Logs:Critical Conversation

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Cast

Alex Shaw,
Anneliese Kiel,
Werewife as Cedric Block,
Lif Loracks,
Mary Toombs,
Nevermore Usher

Setting

Maddy's Waffle House

Log

Another day, another waffle. Or, this time, another pancake. Blueberry pancakes, with strawberries and blackberries on top, the whole drowning in whipped cream and syrup. Nevermore surveys their dinner with a mixture of delight and apprehension.

Alex steps through the portal into Maddy's and takes a few steps back from it, where she turns around to blink in surprised at the fact that there's an alley through the other side of it, and a diner on this side. After a second she goes over to peer out the window at the gardens and forest outside. It might be night, but it's not long after the full moon and there's plenty of light.

She doesn't seem to be paying any attention at all to Nevermore yet, hasn't even looked their way, but she still gives off the strong feeling that she's watching, staring, studying. It's the kind of thing that makes the hair rise on the back of the neck, much like the too-perfect symmetry of her features and the uncanny valley sensation it causes.

Mary meanwhile, makes her way through not so long after, singing off key and waving at Nevy as she enters. "Nevy! Heyas!" She beams at them, before nearly bumping into Alex and blinking. "Sorry." She offers, giving an embarrassed shake of her head.

Nevy squirms, glances over, and forces themself to smile at Alex. She's a friend of Mearc's, and it's not her fault she makes Nevy's skin crawl! They wave at her, and again at Mary when she enters. "Hey! How are you two this fine evening?"

Alex's amazement at the facts of the diner slowly subsides, and when Mary almost bumps into her she moves out the way and offers the stranger a smile. "It's alright," she says. "No harm done." She finally spots Nevermore at that point, her smile brightens, and she comes over to say hello. "Hey! Nevermore, isn't it? I'm doing well. Better than I have been in a little while. You?"

"First time here?" She asks Alex with a smile when her lack of observation isn't held against here. "It's an awesome place, run by an awesome person." She offers Nevy a hug as she reaches their table. "Pretty good. Did some yoga, a bit of jogging, and savoured a bubble bath. I.. well, that sounds a lazy day, but was a good day." She chuckles, then offers Alex a hand. "I'm Mary by the way, nice to be meeting."

Nevy hugs, then side-eyes. "Yoga and jogging? Doesn't sound lazy to me." They chuckle and smile to Alex. "Good to hear! Want to talk about your happy fortune?"

"Yeah, I heard the place mentioned a few times but I don't really have much reason to come to diners most of the time," Alex admits with another glance out the window. "Kind of amazing, honestly. Who does run the place? Aside from the obvious answer 'someone named Maddy', I mean. I'm Alex." She smiles at Nevy and asks, "is that an invitation to join you?"

"I did do those things, but not for as long as normal." Mary admits, before nodding at Alex. "Maddy, aye. She's like me, a, well, there's several terms, but willworkers, mages, the Wise. Though I don't always like the last term, we've still got lots to learn too."

Nevy nods at Alex. "Absolutely! C'mon, both of you have a seat. Plenty of room at the table!" They side-eye at Mary's cheerful lack of exercisory laziness, but smile. "We all have plenty to learn, if we keep an eye out for it," They say.

"The Y's? Like the YMCA?" Alex asks with a laugh and a grin that shows unnaturally perfect white teeth. She knows full well that's not what was meant, but since Mary's poking at the term with her own words, Alex doesn't feel bad doing it either. She slides into a seat, glances around, and then says like she's not entirely sure she should actually say it out loud, "I'm a vampire. I don't really know much about mages, to tell you the truth."

As the three talk, the portal activates once more, revealing an Annie, who glances around before spotting Nevy and waving at them, approaching the table. "Hey. Mind if I join you?"

She winks at Alex, then nods to Nevy, but grabs a herbal tea first before sitting. "That's one way to put it." A cheerful laugh, before she offers Alex a quizzical look, chewing something over internally. "I don't know much about vampires, either." She confesses. Annie gets a light wave, but she holds on Nevy's thoughts there.

Nevy grins. "Hey, Annie." They glance around the table. "You guys know Annie? Annie, this is Mary, and Alex." They shrug. "I don't mind. You guys?" They glance around the table.

"Sure, why not?" Alex says with a shrug and a smile at Annie. At least for the supernatural folks in the room her appearance isn't actively creepy, just unusual. For the Fae sorts, it might be eerily Fae with the perfect symmetry and all, but that's not so new. "Nice to meet you, Annie."

"Nice to meet you too, Alex." Annie slides into a seat next to Alex, clearly not especially put off by the vampire's appearance. She peruses the menu briefly, more for the sake of doing so than because she has plans to order anything other than her usual choice here.

"Hey Annie." Mary chips in, smiling and sipping tea. "And more company is always for the good." A content nod.

Nevy scooches over to make room for all the new faces. "So," They say to Alex. "What's new?"

"I think a problem that has been plaguing a lot of the people I care about is finally resolved," Alex says a little vaguely, but she looks at Nevy, smiles, and says, "regarding our mutual friend, Mearcstapa, who appeared in the news recently? I was able to get information clearing him, and then make sure it was released. Along with helping with dealing with the person behind it all, which I think is wrapped up now? What's new with you?"

Kay walks into Maddy's bright smile on display, her hair cascading down bare shoulders in soft curls, shade on top of her head, a bright yellow sundress and a pair of white heels. Her smiles brighten when she notices Mary and Nevy in particular, raising a hand to greet them. "Hey! Mind if I join in?"

"Oh, you know Mearcstapa?" Alex gets a considering look, then. "I think the person behind that incident had friends people are planning to track down, but the main threat is resolved now, at least." Annie glances up at Kay as she speaks. "No, go ahead."

"I've bumped into him a few times, I think. He seems pretty cool, so I'm glad he's okay." She smiles. Then she beams as Kay enters and she wordlessly reaches a hand out towards her hopefully, nodding once and keenly.

