Latecomer

Participants:

adel_icon.gif ygraine_icon.gif

Scene Title Latecomer
Synopsis Stepping up to the roof for some fresh air, Ygraine runs into a latecomer to Robyn Quinn's Christmas Eve Party.
Date December 24, 2010

Village Renaissance: Rooftop

This is a flat roof, the surface grey concrete, which covers a building with enough space for sixteen apartment units on each floor along with elevators, stairwells, and maintenance areas at the center. It can be reached by an elevator and/or staircase near the right edge, a large freight elevator just back of the center, and stairwells centered on front and back of the building. The back left corner holds the large machinery needed for climate control of the interior. Discreet cameras placed all around the edge monitor the roof.

Near the elevator and stairs from the penthouse below is a pair of picnic tables and a sophisticated grill for cooking outdoors and eating when the weather permits. It's covered by an open air tent of sorts for shelter when rain and snow come.

The right front corner, overlooking 4th Street, has a sturdy wooden structure ten feet back from the edge. Here there are outlets for plugging in amplifiers and other electrical devices should Cat choose to come up here and make music. It has a set of glass doors which can be folded aside to allow approaching the edge and closed to protect against weather.

The front left corner features four each of small apple and cherry trees with garden chairs here and there around them, a number of sunflowers, tomato plants, potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, and various other plants chosen for their appearance in pots or planters large enough to hold them. Someone with access to the roof likes to garden, and has been doing so at any chance.


Frequent though her visits to rooftops are, Ygraine is not currently clad suitably for spending much time up here. Still, having donned her long Winter overcoat and slung a scarf around her neck for the trip outside to dispose of a bag of party-generated garbage, the Briton has been unable to resist the lure of a few more moments of quiet and solitude.

Now, with hands stuffed into her coat pockets and shoulders hunched against the chill, she stands atop the parapet on one of the darker sides of the building, away from the likelihood of being spotted as a potential 'jumper'. In spite of the high heels on her boots, it's not the sheer drop that bothers her, but the unsuitability of fishnet and scraps of silk for outdoors wear in Winter. Still, the expensive woollen coat promises sufficient protection to let her linger for some time….

The lingering is just long enough to spot something out of the corner of her eye. It starts as a strange rippling effect, like something's not quite right, a shadow surrounded by quivering lights. It's as if seeing something through smoke, or fog, or glass, but there's something a little more opaque floating towards the rooftop. It isn't moving fast. Indeed much slower than most objects, but seems to be pushed along by the cold wind that's bringing it closer. It could be a floating balloon of some sort?

Except it adjusts course against the wind, and begins to float down closer to the roof, just at the edge.

It is a ball. A sphere of some kind, larger than an average person, with a faint transparent glow to it. It doesn't let off light, but it seems to distort anything viewed through it. Including the young woman floating in the center. Suspended perfectly in the middle of it, her arms are stretched out as if she's trying to lure it closer. Her tight jeans show off her figure, and warm coat and green and red and white striped scarf can be seen, but it's the floating long dark hair that draw some attention.

Whatever she's doing, it seems as if she's actually floating. And floating down. The sphere around her sinks into the rooftop just far enough to allow her toes to land, and then it disappears all together.

Her hair falls flat across her face, and she quickly pulls her coat around her tighter, like only just now feeling the cold.

Adel Starkey doesn't know she has an audience.

Normally, when Ygraine meets another super-powered freak atop a rooftop, she's dressed for action. Not the kevlar-weave leathers she wears when riding her bike or knowingly going into danger, but at least her training gear is designed for freedom of movement.

Right now, about the most that Ygraine can do to prepare herself for possible danger is to take her hands out of her pockets, flip up the collar of her coat, and step down off the parapet. Then, after dithering for a moment, she moves closer - high heels clicking sharply on the rooftop, expression warily curious and somewhat amused.

"Very impressive", she offers - tone dry, and accent distinctly British and educated.

The distinctly British tones suddenly cause something rather funny to happen. For an instant, that sphere pops up again as she jumps back, and then quickly vanishes, as if it didn't form fully. It's not the faltering ability that causes the funny, it's the fact that gravity pulls her down rather forcefully in a way she wasn't ready for.

And Adel lands on her backside with a thump. "Ow. Ya— you can't tell anyone about this, please, I don't… ow…" she rubs her butt as she stands up, looking absolutely terrified. "I didn't expect anyone to be up on the roof please I just… I was late and this was faster and I don't have a card so I can't use a cab and…"

She stops herself, hand over her cold lips. Sometimes not talking is safer.

A definite pause, as Ygraine studies the new arrival with a mixture of perplexity, wariness, and confusion… then she steps forward and offers a hand to help Adel up, feet parting to let her brace herself in anticipation of extra weight.

