All good here, yes. I don't suppose you've had to throw anyone over your shoulder yet, hm?"
The question on if Dandelion knows her seems to amuse her more than anything, though.
Dandelion:
"I'm not dressed for throwing people today, dear. I'm here to look presentable and get in the way because me getting beat up would be terrible. Besides, little old me being dangerous? Could you imagine?" She laughs warmly, before nodding at Annie. "Myra here is one of my pack of adoptive nieces, nephews and niblings in town. I'm Dandelion."
Alexis Bartram:
Alexis shoots back LBY and then starts whistling innocently. She is standing about 18 inches behind Jay's back, having somehow wormed her way through the crowd like a tiny ninja. Or possibly a tiny Shadow.
Lethia Rose:
Lethia breaks off from the chanters to make a trip to the medic station, practically dragging a young man with her. "Hey, sorry to interrupt, any of you have some water?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Getting snuck up on as a Mastigos...no one would ever let him forget it. Hence why he'll never mention it. Ever.
Jeremiah looked behind him with a smirk, giving her a nod. "Shepard."
Anneliese Kiel:
"Anneliese. Annie to my friends." She returns Dandelion's nod, smiling politely at the other woman. "I have a feeling anyone who assumes you are not dangerous because of your age would be in for a rude awakening, sooner or later."
Myra Sage:
The statement of Dandelion potentially not being dangerous brings out a snort, though Myra takes a moment to glance over at the young woman coming towards them and asking for water (assuming I'm reading correct and that Lethia is, in fact, heading towards them?). She nods and hands over a water bottle, "Don't drink it all in one go."
Dandelion:
Dandelion receives a text, and sends one in return, before glancing back at Annie. "You flatter me. I do try to keep these old bones moving, though! Especially at events like this."
Then she lifts her phone, taking a couple photographs--not of anything specific, more landmarks around their location. "Myra, Heather might be coming to join us. She's a little mad at me, but I might deserve it."
Hearth:
Between the texting and crowd scanning, Hearth had lost Alexis completely. She sighed and then started heading in the direction of Dandelion. She wasn't far and it didn't take her long to slip through the crowd and give the older woman a fierce hug.
Diamond:
Casually, as if nothing strange was happening, Kay emerges from the crowd behind Alexis with both hands on her phone, smiling from under the black hood.
Alexis Bartram:
"Wrex." Alexis is bouncing on the balls of her feet, "I get the impression someone may have kicked up a few hornets nests over yesterday." She pauses as the kids with the bullhorn get REAL loud for a moment, "The pigs may have struck a nerve this time. This crowd has some energy in it."
Dandelion:
There's a squeak of delight as Dandelion is hugged, and she hugs back with vigor. "Not that mad, then, about the delay. Hello, dear."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"No kidding...it's impressive that they got all this set up in a day." Jeremiah grinned, then gave Kay a 'fancy seeing you here' look as she emerged from the crowd. "Hey...didn't expect you to be here too."
Wren:
Wren, tucked into her disguise, peers up at City Hall, a touch unsettled that absolutely nobody besides security seems to be out to pay attention to this. She considers a moment, then swallows hard as she feels something roll and turn in her belly, sharpening her Kenning into a source of keen insight, trying to reassure herself that nothing sinister is afoot.
Myra Sage:
Myra nods in greeting as Heather appears, offering her a small smile as well, "Hola, Heather. Didn't expect to see you here, but it is not unpleasant."
Diamond:
"Well, I had a bit of free time after helping out the Lawyer finds juicy bits about some people." She grins at Jay approaching, greeting him with a fist bump to his shoulder, her attention shifts to Alexis too "Hi miss!" a warm, laughing smile and her eyes are soft and bright.
Alexis Bartram:
"Hi, Friend of Jay," Alexis gives her a little wave, and then narrows her eyes, "Jay, have you had your friends getting ready to screw the cops to the wall and didn't tell me?" She mimes a pout.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Mea maxima culpa." He put a hand to his heart, giving an apologetic look before it shifted into a proper smirk. "Alexis, Kay. Kay, Alexis."
Wren:
Wren pauses, the little figure straightening abruptly and looking back over her shoulder toward Kay before turning and starting to weasel through the crowd in her direction, tugging her phone out to send a Signal message.