Nevy grins. "Right! I saw something about that. You are officially awesome. That whole situation was just... sucking the li- um, I mean, it was really bad for him." Kay gets a smile. "Hey, how's it going?"

"I do! Since before he moved here," Alex confirms. "And she did. I'm actually the one who gathered the information on those friends." She glances at Nevy and then laughs. "You can say 'sucking the life out of him', I won't be offended." She asks Annie, "are you a member of the Freehold?" She scoots in further to make more room in the booth when Kay comes to join as well. "I don't mind. I'm Alex. Can I say that yellow looks really good on you? I kind of want to know where you go that dress, because it would probably look really good on me, too."

"I am, yes," Annie answers Alex, sliding over further when space is cleared. "It really is a nice shade on you." She tells Kay, smiling slightly at the other woman. "What have you been up to?"

"It's going Nevy, It's going!" Kay moves into the booth and sits with/near or on Mary's lap, depending with a bright grin. She steals a bit of something Mary ordered. She smiles brightly at Alex. "Yellow looks amazing on dark skin, I got it a while ago, it was this boutique in the independance mall that had it." She waves to Annie. "Been learning new things, Languages, tricks of the trade and about where I come from too."

"Everything looks good on you." She tells Kay, then grins. "But the yellow really does, yep." And she's all too happy for Kay to sit on her lap, kissing her cheek in greeting. Alex is thoughtfully sized up before she nods. "I reckon yellow would look pretty on you too, mm."

Nevy glances between Mary and Kay, then chuckles. "Better you than me, I think. Yellow makes me look like the opening scene of The Lion King, with the sunrise over the savannah."

"Ah, that explains why you knew that," Alex says with a nod. "Before I was a vampire, I was one of the Avowed." She seems to think Annie will know what that means, and moves on with the conversation. "It does look good on me," she confirms for Mary. "Most highly saturated colors and jewel tones, honestly." She tells Nevy, "I don't really picture you in bright yellow, but you have a really solid aesthetic already."

Annie clearly does know what that means, even if nobody else at the table might. "It is a pretty great aesthetic," she agrees. "Not something I would be inclined to attempt, but finding one that works for you can be challenging."

"Thank you, Mary." She kisses the top of the Magi's head, almost physically insisting on her being taller. "I think a three piece purple suit for Nevy would look great, with a few fancy accessories, like a hat and a bow tie." She smiles "I'm Kay, by the way." she reach to offer a handshake to Alex. "Pleased to meet you."

"Ah. Might not be fair to ask. But." She considers Alex. "I, uh, did hear of a vampire who was looking for changes, if well, I wasn't sure." She lets the somewhat tangled sentence lie, nodding at Kay. "Purple could suit you." She tells Nevy in agreement, cheeks slightly red from her verbal fumbling.

Nevy grins at Alex and nods. "Exactly," They say cheerfully. "If it ain't broke, don't toil laboriously over its corpse using blasphemous perversions of science and alchemy to revive it into an unholy mockery of life."

They grin at Annie. "I don't know, though. I could see you in pale and black, with blue lip- no, plum lipstick. Hair slicked back from the face, dark eye shadow..." They grin. "You could pull it off."

They consider the suit idea. "I mean... it's not bad," They concede. "But... would I be able to wear my coat over it?"

Alex reaches to take Kay's hand and gives it a shake. "Nice to meet you too, Kay. Alex." She blinks her green eyes at Mary and asks, "changes? You might have to be more specific, but if you're trying to be evasive because you think you might offend me, don't sweat it. I'm not easily offended."

She laughs then and tells Nevy, "that's a verbose and rather Frankensteinian way of putting it, but accurate enough. I think you're right about Annie being able to pull off that look, too."

"...maybe for special occasions, then," Annie shrugs slightly. "I do not own plum lipstick, or all that many black garments, but I could probably borrow some of the latter from Yu Jin."

"Yeah another one of our people met with who I assume is one of your people." she looks to Mary for confirmation, as this part hadn't been made particularly clear to her so far, then back to Alex. "And it seemed there was mention of possibly curing the condition. Which I doubt is possible." Then she looks to Nevermore "I think you could wear the coat over it, if we kept the blazer out and went with a waistcoat instead."

"We could visit a clothing store sometime." She suggests to Nevy. "Explore options and see what fits both you and your coat. That could be a good way to spend an afternoon together." She nods keenly. "And yes." She kisses Kay gratefully. "For saying what I was trying to." She nods over to Alex. "I wasn't sure if it was you or not." She explains. "A vampire looking for a cure. We talked about options, but.. if it's possible, it would be extremely difficult."

Nevy chuckles to Annie. "I mean, if you wanted to. If it's not for you? It's not for you." They blink at Alex. "You... want to pull a Blade?"

Alex doesn't seem to know how to take this at first, and for a time she just stares at Kay and Mary, Kay and Mary. "Cure the condition? You mean stop being a vampire, and go back to being human? I've been lead to understand it's not possible, but that's the perspective of the vampires. I would go back to being human if I could. I never got a choice in being a vampire in the first place. But I haven't been looking for a cure, since I feel like someone would have figured that out a long time ago, if it was possible." She smiles at Nevy. "I'm not sure if the outfit would suit me."

Annie glances between Alex and Nevy, looking confused. "Blade? I do not get the reference." The talk of curing vampirism gets her interest, then. "Have they tried? It might be the kind of thing everyone assumes is not possible so nobody attempts."

"See, that's a good clue that it can't be a simple thing." Kay says with a little nod to Alex and then Annie. "And maybe, but I have my doubt about that theory too." she considers for a brief moment. "It feels like something some of my people would've attempted at some point. too proud not to have had at least one real go at it." a look toward Mary and kiss her cheek back. "That being said, the real answer in my case is: I don't know enough about vampires and how they work to give you a full answer. I'd need to test out a few theories with my abilities."

