|
Tommy/Bones
Tommy Shanks sat at the corner booth, reading the newspaper. A mug of coffee was being brought up to his lips, a carafe next to him.
He wore one of his nicer suits for the get together.
Piera/Peri
Piera's entrance is marked by the sounds of their feet's slow shuffle and the clack of the end of their cane on the diner floor when they step through the entrance. To all appearances they've made less effort to dress up for the occasion, with a red sweater over a black hoodie and a pair of jeans. Their hair is in a loose french braid down the back of their head. Much like last time they're wearing leather gloves on their hands.
Once they're inside the look around, quickly spot Tommy, and start the short trek from entrance to table as a faint smile makes an appearance. "Good morning," they say softly. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting for long."
Tommy/Bones
"You're a master of time, isn't this where Gandolf's Law comes into play?" he teased in return, standing as they arrived.
"Good Morning, Peri. It is a pleasure to see you. For reference, I am currently Dr. Thomas Shanks, the Archaeologist, not invoking the Shadow name at present, but if it is easier for you to call me Bones, I will understand. Was it easy enough for you to get here? Can I entice you with food or drink?"
Piera/Peri
"I don't think I'd say I arrived when I meant to, but I did come at the pace I intended at least." Piera puts a hand on the table so they can use it for steadying as they slide their cane onto the seat and carefully lower themselves onto the bench of the booth. It's obvious that the process of sitting down takes some effort but it's an effort they've adapted to. "I thought that I'd take my time and enjoy the morning instead of rushing, if I was going out."
Once they've had a moment to get themselves settled they start answering questions. "Please call me Piera," they say. "Names have too much power for me to want to be Peri here. Would you prefer Dr. Shanks? Tomas? I don't eat or drink any more so I'll pass on those but don't hold back on my account. I made a choice and that's mine to exist with. It shouldn't stop you from enjoying yourself."
Tommy/Bones
He nodded, "Tommy is best. That way no matter what my gender of the day, the name works for me. Piera? That's a pretty name!"
And then the order for Pigs In Mud pancakes was placed. While the order was cooked, he sat back down and looked over to the fellow Mystagogue, "Nice to meet you outside the Athenaeum, Piera."
Piera/Peri
"It's Italian for rock." Piera's soft laugh and hapless shrug say they don't mind the fact. "I truly don't know why my indigenous Venezuelan's mother and Persian father picked an Italian name for me when I was born, or why that one, but they did, and it does sound pleasant." They put their gloves hands on the table in front of them, one on top of the other, and wait patiently for the order to be placed.
"Tommy is a good name. It feels like comfortable name for an affable person to me. In this context, at least. It could probably sound like a gangster's name in another context, but I can't put my finger on..." It comes to them and their right hand comes up with its index finger extended. "Tommy guns! That's why, I think. Sorry. It's nice to have a reason to leave the Athenaum, so thank you, Tommy."
Tommy/Bones
He smiles and chuckles, "I've heard Tommy guns more than once. Certainly one of those pop culture and historical notes for Tommy. Rock, huh? Maybe foreshadowing your future association with Matter and thus stone... Oh I've been doing a lot of study in Fate, sorry."
Piera/Peri
"That poses the question of which was cause and which was effect." Piera puts their hands together on the table again. "If there is a relationship there, was the name chosen because this is who I was fated to be, or did I become who I am because of the name? Meanwhile it's entirely possible there's no link at all. I'm not sure if it matters, so I've never felt any compulsion to investigate it, but it could be an interesting thing to look into at some point."
Quickly looking toward the kitchen and back at Tommy they say, "chocolate pancakes. Do I detect a sweet tooth?"
Tommy/Bones
"Fate is my last Arcana. THe rest, I'm at Apprentice or above. So, I thought it time.
"Oh, yes. Especially once I developed Life magic... It is my cheat. I'm also never going to be wise," he laughed, "Sweet tooth abounds. Sweet teeth even."
Piera/Peri
"I'll probably get to Spirit last," admits the Wraith. "I can't imagine that's a surprise. I haven't had a lot of reason to worry about Life, either." They pick their hand up to gesture at themselves. "Do you want me to let you in on a secret? I've never cared for chocolate, for reasons that are more complicated than they probably seem. When it came to sweet things I always preferred fruit."
