Participants:
| Scene Title | Merci Beaucoup |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | A group of people chat oh-so-briefly over a dog. |
| Date | January 24, 2011 |
It's been a fairly long day at the ballet studio. American Ballet Theater is preparing for a new production, and Soleil Remi Davignon has been quite busy helping some of the principal dancers to learn their dances. It's a good teacher who can quite literally show you how it's done, and despite being younger than some of the dancers in the company, she's an expert at her trade.
But it's been a long evening, and she is finally finished, leaving a few dancers there to practice on their own in front of the mirrors. She's just come home to Dorchester Towers in her lovely sports SUV, and is in the process of gathering her things from the car in its parking spot. She's dressed for warmth right now, with a charming fur-lined coat over the sweater dress and thick leggings.
She slings her bag of dance gear over her shoulder, her purse over the other and slams the door shut, quietly turning toward the building. It will be nice to return to her apartment, to relax her body and mind after such a long day. She can hear all of her neighbors mumbling in the back of her head, certainly, but it's certainly better than being out in a crowd. She's quite thankful for the large spaces afforded by the apartments of Dorchester Towers.
Magnes knows Yana is hard at work, and certainly called ahead of time to ask if she'd eaten dinner yet. He offered not to make fast food or anything, but to make her a traditional Italian dinner. So he has large bags full of things, mostly fresh goods, headed for the entrance of Dorchester in a suit that's a bit cheaper than his Armani, but still just as nice. The dark blue jacket is stylishly unbuttoned, with a nice white shirt and black tie to go with it.
"Are you absolutely certain that you know what you are doing at that school? I have payed very good money to your establishment, and the little beast is not showing any sort of signs of improvement. I expect results, and I expect them soon, otherwise I will take my business elsewhere." Yana is fussing with a young man, holding a gray Great Dane puppy on the end of a leash. The dog looks excited and is pulling to try and jump at Yana. The dark haired woman does not look pleased with this display, and it is probably an example of what she is fussing at him about.
The young man hands over the leash to her, and he looks particularly nervous, and stuttering as he speaks to her. To anyone who knows Yana, they understand that this is like dangling a slab of raw meat in front of a lioness. She is bound to hone in and attack. Even the dog senses it coming and starts to cower. Her eyes narrow darkly and the well dressed woman stares daggers into the man before her.
"Well, spill it. Speak up. Check your posture. Show a little pride and decorum when dealing with a dissatisfied customer. Are you an example of the quality of service offered by your school? Hmph, I simply abhor incompetence." Her verbal firing squad leaves the young man to stutter and look like he is about to wet himself. "Unbelievable. I'll not waste a single second more dealing with impuissance, I'll be speaking to your superiors." This is all done in the lobby of the apartment building, as Yana swiftly turns away from the man, pulling the dog along and leaving him speechless. He can't even formulate a proper 'I'm sorry.'
She isn't in the building, or even right outside it, as these particular persons are possibly about to encounter each other. It's not a place she expects to safely go, people inside would recognize her, a problem over and above the reason Cat's only been to Dorchester Towers a handful of times since December of 2008. Her apartment there is still kept as it was, cleaned and maintained by hirelings, with the exception of having holiday decorations put up and taken down as seasonally appropriate.
No, the panmnesiac is some distance down the street with her face mostly covered by the hood of a parka and clothing in layers under it which makes her gender not readily apparent. She's just spending a little time scoping out the area to see if it's changed any before moving along.
The redheaded ballet instructor offers a brief smile as she passes Magnes on the way up to the street, where she pauses to offer a visible shiver in the cold. It's far too cold here, and it's evenings like these that make her miss France horribly. Well, some parts of it. The parts like her estranged father make her quite happy to be right here in New York.
It's rather unintentional that she walks near to Magnes on her way to the building; she offers him a smile, though she secretly hopes he won't try to initiate conversation. It's always awkward, talking to complete strangers.
Hefting the bag up a little more, she lifts her hands to pull the fur-lined hood of her coat over her head, shielding her ears and face from the bitter cold.
Magnes is not exactly dressed for the weather, but that's mostly because he came in a car. When he spots, Remi, he smiles and grabs the door for her, nodding. "Oh, Doctor Blite!" he calls over to her as he's holding the door, raising one of his bags to wave. Cat isn't spotted, he's not quite attentive enough to spot someone who's trying to hide from so far away.