"I've not seen Blade." Mary admits. "It's films about vampires." She explains to Annie. "In this case, stopping being a vampire anymore." Alex is offered a sad smile. "I don't know. I'm sorry something happened to you that you didn't want. It might be possible, with the right magic and the right methods, but, it'd be risky. And, I don't like the thought of giving you false hope." She leans against Kay. "But this one here can offer you far better thoughts then I ever could on the subject."

"Hey," Nevy says to Alex, looking serious. "Long black coats suit everyone."

They nod at Mary and Annie. "A comic book and movie series about a half-vampire who uses the half-vampire abilities to hunt full vampires that hurt people. He's usually tied up with some attempt or other to cure vampirism."

Kay gets a side-eye. "Yeah, uh... a lot of you guys feel seem to feel like being able to do a lot means you can do anything. It's... a little scary sometimes."

"It's not worth any considerable risk to me at this point," Alex says with a shake of her head. "Especially not any risk to my actual existence. As much as I would like to be able to go out in the sun again, and not have to find sustenance the way I do, I'm just..." she shrugs.

"Learning the difference between what you can do and what you should do can be a lengthy process," Annie admits, before glancing at Alex. "Are you not able to find willing donors? Or is it more a question of not wanting to need that sort of sustenance at all?"

"Oh, is that the movies with Wesley Snipes in them?" She asks toward Nevy, as she seems to remember it all of a sudden. "Yes, I admit that this is probably the case and I apologize if I made you feel like that myself." then her gaze shift to Alex. "I don't know if a solution exists or if there's one, how risky it would be. I know the test and analysis I could run wouldn't carry any significant risk to you. But that's entirely your decision too."

"As Annie says. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should." Mary nods. "We've any number of laws about that." She lets Kay lead the conversation at this point, but gives Alex a light smile. "That's more than fair."

Nevy looks at Alex. "It's... pretty sucky , that you had that happen to you." They nod to Kay. "Yeah, Wesley Snipes. And... I dunno. It's just... something for you guys to keep in mind, right?"

"Those are the films," Alex confirms with a laugh. "My brother used to be into them. I was a kid the last time I saw them, I think?" She tells Annie, "a side effect of my particular lineage, kind of like my Seeming, is that I creep out people who aren't fully supernatural in some way." She looks across the table at Nevermore with an apologetic smile. "I feel like that applies to you, at least to some degree? I'm sorry, if it does. I wish I could stop it. It makes things difficult for me."

"Ah. I am sorry to hear that, then." Annie seems sincere. "Are you able to get sustenance from people who are fully supernatural, at least? That seems like it would be easier, both practically and from an ethical standpoint."

"I'll certainly keep it in mind." Kay leans into Mary for a moment. "And yeah, those laws are there for a reason, sadly." A sigh and then she seem to shake off the bit of the mod. "I remember watching them a few times back in the days, I like the general attitude it had. If not the quality for the later films." She smiles and seems curious about that particular interaction. "Is feeding on something particularly painful?"

"It's very important, yes." Mary nods at Nevy. "I wish we didn't need those laws, but sometimes we do. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of what we shouldn't do. And maybe it might be fun for us to tag in watching one of those films with a possible shopping trip?" She falls quiet then, also curious with the questions Annie and Kay have asked about feeding.

Nevy nods, looking chagrined. "I thought it was something like that. I've been... trying not to let it get to me. I know Mearc wouldn't be friends with you if you were..." They search for the words. "The kind of person my brain keeps trying to tell me you are, if that makes sense?" They shrug one shoulder and smile. "Besides. I'm a goth. Creepy things are cool."

They look curious. "Um... How does it work if you try to, um, drink from someone who's not... y'know, completely normal any more? If you want to talk about it, I mean. You don't have to if you'd rather not."

Kay and Mary get a thoughtful nod and chuckle. "Tell me you're going to be putting together goth cosplays with the long leather coats and wraparound sunglasses and stuff." They grin. "I'll help!"

"Not from Changelings," Alex admits with a shake of her head. "Well, I should say not from Changelings without practice. I've been told that with effort we can teach our bodies to accept Changeling blood as food." She looks at the mages and admits, "I'm not sure about mages. You might be human enough still? We could experiment. And no," she laughs. "It' snot painful. For me or for them. If someone's not violent in their feeding, it actually causes an incredibly pleasant sensation." She smiles at Nevy and says, "well, I appreciate that as a way of looking at it, since I can't help being creepy. I wish I could."

"Interesting. If you are ever looking to practice learning it, let me know?" Annie offers. "Being able to overcome limits imposed by our existence is pretty useful, to be honest." Beat. "Especially if the sensation of getting fed on is pleasant, rather than unpleasant."

Kay seems about to say something, then reconsiders for a few moments. "I think us shopping for clothes would be nice, especially if we go for some kind of specific outfit like gothic. Nevermore definitely could help then." she grins. "And if you'd like to try on one of us, I could volunteer. I suspect i'd like to have Mary around to help deal with the blood loss, since she can help with medical issues."

"We could, yes. We could." She grins broadly at Nevy. "I like that idea too." She nods keenly at Kay in full agreement, then ponders at the talk of vampire bites. "That almost sounds like something to do with evolution, I mean, it makes it easier to feed if there's no pain involved." She then looks at Kay, humming. "I.. yes. I can heal most any injuries, including blood loss I believe."

Nevy grins. "Well then. Let me know when the two of you are free. I'll goth you up something fierce." They side-eye at Alex. "Yeah, I've um. Had someone feed from me before, once. It was... nice. Weirdly nice, when you think about it."

"Seduction is a relatively common part of the hunt for a lot of us," Alex admits with a slightly sheepish expression and a shrug. "Consider that it feels good enough to make people not notice someone bit them and is drinking their blood. I'm open to do some experimentation if you are, though." She looks around. "Any of you, really. You have? Then you know, I guess. Now I'm curious who it was, but you certainly don't have to tell me. I'm mostly curious who else you know."

