Participants:
| Scene Title | More of the Gang Arrives |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Lighthouse Kids are starting to converge on New York again. |
| Date | November 20, 2018 |
Lance's Apartment
The apartment is, as always, quiet. Brynn doesn't require music or other noises, obviously. And with Joe and Lance both out, she doesn't expect to have any other company right now. Squeaks has been running a bit lately and sometimes stays at Gillian's. So the deaf teen is alone in the apartment, curled up on the end of the couch where she usually sleeps and with the ubiquitous sketch book in her hands when the door opens. She doesn't glance up — not because she's not aware of the arrival, but because it's not a violent arrival and therefore it must be someone who is supposed to be here. The lines she's drawing out are completed before the gray eyes come up to see who came in, a smile playing about the corners of her lips for her brothers. Only…. it's not her brothers. It's not an unfamiliar face, but… it's not an expected one either. She goes very still, watchful.
Beds are nice. Especially when you've gone more than a month without one. Poor Lance has been somewhat displaced by the newest arrival, who has come to occupy his bed — though thankfully, Clara has a mostly different sleep schedule from Lance, meaning they can sleep in shifts. The young woman has just come back from a foray out into Park Slope — three rabbits are tied to her belt by the feet, and the freezer is a perfect place to freeze them before she prepares and sells them. Lance is awesome for having gotten this place.
The door opens, and the first to enter is Pepe Le Pew. He pauses on entering, snuffing at the air…then, he lets out a loud squeal that undoubtedly goes unnoticed by its intended recipient, skunk-running his way over to Brynn and climbing up onto the couch to give her a snuggle of greeting. The little skunk doesn't care about her drawing — he's just happy to see her.
Shortly after, Pepe's constant companion enters, smiling. One hand is raised in a wave, before the young woman unties the rabbits and promptly tosses them into the freezer — right next to the eggos. Long time no see. Weasel turns, grinning over to Brynn.
OH…. oh, geez! Now there's a sight Brynn's not entirely sure she missed. Skunk! Of all the animals around Hailey and even Weasel, Pepe is one of the ones Brynn's always been just a hint on the leery side of. He sprays people. He just does! And although he's never sprayed her, it doesn't make it less of a threat to her after having run afoul of a skunk in the wild up there just after they arrived. (She'd never seen one before and startled it.) Gingerly she scritches the critter, it's not in her to be mean to innocent creatures, but she definitely looks a little alarmed.
When the other teen returns to the main room, Brynn looks her over and nods a little. Definitely. Lance didn't tell me we had company. She offers a small grin. Can Pepe take his scent markers over there a little bit? I don't want to hurt his feelings. But she's not exactly thrilled with rodents of any kind lately — electric Slice rats live in her nightmares right now.
Pepe Le Pew squeaks rather happily at the head scritches — until he abruptly turns, looking over at Weasel. The creature turns, giving Brynn a small lick on the hand, before he complies with her request, making his way to the kitchen and flopping in the entry. Weasel washes her hands off, before slipping back into the living room, giving Pepe a small pat on the head. He probably likes Brynn so much because she doesn't like him — musteloids are spiteful like that.
Sorry about that. Pepe has been super happy to see everyone. She glances over to the skunk, smiling fondly, before settling down on a couch, pulling her backpack out and rummaging through. A large grasshopper is removed from a small box and tossed over to the skunk, who pounces gleefully. Meanwhile, another small creature has produced itself, this one much smaller than Pepe. The little Least Weasel crawls out from a pocket and onto Weasel's knee, staring and sniffing curiously. That's Ron. I just got in like a month ago, came to see why you guys all wanted to be here.
Brynn makes that face. The one Weasel has to be familiar with after all this time. The only one of the critters that the deaf teen has ever REALLY been okay with was a ferret once, and she's not sure what the other one was. A mink? The others kinda remind her of rodents, though Weasel's always insisted they're not. Well… we were going to be going to school. Joe got in, but Lance and I didn't make their cut-off. So…. it's kinda in the wind now. She keeps her sketch pad in her lap, her pencil balanced on it. I think Joe is still planning on it, but …. Lance and me, there's maybe some other things working out for us. I don't know. We'll see.
Technically, Ron is a miniature ferret — he just has different coat patterns. The small woman smirks, reaching out and scratching Ron's back. I doubt I could get into school if I tried. She also has never been the most studious of the gang — while the others were studying, she would usually sneak off and hang out with the raccoons that stuck around frequently. You always were good at art. You doing that here? It's a dumb question, but Weasel still asks all the same.
Nodding, Brynn offers a bit of a smile. Actually, yeah… I've gotten a couple of mural jobs — thanks to Raquelle and some exposure there and with a friend named Caspian. I've been working part-time for Raq in the hair and nail salon, but also part time for a lady named Pearl at a tattoo place. So… I'm definitely keeping my hand in. And Pearl's really cool for teaching art stuff. She shrugs a little. And I did a skin piece for Cas's girlfriend. That was pretty cool. The only time I ever did that before was on Ygraine that one time, when she came up to the Lighthouse in Canada. She lapses a little into the silence again. She's never really been the most chatty of the group, except on certain occasions or topics. What are you gonna be doing down here?