Before she takes the animal back upstairs to her apartment, and because she believes that the guy delivering him neglected to bring the dog back on 'E', Yana steps outside with the dog for just a moment, the likes of which she doesn't appear to be very pleased to do. It isn't her job, nor is it her dog technically for her to be performing these tasks for. The animal receives no affection from the woman, and she holds the leash as if it is dirty. "Perform your business out here, because if you urinate on my rugs upstairs, I guarantee it will be the very last thing you do." she speaks to the dog, as if it could understand. He can probably get the tone of her voice at least.
Magnes arrives just on time, according to Yana. She lightens her cross mood. «'Ah. Perfect. HE can take the little beast off of my hands. This kind of thing is NOT my job. I'm sure Magnes won't mind tending to getting him relieved.'» "Magnes, what a coincidence for you to be here. You have arrived just in time to help me." she holds up the leash, "I am not all that good with animals, and Max needs some time to do his business. If you could be a dear and take care of this, It would be greatly appreciated." Cat she doesn't quite know, though the woman does register as being there, though no one familiar. Remi is given an investigative look, the woman thinking for a few moments.
Eyes sweep across the persons outside that building, the distance not so much to allow easy and definite identification. The man in clothing which doesn't match the weather catches attention as he's being offered the dog's leash, a brief study is conducted. While doing so Cat takes two steps toward the Towers, reducing the distance between her and Mademoiselle Davignon to forty-nine feet.
«Magnes? He's tall enough, but too far away. Can't be sure it's him. Someday I should thank him for claiming I'm dead on the air. Then slap the back of his head for admitting ties on camera.»
A few seconds later she's turned away from the place and begun to walk along, finding it not a good thing to avoid loitering any longer.
Remi pauses near the door as Magnes opens it. She offers that same charming smile she offered to him moments ago, though this time she does offer a quiet vocalization. "Merci beaucoup." Really, her top interest is to get inside, get to her apartment and relax. It's been a long day, and she stayed at the studio for a bit too long with her dancers. She can already feel the clamp she keeps on her ability starting to loosen. Case in point, she can already hear the tickle of one in the back of her head.
As Yana pushes her way out before Remi can get in, the woman hangs back for a moment, pausing to listen to the thoughts of the woman carrying the leash of the great Dane. A similarly investigative look is offered toward Yana, before Remi quietly digs into her purse, coming out with a cigarette. Might as well get her nightly nicotine break out of the way, then go enjoy the solace of her apartment. A smile is cast to Yana; she recognizes the woman as one she lives on the same floor as. "Bonsoir." A friendly enough greeting.
Blue eyes suddenly turn as Cat steps well within the range of her 'hearing', brows raising slightly. Then, her eyes turn back to Magnes, and sudden recognition seems to dawn on her face. "Oh, Monsieur! Are you Magnes Varlane? I 'ave seen you on zee Advocate, non?" She doesn't even seem to have noticed Cat, her attention solely on Magnes. While excited can't quite describe her expression, she's smiling, at least.
« Doctor Blite! » Magnes thinks with the excitement of perhaps the dog whose collar he happens to be reaching for, smiling and nodding as he holds the small grocery bags out to the Doctor in exchange "Could you hold these for me? I've never really had any pets, so I'd rather give him my full attention so he doesn't get away or anything."
But then Remi is addressing him, and he offers a friendly smile, nodding quickly. « At least she doesn't seem like one of the angry milkshake throwing viewers… » "That's me! Magnes J. Varlane. I don't plan to be on the Advocate anymore, but I hope you at least enjoyed it."
"Ah, there really is not much to him. Just ensuring that he goes to the restroom. This is supposed to be something for Keagan or Christopher to do, but neither are here at the moment." An exchange is made, the dog for the bags. Also not to her liking, but at least taking the bags is a lesser task than dealing with the animal. "Thank you." She offers to him graciously. While Magnes handles the dog, Yana looks to Remi as she hangs by the door and starts to speak to Magnes, the woman peers at the foreign lady, noting her accent and appearance. Like with anyone, she is already judging her on how she seems. Not terribly common by the looks of it, so she is worthy of a smile and a nod from her. Just an acknowledgment for holding open the door.
Within seconds the French ballerina is left with just the thoughts of those conversing nearby and inside the building to enter her mind, Cat's calm strides have carried her down the block and soon out of view toward a destination well distant from the apartment complex where once she resided in far happier times.