Tommy/Bones
"Because of the way that modern chocolate stems from colonial powers invading and changing how it was made to fit their needs?" he wagered, total guess, but history nerd.
"I, myself, picked up Death because of all the ruins that I explored. Kept running into things that I couldn't see."
Piera/Peri
"That's a good guess, but no." Piera reaches up to slide up their glasses, which have been slowly drifting down their nose. "If I hadn't had other reasons that would have been good enough, but for as long as I remember eating enough was always a struggle. I usually had to make myself do it. I think there was never enough of what my system thought it needed, so there was always something else it would much prefer I was putting in me. I started to really hate the texture of solid chocolate, and then I associated the flavor with that texture and I ended up not liking any of it at all."
"Your reasons for learning Death make sense to me. There might be a little irony in the fact Spirit comes so slowly to me now. I was Wolf-Blooded before I Awakened, so the few experiences I had with the supernatural before I became a mage were all with spirits, or things spirit-adjacent."
Tommy/Bones
"Ah. Yes. Your illness?" he wagered, "And so then that all makes sense to me."
"Oh. I see. Well. I can help a little bit when you do get to that point, if you wish. I am a Disciple of Spirit, and hope to master it one day soon."
As the food arrived, he refilled his drink from the carafe and prepped it again.
He started to eat when polite between conversation.
"So you don't eat or drink... a legacy thing or prefer to use Life magic or...?"
Piera/Peri
"Spinal muscular atrophy." Piera provides the name of the illness in question. "I think the answer to your question might be better provided by looking at my pattern. I suggest starting with Life and then looking with Death, if you have access to Sight with both of them. If you want me to re-supply you with the potentia it might require, I would be happy to transfer some over to you."
If he does what they suggest what he'll find is that there is no Life in their pattern, only Death. It's the kind of result he might have seen before in a vampire, or a ghost, or any other creature of either death or undeath.
Tommy/Bones
With their invitation to study, Tommy did indeed activate the Mage Sight and study Piera's life, prime, and death signatures to make it all make sense.
"That's... wow... And is that from your attainment? It's ... It doesn't look like Lichdom, but feels similar."
Piera/Peri
"No, it's not lichdom. There are two effects involved, one which inverts my pattern from Life to Death, and another that essentially puts my body into suspended animation. Both are permanent and can't be ended, even when ending it would benefit me." Piera fixes their glasses again, once more stopping them from sliding down their face. "The one other thing that we can't turn off is that touching objects with significant history will give us visions of that history. I find that a benefit more often than not, but sometimes it's inconvenient, especially since it also works with people."
Tommy/Bones
"I... that's..." he paused and considered what he was studying.
"That's actually a lot of why I studied Time, to begin. And even mind."
Piera/Peri
"Which part do you mean? The suspend animation?" Piera asks, trying to be sure that they're able to address the statement in proper context.
Tommy/Bones
"Sorry, I was obviously distracted by lots of things..." he drops to the sight to communicate better, "As an archaeologist, I sought to learn more about the relics I found. So I wanted to be able to post-cog or translate anything that I found."
Piera/Peri
"I understand." Piera suddenly smiles. "I use some of my other attainments for similar purposes." They hold up a finger to indicate a demonstration is incoming, then take their glasses off of their face. They get put down on the table, and as their hand is moving away they dissolve into nothing but shadow that starts wisping into nothing, then vanishes.
The hand hovers above the table for a second, then draws toward Piera as pull an object through time from the past into the present, reforming it out of nothing but shadow itself, and in a moment are holding a shadow-crafted duplicate of the prized Lenape ceremonial club from the Museum of the CIty of New York's collection, only not weathered and worn, but as new as the day it was supposedly gifted to Johan Björnsson Printz.
Unable to hold its weight in one hand Piera brings it down to the table with a gentle clatter of the wooden club against the wooden table.
Tommy/Bones
"...I... heh," he shook his head, "The fact that you chose that specific item... fate is so weird. Time too," a shake again, "May I telepathically share something with you? It's lengthy, and a memory, but I think it would be useful to provide some context."
Piera/Peri
"Yes." Piera offers the simple answer and lets the club dissolve into shadow, mainly so that they can summon the memory of their glasses again and see properly, which they do.
