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Daniel Hawthorne:
For once there was no laptop or sketchbook in front of Daniel as he sat in one of the booths by the portal into the diner, no trace of work projects that needed to be completed. Instead the Haunt was simply sitting and relaxing, a cup of coffee in hand as he listened to the chatter of the kitchen staff behind the counter. A pair of black sunglasses rounded out his chosen ensemble for the evening, leaning on the casual side but clearly well-tailored.
Jane Murphy:
Jane came through the portal into Maddy's with her hair tied up into a ponytail, and with a small bandage near the back of her head. She was dressed in red and had lipstick to match, with fashionable enough clothing, though not exactly the highest-ticket. She waved and smiled to the staff on entry, "Hey, I am going to need a couple cups, hope you have a fresh pot for me." She chuckled and winked, "Usual on food." Her order in, she looks around to see who's there and to find a seat.
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel's focus turned towards Jane as she entered the diner, giving her a quick once-over before offering a polite nod. "Just got mine topped off, so you should be good." He chimed in as he raised his cup for emphasis, the almost-British accent common among the Boston elite coming through clearly.
Jane Murphy:
"Oh? Great!" She smiled and came over to greet him, "I don't think I've seen you around here before. I'm Jane." She extended a hand out.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Daniel." He took the offered hand and gave it a firm, well-practiced shake before motioning for her to join him at the table if she so wished. "Haven't been around in a bit, so that's likely why. Been busy with work and whatnot, to the point where I've been put on involuntary sabbatical for the rest of this week."
The last bit was said with a wry smirk, followed by him taking a sip of his coffee. "Siblings, what can you do, yeah?"
Jane Murphy:
Jane's own handshake is surprisingly firm. She slides into the seat and settles in. "I've not been around that long, so if it's been more than a month or two, that would do it." Cup of coffee arrives and she accepts it happily and drinks it unaltered, "Wouldn't know about siblings, though; only child."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Probably November-ish, so that would do it." He nodded, holding the cup in hand for the warmth that came from it. "Middle of three myself; there's a good decade between she and I but we're close."
Jane Murphy:
"Probably has its upsides, downsides? Being an only child certainly has both, though the age difference in your case get the same 'has someone nearby around the same age' as I've got." She took a sip of the coffee and let out a soft sigh.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"It does, on both counts. More ups than downs, though, at least for us. She's been there for me when others weren't in a time I really needed that support."
"Nectar of the gods, yeah?" He smirked, glancing down to his own cup. "Doesn't do anything for me these days, but it still feels nice to have it now and again."
Jane Murphy:
"Absolutely. And necessary. I didn't get to grab a cup earlier.. medical stuff." She pointed to the bandage. "Doesn't do anything for you? That's sad to hear, I love it. Helps in so many ways."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Nothing too bad, I hope?" He glanced at the bandage briefly, looking back to her with a nod. "Mmhmm. Then again, being nocturnal means I don't really need it to stay up anyway."
Jane Murphy:
"I see.." She seems to get why the coffee doesn't work for him. "But no, it's an easy outpatient procedure." She nodded. "Barely felt a thing. It was to upgrade the computer I've got in here." She taps her head.
Daniel Hawthorne:
Cue a curious arch of the eyebrow at that little tidbit. "Interesting...what sort of stuff does it run, if you don't mind my asking?"
Jane Murphy:
Jane picks up the cup and takes a sip, lets out another sigh. "It's running a multi-boot system, different things for different purposes. It can run most standard applications, access the internet, interface is sensory and I've customized a great deal of it. Very useful during trivia nights at the bar."
Tommy Shanks:
The Obrimos popped in through the physical entrance of the former traincar. A swift look through the room and he approached the Board to make sure things were good. He had a nice business suit with skirt combination on, and black dress shoes. Not what you would expect for coming through the forest, but stranger things occur in this place.
As he turned, he moved towards Jane with a smile and a bob of his head. Then to Daniel, "Hello there!"
Daniel Hawthorne:
"I bet." He looked intrigued more than anything, about to say something more before Bones came in through the more mundane entrance. That alone caught his attention, coupled with the unfamiliar face in general and their chosen outfit for the day. "Evening," he eventually offered, lifting his coffee cup in a small salute.
Jane Murphy:
She looked to Tommy's approach and after taking a moment to process who it was, smiled warmly and greeted him, "Tommy! Qué bueno verte! ¿Cómo has estado?" Jane spoke naturally in Spanish that was almost a little too perfect and gave a wink.
Tommy Shanks:
From the staff, who knew him well, for good and ill, he picked up a fresh carafe of coffee and a mug, before continuing towards the table.
A tilt of the head, a pique of the brow and a purse of the lips, before a reply in English, "Evening Jane. It's a pleasure to see you once again. Interesting addition to your arsenal. I believe we discussed the language not being familiar to you just a few weeks ago."