"So… you're unregistered, and I've found out your reason why. Horror of horrors, someone doesn't have perfect respect for the laws and institutions of this country. How will I ever cope with that revelation?", the foreigner asks dryly - albeit with a hint of a smile on her lips.

Still rubbing her butt a little, Adel still look worried, even as she looks up at the almost smiling woman. "Well, I don't think you're gonna call the police at least…" she says quietly, a bit of a sheepish and hopeful tone to her voice. Cause if she did decide to call the police, that would likely be bad. "I don't do it very often, I promise, I was just late and…" she trails off, shifting on her now on the ground feet.

"I've not seen your particular ability before", Ygraine says - tone more gentle this time, hoping to calm the skittish young woman. "Would it be terribly rude to ask what it is that you do, if you know?"

"It's — ah— a little hard to explain!" Adel says, shifting where she stands, rubbing her arms and looking around as if to make sure it is just the two of them on the roof. "I call it my sphere of influence. I can just— sorta control things inside it. Including what can get inside it. But— don't tell anyone please? About the— about it?" In fact she's probably leaving a lot of details out now too.

Rather intently studying Adel, Ygraine considers her for a few moments, then opts to extend a hand - offering it to be shaken, rather than making any kind of aggressive or restraining gesture. "Ygraine. Foreigner, lunatic civil rights campaigner, and registered Evolved. The last because I have to be if I'm to get in or out of the country these days."

"Um." The hand is taken, with a coloring of the young woman's cheeks. "Adel. Not-Foreigner, drummer in a band and college drop out, and not registered as anything. But I'm human, and that's all that should matter, I say." Registered, Unregistered, Evolved, Non-Evolved. Human is the important part to this young lady. "So I guess I'm a civil rights campaigner— though I don't advertise myself as such!"

Laughing softly, Ygraine shakes her head. "Nor do I. It's not exactly a popular role with authority these days, but I thought it might do a little to stop you looking quite so worried…. And… drummer? You wouldn't happen to be with a group called Mad Muse, would you?"

Definitely not a popular role these days, not a popular role at all! Adel blinks and starts back a bit, as if surprised by the question. "Um, yeah, I am— do you know them?" For a moment, she's blushing again, but it could just be the chill on her cheeks and nose and ears, cause she starts to pull her scarf up to cover her more. "They don't even know what all I can do, I only told them the easiest part of my ability— the keeping stuff out part."

Ygraine chuckles, shaking her head. "I'm Quinn's girlfriend", she says gently. "I designed some possible logos for the band, way back before you joined. And I've heard Robyn enthuse about how talented and enthusiastic and helpful this new drummer called Adel was - though nothing about any Evolved ability. And this is the place where Robyn is co-hosting a Christmas party… so I thought that someone called Adel showing up here…."

"Oh— oh! Well at least I know I landed on the right building for sure now!" Adel says with a pump of her arms, like she wants to jump up in victory. She doesn't quite do it, but she does seem to be very… animated. And enthusiastic. "I'm pretty good, but so's the band, so I don't think they'd hire me if I sucked all together. You want a drummer to compliment the band, not totally make the band want to jump off a building." Though she could actually jump off a building just fine. As long as she avoided a power-fumble like she had a moment ago.

Ygraine has been wondering about that, and smiles at Adel's last words. "Do you make a habit of that yourself? Jumping off buildings, I mean. You seemed to… float very smoothly, but your landing… that wouldn't exactly have scored full marks from any judges. Did I just startle you? Or…?"

"Oh, I— yeah, you startled me," Adel says with a blush. "And there's a time limit on it, too— it's kinda takes some time to get going, if you know what I mean. If I missstep I can end up … messing up. I did jump off a building once and turn it on on the way down. Do not really want to do it again, though!" Cause— it could have ended up badly if she hadn't managed to get the sphere up in time.

Ygraine winces a little, then chuckles softly. "I've only jumped off a building once in my life, as well. And I hope to never have to repeat it." Frankly, the next time she sees a falling Brian, she might well let him go splat, given how near-run a thing saving the last one was….

"But I'm sorry for surprising you. Should I be taking you down to Robyn's place, by the way? I don't want to keep you stuck out here in the cold, trapped by some crazy stranger…"

"It was one of those… couldn't stay, had to jump situations I hope to never get in again," Adel says with a casual laugh, like she doesn't think it's possible. There's a sudden movement of her hand and she actually does a very light punch in the woman's shoulder. "You're not crazy, you're totally primal." And that seems to mean a good thing. "And you're definitely not a stranger. You're practically— well family I guess! Like Elaine." There's a pause, as she starts to hop toward the door, to be led down to the party.

"Does that make you a groupie too if you're Robyn's girlfriend?"