Tommy/Bones
He pulls out his siderite pen and uses it like a rod, pointing it at Piera, while focusing on the Truth of Magic.... then the spell combined two different mind effects to give Piera the perfect recall of an event she never had seen, from Bones' perspective.
Piera/Peri
When the vision finishes Piera's soft laugh follows. "I don't think you should have much surprise that artifacts of the Lenape interest me," they say. "I believe I mentioned during our first meeting that I had turned most of my non-magical studies to the Lenape people and their history. I can't go home to my mother's tribe, so this is the closest I can get."
Tommy/Bones
"I know it interests you, but that you pulled that out of anything that you could summon, is the interesting part. The Axehead that I found would be very similar in design and time period."
Piera/Peri
"My ability to pull things forward through time like that is limited to objects whose histories I've read," Piera explains. "It tends to mean mostly things that have met my rather specific interests, plus a large pile of random things I've touched by accident and suddenly seem the most significant events of. Some of those things you wouldn't expect to have been emotionally charged." They continue doing some mental review of the things that just got uploaded into their brain in the meanwhile.
Tommy/Bones
"Yogurt lid? Tumbleweed? Newspaper?"
Piera/Peri
"A newspaper wouldn't surprise me, depending on the day and the headlines," Piera responds with a thoughtful look. "I would definitely be careful touching that. A yogurt lid hasn't done it, and I don't believe I've ever seen a tumbleweed in person. A sock that I swear looked like it was almost new might be one of the odder ones."
Tommy/Bones
"What did the sock show?"
Piera/Peri
"Murder... MOST FOUL," Piera says in the most ominous voice that they can manage, which means mostly that it gives the impression that's what it's supposed to be without achieving it. The implication is the point. They give in and go to the truth moments later. "I saw when the person who owned it had it given to them. It came from their grandmother as a gift on Christmas only weeks before she passed away, and was worn once in between. Its sentimental value was both why it had hardly been worn and why it had the weight for me to see that moment." They hold up their gloved hands. "I never know, so gloves."
Tommy/Bones
He laughs at the Most Foul portions, grinning wildly after during the discussion, until the emotions cause a frown to replace it.
"I see. That makes a lot of sense... it's ... definitely hard, I can imagine."
Piera/Peri
"The thing about so many things is that hard can become ordinary. I don't think about it most of the time, any more." They rest their hands on the table and look at them. "All the drawbacks of my Legacy are far easier to deal with than the drawbacks of the illness I was dying of. I did it once. That was plenty. It's a lot easier going through the world treating everything like it could be a hot stove that will burn me without protection, even if it just burns me emotionally instead of physically."
Tommy/Bones
"I see," he frowned and studied her more, "THat's gotta be so tough, still. And I understand some of that, and yet... I think being touch starved in that way would hurt me almost as bad."
Piera/Peri
"Maybe it does." Piera's shoulders come up half an inch. "If it does, it's just another chronic pain I've learned to live with and ignore, at least most of the time." They smile. "I've never really known different, aside from my parents, and I haven't even seen them since I died."
Tommy/Bones
"Well... does it happen every time, or just the first time you touch someone or something?"
Piera/Peri
The answer from Piera, "Every time. Unless I strip what I'm touching of the strong sympathetic resonances first, either permanently or temporarily."
Tommy/Bones
"...I. Wow. I was going to offer to let you touch me now, so that if you need it in the future, you can touch again... but I'm way too passionate to not gain a ton of sympathetic strength to things."
Piera/Peri
"There's probably an experiment there, but I'm not sure if either of us wants to run it." Piera's quiet laugh brightens their face considerably, for all that there's not much sound behind it. "To see what kinds of things rise to the level of notable emotional events in someone with a high emotional baseline. Whether things that might register for less emotional people wouldn't, for you."
Tommy/Bones
"I'm pretty much super passionate all the time. Academic distance isn't my thing."
Piera/Peri
"I understand. I'm more emotional than I probably let on most of the time. Especially around people I don't really know yet, but might need to see regularly." As they push their glasses up their nose, suggesting they could really use a pair that actually stays on, they grin. "Do you know where my shadow name comes from?" They ask. "Peri?"