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel scooted over to give Bones room to sit, remaining quiet for the moment as he let the two talk.
Jane Murphy:
"Yes. I had mentioned it today while getting maintenance, just banter with the team that checks on my parts. And they suggested an upgrade, and I'm kind of the ideal beta tester with all the stuff they did to me back in the program." She shrugged, "If there's an incompatibility with any of the hardware or any combination of it.. well, it'll happen to me." She snorted and took a sip of coffee. "By the way, have you you met Daniel before?"
Tommy Shanks:
"Beta testing... isn't the whole thing a beta test considering?"
He set down the items, offered his hand to Daniel, and than sat down next to the man.
"I'm Dr. Tommy Shanks. Nice to meet you!" a small smile at that, his own wink towards Jane.
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel gave the offered hand a firm, well practiced shake. "Daniel Hawthorne, good to meet you as well."
"Sounds like an interesting program to be a part of." He added to Jane, reclaiming his cup and taking a sip from it. "Some sort of cybernetics, I'm guessing?"
Jane Murphy:
She nodded to Daniel, "Yup. I was put into the program through the Army, was a combat medic, got modified to be really good at going into hostile territory and pulling people out, alive. And now fluent in... everything." She raises her mug as if toasting before finishing the last gulp of coffee and getting the next one lined up. "Seems to be working well so far."
Tommy Shanks:
"Makes me curious if that upgrade had perfected iron or something in it..." a curious thought.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Best of luck with it." He raised his cup in a similar toast, the gears turning in the back of his mind. "Getting used to that kind of hardware must've been something."
Bones' comment earned a curious look. "'Perfected' iron?"
Tommy Shanks:
"I'm one of the Awakened sort," there was a subtle shift in his stance, a little more fluidity in their movements and a brightness, honesty to their tone, "Yeah! There are metals that connect more to magical things. And other stuff, but I'm wondering if the metals have a connection, because Iron is connected to mind magic, and mind magic has translation magic... strange stuff!"
Jane Murphy:
"I broke a jar in my hand trying to open it, the first time after my first implants got pushed in. Didn't know my own strength, gripped it too tight." She answered in reply to the question about getting adjusted. "But now, it's all... like it's always been a part of me. I even dream with the assumption of being able to use the computer in my head.. I accidentally turned it on for real once that way." She covers her mouth in slight shame over that. "Not the best wakeup call."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Ah...I see. Haven't had dealings with you and yours in a while, I'll admit." Daniel nodded to Bones, listening with interest as he continued. "Could be an interesting rabbit hole to peek into, maybe."
"Can follow you there. I can heighten my reflexes and speed when needed, and getting used to that shift was sporting at times. Ran into more walls than I'd like to admit." He added with a chuckle.
Jane Murphy:
Jane looked to Bones and shrugged, "Not sure of the material composition of it, but the hardware was really top-shelf. Custom chip designed just for running this really next-level machine learning thing that's beyond my reading level." She turned back to Daniel, "I got over my skis a lot with running speed. And that was as an almost-pro track athlete. Now it's crazy how fast and far I can run with ease, but few places for me to really go out and enjoy it without becoming America's next TikTok star."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"I bet." He nodded towards the bulletin board briefly. "I know a friend of mine is looking into setting up a place like that for folks beyond the norm as it were. I'd try getting a hold of him, his number should be up there on the notice."
Jane Murphy:
"So I've heard, I'll probably get in touch if there's no updates in too long. Don't want to come off as pushy, even if I am really excited about it." She smiled wide and took to sipping on another mug of coffee.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Guy's a solid...well, guy, I think he'd understand." He said with a smile, polishing off his current cup of coffee and eyeing it for a moment as he mulled getting another. "Are you still in the medical field now that you're not in the service?"
Tommy Shanks:
"I like Guy. He's the right kind of creepy. Acts all dark and mysterious, but checks in when someone he knows is in trouble, seems like."
Jane Murphy:
"I'm working at the ER and trauma center at Einstein." She nods in agreement with Bones, "Yeah, Guy seemed alright to me. Pretty spooky vibe, but was a gentleman."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Very cool. I'm a clothing designer myself, got a studio off of Rittenhouse Square that my sister helps me to run...and is running this week, I suppose, what with the forced vacation." He smirked, glancing towards the coffee carafes on the table with a "May I?" sort of look to the pair.
Tommy Shanks:
"Of course!" as soon as he was reminded about the coffee, he offered it to Daniel first before taking care of his own mug, "Ooo Faaaassshhhiooonnn?!?! What type? I mean like day to day, or top of the line or...?"
Jane Murphy:
"Do you do.. custom work?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, "I don't exactly do the same work I used to do, but it's good to know someone in case I need something special."