Hearth:
"How are you doing?" she asked Dandelion. "And care to introduce your friends?" she smiled at the others. "Any friend of hers is a friend of mine. Nice to meet you."
Dandelion:
"Ah, I thought you'd know Myra. She and Annie are working as medics-on-scene. They're very nice girls. This is Heather, she works in art restoration, but her heart's in baking. She makes me sad I'm a diabetic--though her sugar-light cakes aren't bad." She makes introductions with a broad grin.
Anneliese Kiel:
"Well, I mean. Most of my contingent are medics." Annie gestures at the Temple grouping. "I am only in my first year of studying it."
Wren:
Wren does her best to wriggle through the crowd until she's close enough to listen to Kay and her companions talking, being discrete as she can manage.
Diamond:
"I'm glad to meet you and I'm not typically one for big protest, but I just needed to be here tonight, takes me back a few years." She stands closely with them, her eyes focused around the crowd about her, just in case, she is smiling. "Plus Jay is busy with a lot of stuff, so you gotta excuse his distraction sometimes."
Alexis Bartram:
Alexis holds out a hand for Kay to shake, "Did you get all of the video data you needed? I pulled most of the feeds onto a server, so if any of the streaming vids got taken down that you need I might have it backed up."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah remained quiet for the moment, keeping an eye on the crowd around them as the two women talked.
Dandelion:
She gives Annie a nod. "It's a noble calling. I don't have the mind for the science involved, but you really have all my respect."
Wren:
Wren, in her beanie and mask and Strengthened Mask, lingers near the collection of interesting people, slowly realizing that she doesn't really have any particular tell to latch onto to find this phenomenon again.
Hecc.
Hearth:
"And you're putting your skills to good use by coming out here." She beamed. "And my heart is in art. Baking is my hobby that lets me relax. Also... who doesn't like the results?"
Anneliese Kiel:
"Thank you." Annie smiles at Dandelion, before glancing at Heather. "Any particular kind of baking?"
Diamond:
"Oh give me your number, that will be useful in some way or another." Kay gives Alexis a very immediate heartshape with her hands, then pluck her phone out of her pocket. Alongside what looks like a braid made out of glowstick. She upnod toward Wren in the crowd, somewhat familiar maybe?
Alexis Bartram:
Rattling off her number from memory, Alexis gives Wren a glance and an arched eyebrow, and then shrugs. "Its sorta my thing. Computers, that is. That and langauges."
Hearth:
"Usually pastries and desserts, because they're just fun but I can pull together a mean holiday spread on occasion." She glanced back over towards Alexis and the rest of her friends. "This year could be fun."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah spared Wren a brief glance as well at the upnod, then looked back to the pair. "Never really got into the nitty gritty when it came to computers, I'll admit, barring what I need for mixing and doing sheet music."
Dandelion:
"Some of the best Thanksgivings I've ever attended were with Hearth at the table." She nods sagely.
Anneliese Kiel:
"Good to know, I guess?" Annie shrugs slightly. "I tend not to bake much. Studying medicine while moonlighting as a bartender does not leave a lot of time for it."
Wren:
Wren lifts a hand in greeting when Kay goes out of her way to wave, stepping closer and pulling her mask down. "Hey. Not the usual scene where we cross paths, but I'm not gonna complain. Friendly faces are awful nice these days."
Diamond:
She grins at Wren and waves to her. She put Alexis' number into her phone as she rattles it. "Nice to see you too." a look to Alexis and Jay "A familiar face here, and I'm eager to hear your next tune!"
Dandelion:
"In any case, it's getting late, and it seems like thing are under control here. I'll go back to my legal research. Heather, I know you wanted to bring something by--you're welcome anytime, dear." Dandelion smiles at the group she's been chatting with.
Hearth:
"I think things are going pretty well here. Would you mind if I just came with you now? If you give me a ride, we can just swing by my place before going to yours."
Alexis Bartram:
"Everyone knows everyone around here, I suppose." Alexis tilts her head, "You know each other from the Green Room?"
Dandelion:
"That sounds perfect." She puts an arm around Heather's shoulder companionably.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"We met though a mutual friend a couple years back." Which wasn't untrue, admittedly... "And it is true that the city can be strikingly small in certain ways."