Annie considers Alex for a moment, then, one side of her mouth curling into the faintest hint of a smirk. "Really? Just the kind involving the topic we have been discussing, or any other sort of experimentation?"

Kayla seems rather amused by the approach taken by Annie and her smile brighten even more. "Well, looking forward to fitting the stereotype of my particular sort of abilities to the core." She says to the intention of Nevy, then turns toward Alex and Annie. "I'm pretty interested in doing the feeding experimentation. To be specific." she teases.

"I would also be interested." Mary smiles keenly, nodding. "For the feeding experimentation too. But perhaps I'm best there in case any healing is needed?" She kisses Kay's cheek, carefully wriggling out from under her. "I love you dearly." She tells her. "And I've really enjoyed talking to you all, but I need to get my feet moving for now. Get in touch if you want to do more with this experimenting, maybe?"

Nevy blinks at Annie, then chuckles. "Careful, Alex," They say teasingly. "Annie isn't out for blood, but..." They blep.

Alex answers Annie by saying, "I meant involving this particular topic, but I do try to keep a scientific mindset and like to learn, so I'm largely open to experimentation in general." For a moment it might seem like she missed the potential innuendo, but she smirks back. "I've run quite a few of the sorts of experiments I think you're implying, though. To enjoyable ends."

Coming back to the mages she says, "we should get in touch and try that out some time, then? At your convenience, I suppose. Nice to meet you, Mary."

"Should we exchange our phone number?" Kayla offers and pulls her own phone out of her pocket and open the new contact app. "That would make it a little easier to set things up I think." she kisses Mary on the cheek as she leaves. "Have a great day!" she quickly adjust herself in the seat.

"Yeah? Maybe we should get together sometime and experiment, then?" Annie grins at Alex, before glancing at the mages. "Nice meeting you, Mary." Nevy gets an innocent look. "What? I like pursuing my desires, there is nothing wrong with that."

"Yes." She smiles, kissing Kay back. "We'll keep in touch, and hopefully sort something out." A bright nod to Alex and the rest of the group, before turns to make her way out.

Nevy smirks. "I'm just teasing you, Annie. What do the kids say? 'Get it, girl?'"

"Sure, send a text to ###-###-####" Alex says once Kay's phone is out. "If you have Signal or something that's better than texting, since it's actually encrypted and the phone company and the government don't get to read what we're saying about vampirism and blood drinking." Once that's handled she looks back over at Annie and smiles. "You're Spring, aren't you? That makes a lot of sense. So was I, you know."

"I have no idea what Signal is." Kay says with a shrug as she sends a text message toward Alex. "But it's not like I'd be speaking about that kind of stuff on a phone anyway." she grins and then seems interested in ordering something at last.

"Secure text messaging platform. Mearcstapa recommended it to me," Annie fills in, glancing at Alex. "However did you guess?"

Nevy nods. "I use it with Mearc and some of the other... shall we say, Differently Normal crowd?"

"Goooood afternoon, Maddy. Fire up those fryers, because I'm starving," comes a boisterous voice before the man connected to it can be seen. To those that cannot pierce the mask: the dude who enters is over 6' tall, barrel-chested, wearing an orderly and well-kept beard. He's dressed in a cheap suit with the tie undone, and he's carrying the blazer in the crook of his arm along with a briefcase. To any Lost in the room: the man's voice has an electronic quality to it, and he's bedecked with cybernetic parts - an eyepiece, his arms (though only his hands are currently visible) and there're scraggly, loose wires protruding from his head. He surveys the restaurant floor, and spots Anneliese before flashing a doofy grin and a double thumbs up. "Do my eyes spy Anneliese?" Beat. "... and Alex, too? Out in the wild? A rare treat, indeed."

Oh hey, Annie and Alex. Look. It's the Vernal Advocate: Cedric Block.

"Exactly," Alex confirms when Annie explains. "Mearcstapa can generally be trusted to give good advice when it comes to digital security. Generally," she adds in a teasing tone. "How did I guess, though? You just said you like pursuing your desires, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's not wrong for anyone, but it's a pretty Spring thing--" she trails off when she hears Cedric's voice. "Cedric!" Alex actually pulls her legs up, stands on the seat, then climbs over it to the booth behind hers so that she can get out and offer Cedric a hug.

"Well, okay, maybe I'll consider it then. If I can find where to download it." Kayla blinks at the sight of Cedric and raise a hand in greeting to the Vernal Advocate. Not that she'd know that's what he is. "Hello." then looks to Annie and Alex in turns. "I'm guessing this is someone familiar to you?" she then looks to Nevy "Do you know Cedric?"

"It should be available on the Play Store. Or whatever it is Apple have, if you use an iPhone." Annie's turning as she hears someone call her name, before grinning, sliding out of the booth so that she too can offer Cedric a hug. "How have you been?"

"Not yet," Nevy says, considering the big man, They offer him a friendly wave. "Hey. A friend of Alex's, I'm guessing?" They grin at the understatement.

Ced's arms are already open wide -- waiting for Alex and Annie -- because everyone in his court (or his 3.5 game) gets a hug upon greeting. Every time. Oop! Looks like someone's dual-wielding bearhugs!

"Hey, you two! Anneliese - I heard about your Motley, congratulations." There's a tighter squeeze for emphasis, and then her turns to Alex, mock disappointment on his face. Honestly, though, he's such a teddy bear that he can't even pretend to be disappointed through all the excitement. "How come I had to hear from Ari that you re-pledged to the Freehold, but haven't asked to rejoin my D&D game..." Beat. "What were you playing? That little gnome wizard? Made me wanna tear my wires out trying to keep the table balanced for your little munchkin, but you are sorely missed."

There's a moment of pause and he releases the pair from his hug, turning to the table. "Introduce me to your friends, please!"

Alex hugs Cedric affectionately and then laughs. "I don't even wake up until almost 9pm now, unfortunately, and getting later. Unless you want to shift your game to a really late start until winter, I'm not sure how compatible my schedule is." She steps back and starts pointing people out for introductions. "This is Kay, and Nevermore. Clearly you already know Anneliese."