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel took the offered carafe and refilled his cup, adding a bit of sugar but no cream before handing it back for Bones to do his own refill. "Almost 100% custom, yes, along with alteration services. We do more on the formal wear side of things, although we've done some more day to day outfits when requested." He motioned to his own current ensemble as an example.
Tommy Shanks:
He begins to fill the coffee and move things around to get his super-sweet, creamy coffee mixed up for himself.
"I might have to engage. Im always looking for more non-binary wardrobe or things to that effect."
Jane Murphy:
"And I like having a varied wardrobe for my other faces." She nodded. "Different looks need a different look." This was said with a playful smirk.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Other faces?" he inquired with a curious look, pulling a slim card case from his pocket and offering them both a business card for the studio. "Feel free to give us a call."
Tommy Shanks:
He took the card and after a second, handed it back, "I've got it in my phone. Thanks."
Jane Murphy:
Jane did about the same as Tommy and smiled, "Same. And yeah, I'm able to alter my appearance to match others; very useful trait when sneaking behind enemy lines, yeah? Nowadays, when I'm trying to lay low a little extra, I change to certain faces of old friends long gone. They get to keep protecting me." She takes a breath and a sip of coffee.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Ah..." He gave a solemn nod as he reclaimed the cards and put them away. "Good that you can still have them with you in a way."
Tommy Shanks:
One moment he was Dr. Tommy Shanks, and the next moment, she was a person of Asian Descent, and looked to be circa 95 years old.
"Me too, kiddos." The voice was obviously not Tommy's.
Jane Murphy:
Jane laughs at the sudden shift, "Ah yeah, but yours and mine, they work different. I don't have magic."
Daniel Hawthorne:
It was rare for Daniel to be caught off-guard but Bones managed to pull it off, the Haunt scooting back in his seat at the sudden shift before he settled back down, looking over their new form curiously. "That...is impressive."
Tommy Shanks:
ANd then it was Tommy again, "I don't often change in that manner, but I can. I prefer to go from femme to masc to enby."
Jane Murphy:
"I can only turn into particular people, I have to be able to study them and learn everything about them physically that I can, learn their mannerisms, tics, habits.. anything less and the mental image is not clear enough to work." She nods to Tommy, "What you do is definitely more impressive. For me, copying men is much more challenging and taxing, but I've pulled it off before."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"I can do something similar, although it's strictly perception-based rather than actual physical changes." He smirked a touch, thinking back on his own interactions with Awakened magic. "You and yours can pull off some amazing things."
Tommy Shanks:
"Yeah, but there's some amazing drawbacks sometimes. I think all sorts of our community here is a wonderful potluck of amazing things. There's things that the Kindred can do that is so relatively simple to do, just some blood and done. The Lost have interesting Contracts with concepts. I've seen Wolves do amazing things in spirit, and all of those things seem done easier than we can do it. We can just do a lot of different things."
Jane Murphy:
Jane listened to them describe incredible possibilities, "Huh. Yeah, I still got a lot to learn. Whew." She shakes her head, "Shoot, I don't even have a real solid understanding of how it is I do the copying. No one else from the Protocol has the same.. malleability, at least as far as I've met or heard of."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"That is one benefit of how things are set up here, for sure. Being able to work with folks from other groups and cross-pollinate ideas from different perspectives can lead to better insight on certain matters."
Tommy Shanks:
"Indeed. With that in mind, I didn't catch to which community you belong, Daniel. If you don't mind my curiosity."
Jane Murphy:
Jane looks between them, and doesn't seem interested in spilling the beans on Daniel's behalf.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Kindred." Not that he particularly looked it, Blushed and partaking in mortal drink as he was at the moment. "I hadn't offered it yet since you got here, so no worries."
Tommy Shanks:
"Ah. One of my play partners is Kindred," he said simply enough.
"So fashion, cybernetics, and magic. Any ideas for the next topic?"
Jane Murphy:
"We've also talked about the difficulties of working out when superpowered." She chuckled and finished off the second mug of coffee. "I'm not sure about the next topic. Anything interesting going on? Those robocops are getting a lot of attention, I've seen.."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"So I've heard...saw some of the notices about them." He nodded towards the bulletin board. "Haven't run into one myself yet, though, and I hope to keep it that way for the moment."
Tommy Shanks:
"They apparently know who Tommy Shanks is too."
Polly Romantic:
Suddenly, at the portal entry, there is a woman in leggings and a sun dress, giant stompy winter boots, a poofy coat, and a giant rainbow rasta style hat keeping her mess of curls in check. She has a guitar on a shoulder and a big ol' grin.
Jane Murphy:
When Tommy mentions that the bots know him, she looks concerned, "Okay, so I guess I've been right to be in disguise a lot more often.." She looks to the woman who enters!
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel looked towards the portal as well - or one can assume, what with the dark sunglasses he wore - smirking at the burst of color that Polly's arrival brought to the diner. For his part the Haunt was casually dressed but the ensemble was well-tailored for his build, a mostly-full cup of coffee in easy reach. "Evening."
