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This scene took place on December 22nd, 2023
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
Val had been to the Green Room at least once since she'd been back. But now she was back for an actual reason. She'd said hi to everyone by name, and had intentionally picked a day Olivia wasnt in so she wasn't splitting attention.
She of course looked for Jay, or if he wasnt out and about, asked the manager on duty where he was at.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah was indeed at the cafe, it seemed, and Val would be pointed towards his office in the back when she asked for him. He was casually dressed as was his wont, humming to himself as he worked on some bit of paperwork or another.
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
She knocks of course, having to restrain herself from accidentally punching through the door. Getting used to vigor again is a pain.
"Hey Jay, you in there?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Come on in." He replied, smiling warmly to Val when she entered. "How've you been? Feels like it's been a minute."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
Val enters with a grin on her face, shutting the door behind her.
"Hey! It has been. Training has been on my mind more than anything else, as with hanging out with people. Uh, and then a thing happened that I wanted advicd on so that's how I've been."
A so-so hand.
"Was gonna ask Bones but they're in the middle of...I think the Amazon? So haven't had signal for a bit and I needed to talk before I explode."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Gotcha, and happy to help." He motioned for her to have a seat, leaning forward with interest as she got settled. "What happened?"
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"First...is it possible to have this be more private. Like...havent even told Guy....possibly gonna but not far into the Bond enough I feel like I need to and I'm still processing."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Of course. Give me a moment." He nodded and tugged a bronze snake pendant from under his shirt, focusing on it as he spoke softly in that not-language that she had heard Bones use in the past. After a moment he sat back in his seat. "All set. The sound won't carry out of this room."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
She looked at the pendant and nods, not even pretending to try to understand.
"Sweet, thank you. So uh...I'm sure you've heard Vinny talk about his sister before, yeah? Not me, actual sister."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"I...don't recall if I have, actually. We haven't talked too much, I'll admit. Go on, though."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Ah, right. Forgot you two had a scuffle. Forgot what about. Anyway. Tldr is he ran away at 14 and she was 8, he basically raised her on his own for a few years, then they met my fam so obviously my parents helped out. She's always been the smart one out of the three of us and got herself into college with enough scholarships for the whole first year."
A grin, shes obviously proud of her sister.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Ah...good on him." Jeremiah nodded, smiling in return at her obvious pride. "And good to hear."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"My brother has his pitfalls, but he does care about his people."
A nod and a hesitation.
"So... more the........fun bit. We uh... found out she's a Mage now. Now before you react to that, heres why I'm telling you. Vin and I were both worried about her before, and didnt want to involve her, but we both are glad she's a mage cause thats frankly better than anything else that could have happened...like any of Vin, your or my partner's. But now that its happened...I frankly feel a little upset at the universe cause she could have lived a nice normal life and instead she's going to get wrapped up in all....this."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah's eyebrow arched up at the mention of Awakened status, a brief "ah hah" look crossing his features as Val continued. "I see. That's...understandable, considering. The Path we walk isn't always a calm one, but if she was ready for enlightenment it's always better to embrace it than deny it."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Upfront, I know that. But on some level I hate it? I know I shouldn't but it also means that all three of us got whacked with the weird stick in less than a year. And also...all almost died or did actually die. Which is weird to say the least."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"They do say that things happen in threes, so this may be an instance of that. Not the strangest thing I've heard of."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Maybe. I dunno. I'm not the smartest of cookies when it comes to stuff like that, try as I might. It probably doesn't mean much, hopefully? Or is it a bad sign of sorts?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Not bad or good, just a pattern that tends to emerge."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Gotcha. I'll keep it in mind at least."
She sighs.
"And I'm worried about my sister, obviously. Especially with all the weird shit that goes on. But I also know she basically has reality tied to her fingertips like you and Bones do so I shouldn't worry as much."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"You're allowed to be worried for people you care about, even if they can handle themselves more often than not." He said with a small smile. "As long as you don't let it dictate your interactions with them you're set."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Aight, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Jay."
She debates for a second.
"Unsure if I should do the big sister thing and ask you to keep an eye out for her or if Vinny will just get pissed about that."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"I'd rather not cross that line with him again if I can help it." He replied with a chuckle. "Feel free to ask him if he'd like me to do so, though. Do you know what name she goes by?"
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"I'll ask, yeah. Bones is obviously also getting the whole 'please watch out for her' thing."
A pause.
"I...don't think she told us. We were all more flabbergasted at seeing each other at Maddie's. And me making sure to keep a vampire's Beast calm cause thats not a good thing to have running rampant in Maddie's."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Ah...fair enough. Had that moment with Polly when we ran into each other at Maddie's for the first time." He smiled a touch. "And yeah, probably a good call there."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"It's a whole thing, you gotta redo your entire view of them. Not in a bad way, just a 'what the fuck, not expecting that' way."
A shake of the head.
"Agreed. Not that I'm not confident I could kick his ass if I needed to though."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Mmhmm. It led to a good conversation at her place afterward, though."
"I'm sure you could." He smirked. "Hell, I know you could kick my ass, magic or no."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Good!"
Val pauses.