"Thank you." Annie smiles at Cedric. "It was a bit of work getting it organised, but Petra, Yu Jin, and I are looking forward to not having our healing skills needed." Because if they're needed something's gone wrong. Alex gets a glance, then. "Cedric was a lot of help when I was new to the Court." Beat. "All of like three months ago." She's worked hard to become a Joyeux in that time, though.

Nevy chuckles. "Nice to meet you. A GM, huh? DnD's great, but I've always preferred Revenant: the Nemeses and the rest of the Shadowed World games. Give me an undead with a hateboner for revenge and a tendency toward doomed romance, any day of the week."

"Oh, that kind of friend." Kay mentions under her breath as she place an order quickly with one of the waiter, something about ethiopian food and then turn her attention to the reunion again. She waves at him again. "Hi, pleasure to make your acquaintance Cedric."

"Well, that proposes a problem, to be sure -- but we can figure something else out, Alex." Beat. "Or you can join up with my Archrival Dungeon Master's group - with the nocturnal Winters," he shakes his fist at the air dramatically - but there's no real malice.

Kay gets a rough handshake -- one that ends up tugging her into a one-armed jock hug, compete with shoulder bump and back pat. "Good to meet you, Kay - you seem like a real nice lady." Beat. "Hell, it's more than just 'kay', it's great, actually."

There's another doofy grin at his own bad joke, and then he turns to offer a hand to Nevermore as well. "Oh, a refined taste, I see. Revenant has too much politicking for my taste - I'm more of a Princess guy, myself."

"That's almost exactly my real-life build," Alex points out to Nevy with a laugh. "Why would I want to just play myself by in a game? Anyway, Cedric, see if your players would be okay with it? Maybe we can make it work, and she can show up again. Or I can make a new character, there are always a million ideas for them in my head."

She groans at Cedric's joke and gives Kay an apologetic look, but also a shrug.

Kayla is not one to refuse a hug and leans into the rough and gruff hugging easily. It's also real simple for Cedric to gauge he'd probably be able to break her in half physically without much of an effort. She laughs at the joke about her name and nods to him. The Magi is all smile once the hug exchange is over. "It's great to meet you as well, then, Cedric."

Annie winces dramatically at Cedric's pun. "You still need to tell what this 'Princess' game involves. Nothing I have been able to find on the Wikipedia is helpful."

Nevy takes the hand and tugs him into a hug, because he seems the type. "Princess? It's a little Disney for me, but I respect it." They look at Annie. "It's about Fighting the Darkness with the power of Truth, Hope, and Love!" They make a magical girl pose, then devolve into giggles.

The giggles slow at Alex's commentary, as they realize that, yes, it is rather reflective of some of their new friends. "Ah. Er... Hrm. Now that you mention it, liking Revenant feels... weird."

"Exactly- woah!" Cedric's laugh booms as Nevermore tugs him into a hug - and there's a comedically exaggerated grunt of exertion as he gives them a giant bear hug. "It's down-right adorable, actually. You play as a magical girl -- or a magical boy, if you want -- like from one of those Japanese cartoons," Cedric turns back to Anneliese, striking a matching pose with Nevermore's.

He offers Nevermore a reassuring pat on the back - to help bolster them for the awkward conversation they might be walking towards - and then steps away to grab a chair from a nearby empty table. He, of course, whirls it around so he can sit on it backwards. 'Cause he's a Cool Dad, and he'd better blend in so he can hang with the Cool Youths.

Alex claps with delight at Cedric and Nevy demonstrating magical girl poses. "That sounds like it might be a fun game," she admits before sliding back into the booth at the table, where she'd been sitting before, nothing ordered since she can't eat anyway. "I'm only teasing you about Revenant, though. It's probably pretty funny, I'm just not sure it would be my thing any more."

"Never quite got into the Anime or those kind of shows, was a little more of a book kind of girl." She comments as she grabs her food when it arrives a moment later. "The table top RPGs I tried once or twice, but I wasn't super comfortable with the rules and I got bored fast. The books were really cool though."

"Ah. Sounds interesting." Annie clearly has no real clue which Japanese cartoons are being referenced. "What kind of games are you into now, Alex?" She asks, also returning to her seat in the booth.

Nevy looks a bit relieved. “That’s a good question,” they say.

"What?!" Cedric stops everything, shock on his face. How could anyone not like to play table top RPGs. "Well that just means you never found the right ruleset, Kay -- or, at least, that you tried to follow too many of the rules." Beat. "I know this probably sounds weird coming from the mouth of a guy who does a podcast called Rules Lawyer, but..." Ahh yes, shameless self promotion. "The rules should be there to foster your enjoyment of the game, not restrict it. They're just guidelines - and there are plenty of indie RPGs that take place entirely inside the Theater of the Mind with very little mechanical crunch to tie them down." Beat. "Though I know Munchkins like Alex probably balk at the idea."

He winks.

"There are some games out there that are really fun and much lighter on the rules," Alex points out out too. "And I'm not always a total twink with my characters. But if you're still running 3.5, you're asking for twinkage. Come on." She smiles at Cedric and then answers Annie, "I honestly haven't really had time to play, or really look at what's new since I had to drop out of Cedric's game." Since she got kidnapped, in other words.

"I'll give it a look and consideration. I'm sure I have at least a friend who'd be into that." Kay smiles. "Or I can get her to be into that." she ponders for a moment. "I need something to do that isn't... the Weird stuff."

Annie nods. "I can understand that. Having hobbies is important." She glances at Cedric. "Are there any particular ones involving this Theater of the Mind you would recommend for someone with no experience? I know Yu Jin is into board games, but I think those are different."

Nevy snorts “lots of people don’t draw much of a line between DnD and actual magic, on the ‘weird’ scale.”