She forces herself to contemplate things other than the tragedy and loss suffered which brought her active residence at Dorchester Towers to an end.
Enjoyed it? Really, she hardly payed attention to it— she only knows who he is because she feels a social obligation to know those on television. But Magnes doesn't need to know that. Instead, she offers him a charming smile, lighting up her cigarette with an elegant-looking zippo as she replies in her thick French accent. "Oh, zat is a shame. I am sure you will be missed."
As she blows a puff of the cigarette smoke out, she quietly returns Yana's smile and nod of acknowledgment The woman lets her bag-o-dance gear settle down to the ground, while she moves to lean against the wall of the upscale apartment building. Blue eyes turn to watch as Cat departs, brows arching. Interesting woman. She'll have to keep an eye out for her in the future.
Magnes tilts his head when he sees Remi looking at something, eyes widening with recognition, but knowing better than to draw attention to her. "Ah, uh, I'm sure they'll be fine. I'm doing behind the scenes work, it pays well." He guides the dog out on the sidewalk, being rather awkward with it, but having a good handle. "I brought the things to make dinner for you." He nods to the plastic bags, then stares down at the dog. « I hope Doctor Blite actually likes Italian… »
She hadn't paid much attention to what is in the bags initially. Though as Magnes mentions something about dinner, it registers to her. "Ah, so you did." she remarks with a small nod of her head. She only spends a second more there to ensure that he can handle the dog at this point. "Excellent. Just head on up when you're all finished here. I'll see to getting your supplies put out in the kitchen." She comments while she strolls back towards the apartments, looking to Remi as she passes and nodding to her in a 'thank you' for her holding of the door again. She slips back inside, heading for the elevator. What a fortunate thing for her to run into Magnes.
Remi watches quietly as Yana makes her departure, brows raised. She knows that woman— they live on the same floor, after all. Remi quietly puffs at her cigarette, turning her blue gaze toward Magnes and the dog that he is awkwardly walking. Dogs, gross. They slobber, they pee and poop everywhere when not properly trained, and they have very little respect for personal boundary space. Otherwise, the redheaded woman remains silent, simply content to enjoy her cigarette.
Magnes watches as the dog decides to take care of his business, then turns to watch Remi in a bit of awkward silence. « I don't think I've ever really known a French girl before. I wonder if that means she's classy… » are some of the thoughts that go through his head as he watches and considers her in silence. « I should say something… »
Soleil Remi Davignon certainly doesn't make a big show about the fact that she's a telepath. People tend to distrust those that can hear their private thoughts. Remi certainly knows she wouldn't truly trust a telepath— and she is one. So, she happily pretends that she doesn't hear him wondering about how classy she is, or how he should say something.
Instead, she decides that he might be interesting for her little information gathering side project. It's always good to know what's going on in the world around you, and Remi knows this more than anything. It's always good to stay informed. So, she turns a smile toward him, her brows raising. "So— you said you knew some people in ze Ferrymen once? Zat is fascinating." In the meanwhile, she's listening to his mind. "What were zey like?"
"I said I knew people who knew people in the Ferry, and that's not really for me to talk about." Magnes starts to head inside, tugging the dog with him. « This is going to bite me in the ass forever. » "So um, you're from France? What brings you to America?"
"I was only curious, oui?" Remi offers a disarming smile. "I often wonder what zose people are like, oui? I mean…zey must be very brave to fight for what zey fight for." A shrug rolls over her shoulders, the redheaded Frenchwoman taking a final puff off of her cigarette, before flicking it out into the street beyond. Then, she's slipping into the building after grabbing her bags.
“I am from Marseilles, France, oui. I am 'ere with American Ballet Theater, as an instructor and choreographer." She offers a smile. "I'm Remi, by ze way." No last name. She doesn't feel up to recognition tonight— certainly not when she can hear the doorman at the front desk inside of the building.
« I have to be careful… she could be anyone. » Magnes is clearly suspicious of Remi and her questions, politely smiling before he starts walking for the elevator. "Ah, well, a little curiosity never hurt… but I should probably be heading upstairs."
Remi is heading for the same elevator— in fact, she lives on the same floor as Yana! So, she pauses, to give Magnes a head start. "Well, per'aps I will see you around." She offers a charming smile, pausing at the desk to check her mail. Besides, she certainly doesn't want to ride in a cramped elevator with a dog, especially not one that large.