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Lucia Diaz: Lucia is sitting in a squat next to the garden in the Winter Hollow, studying the plants. She's wearing the leather duster she had on when she came to the funeral for Robin, a pair of black yoga pants that show faint green highlights where the glow that comes from beneath the panels of mechanical "skin" shines through the material, and a tee shirt that says "I came, I saw, I made it weird".
Asbolus: The invitation to meet had been offered and graciously agreed to, with the Darkling arriving a few minutes before the appointed time as was his custom. Asbolus was dressed neatly but casually in dark jeans and a grey t-shirt, sporting a dark leather duster that added to the predatory air that surrounded the Hunterheart. He cleared his throat as he approached to alert Lucia of his presence rather than just surprise her, giving a polite nod when she eventually looked his way.
Lucia Diaz: Hearing the cleared throat makes Lucia turn to look, and mechanical eyes that glow with a familiar neon green stare briefly before Lucia stands and turns to face Asbolus. Under the duster the holster for her whip and the weapon itself are visible, but going armed into the Hedge is pretty common. Once she's standing, her posture making her a little smaller, her head lowered, she waits, possibly not sure where to start.
Asbolus: That particular shade of green wasn't lost on Asbolus but he paid it as little mind as he could manage at the moment, instead offering a small smile in an attempt to soothe what worries she may be feeling at the moment. "Thank you for calling. As I said before, it's good to see that you were able to get out."( )
Lucia Diaz: Lucia hesitates visibly before nodding her head and then lifting it slightly. She does it like someone testing the water with a toe, hesitant and ready to withdraw if it doesn't suit. Presumably Asbolus doesn't lash out at her for it, and she lifts her head the rest of the way. "You too," she says. Her voice is quiet, faintly accented with her native Spanish, and sounds a bit artificial, like it's synthesized, but synthesized well. "Asbolus, right?"
Asbolus: He nodded in confirmation. "Lucia, correct?"
Lucia Diaz: "Yes," Lucia says with another nod. "How long since you escaped? How long since you came to Philadelphia?"
Asbolus: "Since the spring of last year. Yourself?"
Lucia Diaz: "Just a few months ago," Lucia answers with a shrug. "I came out in New York, stayed there long enough to get my head on straight, and then came back here. This was home. I don't really recognize it, though."
Asbolus: "I visited Manhattan a few times myself, although that was before I was taken." He nodded quietly, a question visibly on his tongue but he refrained from asking for the moment. "I'm from London originally, but I'd been living here for a bit over a year beforehand and came back here."
Lucia Diaz: Lucia nods. "It's interesting there are a few of us who here from that realm," she says. "It makes me suspicious. Then again, I'm Winter and most things make me suspicious. Have we had trouble with any of her minions?"
Asbolus: "No huntsmen or the like, but there is an issue with something passing itself off as an ASMR channel that seems to be fuelled by Her in some fashion. We're looking into it."
Lucia Diaz: "What's ASMR?" ask Lucia, who skipped a whole lot of time and hasn't had a lot of time in the real world again to catch up on things. And that one is pretty niche. "Is there something I can do to help?"
Asbolus: "It's a type of audio recording that aids in relaxation. From what I know the videos in question can infect devices that they're watched on and potentially impact those that watch them. I've seen one of the videos in the wild once myself, and it's definitely got Her hand in it."
Lucia Diaz: "Oh, it's music? I've been learning a bit about what kinds of music exist in the world now. Sigrun was teaching me about punk yesterday," Lucia answers, still not really understanding. "If she's putting things out in the world... is she trying to replace those of us who escaped, do you think?"
Asbolus: "More spoken word and meditation guidance, but sometimes there is background music involved as well." He thought a moment on the question, frowning at the thought. "Potentially, or at least trying to establish a foothold here."
Lucia Diaz: Lucia frowns, a faint expression but clearly there. "Worrying." She says. "I'll have to dig deeper." The longer the conversation goes on the less uneasy she seems to be about him, at least, and the more that unease seems to be about the problems the Freehold is facing. "Then there's Robin's duties, which I'm going to ask about taking over. The blight that's impacting the Hedge. Finding Robin's compatriots. We have a lot to do."
Asbolus: "That we do." He nodded quietly. "I went through the documents she'd been keeping in her cabin here but wasn't able to find anything of note about possible allies, maybe you might have better luck than I did if you take a look."
Lucia Diaz: "You have?" Lucia's attention focuses more tightly on Asbolus. "Was there anything useful in there at all? Or was it all actually related to her official work? I hope that the people she helped aren't burned now."
Asbolus: "She kept everything, which left a lot of chaff to sift through before one can find the wheat." He smirked a touch as she continued, wry little thing that it was. "It's assumed that the more recent identities that she crafted are suspect, which unfortunately included my own. Mearcstapa is working on reworking them, however."