"Spoken like a true Rules Libertarian," he chides playfully - and there's that booming laugh again. "The system enables me to crunch, and so crunch I shall - everyone else be darned." Beat. "Back in my day, the DM handed us a character sheet, and then we cried for twenty minutes when our 4HP halfling thief named Rolo was instantly killed for stepping on a pressure plate. Being a twink was praying harder than your friends were in AD&D."

He props his arms up on the back of the chair, stroking his heart at Anneliese's question. "Actually, I highly recommend Dread if you like horror movies. Rather than playing with dice, you play with a Jenga tower - pulling out blocks whenever you need to take a risky action - and if the tower falls, something bad happens in the narrative." He draws a finger across his neck. "Usually that sorta thing's only meant for one-shots, but it's one of my favorites - if you can muscle past the anxiety of a looming tower of blocks that could fall and kill your character at any moment." Beat. "Remind me later, Annie, and I'll send you a comprehensive list of some rules-light, beginner-friendly games."

"Or when your 2hp level 1 wizard died to a housecat?" Alex asks, because that was totally a 3rd edition thing, too. "A jenga tower game sounds really stressful, but that's also kind of interesting. At some point I need to dig into what things have come out in the last like... four years."

"Oh, Nevy I am drawing that line pretty hard." A little chuckle. "A little game of pretend around of table feels delightfully entertaining and stress-less in comparison of the other stuff." she looks at her now empty plate. "But I get the point" she chuckles "I will have to depart for now however, Need to get some stuff done before heading home."

"You are more up to date than I am, then, Alex," Annie shrugs. "But sure, Ced. I will send you an email about it later. I am not particularly into horror movies, but that definitely sounds thematically appropriate." She glances at Kay, then. "Fair enough. I will see you around, Kay?"

Nevy grins at that. “OK,” they say. “The next time you’re running a game of Dread? Absolutely call me. I will spoop the heck out of that game.”

They nod a concession to Kay. “Okay, fair. I’ll admit there are some practical differences. Anyway, you have a good evening.”

At Annie’s denial of horror, Nevy gasps in feigned... well... horror. “You wound me!”

"Yep, hopefully I'll see you all soon." Kay quickly leaves the restaurant afterward.

"It was good to meet you, Kay -- do me a favor and gave a great day, will ya?" Cedric throws the mage a wink and a thumbs up as she exits. "Will do, Nevermore. Just uhh," he rustles around in the pocket his suit jacket for a phone, and then passes the ancient-looking blackberry over so they can insert their contact info. "Toss your digits in there, and I'll let you know when it's happening when it gets closer to Halloween." Beat. "Oh, and Alex - I volunteer to give you the crash course if we can find a time where our schedules mesh properly."

Of course, as Kay leaves, another figure steps inside. To those who don't pierce the mask, they're vaguely feminine in presentation, with dark hair and light blue eyes, dressed in a t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the shoulders and dark-wash jeans. As they glance around and notice Ced, they do not run over to glomp him.

They do, however, walk over and just lean over his back and let out a warm, heavy sigh.

"Bye Kay!" Alex calls when she's leaving. "Thanks, Cedric. That would be great. I'd love to catch up with a bunch of the various Spring folks I used to know, anyway. Did you ever manage to get Ari to play in any of your games?" When a stranger comes over and leans against Cedric she offers that person a smile but doesn't seem the least bit concerned by it, or surprised. "Hello," she says.

"You knew I am not into horror already, Nevy," Annie points out with a grin. Lif gets a glance and then a smile. "Hey, Lif. How have you been? Committed any botany crimes lately?" There's a brief pause. "Lif, Alex. Alex, this is Lif."

Nevy snickers. “Hush, I’m being dramatic.” They look at the newcomer with interest. “Hello there.”

"Lif! Kiddo, hey!" There's a mechanical whirring (or the crackle of bad joints, for the non-Lost) as Cedric wrangles the elemental into a side-hug. "I'm surprised you managed to keep quiet back there for so long - oh, watch it with the water, I don't wanna walk around wet all day..."

He's giggling about this, though, so he probably isn't too broken up about his suit.

She giggles as she's tugged into the hug, waving at everyone else at the table. "Hi, yeah, I'm Lif. Nice to meet you. Lif Loracks. Alex was it? And you're..." A glance at Nevermore, eyes lingering on the pronoun pin for a moment before her grin grows broader.

"Hi Lif, nice to meet you." Alex seems to pick up on the reaction to the pronoun pin since she offers, "my pronouns are she/her. Take a seat if you'd like. We were just talking about RPGs."

"Oh, this is Nevermore. Nevy for short." Annie adds, nodding at the suggestion that Lif sit. "She/her also, by the way." Beat. "Now I feel like you should be obliged to make him walk around wet all day."

Nevy gives one of their patented overly-florid bows. “Nevermore Usher, at your service - artist of the odd, purveyor of preposterous poetry, and maven of all things macabre.”

"Love that introduction." There's a wink, and then Cedric releases Lif from the headlock hug so they can stand up. "I oughta give myself a few fun titles, too." He strokes his beard in contemplation for a few moments, but then a grouchy blonde woman calls out his name from behind the counter up front. "Oop! Sorry to split so soon, but that's my to-go order, folx -- please, Lif. Take my seat. Enjoy yourself." Beat. "It was really excellent to meet you all -- and I'm going to be disappointed if I don't hear back about game night."

He tucks his jacket back into the crook of his arm, grabbing the briefcase once he's upright again. "Anybody need anything before I head out?"

Lif lets out a warm laugh. "Nevermore Usher? And I thought I was on-the-nose. Nice to meet you both. My pronouns are she or them--my gender identity got wet and smudged a bit Over There."

Then she turns to Cedric. "If you hear about anyone else interested in sciencing the shit out of the 'community garden' failing, send them to me? Please?"

"Nevermore is delightfully unashamed of what they love. It's quite charming," Alex says with a flash of an uncannily perfect smile at Nevy. "What's this about sciencing the shit out of something? I do like to science things." She offers Cedric a parting wave and says, "let me know if your group is interested in changing their play times so I can join."