"Too?", Ygraine asks curiously, cocking her head - and still smiling and looking surprised after that wholly-unexpected punch to her arm.

"I… well. I'd rather be a muse, personally", she admits with a chuckle, heels clicking sharply as she starts towards the door. "I've done a couple of tiny bits of work for some tracks Robyn's been working on, but i don't think that I can honestly claim to have contributed much artistically. As for being… primal?" She chuckles. "Have you been talking to Sable? She decided I was a tigress, some time ago."

"A primal muse for Mad Muse," Adel says in a sing-song voice as she pulls her coat a little tighter and keeps going to where the warmth will be found. She was likely planning to rest and float down to the bottom of the building and enter through the door, but the roof entrance works too! "Tigress does work for you— mostly I was meaning Elaine," she adds on, to explain the 'too'. "It was really nice to meet you, Ygraine— Just please keep my secret." She even raises a finger to her lip, the universal gesture for 'shh'. That likely includes how she arrived at the party.

Ygraine moves to hold the door for Adel, offering her a rather odd smile, her cheeks faintly flushed after the odd compliments. "Elaine's done recording work, too", she gently cautions Adel. "And… Varlane has finally done enough that she's definitively broken up with him. So I'm not at all sure she counts as a groupie. 'A dear friend of the band', however, I think you would be safe with…."

"I thought— I though Elaine was involved with Sable?" Adel says with a surprised blink, before she looks away, scratching at her cheek with a finger. "My relationship-dar must be damaged…"

Ygraine laughs softly. "Supposedly, she was the love of Magnes's life. I always had the impression she was the actress currently cast in the role of the teenage superhero's girlfriend, to be brought out whenever she had a role to play in his chosen script. He seems to have finally managed to persuade her that he was using and manipulating her, after breaking a few too many promises and commitments…. But what else is going on in that band, I honestly can't claim to know in detail. I've been… kept out of a lot of it, and haven't pushed to be involved, because I've struggled to forgive Varlane for little things like getting Robyn beaten unconscious by people he picked a fight with."

She snorts, and sharply shakes her head. "Sorry. It's arguably not my place to speak ill of a band that is still, somehow, holding together, and of which I'm not part. Quinn and Elaine are lovely people. Sable… has been impressing and surprising me of late. And that's a better start than many bands could claim."

"Oh, I knew Elaine and Magnes were having a relationship, and that they broke up— I just— had the impression she was already involved with other members of the band anyway." Even as Adel says this, she blushes brightly, as if it's something she doesn't think she should even be talking about. Probably wouldn't have, except— she's still all off balance, from the look of things. "I think the band'll do fine, it just needs people like you and Elaine to keep it inspired— and me too. But— mostly be cause I really want to be involved, and glad that Sable's letting me be."

Ygraine ushers Adel inside, carefully closing the door behind the pair of them. "I suppose that it's no surprise that you're aware of at least some of the… the soap opera surrounding them", she says with a rueful chuckle. "I'm honestly not sure what is, does, can, might, has or will count as a relationship for some of them. I've no idea if Sable actually is an inveterate womaniser or just likes to seem as if she is. And… gah."

Her own blush now rather brighter, Ygraine shakes her head and grins at Adel. "If you want to know whether Elaine's in a relationship with someone, ask Elaine. Sable'll probably be cryptic at you. And… whatever happens with the band, as long as you keep helping Robyn to record tracks, I'll be in your debt."

"I can honestly say I won't end up in a relationship with anyone in the band!" Adel assures, though she quiets her voice after she says that, because they're almost into the party. "And no matter what drama happens, I'll keep pushing them to record music. Cause that's what we're here for— that's what I've wanted to do my whole life— have an actual album." And she just happened to find her way to Mad Muse to do it! As far as Adel seems concerned, that's her destiny.

Laughing, Ygraine shakes her head again. "I'm doing my best to push Robyn into getting the music from her head and into a form that'll let other people enjoy it. I'm not sure I can push along a whole band, but… as long as Robyn's involved, I'll keep pushing her to pursue the dream. And for that, she'll need a drummer. So I'll gladly help you get albums", the Briton assures her new acquaintance.

"Now… here we are. You'll find most of the band and a few others already inside. Oh! Beware the photographer - Robyn bought someone a camera, to use to take photos. She's been commissioned to do shots of the band…. Your first step to stardom!"

"I just hope I don't have to register to be a star," Adel says quietly, a little bit of a pout to her mouth as she moves into the party. Likely that will be a point she'll have to cave on eventually— stars can't really stay out of the lime light. "But maybe I can be a star who's publicly against it!" Not like she can't say all she can do is turn herself into a floating bouncing ball. Where's the harm in that really?

But before stardom, there's a party to attend~


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