Wren:
Wren waves a little hand at both Alexis and Jay. "Hi. I'm Wren. Nice to meet you guys. Glad this thing isn't going like the last one, right?"
Diamond:
"Honestly glad about that." She says to Wren and nod. "I saw a few of the people, it wasn't right." she looks back to Alexis and Jay "I've been a pain in his side since then." she pokes Jay's ribs her phone rings with a notification and she looks at it for a moment, her smile dim for a moment there, a little wince, before the smile comes back. She fires a quick reply
Anneliese Kiel:
"Good luck with that, then." Annie nods to Dandelion, before moving off, circulating quietly.
Alain deVahl:
Just at that moment, a young-looking and yet silver-haired - no, not quite, but light blonde so light it almost appears colorless - Winter Courtier is walking down the steps from City Hall, apparently having been inside for at least part of this duration. Alain exchanges a few pleasant remarks with one of the officers guarding the door on her way out, and lingers near the steps, pale eyes scanning across the bodies in the crowd. She doesn't care for crowds, but she endures them with champion composure and stoicism, although they do fascinate her, in their own way: moving with one body; breathing, chanting, roaring with one voice. She watches them with the emotional affectation of a glass of water while they move, and breathe, and chant, and roar. She stays apart.
Alexis Bartram:
"Ugh, I don't really like coming to these to be honest. I'm too small to see anything." Alexis scowls, "Damn right it wasn't. I hope that we can finally get some movement out of City Hall over this. I'm tired of watching assholes get away with this crap."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah let the text go without a response for the moment, phone in his pocket as it was, and gave Wren a nod as she approached. "Jay. Good to meet you."
"No kidding...the ball's started rolling at this point, though, so with any luck we'll actually see something this time around."
Wren:
"I know, right?!" Wren chirps at Alexis' complaint about being unable to see over people. She has some advantages, thanks to her personal nature, but she gets it. "Hi, Jay. Pleasure's mine." She shoves her hands in her pockets after pulling her mask back up- the Fabric one. "I'm trynna be hopeful, but. We'll see. Sometimes feels like it'd take a miracle to get through the corruption at the top, you know?"
Diamond:
Kay bounces in place and bump shoulders with Jay for a moment. "Hopefully things are different this time." She smiles at Wren and Alexis "Oh I think we need a trench coat and maybe we could fuse them into a person-sized fascimile?" Oh she's already on short jokes ?
Alexis Bartram:
Alexis glances over to look at Wren with an 'are you pondering what I'm pondering' look on her face, and then looks back at Kay with narrowed eyes, "Of course you realize, this means war."
Wren:
"I'll steal her left patella if you steal the right. Standard Tol Folx sensitivity training- everyone's more polite once they don't have their knees." Wren squints "menacingly" but it's absolutely clear that she means no actual menace.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Kay...that's a low blow and you know it." He looked to his cadremate with a grin, knowing exactly what he just said.
Diamond:
Kay hold up her hand "Hey, I can dish it, I can take it. There's plenty of ammo around for you to use." She looks to Jay and seems stunned for a moment and the smiles she gets there is maybe a little less mocking, before turning to Alexis and Wren "I know it was, aiming higher would've hit the mark." she says it flat and like she doesn't like saying it "You made it a little too easy honestly."
Alain deVahl:
Alain fishes her phone out of her pocket when she hears it vibrates, descends the steps and starts moving, immediately, towards the closest exit away from the crowd, her Mantle rustling gently, the smell of air after snow, trailing after her as she does. She tap, tap, swipes the screen, sends and receives a few messages back and forth as she slips through the bodies like water rushing around a reed.
Alexis Bartram:
Alexis' nose scrunches up adorably in the way that some people's do but you never ever comment on if you value your life. Or possibly just your shins. "HMPH." She pointedly turns away from Jay and Kay and faces Wren, "So what do you do when you're not plotting revenge on Brobdingnagian joculators?"
Wren:
"Hrmph. I cannot believe my ears. Send word back to Mildendo- the Blefuscudians have declared war!" Wren isn't entirely sure who's gonna get the obscure literary reference, and turns towards Alexis. "Oh! I'm part of a local red team that tests site security. Essentially white hat hacking but for the real world. I do the social engineering- testing security training, seeing what soft skills the teams need to brush up on, stuff like that. What about you?