Tommy/Bones
A spell would be felt, if veils weren't up, and the glasses received a perfect balance to them while they rested on Peri's nose, "I had thought perhaps the prefix like that on Periscope. I'm sure if I rooted around my mind, or even the Athenaeum I could figure something else out."
Piera/Peri
"Persian mythology, actually. Remember, I don't have any European roots at all, and English was my fourth language, not even my second, so..." Piera picks up a gloved hand to wave it idly. "Not important. The peri are mischievous spirits. Islam came along later and repurposed them as basically good jinn, but that wasn't the way their legends started out."
Tommy/Bones
"Ah. I see. My expertise kind of ends to the East around Greece and Israel... now that you say that though, it sounds familiar. You don't seem the most mischievous sorts, why pick that name?"
Piera/Peri
"You're a peer, a coworker, and someone I don't know very well. I've been on my best behavior." Piera's sudden grin could be described as impish. It could, and it probably should be. "Plus, I'm kind of nervous and trying not to show it."
Tommy/Bones
"I'm also here with you, to be a friend. And to have a bit of a date, if I recall correctly," he smiled, "You have nothing to be nervous about with me. I'd like to see the real you. Not the one that would be at home in the Athenaeum."
Piera/Peri
"I don't go on dates," they answer with another laugh. "Why do you think I'm nervous? To most people I'm the weird dead girl with no job who's technically homeless and lives at the Athenaeum, who spends all their time researching, who can't touch anybody without potentially seeing way too much. The only part of that which is wrong is "girl"."
Tommy/Bones
"Well, I'm happy to be your first date post-death then," they said happily, "And I'm here to help however I am able."
Piera/Peri
"Thanks. Maybe you could tell me what we're actually supposed to talk about?" Piera looks around the diner. "We've just been talking about what is essentially work for a lot of the time, but I don't have a lot of hobbies or anything to talk about instead."
Tommy/Bones
"Well, talking about work is tried and true. I don't have a lot of hobbies out of work either. Crocheting, a little computer stuff, here and there. Otherwise going to the bar, the diner, wherever else, to just talk and people watch."
Piera/Peri
"That's where I run into problems. No job, so no money. I still look like I did when I inducted into my Legacy, which was when I was 18, so job options are limited, too. I have a fake ID, but it only goes so far, and eventually I won't look even remotely my age." Piera starts ticking things off on their fingers. That was 1. "I don't eat or drink, and couldn't afford to do them out anyway." 2. "I guess only really two things, but it means I don't have a lot of hobbies. I can check out books from the library, so I read, and that's about it. That or occasionally spending time giving terrible people their comeuppance for kicks, which I guess some dates might want to hear about and in other cases it might be a deal breaker."
Tommy/Bones
"I'm sure the Mysterium would be happy to help you improve your Identification, or even provide some cash or whatever if you need to buy things."
Piera/Peri
"Probably, but most of the time it's not even something I think about. There isn't really anything I need to buy, either, you know? What do I need? Think of all the normal major expenses people have, and then the fact that I just don't need them. I don't need somewhere to sleep, I don't need food, I don't need transportation since I know Space." They only shrug. "I could just engage in pointless consumerism for the good of the economy, I guess?"
Tommy/Bones
"Or to buy pranks?"
Piera/Peri
Piera laughs. "Do you think it would be worth getting a job and building a career just for that? Being able to buy new clothing once in a while is probably the biggest thing I would want money for, and I need to do that infrequently enough that a little bit of panhandling once in a while takes care of it. I just buy things at thrift shops anyway."
Tommy/Bones
"Well. It is certainly something that I wish to help with, should you ever need it. Speaking of which... do you have a Cadre?"
Piera/Peri
"Thank you, and I don't." Piera reaches up to adjust her glasses out of pure force of habit only to realize they're staying in place. A smile. "Do you?"
Tommy/Bones
"No, but there is an Acanthus Libertine that I've said can live in my home and use my sanctum. I've also realized that you're one of the few that I'd be willing to do the same."
Piera/Peri
Piera pauses and their eyes widen a hair. "Really?" They ask, the question's tone a reflection of the surprise on their face. "Where?"