Tommy Shanks:
"Oh. Hiya!" a grin as the new figure appeared, "Pleasure to meet you! I'm Dr. Tommy Shanks!" he said warmly and offered a hand. Like the awkward professor in some ways, but there was certainly warmth behind it.
A glance to Jane, "I don't have a reason to suspect they know that I'm Awakened, but they certainly know that I exist."
A bob of their head
Polly Romantic:
The gregariousness wins Tommy a big grin and a handshake once she's closed the distance. "Polly. Romantic. Nice to meetcha Doc. May I call you Doc or is Tommy fine?"
"Oh, you're like my Jay," she says to Tommy at the 'awakened' bit. "Okay, so. Cool." She can get away waving to Daniel with her light pseudopods. Hi.
"Sounds like a conversation people with guitars on their shoulders maybe oughta whistle their way back outta."
Jane Murphy:
Jane waves to Polly, "Hello again. No need to whistle out unless you want to..?" She looks to the others for confirmation.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Talking about the robots the police department has running around these days." He nodded towards the bulletin board and the couple notices on the matter pinned to it. "Nasty stuff by the looks of it, so it's worth knowing about."
"Daniel Hawthorne," The Haunt added as he offered Polly a hand. "Good to meet you."
Tommy Shanks:
"You're that Polly? Polly Chromatic?" a grin, "I love hanging with Jay. He's giving me some tips on some things. And yeah, I'm pretty good.
"You'll find a lot of folx around here just calling me Bones. That's like Sirius for Jay, if that makes sense. However, I'm putting forth an effort to make a difference between the two, at times...
"And I absolutely love the name! ANd don't feel like whistling back off. You're always welcome here. As the locals say, yintz are welcome here!"
Polly Romantic:
"Yinzers are in Pittsburgh. We're youzers around these here parts, tourist." Polly's teasing is light and amused. "Mmhm! That's the one. Jay and I sort of met and-- well you've met Jay. He's a golden retriever that can sing. He so sweet. Anyway! Hi, I'm glad we both like my boyfriend."
She just sits down. Welcome to Philly manners. "Follow up on last night, by the way. Jay's having a refresher chat with the staff about how to deal with guys like that. So the venue is going to watch for him. I wanted you to know you're safe there."
Polly accepts Daniel's hand, too. "Hey Daniel. You good?"
Jane Murphy:
"Ah, thanks for telling me." She nods and gets to filling a third mug of coffee. As she turns her head to look over and down to her cup, Polly could see she has a small bandage around the back of her head underneath her ponytail that wasn't there last night. "I had to leave after that mostly because I was getting due for my medication, I'm sorry if you felt like I was bailing on you."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"I am indeed." Daniel gave her hand a proper shake, a smile on his face. "Dropped by here to see what sort of company I might find and so far I can't complain."
Tommy Shanks:
"What happened last night?" a look between the ladies. "If someone is messing with the club or people there, I am more than happy to help keep an eye out."
Polly Romantic:
"Some suit kept trying to get his dick wet when I was in yoga pants and a tee shirt. Jay had just kissed me goodnight, too. I was so stressed out I never really got his name." She looks to Jane to see if she might recall.
"Do... you want me to take a look at your head, too? I'm a healer."
Tommy Shanks:
"Fucking toxic horn dogs. I'm sorry that happened to you!"
Jane Murphy:
Jane took a deep breath and nods after Polly lays it out, then looks to Bones, "It was Vincent." She looks back to Polly, thinks a moment and once she realizes, she reaches for the bandage, "Oh! You can take a look if you like, but it should be healing pretty well on its own; usually recover from this kind of surgery in under a day."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Charming." Daniel shook his head, taking a sip of his coffee before it got too cold. "Sorry you had to deal with that. Always hated guys like that."
Polly Romantic:
"Can't hurt unless you say it does, right?" Polly gets back to her feet to kneel on the booth behind Jane and engage in remedial phrenology. "What got you?"
Tommy Shanks:
"Seriously? Seriously? Dude has... Glad I cancelled the date after I realized his true colors a little more. He hasn't been a vampire more than a month and so I can't blame his inner predator, no offense Daniel, I just have met different predators of different ages... He's... Seriously? In going to have to try and find Avery's phone number..."
He harrumphed and sat back. About then, his phone chirped. Then he stood and downed his coffee. "Papi needs my help. I should be off. Thank you all for your company. Nice to meet you both, Daniel and Polly."
Jane Murphy:
Jane nods to Bones, "Take care of your Papi, be well. Espero volver a verte pronto." She turns her head to give Polly a better view.
Under the bandage was a sutured portion of skin that was healing quite well. "What do you think? Am I going to make it?"