That sounds pretty awesome. Maybe you can make something for me one day. Clara smiles faintly, picking up the little creature on her knee and giving him a small kiss atop the head, before letting him climb onto her shoulder and snuggle into the crook of her neck. At least she doesn't have any raccoons hanging out here — there was more than one occasion in the past where Brian got angry after coming down to a raccoon raiding the fridge. Dunno what I'm going to do, really. Lance suggested that I get a commercial registration and open up a business where I get rid of raccoons for people. Make sure they don't get hurt and stuff, and find them a new place to live. There's lots of raccoons hiding in attics out here.
That there are raccoons overrunning the city? It's not really news. They're basically trash pandas along the same lines as rats, so… yeah, with nature taking over vast swathes of the city outside the Zone, not a shocker. Sounds like a good idea, she ventures. Once the animals all head for the kitchen with Weasel, Brynn curls back up into her corner and gets her pencil ready to go back to work. She has an image in her head that she's working on getting on paper the old-fashioned way. Even Hailey's gonna register — if only because if they catch you squatting in the Zone and you're not registered, there's consequences. And after she nearly got dragged of by Snatchers, she needs to be in the Zone. She pauses and waits until Weasel is looking toward her again. Do not be running around too far outside the walls where no one knows where you are. Hailey and Mouse have been grabbed by traffickers in recent months. They're bold and no one is immune.
Yeah. I don't think they're pests. Raccoons are greedy, but they're just like any other animal, trying to live their lives. They're nice, and they're kinda scary smart. The Musteloid Telepath grins over at Brynn. Lance told me about registering. I dunno how they'd do mine, I'm not an American Citizen. Need to talk to someone from SESA about that, I think. She stands again, moving over to the kitchen and grabbing one of those eggos that the three dead rabbits are freezing next to. This is popped into the toaster. Miss Huruma mentioned the traffickers, and so did Lance. If Hailey nearly got caught, I'll definitely play it safe. Weasel always did look up to Hailey. Still haven't met Mouse.
Brynn nods to the registration stuff. Talk to Aunt Gilly. She'll fix it. Mouse is 'Squeaks', she adds, finger-spelling it out. 'Mouse' is the moniker that Brynn bestowed, but she's not sure how the sensitive younger teen will feel about someone other than her using it. She's usually around here a lot… but she's wary of new people. Aunt Gilly's adopting her, though. So be gentle. Like actual legal adoption here!
The girl's brows raise. She was never really too close to Gillian — she mostly knew her in passing, as she joined the Lighthouse after they had moved up to Canada. Lance mentioned her. I'll be nice. Weasel isn't always the nicest person in the world, but she can be cool when she tries to be. I've also been selling rabbits that Ron has killed for us. They sell really good, even with the Yamagato donations. Guess not many people get to eat rabbit out here. They're all over Park Slope, so I don't think anyone minds me thinning the population a bit. Everyone likes the Rabbit's Feet I sell, too. She reaches up, scratching the weasel's head. If you want, we can cook up one of the ones I put in the freezer. Though she'll have to skin and gut them first.
Brynn lights up. Rabbit stew was a staple, after all, up in Canada — critters run rampant and make for good hunting practice for all of the kids. She hasn't had it since she came down to the city. I'm not sure these city folks have any idea how good rabbit is, she admits. I can hit the market and scrounge up some carrots and potatoes, maybe. The guys'll appreciate it. She moves to set aside her sketching, to made good on the offer.
Clara grins widely. Oh, they don't. I usually have to tell them how to cook it up so they don't ruin it. She perks, suddenly, grabbing the eggo that just popped out of the toaster and putting it in her mouth, before she continues to sign. I figured out this awesome recipe last time I had access to it — did you know that you can fry up rabbit like chicken? It tastes so good. If you can find some buttermilk, we should fry one up! Nothing makes Weasel quite so happy as eating good food — especially meat. I was thinking of trying to find a mink or an otter, if I can, and make friends with them. Then we could have fish, like, any time we wanted.
Yeah…. we haven't been buying much meat around here. It's hideously expensive. So lots of beans and pasta, Brynn admits. And peanut butter. For God's sake, don't touch the peanut butter. She rolls her eyes. Joe has a jar of his very own in there because every time me and Lance buy it, he sticks a spoon in the jar. So gross! So we keep one of his own in there. She puts her sketch stuff into her go-bag and throws it over her shoulder. I'll see what I can grab at the market and bring it back for dinner. Let Lance know when he gets back? He'll worry if I'm not back by dark. She rolls her eyes again. The Snatchers have definitely made him a lot more squinty-eyed at everyone.
The girl laughs softly, taking a bite of the waffle and munching on it. Well, I hope you like rabbit. Ron might be able to nab a squirrel, but that's a long shot. He's more suited to killing bunnies. Weasel makes her way back into the living room with eggo in hand, the tiny weasel in question curled up against her shoulder. In any case, be careful. Or I could go with you, if you want. There are raccoons all over the place here, so I have plenty of eyes, and Pepe and I have a system. I could stand to grab a few things, anyhow, and Lance will worry a lot less. Or maybe he'll worry more.
You can go if you like. But I can be back in plenty of time, Brynn replies, clearly at ease with being in this area of town. A lot of people keep an eye out. They know her by now, and know that she can't always spot trouble coming from behind her, so a lot of the neighbors in the market keep their eyes open. I'll be back pretty quick. Besides, it keeps me out of here while you skin and gut. She makes a face — she never did like that part AT ALL. So she escapes it handily. When she comes back, the carrots and potatoes in question are a little skimpy, but there are a lot of them.