Tommy/Bones
"Here in Philly. It's listed in the Mysterium notes. And it's also with the Consilium. Lex Magica protections and all. If you'd like, we could go there now and you could see? Though... mi Papi is a Sleeper. But he stays on the first floor most of the time with his conditions."
Piera/Peri
The last gets another pause from Piera. "You may recall I don't do well with stairs myself," they point out. "I barely do well with even ground. At least not without magic, which I might then be using around a Sleeper. It might not be the best idea."
Tommy/Bones
"I understand, and yet, there are things we can do. A chair lift or the like. I also have the sanctum warded of sorts. Also, once you've been there, and given a link, you would be able to just go to the top floors."
Piera/Peri
"Thank you. If you'd like to take me, we can go look?" Piera smiles. "Do you want me to stay away from your father completely? Or did you want to make introductons? I would be happy to meet him, but I'll respect your decision either way on this topic. He's your family."
Tommy/Bones
"Better to do the introductions at some point, but right now he's probably at church helping set up evening mass."
Tommy/Bones
"What is your preferred transport to get to Old City from here?"
Piera/Peri
"Space," they answer. "Do you want to travel together? Do you have a good way of hiding yourself from people who might see us arrive there?"
Tommy/Bones
"Oh, in that case..." they rustled around their bag for a book. They brought it out, "This is part of my library. If we use it, we should go right into the library. Then we bypass most of those issues."
Piera/Peri
"That should work. We should probably go outside first. It seems rude to try to teleport from someone else's place." Piera looks around, "not that I think anyone would really protest, but still."
Tommy/Bones
"I've seen others do it, but sure..." he stood and meandered out of the diner itself, and past the wards. He would offer his arm for Peri should they wish to use it.
Piera/Peri
Peri slides over to the edge of the booth bench, uses the back of it to help themself to their feet, then picks up their cane. With their other hand they hesitate and then take his arm. "I try not to do things that might startle people," they say. "There are too many people with who knows what trauma in their past, or who knows what training about how to deal with sudden surprises."
Tommy/Bones
"Very wise. I'll never be a paragon of wisdom, but I try to at least be better than average."
And then he waited for the pair to teleport.
Once in the Library,It looked like a university library with shelf after shelf full of books, scrolls, even ancient tablets and vellum. A few shelves were full of discs and thumb drives and the like. There was also a center space with tables and chairs, but included an entirely open space for ritual.
Piera/Peri
After their transition from one space to another Piera leans into Tommy for the time it takes to get their bearings and make sure they're not going to lose their balance. Only a few seconds, but it happens. They look around and mouth a silent "wow".
Tommy/Bones
"Feel free to look around."
Piera/Peri
Piera does just that, moving slowly through the room, making use of their cane. "It's impressive." Then, "you have books with information about werewolves, here. I would love the chance to do more reading on that topic, to see what we Awakened have written about them." Her previously mentioned wolf-blooded background makes that an obvious reason for interest.
Tommy/Bones
"I had a too close encounter with some of the Pure versions. Then I was rescued by the Forsaken. It is why I began to learn spirit and start gathering what I could from any supernatural community's view of them."
Piera/Peri
"Was this before or after you Awakened?" Piera asks while perusing the titles on the books. "I never had much close involvement with the uratha," she says the word like it's one with long familiarity for her. "For reasons that probably obvious, I was mostly kept away from the kinds of danger they tended to bring around. "
Tommy/Bones
"After," he followed her along slowly, "I was in a temple in the Yucatan. Turns out it was a Den for the pure, as well as holding a hallow and the theory of an Atlantean ruin, but it was an artifact instead."
Piera/Peri
"Well, I'm glad you got out of the situation alive. Presumably," Piera adds with an impish smile. "Far be it for me to assume someone couldn't have died and then come back again, since..." One gloved hand makes a gesture, vaguely indicating herself. "Do you want to show me around more?"
Tommy/Bones
"Sure. Co-location from the top of the third floor landing to the second floor landing might be easiest for you..." he escorted her to what was seemingly a wall until he opened the door. Then he started the more traditional walking down the stairs.
Piera/Peri
Piera follows to the door, then teleports down to the next floor landing. If there's nobody around to see it, and it doesn't cause paradox, it might be worth saving some pain. "At least when I'm going down stairs instead of up I can see where my feet are going to end up," they say once they're down there.