Polly Romantic:
"Yeah, but there might be some scarring. Probably will fade with time, but." Polly shrugs. Some people like that sort of thing. She carefully replaces the bandage, no harm done.
She waves to Tommy as they depart, then skip away from behind Jane to flop back down in her seat with a gusty sigh.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"None taken." He replied to Bones, shaking his head. "If it's the same Vincent I'm thinking of he's..." His voice trailed off as he thought of the proper descriptor for the young Serpent. "He's in over his head at the moment, honestly. He was brought into this side of things suddenly and unexpectedly and the person who did it is no longer in the picture."
"Doesn't excuse him being that kind of rude, though." He let out a sigh, resting against the seat. "I've been where he is, admittedly, but I had a much firmer mentorship in place. He's just kind of flailing around at this point."
Jane Murphy:
"Yeah, my skin usually heals up pretty well." She looks to Daniel, "Fair warning, he's been my first and main impression of Kindred. I haven't known what to expect nor how exactly to react with him."
Polly Romantic:
"Let him know I am a rainbow and if he tries that shit with me again, I'll burn his goddamned face off. I'm serious. And I can fucking do it, too." Polly's normally so cheerful face is a little ruddy.
"I do not owe him his soft landing. And I did not volunteer to be his crash mat last night. Is eeeeeeveryone at this table hearing me right now?"
Jane Murphy:
"Loud and clear."
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Noted, although I hope I've brightened that impression somewhat." He smirked a touch at that, although that mirth faded with Polly's follow-up. "Understood. I'll let him know the next time I see him."
Polly Romantic:
"I really hope for your sake you don't and that douchebag--" Polly realizes she's starting to sound patently uncool, and once she hears what she's saying, she stops herself.
She just stops talking and pulls out her phone instead to pull up her gallery and just flip through photos. Pausing often on certain ones.
Jane Murphy:
Jane lets Polly finish and takes a deep gulp of her coffee before speaking, "I'm sorry if stuff happens and I don't react much. I was kind of trained and worked into a chameleon before I got involved in.." She gestures expansively around the diner, "..this. Part of that was a kind of hypervigilance about giving away shock or surprise, treating it as showing weakness. I'm trying to stop doing that."
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel remained quiet for a time, watching Polly as she did what she needed to to pull back from that precipice of understandable anger. "The lesson will stick one way or the other," he finally replied, sitting back in his seat. "We'll have to wait and see what path he takes."
Polly Romantic:
"I--" Polly starts trying to continue the conversation she thought she was having, and then just sort of loses steam to stare at Jane in confusion. "W-whu. Uh. It's cool." She's not sure about Jane's whole deal, there.
She looks between them both for a moment and sets her phone down on its screen. "I just thought everyone saw how uncool he was being. And I started feeling like I'd overreacted. It's a cycle."
Jane Murphy:
"You were right. You didn't overreact, I underreacted." She smiled, "I'll try to do better, be better at getting people's back when that kind of thing happens."
Polly Romantic:
"It... genuinely is good to hear that. Thanks." Polly then takes in a big breath and admits, "So, hey. I didn't mean to bring down the party any. So I can totally jet if you two are trying to resolve a vague yet compelling sexual tension, or anything." She points between the pair and adds, "Otherwise I'm ordering mozzarella sticks."
Jane Murphy:
She laughed, "Ah, no. Daniel is good company," she looks to him, "And yes, you have definitely given a good impression." And then back and forth between them, "But no, there's not much sexual tension coming from my direction." She finished off that third mug of coffee. "Order away."
Daniel Hawthorne:
Daniel chuckled in time with Jane's laugh, shaking his head with a smile. "Haven't really been looking on that front for...a while, honestly, so no worries there."
Polly Romantic:
"Okay, well let me know how we're doing Jane. We've already given one another head once tonight." Bandage jokes are funny, right? Polly lifts a hand and flags down a server to place her order.
"Are you happy that way or are you waiting for the right creature of the night to come along?"
Jane Murphy:
Jane chuckled at the joke and leaned back as Daniel suffered the questioning.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"...more the latter, really. The last relationship I was in crashed hard because I couldn't be open about certain things, although looking back on it that was almost for the best, since I became what I am not long after that and Lord knows I was in a bad place for a while after that."
He polished off his coffee, refilling the cup more for the warmth in his hands than to drink it in that moment. "Finding someone to connect with on that level that can also deal with my...quirks would be nice, though."
Polly Romantic:
"Sorry. I ask brazen and intrusive personal questions when I'm nervous." Polly flags down the waitress again and adds a self-indulgent, "Bacon cheeseburger."
Back to the convo at hand. "Not to be weird, but I can keep an eye out for you. It sounds rough and it sucks to be alone. And if you ever need to just hang out and talk, I've been known to shut up on occasion and listen."
Timing allows her the line, "Usually around mozzarella sticks." She begins to demonstrate with a wink to Jane and a little nudge of the plate her way.