Lucia Diaz: "I've already built some connections that can help there as well," Lucia says as if she's indifferent to what particular route Asbolus takes to resolve the situation. "I didn't trust someone else to establish my own identity, so I worked out the details on my own. I'm sure I could repeat the process. I think that going forward we should have the work of whoever is doing that job reviewed by someone else."
Asbolus: "Not a bad idea." He gave another small nod. "I'm still working on setting things up outside the Thorns in general, but if there's anything I can assist with let me know."
Lucia Diaz: "Setting what kind of things up?" Lucia asks. "Do you need help? I have my workshops set up now, so I have some time to spare if you do."
Asbolus: "Everything, honestly. I have a place in the thorns but no identity of my own at the moment nor anything that comes with that. Was in the process of getting that started, but then everything with Robin happened." He watched her for a moment, curious if anything. "Not particularly craft-focused myself, admittedly. Chipped in a bit with set-building while I was at university but that was about it."
Lucia Diaz: Lucia's quiet briefly. "I spent a long time over there, and with duties that frequently required me to be prepared to make things that were needed by others. The skills carry over. Mearcstapa is already helping you with the identity?"
Asbolus: "He is, yes." He nodded in comfirmation. "And I have some plans for getting things set up, just need the paperwork and the income to make it happen."
Lucia Diaz: "What kind of plans? I can help with money to get things started if you need it," Lucia offers, as though helping in that regard is just the natural thing to do. Or at least like she feels like she must. "I've started a few different income streams for myself."
Asbolus: "Getting an apartment or the like first, if only to have a place outside of the Thorns." He smiled a touch as he continued. "Also looking into setting up a radio-drama style podcast, if you're familiar with those. I was in theater before I was taken and with my fetch still active in the local community I can't get back into it that way, but doing it online is a decent enough method."
Lucia Diaz: Lucia shakes her head. "I've heard people talk about podcasts, but I don't know what that is. I'm familiar with radio dramas. They were popular when I was taken. Are they still? I never found any when I listened to the radio."
Asbolus: "They're not unlike what used to be on the radio, just made by individuals or companies and put online instead. Can give you some recommendations if you'd like, since I've been listening to them for my own research."
Lucia Diaz: "Please," Lucia answers. "I'm trying to learn about the world I'm in now as quickly as I can. The more I know, the less I stand out for not knowing about things everyone else seems to take for granted."
Asbolus: "Certainly." He nodded and pulled out a small notepad, writing down a number of titles before offering the page to the Wizened. That question was on his tongue again, but this time he decided to voice it rather than let it slide. "How long were you gone, if you don't mind my asking?"
Lucia Diaz: Lucia reaches out to take the slip of paper, then turns it between her mechanical fingers so she can look at it before she tucks it into the pocket of her duster. "As this world measures things I was taken in 1924 and just returned this year. So 96 years. I think the time I was there was much longer, but I didn't often have a good way to measure. You?"
Asbolus: His eyebrows went up a touch at the time given, nodding quietly. "About five years out here, can't say for in their either. There are some others here in town who have been gone for that long, might be worth talking with them. Anneliese Kiel is one of them, she's with the Verdant."
Lucia Diaz: "I think that Rosalyn was also gone for about as long as I was," Lucia says with a small nod of her head. "I'm pretty sure that she's someone I knew before I left. Some of the ways the world is different I don't like. They remind me of there. Make me wonder if I'm really out, or it's a trick. I don't think it is"
Asbolus: "You're out, I can assure you of that. I felt the same way for a time when I got back, though, so you're not the only one. And I'm more than happy to help you catch up if you'd like."
Lucia Diaz: "I found a thing called YouTube that has helped," Lucia replies with the first hint of a proper smile. "There is a lot of garbage, too. I don't know why someone thought making some of the things there was important. Who approved some of those videos?"
Asbolus: He chuckled, shaking his head with a small smile. "Couldn't say, honestly. It got a good bit larger while I was gone, but it did help me in catching up as well. That and copious time spent in the library."
Lucia Diaz: "The library and the internet are big helps," Lucia agrees. "Most of the really big changes I've already run into, I think. The ones that it's really important to understand in order to avoid making people suspicious. I can just be eccentric for most of the rest."
Asbolus: "Indeed. Philadelphia is a rather eclectic city overall, so that shouldn't cause too much of an issue."
Lucia Diaz: "Thank you for being willing to meet me." Lucia shifts a step. "It makes me nervous having some people who belonged to her around that I don't know at all. Talking puts me more at ease. I like to know where I stand."
Asbolus: "Very welcome, and understandable. I look forward to getting to know you out from under Her eye."
Lucia Diaz: "Let me know if you need anything. I like to help." Lucia tilts her head in a faint nod and then just leaves without saying anything else, as is her way.
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