"Something is up with the 'community garden'," Annie fills in for Alex. "People are trying to work out what, but I have never been the type to delve too far beyond them." Cedric gets a nod and a smile. "Nothing I can think of right now, but I will be in touch about that list of beginner-friendly games. Pleasure talking to you, though."

Nevy chuckles “I yam what I Yam,” they say. “Why hide it?” They eye the others at the garden talk, but shrug. Not their monkeys.

"Hey Alex, Lif is looking for someone to science the heck out of things. You should get into contact with them." Cedric shoots a finger pistol at Lif while backing up in the direction of that extremely grumpy waitress. "Lif, likewise. Alex likes to do some science -- and don't say I never did nothin' for ya'." He offers one last round of goodbyes, and then turns on his heel. "Stay weird, you guys."

... and then he's gone - though you can all very clearly hear him say "Thanks for the Soykaf," when he accepts his styrofoam cup of caffeine from the waitress - and a "See ya 'round, Chummer" as he exits through the portal.

Lif shrugs, then turns toward Alex. "Dunno how versed you are in our shit, but. Hedge-botany issues. Um. Parasitic plants, something like a mistletoe or rafflesia with roots choking out the Freehold gardens? And a lot more than just the gardens, there's effects up and down the trod. I'm not sure I can bring you in, and I'm not sure how useful the samples would be if I bring them out? But...I'm planning on going some work that isn't entirely based in dreamfluffery on the matter. Hedge-ecology, soil testing, things like that?"

"Ah..." Alex looks rather curious and also rather worried. "That seems... interesting, but also potentially very dangerous for me," she says with a soft laugh. "I used to be Avowed, but these days I'm a vampire. I am sworn to the Freehold, but I'm not sure if the Hedge would be a safe place for me. I might be able to help out with analysis and so on outside of the Hedge? Not that I have a lab or anything."

"Might be safest not to test it, yeah." Annie considers for a moment. "If you do not have access to a lab on your side of things, Lif and I could try getting you into one of the ones at Temple to check stuff out there."

Nevy glances around. “How ‘super secret society’ is this stuff? If you need, I can, um... plug my ears and hum or something.”

"I mean. You're here in Maddy's, that means you're not unaware, right?" She shrugs. "And I've...acquired some field equipment from my day job, for the next time I go on a walk. Alex, I'll bring my research and notes, and we can jam on the topic sometime. Another brain will be useful--call it peer review? Anyway, this wasn't actually why I came here." They straddle the chair Ced left. "I was looking for some waffles."

"Sure, I'll give you my contact info and we can poke at things together. I'm not an expert, but I'm a quick study, so if I can help I'll be glad to. If all else fails, I can be a lab assistant." Alex gives Lif a smile and then lets out a soft groan. "The waffles look so good. I really wish I could eat them without really regretting it later. I'm half tempted to do it anyway, and food doesn't even taste nearly as good now as it used to, which says something about how good everything that has come out of the kitchen looks and smells." She smiles at Nevy. "I'm pretty jealous of how much you were enjoying those pancakes."

"The food here here is amazing," Annie admits, smiling. "I especially love the Green Forest omelette, but pretty much everything I have tried is good." She grins at Alex. "Why not get some? Embrace the former Spring in yourself, fulfil your desires."

Nevy looks up, a smear of whipped cream almost certainly intentionally placed on thei nose. “Huh?” They smirk. “Yeah, they were fantastic.”

"Former Spring?" She looks at Alex curiously, then holds up a hand as if for a high five. "Makes two of us at the table, then."

Alex reaches over and high-fives Lif, a good solid smack of the hand. "It turns out they kick you out when you die," she says with a touch of good humor. "Otherwise I'd probably still be. What Court are you?" She looks over at Annie and admits, "my desire not to be violently ill later is still outweighing my desire for waffles. Right now."

"Fair enough," Annie chuckles, flagging down a server, requesting a Green Forest omelette with side of potatoes and a glass of water. "As long as you are thinking them through and choosing which to prioritise over the other, you are doing well enough for me."

Nevy finally finishes the pancakes and sighs. “That was delicious, they say, checking a pocket watch. “But now, I fear it’s onward to work.”

"Oh! Hope we didn't bug you by discussing our business and not including you enough." She frowns slightly at Nevy. "Hopefully I can get a chance to know you better later."

Then she turns toward Alex slightly. "Summer. The benzene levels coming out of the PES oil refinery were enough to make any Lorax angry."

“Absolutely! And it’s a matter of time, not topic. I look forward to speaking with you later!”

"Ah," Alex says with an understanding nod to Lif. "Bye Nevy, take care, good to see you again. See you around soon, hopefully." She tells Lif, "tell me the details about that? I've been out of the loop for like four years, and not yet up to speed on how much outrage I should have over the state of the world after my absence."

"See you around, Nevy," Annie says, smiling at them, before turning her attention to Alex and Lif. "A lot, probably, but people are trying to make it better, at least." She grins, then. "Some of them by committing botany crime late at night."

"So. Before the refinery had an explosion last July that released 5,000 pounds of hydrofluoric acid into the air, the benzene level it was putting out clocked in at 49 micrograms per cubic meter of air. The EPA's 'action level' is 9 micrograms per, for comparison." They roll their eyes and wave over a member of the waitstaff, to order chocolate chip waffles with turkey bacon.

"Holy fuck," Alex says, aghast. "I missed all of that, sorry. Not because I was choosing not to pay attention. It's a whole thing." She sighs and rubs her forehead with her index finger and thumb. "I'm so fed up with people's selfish disinterest in the lives and futures of anyone but themselves and the people closest to them. Often not even the people closest to them."

Annie nods. "I was not around when that happened, but the state of the planet..." she sighs. "So many things have changed for the better since my time, but that is not one of them." Beat. "And of course the company responsible is doing approximately nothing to compensate the people that are suffering because of it."