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Ah...so you prefer the top of the egg then?" He looked to Wren with a smile, hands up in a "I yield, I yield" fashion. "Apologies...that was uncalled for."
Alexis Bartram:
"I'm a professor at UPenn." She glances around exagerattedly at the crowd near them, still about 75% made up of UPenn students in this area, and stage whispers "Don't tell them, I'm in disguise. I'll never be able to keep my authority in the classroom if they know I'm a gigiantic nerd." One of the nearby students starts cackling at that, and staggers away to find somewhere to catch his breath, "I teach computer science and languages, and I work in the Computational Linguistics program."
Wren:
"I see you as well are one of culture," Wren murrs up at Jay. "I accept your surrender, ser. Let this be a lesson to you!" She cracks a huge grin after, though, and gasps as Alexis shares her profession. "OH OH I have to show you a webcomic then!!!" She gets her phone out and pulls up a browser.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"I try to be." Jeremiah gave a small bow with a flourish, eyeing the phone curiously as Wren pulled it out. "Musician by trade myself, along with owning a cafe and performance space in Spring Gardens."
Diamond:
Kay returns with water bottles from her little expeditions and gives one to a few people on the way back. "Sorry, Had to go take a little bit of a cooldown." she fans herself for a moment. "The hoodie is a little too warm."
Alexis Bartram:
"Oh, QC! Yeah, if you already have functional AI then stuff like natural language processing has to be a solved discipline. Can't pass a Turing Test without it, after all." Alexis scowls at City Hall for a moment, "I can't help but wonder if part of the reason they're letting us do this is that none of the people we really want to shout at are actually there."
Wren:
"The thought," Wren admits, "had occurred to me." The petite girl grumps up at the capital building before shaking her head. "Still. It's sending a message, even if they're trying real hard not to hear it."
She takes a water from Kay and smiles. "I appreciate it. You feeling better?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah gave Kay an upnod as she rejoined the group before turning his own gaze towards the building. "Indeed. This many voices raised as one will make a dent, small as it may be. Just a question to find the right place in the armor to hit."
Diamond:
Kay looks around the area again, just trying to get a feeling for the people and the crowd surrounding them. "I'm not sure If I'll feel better specifically today." she points around to all the anger and such. "But I'm good for now."
Alexis Bartram:
"The thing that I really want to know is what in hell they were on about. The pigs usually have enough sense to manufacture a pretext before they go beating on people in front of cameras. It was like something else was influencing the entire mess." She looks off to the east towards Independence Mall, "I wonder..."
Wren:
"I dunno but it's gotta be dealt with." Wren mutters. "Listen, I've gotta go- you guys stay safe, okay? Don't be the next headlines. We're in this together."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Have to wonder." Jeremiah nodded, giving Wren a quick salute as she readied to head off. "Will do. Good meeting you."
He then followed Alexis' gaze towards the Mall, smirking a touch. "Penny for your thoughts?"
Diamond:
She waves when Wren says she's about to leave. "Have a good rest and I don't plan on being on any headlines." She watches the conversation between Alexis and Jay
Alexis Bartram:
"Something strong enough to do that in front of that many people, in broad daylight...there must be some kind of evidence that someone could pick up." Alexis scowls, "Except the only person I can think of off the top of my head who might be able to find it is probably locked up under guard in a hospital right now."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Right..." The gears turned as he thought on that a moment, briefly cursing his lack of temporal aptitude. "Which 'that' are you referring to in this case? The cops going off?"
Diamond:
"Hey Jay, I gotta go take a bit of a rest, I'm not dealing with this well." She clap him on the shoulder and then looks to Alexis. "I'll call you, Miss, it was a pleasure to meet you here."
Alexis Bartram:
"Yes. And Rabbi Cohen, too. He does not have a reputation as a man who would engage in fisticuffs. Even to the point of willingly taking a beating for others, apparently."
Alexis waves at Kay, "Take care of yourself."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Alright." Jeremiah gave Kay a smile and patted her shoulder in kind. "I'll give ya a buzz later."
"Might be worth taking a look, at least. See if anything notable got left behind in that mess." He looked to Alexis at that. "Shall we?"
Alexis Bartram:
"Worth a shot." She nods, and gestures for him to take the lead.
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