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Even if she's crashing at someone else's apartment for the duration of the crisis, Annie still needs somewhere to practice her playing, pun intended, that won't risk annoying the neighbours. Which is why she's sitting one of the benches in the Spring Hollow, checking her violin's tuned properly before she starts actually making music with it.
Spicy wanders into the Spring hollow, looking around the place curious. The Ogre walks toward the one area where movement is, stuffing her hand into her pockets, carrying her heavy looking duffel bag along the way. Skin like sparkling fresh snow, veins of black ice that all somehow lead up around her black ice wrought eyes, frosted hair and ice wrought teeth and nails, though the refreshing breeze she brings along carries a soft undertone of fruit and flower.
She approaches the bench Annie is at. "Hey."
Annie glances up from her tuning at the feeling of Spicy's Mantle, turning to face the other Spring. Her own Mantle's stronger than the last time they saw each other, the music less background and more audible. "Hello, Spicy. How have you been?"
"I've been taking care of myself actually and helping out with some stuff around the Freehold, so I'm feeling good." Spicy smile just a little bit and point to the bench Annie is on. "Mind if I take a seat?" she asks
"Not at all," Annie answers, moving her violin case to make room. "Am I allowed to ask what kind of stuff you have been helping with, or is it crisis-related?"
"Crisis related, unfortunately." An uneasy shrug at the idea of having to hide it, but she offers something else with a thin smile "Which, hey, not all is lost, I got other topics to bring up I actually should speak to you about."
"Yes, well, I would love to help with the crisis, but between my studies and the bar work I do not really have the time, sadly." Also Spider wants only one character per player in the plot. "What are the other topics, may I ask?"
"I met up with Aurelio and Adela and we spoke about stuff." Spicy poke her fingers together. "Aurelio, Adela and I pretty much established for sure that we were under the same Other." a beat "And then the talk got a little awkward and it turned back to art and Adela mentioned having spoken to you about forming a performance related Motley such."
"We did, yes." Annie looks somewhat confused. "I did not know you were a performer as well, though. Or were you wanting to ask about the possibility of broadening it to the arts in general?"
"Second option, actually, though I am definitely not opposed to learning to do other things that sculpting either." Spicy states. "Aurelio is a glass blower and some of his piece I saw on his phone are damn amazing."
"I mean, he did learn to blow glass in the Murano workshops, I would be surprised if he was not impressive at it." Annie considers the other woman for a moment. "Broadening it to include the visual, not just performing, arts could be a good idea, since I have not managed to meet anyone else amongst our kind who is a performer since Adela and I discussed the topic."
"I can't think of another myself to be honest." Spicy says after a bit of consideration. "And it's not like I'm a one-trick ogre either. I can cook, I can garden hedge fruit and I got a workshop for those in my hollow." She shrug and smile.
"Being multitalented is never a bad thing," Annie agrees. "Though I must admit that I am not much of a cook myself. I rarely have the time." She pauses for a moment, taking a sip from her ever-present water bottle. "If we did form a motley of artistic types, what would you want out of it?"
"What do Motley do exactly? I'm not exactly an expert on the special stuff like that." She shrug "But I'd say something like a work place to train or do our work, support? Project to do togther?"
"Depends on the motley, honestly. I do not know if you have met any of Direct Action, but they are founded on being, well, a found family. Other motleys can be about skill sharing, helping teach other, or working together to achieve things."
"I met 'em, Sigrun shared a few weapons and armor with me." Spicy pokes at the duffel bag with a little nod, it makes a metal sound. "They definitely look like that yeah." she looks around at the Hollow a bit. "I don't think we know each other enough for that, but I'm sure something more surrounding our skills might be good."
"So just agreeing to teach each other our artistic skills and contribute to each other's projects as and when needed, then?" Annie glances at the duffel bag, then back to Spicy.
"I mean it doesn't have to be just that, mind you and like I said, I don't know much about what a Motley actually does or what magic weirdness goes with it." Spicy explains with a little look around.
"The magic weirdness also depends on the motley, honestly. We would need to swear an Oath to each other, though." Annie considers Spicy for a moment. "I have not been back very long, honestly, so I have not met any motleys other than Direct Action as yet."
"Me neither, so we'll have to ask someone who's good with that kind of things." Spicy crosses her legs. "Maybe an Autumn courtier might be able to explain some intricacies of that."
"For the magic weirdness, probably. I do know there is a lawyer in our Court, though, one Makoto Mori." Annie ponders for a moment. "Or there are some among the local mages, if you would prefer that route."
"I don't think they could explain our brand of magic back to us better than one of ours?" She tilt her head a little. "That would be weird anyway." a beat "But wording on those are usually important, I do think we should probably get everyone together for a proper discussion."
"Oh, no, I meant for drafting the Oath. Not trying to explain how our magic works." Annie shrugs slightly. "Getting everyone together for a proper discussion is probably a good idea though, yes. Do you have Aurelio's contact details? I can get in touch with Adela to arrange things on our end."