Jane Murphy:
Jane claims a mozzarella stick and smirks, "I've got people who I'm with who help me a lot, but I've got a lot going on, so more help couldn't hurt. Always like to have people to hang out with." She takes a bite out of the stick.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"No worries. My sister nudges me on that front now and again as well, so you're in good company. " He waved off the apology, sneaking in an order of apple pie before the server headed back to the kitchen.
"I'd like that." He nodded to the pair with a small smile. "Can always use excuses to get out of the studio more often."
Polly Romantic:
"Uh oh. An artist!" Polly's guitar stares at her from the other booth in accusation. "What kind of media, hon?" She takes another bite, watching Daniel with interest. Her lips take three tries at finding her straw cos she's classy.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Clothing design. I run a design studio off of Rittenhouse Square."
Polly Romantic:
"Get out," says the literal fashion accident. "Are you fast fashion, or you bespoke, or...?" She takes another bite and continues to give Daniel her otherwise full attention.
The pair are at a booth together that looks to have had more guests than them recently. There's a guitar in the booth behind Polly in a soft case.
Daniel Hawthorne:
"Bespoke primarily, mostly formal but we do more casual outfits on request." He motioned to his current ensemble as an example. "We offer alteration services as well."
Phyx Faraday:
The portal to Maddy's opened as it usually did, carrying with it the brief chill of winter in before closing, Phyx passing through it in the moment to find himself back at the waffle house. Dressed in a pair of sturdy riding pants and a heavy looking leather jacket, he gave himself a full body shake to work out the cold before rolling his shoulders and looking around.
The mechanic blinked in the brighter light of Maddy's, craning his neck around curiously to see if there was anyone he knew about. Even though there wasn't, the sight of a guitar case caught his eye certainly enough and a great deal of cheer rushed into his face. Already a smiley sort, he was all dimples as he eyed the instrument case, briefly checking the bulletin board, frowning and sticking something on it before walking over, pulling the baseball cap off his head as he did.
As he approached the table where Daniel and Polly were sitting, he gave a small cough to denote his existence and a wave. "Heey. Sorry for interrupting. I know it's a little more common for random folks to say hi, but I noticed the guitar case and wanted to ask. I'm big into music myself and always appreciate talking a little shop, you know?" He dipped his head. "Name's Phyx. Pleased to meetcha."
Polly Romantic:
"Do you do costume or couture at all? I do a lot of my own questionable fashion choices, and it might be nice to have a professional eye in one." Polly seems to be engaging Daniel in polite get to know you small talk, but earnestly so.
She does a double-take over and then up at Phyx, her eyebrows doing all sorts of amusing little spasms as she catches up to the two two scoops of handsome asking about her guitar.
"Skipping hi works for me. Have a seat, Phyx. This is Daniel Hawthorne. He's single and runs a fashion house out at Rittenhouse Square. Bespoke. Alterations."
She almost forgets, "Oh, right, I'm Polly." She holds back the last name from a guy likely to recognize it at least for the moment. "Daniel was saying he needed more friends, so this is good. And. Uh. The guitar is mine. A Zager."
Artje:
Sometimes, one wants to know what's been posted in Maddy's but Hans has the flu and it's just terribly inconvenient, the way ghouls can get sick sometimes, but one does need the update, and so one puts on one's new Louis Vitton slip dress (the one with the massively oversized zipper running up the back) and knee-high riding boots and goes to check.
The zipper is literally like six inches wide on this dress. The pull on it sticks out like a tiny control unit, like she's some kind of robot, and the little pale creature moves so very precisely that she might be thought to be one. But Artje isn't: she's a slender pale woman who opens the door precisely, stops just inside it, and starts reading the bulletin board.
Is it a pretty outfit? Is it ugly? It's certainly fashion.
Phyx Faraday:
"Costume? Couture? Count me in!" Phyx grinned and bobbed his head, nodding to Polly. "Nice to meet you miss. And you too Daniel. Always happy to make friends. I'm not that far off the turnip truck myself to be honest, and one of the reasons I like to come here is because of the company I keep meeting. Also waffles. I really like waffles. A lot."
He took a seat at the table and bobbed his head again in thanks. "Much obliged. And lovely guitars they make. I've got one myself, and a few others. I like to noodle around when I have spare time, y'know?" He looked back to Daniel curiously. "So you're all up in them fabrics and fashions huh? That's pretty groovy tunes new friend. I've been known to uh... dabble in... adjacent industries to that. I'd love to sit down and talk shop sometime."
As the portal opened again and Artje entered, Phyx craned his neck slightly to see if she was reading the bulletin board, giving a quiet "heck yeah" as he did so before turning back to grin at Polly. "How about yourself? What sort of music do you play?"