"And the people who are suffering are the ones who can't afford to move out of the proximity of the refinery. Money buys health, safety, security. Welcome to America." Lif sighs. "So I went Summer, and I'm going to fight that shit. Because speaking for the trees is one thing, speaking for people whose suffering is directly caused by this sort of shit is another."

A pause, she gives Alex a sidelong look. "So. You died?"

"I'm sure that human shortsightedness is nothing new, between now and whenever you came from," Alex says to Annie with a sigh. She nods as she turns back to Lif. "I did. Someone decided they wanted to do experiments on one of the Fae-Touched, so he did." Her tone grows bitter as she adds, "one of the experiments he ran was to see what happened if he tried to turn one into a vampire. So..." she gestures at herself. "Dead. I've been finding more and more that I understand Summer's position on a lot of things."

"I know you probably hear this a lot, but I am so sorry that happened to you." Annie moves to pat Alex on the shoulder, making sure to do so slowly enough that the vampire can move if she doesn't want to be touched. "Do you mind if I ask what happened to that monster?"

"Fuuuuck." She grimaces. "Glad your situation is better now, though. You endured, and you've made it back." They gesture with a piece of turkey bacon.

"He was executed," Alex says, clearly not feeling bad about that fact. "Like I said. I'm starting to understand the Summer position better. Not that I have any talent for fighting at all, beyond learning to throw a punch years ago. I'm a nerd, not a warrior." She smiles a little wickedly. "If you ever want information you don't think is being released publicly but should be? There's how I fight mybattles."

"Good," is all Annie has to say in response to learning Holden got executed. She considers Alex for a moment. "How are you coping with what happened?" She glances at Lif, then. "I am sure you can think of many pieces of information that should be publicised."

"Oh, a good ton of it, but the problem's as much presenting it in a form people will give a fuck about as getting it out. And I'm not really much of a warrior myself, yet. Hell, at the start of this year, I was a Joyeux. Very different skillset. I'm still trying to figure it out, how to make myself useful to my court. Work in progress."

"That sounds familiar," Alex says to Lif. "I'm still constantly worry people aren't going to find me useful." Which is probably not at all a fair self-assessment, but it doesn't stop her from feeling that way a lot of the time. "Trying not to think about it, most of the time," she tells Annie. "Some days I do better at that than others."

"Well, if you ever need to talk about it, let me know? I am a Joyeux, after all." Annie smiles slightly. "As is my enbyfriend, who happens to be a psychologist Ironside."

"Right, awesome Spring folx will spring at you awesomely, given the chance." There's a grin as they make this comment.

"One of my Lost friends mentioned he knew a psychologist at one point," Alex says as she bites her lower lip a little. "That might not be a bad idea, and I think I might be in a better place for trying to have that kind of conversation now. It would probably do me good, and the Freehold knows I'm around and sworn to it again, so I shouldn't feel bad about making use of its services, right?" She asks like she's actually hoping for confirmation.

"Of course you should not feel bad about it," Annie says gently. "There is little point having these services available if Freeholders do not make use of them, when they need to." She glances at Lif, then. "That goes for you too. Do not think changing to Summer makes you exempt from needing healing."

Nevy comes back into the restaurant, grousing. "Dammit, I know I should have checked my calendar. It's Monday. Son of a..."

"It means I'm more damned likely to need healing, I'm sure. Training's a bitch. I'm surprised no one's thrown up their hands and decided I'm useless yet. I'm...mm. People keep offering to teach me specific styles, and I don't know what's going to end up being useful or right for me. I'm at that point where I don't know how much I don't know, if that makes any sense." They nom their waffles, before looking up at the returning medium. "Welcome back?"

Annie nods. "I was much the same way, when I first got back. Try a few different styles, see if any of them feel better for you than others?" She glances at Nevy, then. "You okay?"

Nevy gives a lopsided smile. "Thanks. I'll be fine; I'm just mad at myself. Fun fact: Monday is not, in fact, Tuesday." They shake their head and chuckle. "I got there and Jack was standing there, behind the counter, like 'Uh, why are you here?'"

Lif laughs aloud. "You're right, it is totally Monday, not Tuesday. Okay, welcome back, have another pancake."

"Not yet," Alex says to Nevy with a laugh. "It will turn into it eventually. Give it a few more hours? Welcome back," she says. "Annie, do you want to give me your enbyfriend's number?"

"Move to Germany, it is already Tuesday there," Annie offers, grinning. At Alex's question, she turns to her, nodding. "Sure thing. It is ###-###-####. Ask for Eugene Moon, if you cannot handle Korean sounds?"

Nevy snorts and sits. "Nah, I've had enough pancakes. Maybe some coffee." They consider. "Or ice cream."

"Or ice cream in coffee. Call it an off-brand affogato; traditionally, that'd be gelato and espresso, but."

"Coffee ice cream," Alex suggests, as she brings her phone out and puts a number into it for Eugene. "Thanks," she tells Annie. "Korean sounds? Oh, is that a Korean name? Huh. I guess that makes sense."

"Mun Yu Jin, technically, but they use the Anglicised version on their business cards and the like." Annie shrugs slightly, glancing at Nevy. "You never know, they might serve actual affogato."

Nevy considers that and flags down the waitress to ask. Knowing Maddy, they probably do have all the ingredients, because Maddy.

"Excellent. So, Nevermore, you said you're an artist of the macabre? What's that entail?"

"The macabre," Alex says deadpan. "Obviously." She makes a gesture for Nevy to go ahead and explain despite Alex's terrible attempt to do it already, though, and flashes the artist a smile.

Annie snickers at Alex's deadpan, waiting for Nevy to give an actual answer.

Nevy pulls out their phone, brings up their instagram, and hands it over. "Art and poetry - usually based on concepts that most would find strange, morbid, or unusual."

Lif leans in to look, then her phone rings. "Shit. That's my boss, I've gotta duck out."