Spicy pluck open her phone after fetching it from her duffel bag and shows Aurelio's contact information to Annie. "There for his, if you need it."
"That works," Annie admits, retrieving her own phone from a pocket and copying down the information. Then giving her own to Spicy.
She exchange phone number with Annie and grins wide there. "Weird, all my numbers exchange these day are business casual." A soft laugh.
Annie blinks at that. "Really?"
"Yeah I've had my head up my ass for a while." Spicy chuckle "So I wasn't feeling super rainbow-powered for a while and pretty much for a few week all the numbers I got were kind of ... like this."
Annie blinks once. "Okay, um. If you are interested in just having fun together that can be arranged, but for anything further than that I would need to talk to my existing partner first, sorry."
Spicy's expression doesn't so much changes as it slowly melt into another one, different, if slightly more indicative of being curious. "I was maybe thinking more of a drink first and get to know you first. I don't jump that fast into the fun." a scratch behind her neck. "But don't worry about your existing partner or any condition or limits there, I can respect that."
"Oh, neither do I, usually." Annie shrugs slightly. "Clear communication around such things is valuable, though, I find." She pauses for a moment, taking another sip from her water bottle. "Getting to know each other better is definitely on the table, however, although I do not drink anything but water, generally."
"Yeah that's generally a wise decision, but you know, some nights I do enjoy a bit of a kick in my drinks." Spicy rest her elbow on the knee. "And yeah, happy to know we see things in a similar way." She points vaguely toward the exit "Want to go grab a bite somewhere that's not the weird Waffle place instead? I was there earlier."
"Sounds like a plan," Annie nods, returning her violin and bow to their case before rising. "Any preference for where?"
"I can't get too fancy, honestly, but there's this little café I do a shift at from time to time, the main baker is just this amazing old lady who used to have a bakery, their dessert are just so good." Spicy stand up as well and pick up her duffel bag.
"That works for me," Annie smiles, leading the way out of the Hollow.
Spicy doesn't own a car or even a driver's permit so they either use Annie's mode of transportation or use public transit to get to the small café, which is definitely not one of the ritziest place in town, judging by the looks around the area. It's opened 24hours and the whole place is warm and smells like bread is in the oven right now, the guy behind the counter nods to Spicy as she comes in and picks her 'usual' seat: a booth by the window.
Annie doesn't own a car either. Not that she'd know how to drive it if she did, lessons in that being strangely hard to come by, growing up in the 17th century. When they arrive, she follows Spicy to the booth, taking a seat opposite the other woman.
"So Water and what kind of cookies or pastry do you prefer?" Spicy asks, once again, setting her big bag under the table. Then she stands, about to go to the counter. "I'll go get 'em." she grins
"Ah. Cream cheese bagel, if they have it, please. Otherwise a chocolate donut will suffice." Annie smiles at Spicy. "Thank you, by the way."
Spicy gets the bagel, because if a Joyeux tells you they want a bagel, they want a god damned bagel with cream cheese. And then she get herself a double chocolate cookie and a mug of warm milk. "Hey, I'm getting better at knowing food and the local spots, gotta use it." a temporary grin "you're welcome."
"Nothing wrong with knowing where are the good places to get food, especially if they are open twenty-four hours," Annie admits. "Have you been coming here long?"
"Couple months, but that's kind of limit really." Spicy shrugs, breaking the cookie in half and not entirely subtly, leaves it on Annie's side of the plate, though she says nothing. "That's what i've been out for."
"Ah, not much newer than me, then. Do you mind if I ask where you were, Before?" Annie glances down as the cookie half is left on her side of the plate, then back up, arching an eyebrow at Spicy.
"If you change your mind, this half of the cookie is yours." Spicy explains with a shrug. "I'll eat it if you don't. No big deal." she nods "I was in Fairbanks Alaska when I got dragged into this mess."
"Oh, a relative local. I grew up in Germany, myself. Coming here was a bit of a culture shock." She pauses to take a bite of her bagel, chewing thoroughly before swallowing. "Do you sculpt professionally, or is it more of a hobby for you?"
"Professional Sculptor." She nods, a hint of pride and the smile appears just a touch faster at this. "I just don't really have the funds to buy the huge blocks of granite or marble i prefer to work with and I still gotta pay the bills, so I take random shifts when chefs take off."
"I can imagine those would be expensive, yes," Annie admits with a smile. "Having a job to pay the bills is reasonable enough, though. I know I am bartending to cover those, at least until I finish medical school."
"And you got time to do some performance art?" Spicy smiles , impressed. "When do you sleep?"
"In the hours between my shifts ending and class starting, of course," Annie chuckles quietly. "Yu Jin is very gifted at making sure I do not make silly mistakes due to fatigue, thankfully."