Polly Romantic:
Polly, in her garish sun dress and leggings combo 'matched' with the rainbow knit beanie holding her hair in place, dims just a hair when Artje makes an appearance. The rainbow got upstaged. It's cool, there's only one sun in a room, is all. She ain't it anymore.
There are no less than three points during Phyx's monologue that Polly starts to snicker. She's trying to contain her grin when his attention falls on her again in full. She nudges her plate of mozzarella sticks his way.
"I sing lead for a shoegazey-LA Electronica kinda jawn. Like if The Naked and Famous stole Billie Eilish's Xanax. But I do the singer/songwriter thing, so. Whatever pays the bills, yeah?"
Artje:
She whips a tiny and immaculate red leather planner out of a pocket secreted just below the hip line of the skirt, still peering at the bulletin board. A mini-size silver pen is shaken out of the loop which holds it in precise, smooth motions, clicked on, and the planner opened.
She makes a few neat little notes in her planner before reversing the motions, putting away her planner, and taking out her phone to take a picture of the QR code. A tiny frown turns down the corners of her mouth for just a moment - blink and you might miss it! - and then the phone slips back away, too.
Phyx Faraday:
Phyx blinked in surprise and looked thrilled. "Oh wow, surprise mozzarella sticks. That's the best kind. I am most appreciative of your generosity and spirit of sharing." In the blink of an eye one of the sticks simply vanished, somehow having been consumed between words, and possibly at some point breath, time permitting.
He laughed at the description of Polly's group and did a sort of full body bounce-nod. "Sue Perb. That's pretty awesome. I'm kind of all over the place, my parents were musicians and I kinda got raised in it. Developed a real musical ear." He grinned broadly. "And I can dig it yeah. I wear a few different hats myself. I do some DJing from time to time, but mostly I operate a rest stop and service station of the 309, right next to Holy Sepulcher. Got the world's third largest statue of a fruit made out of granite. S'pomegranite. I think..." He shrugged. "But I've got a lot of side hustles."
Polly Romantic:
Polly can't hide just how over her head much of Phyx's behavior, demeanor, and overall deal is going. She just rests her her cheek on a palm and with a slack jawed half-grin finds herself nodding along with him in places.
When they're that cute they don't need to make sense in her world, clearly. "Uh huh," she agrees though with what isn't clear. Her head shakes. No. It nods. No, she's back to just half grinning. "Pomegranate?"
There were points when she was checking on what Artje was doing. But let's face it. The Phyx is in.
"Just the music, mostly. Are you. Uh. How are?" Wrong questions, "Who are you with? I'm." The words all have meanings to her, clearly.
Artje:
There's a moment where Artje looks over her shoulder towards the only other occupants of the room, and a brief consideration plays out on her face.
It's very brief. Daeva can take a lot of things, but being very clearly a third wheel isn't one of them.
And so, she exits.
Phyx Faraday:
Phyx nodded. "Yeah a really big one. Pretty neat, as random road side attractions go. And there's a garage and a rest stop if people need to take a break from driving." At the questions he had to pause for a moment and try to parse things, then nodded and gave a light snap of his fingers. "Ah I'm on the trolley. I've been paying a lot of attention lately as I get the lay of the land."
"I am with the mages? I guess? I'm working on that, but I understand there's a lot of reasons to try and connect to folks. I'm not one though. A mage that is. Awakened? I've been trying to keep up on the jargon and stuff, but there's a whole lot of bits and pieces flying around that don't quite have connections yet. Sort of like trying to put a puzzle together upside down. S'fun though." He chuckled at that. "I've just had one of those lives where you pick up a whole heckin' lot of information and skills and stuff, and it's all firmly put me on the other side of the "I know some buckwild stuff" dividing line. Expertise is mostly in dealing with recalcitrant supernatural entities and the protection against thereof, and I do alright in a scrap. After a while, just start accepting that things are weird and gonna get weirder. Really takes the edge off."
Polly Romantic:
"I was enticed to toyland to live as a fuckoff giant rainbow in the sky. So." She pauses a beat. "You know, that was cool. I just. Uh." Polly scratches behind her ear a bit, then tucks some of her unruly hair behind it.
"My boyfriend is one of them. I could introduce you. He's a musician, too, actually. Used to be a thing in LA." She peters out at the explanation of the LA thing. "He runs the green room. Here in town. You should check it out if you play. Or you can come hang at my apartment sometime. It's basically a studio with a bed in the corner, you know?"
"But, yeah. I'm one of the ... lost, I guess? I'm a healer, do talk, touch, and sex therapy for those that need it." She ticks her head towards where Daniel was, "It makes me insufferably nosy, making sure people are doing okay."
Realizing what she just said, she just sighs and hangs her head in defeat. "I just heard it." Followed by. "I meant I have a cool studio in my apartment. I promise."