"That... im not sure about, heh. I'd try but you got the world at your fingertips. I'm just like...80% invincible and being taught by Guy which is its own thing. And he's doing the whole 'im teaching you so you don't become like me' mentor thing."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Going by raw skill you've definitely got me beat. I've always been on the 'if things get physical something has gone incredibly wrong' side of things." He said with a chuckle. "Good to hear that he's working with you on that front, though."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Oh, mood. I'm the 'meet me outside' kinda gal. I just mean like...if we were both prepared, you'd kick my ass."
A nod.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I am too. He's great. And he's trying his best to help me out. Hell, he's helping keep me on track for the Olympics."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Good to hear. What all do you have coming up on that front?"
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Training, a minor competition for fun and scaring my competitors with what I can do. But mostly just perfecting my routine and seeing if I can squeeze some extra points out of Beam."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Scaring your competitors, eh?" He smirked, giving a nod. "Best of luck."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Obviously. They need to know who they're up against."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"True enough. Speaking of, I saw the posting about the thing that Guy's running at the gym. Guessing you're taking part?"
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Thats the hope. Probably the uh...not Titania and Guy and world ending wizards league."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Not a bad idea. I may come and watch, at least. Will see when it comes around."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"You should! Always need an audiance."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"I'll keep an eye out for when it's set to happen." He nodded, looking Val over with a smile. "Anything else happening on your end?"
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"No, not really. I just got Olympic things and panicking over my sister. Also keeping my brother from doing something too dumb but that one is an ongoing problem."
A pause.
"Well..."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Well..." he repeated, smiling a touch as he made a 'go on' hand gesture.
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Guy and I had a chat. Well we've had a couple chats, about eventually me getting Embraced."
She leans forward and rests her face on her hand.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Ah hah." He nodded, sitting back in his seat as he looked Val over. "How did that go? "
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
She bites her lip.
"Good, in all regards. He wants the ball in my court as much as possible, but the kinda shitty thing is I can't be a Ghoul forever. It's just not gonna work out for my situation."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Right. Figuring out the timing for going fully under with your current career goals is likely rough as well, yeah?"
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"That, yeah. Plus my dad is a whole thing in that too."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"True, yeah." He nodded quietly. "It's a lot to balance."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"He's struggling, so I wanna be there for him. Can't exactly do that if I'm only able to be awake at night."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
He gave another nod, mulling for a moment before responding. "Taking that first full step into the supernatural world requires a lot more adjusting than most realize. I had the added 'bonus' of a few months in physical therapy after my Awakening to figure things out, but most people don't have that time to plan. You've got a leg up in that regard."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Yeah. All that jazz. Any objections to me still working here on the evening shifts if I do get Embraced?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"None at all."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Bet. Wouldn't need lunch breaks either. A, because I wouldn't be able to eat, and B, cause I wouldn't be here around lunch."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"True, although if you work for long enough you'd still need to take a break. Pesky labor laws and all that." He said with a chuckle. "We can cross that bridge when you get to it, though."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Oh, no dont worry. You do owe me breaks and I will take them. I'm not about to be some machine or whatnot. I'm taking every single one of my 15s. But yeah, cross that bridge later."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Sounds good to me." He smiled, giving her a nod. "Have any plans for the holidays?"
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Just hanging out with the fam. Divorced parents means double Christmas's. Usually I spend Christmas Eve at one and Christmas day at another. You?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Will be doing something with Polly and the rest of the housemates, most likely."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Adorable. Im probably dragging Liv to both parents if she wants."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Good luck there. Has she met either of your parents yet?"
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Shes met them both and they both adore her. She's....also not the first girlfriend I've brought home so who knows what they're thinking, not me."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Good to hear." He nodded with a small smile. "Having supportive parents is always a plus."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"They've always been supportive, I adore them both. Bones would agree with that, they have known them for...years now. Old neighbors. Bones was more femme presenting when she met my mom again and she immedietly doted on Bones, it was great."
A big grin on her face, truely loving her parents.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Nice." He own smile widened. "You're lucky on that front. My folks cut me off when I came out, and while that stung at first I see it as a blessing these days. They wanted the perfect son they had in their heads rather than who I actually was, and it's their loss."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Fuckers. Sorry to hear that. I know I'm on the lucky side. I also think I'm one of those situations where my parents figured it out long before I did. I mean....just look what at sport I'm in, just saying."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Thanks. It was rough at first but I found support from friends and whatnot and made my own way from there. It's part of why I work with the Attic Youth Center here, paying that help forward to the kids here."
"True enough." He replied with a chuckle.
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"You do great, you always do great here. We all appreciate you and I'm not just saying that to try to get a raise."
A half joking chuckle.
"Look, if the leadership and everything mandates leotards, I might as well let my gay little heart sing."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Flattery will get you somewhere." He grinned, nodding as Val continued. "Not a bad thing, that."
Valeria Rolan-Ruiz:
"Oh it has. Many times. I am wonderful at flattery. Anyway yeah, I'm very glad for myself that leotards are the standard because I'm hot as shit, but also get that a lot of girls not as confident so should get that choice. But I'll get off my soap box and thank you for all the advice. Anything else before I go get some food and distract one of your servers?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Very welcome, and not that I can think of off hand." He said with a smile. "Have a good holiday, and I'll see you later."
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