"I don't know who or what Yu Jin is ?" she seems a little confused at the name and sips her warm milk.
Annie blinks at that, before facepalming. "Sorry, I did not realise you have not met them. Yu Jin is my partner, and one of us."
Spicy nods and lower her head for a quick moment. "Apologies" she brushes her forehead with her forearm for a moment. "and is it the warm breath thing?"
"It is, yes." Annie considers Spicy carefully, taking a sip of her water. "Are you familiar with it, or just aware of the name?"
"I know it!" Another drink of milk for herself and she set the almost empty mug to the side, she looks to Annie with a little smile.
"Oh, good. That saves me offering to teach you it, then." Annie returns the smile. "Being able to heal people in both sides of my life is a good thing, I think."
"Is there a contract that heals when your head get messed up?" She asks curious, tilting her head to the side "Or is that just the whole mundane way only?"
"There is, though I do not know it yet. It is on my list of things I should learn at the earliest opportunity, though. Do you need help getting your head... well, not straight, obviously, but properly together?"
"Would you tell me what the name of it is?" Spicy asks, wide smile, surprised that there is actually one. "Right this instant, I'm okay. I managed to get my head sorted out with a friend."
"Fortifying Presence," Annie says. "I am glad to hear that you got your issue taken care of, though." She takes another bite of her bagel, then.
"Oh, it's part of my favored sort of contract I think." She nods "So it wouldn't be too terrible to learn it."
"Always good, when the one you want to learn is in that category," Annie nods. "Do you mind if I ask what your hobbies are, since you said sculpting was something you do professionally?"
"I'm an all in kind of girl when it comes to what I do." Spicy explains "I garden some special fruit and I cook and I like to think I'm pretty good at them too" She shrugs "I like manual labor, it's... soothing. I'm planning on renovating the home where my garden is."
"Fair enough. Manual labour is not my strongest point, but it is not something I am incapable of." Annie shrugs. "Frozen meals are a blessing for me, honestly."
Spicy shudders at the mention of frozen meal and it's not a snob thing, her face twist in a visibly recoiling fashion, disgust bordering on genuine hatred. It doesn't last long though and her disposition doesn't seem to have chanced. "I can't eat stuff that's been frozen, I just... I refuse"
"If I cooked for a living I might feel the same way." Annie shrugs again. "As it is, though, I rarely have the energy to prepare meals from scratch." She considers Spicy for a moment, finishing off her bagel as she does so. "What kinds of things do you like cooking?"
"Well, there's a reason my nickname's spicy." She chuckles. "And it's more than just... not liking it. Where I was, it was cold all the time and I don't really want to eat stuff that was frozen." she moves on from the topic. "I made pepper poppers recently and they were SO good."
"Oh? I have never tried those, what did you put in them?"
"Mine had chicken, but typically you go bacon, they,re jalapenos with cheese and dry breadcrumbs baked around the perppers" She grins "You can vary the recipe a lot."
"Ah, well. I would probably have to." Annie shrugs slightly. "Even if I ate meat, mixing it and dairy is prohibited, under kosher."
"Hmmm." Spicy briefly runs over the various ideas in her mind "Yeah I know way too little Kosher recipe, I'll update my cook book with them when I get the time this week." she says with a shrug. "Got any favorite?"
"A few. I became vegetarian Over There, which makes things easier, at least." Annie shrugs again. "I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, honestly, since those are pareve."
"I'm not Jewish so I have no idea of what pareve means." Spicy says, she she leans forward and point to the cookie "Is that why you won't eat the cookie?"
"...I totally forgot about that, sorry," Annie admits, picking up the cookie and taking a bite. "Pareve refers to anything allowed under kosher that is not meat or dairy, for future reference."
Spicy does a little dance in the booth when Annie takes the cookie. Said cookie is definitely made by someone who cares about making a good cookie. "And thank you for letting me know." She yawns once. "I might be heading home soon, but this was so nice."
"You are welcome," Annie smiles, checking the time on her phone when Spicy yawns. "I should probably be going as well, but it was a pleasure getting to know you better, Spicy."
She slides out of the booth and helps Annie do the same, offering her arms and such. "No problem, need me to walk you anywhere?"
"Just to the train station, I think. I will text you when I get to my destination, though, if you are worried about my getting there safely?" Annie is more than willing to let Spicy help her out of the booth.
Spicy smiles and narrow her eyes for a moment. "That would be great and maybe I know a special short cut to get you there."
Annie pauses in picking her violin case up at that, glancing at the other woman. "Should I be asking what "special" means, in this context?"
Spicy opens the door of the café and as Annie leaves, followed by her, she uses the cover the soft draft of wind to answer. "My hollow's emergency exit leads there and it's really not that far, but, you know, that also sounds like an excuse, which it isn't."
"Ah. Lead on, then." Annie smiles at her. "You will know the way better than I, after all."
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