Phyx Faraday:
At that Phyx blinked, nodding slowly. "I've been... not exactly brought up to speed on the Lost, but I was told a little. And that really sucks. I admit I've already been warned about the risk, but if you ever need an extra set of hands, or feet cause we'll be kickin' ass, I'm your Huckleberry."
At the offer he grinned and gave a big thumbs up. "Sure! I'd really appreciate it. I have a few folks I know a bit around here, but like i said, always looking to make new friends. And I will definitely do that. I'm always up to jam, and music is a pretty big part of my life."
"I'm also definitely up to coming over and hanging out. I can bring my guitar, or my electronic deck. Hell, I've got a sax I've been meaning to limber up lately, it's been a while. My range is pretty eclectic, but I've got a fair few instruments under my belt." At the explanation of her abilities and sphere of influence Phyx looked mightily impressed. "Wow that's pretty amazing. Being able to heal help people is always a pretty amazing thing. I also have... industry adjacent side hustles there, but definitely not the same." He laughed. "And hey, with the world we live in, that's just showing some thoughtfulness to others, and that's no bad thing, sure as shootin. I say one can never go wrong with having a therapist to talk to, if you're taking on clients or whatever. Couldn't tell you which or what I need exactly, but life can certainly get kinda tense."
At the comment Phyx tilted his head in a quizzical fashion, mind working overtime to make connections. Finally he nodded in understanding. "Be honest, you heard it before I did. My brain doesn't usually stray naturally in that direction, so my first thought was yeah sure we should hang out and jam. My current living situation is somewhat spartan as well, but that's mostly because like you did I've given a lot of the space over to projects and work and what have you."
Polly Romantic:
She sighs relief. "You're awful sweet, honestly. Thanks. I've been putting my feet in my mouth all night. Got a little shook up the other night and I think I'm overcompensating." She doesn't give much pause before deciding. "I feel like a walk. You want to go for a walk? I like the woods out here. Cos this place is a tin box and I'm a belter. If we decide to start riffing, I'll blow the windows out. Only kinda joking. Big head, big mouth, big voice. Got full Freddy Mercury face going on over here." Her smile is gigantic, it's true.
She is the only person here, he's gregarious, and she has a guitar. So she doesn't bother waiting on an answer for too long before finding her feet again.
"Why don't we just continue chatting on our walk? You can tell me a bit about what's up with you. And if you need a hug about it, I got you covered." Polly adjusts her guitar up her shoulder a bit. Her demeanor has changed considerably after the bed comment went past without issue.
As she atarts for the door she starts with, "Where you staying?"
Phyx Faraday:
Phyx ducked his head and smiled in response. "That's awfully kind of you to say, thank you. And I can well dig it. I've had a plenty of days and nights like those myself. Never hurts to get up and get moving in times like that. But I admit I pace like nobody's business." He chuckled at that, putting his hat back on and standing as Polly did. "And sometimes, letting the big voice out is the best plan. I certainly do that now and then."
He was beaming in return, clearly thrilled to have made a new friend. "And I'm always thrilled to chat, walking or otherwise. And we can always take a break to play a tune or two."
Phyx followed Polly to the door, leaving a tip behind at the table and snagging one of those chakly mint things. "And I am never averse to a hug, just for the heck of it if not for therapeutic value. Please by do means lay on MacDuff."
Polly Romantic:
She's laughing and shaking her head at him as they head for the door. The actual door, not the portal. She fusses with her necklace for a moment until it begins emitting one heck of a glow. "Afraid of the dark," she explains as she steps right out into a world of it.
"Well, I'm a giant big old enthusiastic consent kinda girl. So if you find yourself deciding you'd like a hug, or a hand held, you'll have to use your grown up voice. I'm afraid one of the sacrifices I made when I started this was spontaneously hug bombing near strangers."
She has found perhaps the only other person in town who recognizes the loss, there.
"Anyway," she offers before starting down the walking path alongside Phyx.
"You keep saying industry adjacent, only when you say it you make it sound like how a bad spy would say it in an 80s movie. So. What's that about?"
Phyx Faraday:
Phyx just smiled. "I know the feeling. Lot in the dark that's spooky. I've got my own tricks for it, but that one is pretty darn spiffy." He nodded toward the necklace.
"And again, I certainly can't argue or complain. Agency and bodily autonomy are a big few I believe in. And am willing to fight for. Locus of control is important, y'know?" He chuckled. "But I will certainly bear that in mind. About using my grown up voice. I've got a heck of one of those. But yeah, I am definitely fine with getting hug bombardments. Hugs are good."
At the question he nodded, considering how to put it. "Depends on the industry, but mostly what I mean is that I often do similar stuff, like making clothes and stuff for instance, but it's not exactly commercial and it's not exactly normal outfits. In the other, I'm a pretty good chemist and horticulturalist, and I'm a dab hand at making stuff like salves or massage lotions or edibles or what have you. Infused stuff, does wonders for pain and dry skin and all sorts."
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