Tommy/Bones
The second floor is the the master suite. The sitting area seemed to have all the modern conveniences of electronics and the like, but also a bookworm's dream with walls full of shelves of pop culture books. There were other rooms off to the side, but in the back was the Master Bedroom.
"A few guest rooms, empty rooms for future cadre members, restroom, etc," they motion around, "and in the back is my room "
Piera/Peri
"Fiction downstairs, probably non-fiction upstairs?" Piera walks around, cane tapping on the floor, to take a look over the books on the shelves here, too. "Is there a particular room you think I should use when I'm a guess?" they ask.
Tommy/Bones
"More of ... professional upstairs, personal downstairs," they moved to one of the nearby doors, "This one is closest to the stairs, and like most, unclaimed," they opened it. There was a desk and a bed. Basic matter magic could be detected to keep the dust out of the room.
"So, this would be best for you, of course. So you can easily get to the stairs should you wish, though of course you could co-locate or teleport between the floors."
Piera/Peri
Piera follows at their own pace and peers into the room when it's opened for them. Their nod says plenty about what they think of the space, and how it's more than sufficient for their needs. "Thank you," they say. "Do you want to be clear again about what boundaries there are around my coming and going? I really appreciate the offer of hospitality, and I don't want to accidentally overstep boundaries."
Tommy/Bones
"Honestly, as long as the magic stays off the first floor, it's probably fine. And even then, Papi is usually noisy enough to know where on the first floor he is. So sometimes, I still break that rule. Though I try to keep it down, since while it is still aligned for a sanctum, I want his sanity."
Piera/Peri
"Yes, of course. I'll avoid using magic on the first floor, and if there's some reason why I feel it's necessary I'll take steps to ensure that he doesn't witness it in any way," Piera offers, watching to be sure Tommy thinks that's will be sufficient to the necessities of the living situation. "I would be happy to meet him, but I have no interest at all in doing so in a way that you wouldn't approve of." Something comes to them, some thought. "How is he on the topic of non-cis gender identities? Is my being agender something I should avoid bringing up, or do you think he'd engage well with that topic, if it came around?"
Tommy/Bones
"He is European Spanish Catholic, but he has a huge heart. He loves Valeria, who is an out Lesbian and someone I babysat. He knows that I go by they and at least 'cross-dress' by his standards, or what not. Though I have to at least appear masculine around him, unless I'm in actual drag or dressed trans or what not... it's complicated to say the least, but he has no hate in his heart."
Piera/Peri
"Sure." Piera doesn't seem like they're very worried, they just no to signify their understanding. "I'm rather indifferent about pronouns, even if I prefer they/them, so it might just not come up. I only figured to ask before it did."
Tommy/Bones
"So you are welcome here, to visit, or to use the library. Of course, depending on your egregore, you would be able to do it from the Athenaeum."
Piera/Peri
"Thank you. Again," Piera says. "Maybe I'll get around to actually catching up on some of the TV shows people are always talking about, depending on what you have access to," they add with a grin.
Tommy/Bones
"I'm an OBrimos... if it's streaming anywhere in the world, I can get it," they laughed.
Piera/Peri
"Show off," Piera mutters under their breath, but with the way they're still smiling, they probably don't mean it. "Did you have other things you had to go do? Now that you've given me the tour?"
Tommy/Bones
"Well," a blush, "I've really enjoyed our time together. I think this is a successful date of sort, especially since you're in my living room. Is there anything else that you would care to do? WOuld you wish for me to escort you home to the Athenaeum? I know you could just... bamf over there, but I thought I would ask."
Piera/Peri
"Thank you, but I think I might go spend some time going through the library if you don't mind?" Of course that's the first place they want to go, right? "I can see myself out later, if you don't want to stick around. I promise I won't set up any pranks until you're getting used to me being around and let your guard down."
Tommy/Bones
A laugh and a smile, "I'll be here, reading while I can, for fun."
Piera/Peri
"I'm willing to bet that you and I have very different ideas about what counts as fun reading, at least compared to most people," Peri says as they head toward the stairs up to the library. "Which just means most everyone else is wrong. It's probably the Lie getting to them."
Tommy/Bones
"Agreed!" he calls after them with a laugh after.
|