Participants:
| Scene Title | Trickster Dinner |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Following the address given to her by Lisa, Eve realizes she was tricked. |
| Date | April 15, 2019 |
Bay Ridge is a nice neighborhood. Given the standards of the Safe Zone. It's late afternoon, not everyone is returning from their jobs yet but people still mill about the street.
In a back alley, a flash of red light can be seen in the distance. Hurtling towards a building on the street.
It's Eve. Her form the crimson, shimmering new one that she learned about just recently. She's been experimenting. The spectre twists and twirls in a shower of red sparks and lightning, her feet just a whirling mass of red mist. Mouth hung open in s silent scream of joy. She felt free. Gliding through the alley she speeds out and hooks a left. Ah. There's the door. The address that her new bud Lisa left her.
Without further ado the former seer steers that way and slides up and right through the front door, coming to the stop in the front hall of the home. The space filling with the sounds of lightning and a scream as Eve shifts back to her "old form" with a snap of flesh overlaying the red mist form she adopted on the way over here. "Hellllooooooooo! Lisaaaaaaaa! I'm home!" She shouts as her face and mouth appear in that devilish grin she wears.
There she stands dressed in nothing but a large, old black trench coat that's belted around her waist and a pair of sparkly silver roller skates. Her passing through the front door has left the entrance smoking with various burn marks through it, is that.. an Eve shaped burn?
The home that Eve finds herself is like stepping into a moment frozen in time… or if she knew anything about the occupant it would be. What she sees is the home of a family. Pictures sitting on the fireplace mantle and various shelves. Kids drawings are stuck up in available space. Some look newer, but a few… a few were fire singed.
There is also the smell of garlic heavy food coming from the kitchen as soon as Eve makes it to the door, getting strong when she’s inside. The sound of water running suddenly cuts off just before she declares herself. Once she does, Eve finds herself looking at an older gentleman in the doorway of the kitchen… it’s not her new friend, but Jonathan Smith holding a rather large pot of water between his hands. He’s dressed only in his white under shirt and slacks.
He blinks a bit owlishly in surprise at the intrusion, “Ah. Can I help you, Miss?”
Confusion laces through Eve's expression and she idles on her skates, perplexed before a delighted expression crosses her face. "Oh hello Tall, Handsome and Made of the Sturdy Stuff." Slowly Eve begins to roll closer, her form shifting rapidly as she goes from crimson lady to the pale form clothed in the trench coat. "I didn't know Lisa had a Roomie!"
Looking around the home again, "Is she in? I had a question!" Really she just wanted to hangout. Hiiiiiiiii.
"Councilman. Like Gilly. A good good man. What a nice roommate for Lisa to have! Do you have a pot of tea on?" Eve begins to roll towards the kitchen with arms outstretched in front of her.
“Actually, I was just making Spaghe… Who’s Lisa?” Jonathan’s asks innocently, very confused right now. He looks past her to the door — What happened to his door?! — and back again. “I, uh…” He turns to put the pot on the stove, even taking time to turn on the heat. Another pot is ringed with cooked on drips of spaghetti sauce, steam escaping from the lid. “I, actually, live here alone.” Not that the house looked like it.
He turns his attention back to the woman, pushing his dark frames on his face again. “You realize it’s rather rude to just walk—” Another squinting look at the door, noting the locks and the burn marks. “How did you get into my house?”
Wait no Lisa?
Eve turns on her heel placing the brake down on the floor and spins, stopping herself facing Jonathan and there's a sheepish look on her face before it flashes to pure merriment. "Well she must have played a trick on me! I was given an address! I met a woman, a blonde. She wore glasses. Like yours." Leaning a pale hand against the counter she looks Jonathan up and down. "On the back of the card for Greg the head doc doc, the gift that was given after an exchange of cannabis, was your address. She said come on by! I thought-"
The former seer peers slowly out at the hall and the front door.. "Oh! I'm so sorry for your door. I can replace it no sweat! I have money! Free drinks forever now at Cat's Cradle!" Eve chuckles nervously and red lightning leaps from her hands to her stomach and hops up to her neck.
"What a strange course of events, the dominos falling over. What. Is. Her. Game?" The trickster herself is impressed, she'll have to hand Lisa her own full joint for this play. "You know me! I'm Eve! Gillian Childs' BFF, we're a dynamic duo. Especially now! She's my sisterrrr." Moon eyed over thinking about her best friend, pleasant sigh.
“Oh! Yes, Eve,” Jonathan watches her with a mixture and amusement. “And don’t worry about the door, it needed a new coat of paint.” He dismisses it with a way of his hand. The man is known for finding a silver lining. “Though I do recommend knocking next time. Hmm?” He gives her a significant look.
Jon lifts the lid on the sauce giving it a stir, “Since you are already here… I had a friend cancel.” He taps the spoon on the edge of the pot and covers it again. “You hungry? You can tell me about this woman. I find it interesting a stranger gave you my address.” He can’t help but chuckle, “Heck of a prank,”
"Knocking yes, erm. If you could not mention this to my poor sister Gilly. She gets enough calls about this crazy bat." Patting at her hair and grimaces as her lower back blooms with pain. She's fineeeee. A cough and patting of her chest next and then the man is offering food and Eve is never one to refuse food. "What Italian woman says no to pasta!"
Sliding into the seat across from where she presumes Jonathan will be sitting she lays her legs out under the table allowing her feet to rest. Being in skates all the time could be painful but also her glutes. "Massive increase." Eve mutters to herself with a click of fingernails as she looks over the kitchen again and smiles. "Maybe she knew you cooked well."
"She was a nice lady, I shared a smoke with her. She didn't seem to be in any danger but was worried about mine," a snicker from the former terrorist. It was cute. "We got to talking, ya know how perfect strangers do." Eve looks now to the cabinets, "Let me set the table!" Handling the glassware while on skates not such a good idea but unless he stops her..
There is a long thoughtful moment, while Jonathan stirs the pasta a bit, checking it’s doneness. His smile pulls to one side a little. “Well… your secret will be safe with me. No harm, no foul… just a lesson learned. Hmm?” A brow arches over the top of his thick black glasses. “Your sister is a lovely lady and a very adept councilwoman.” He would say that about all of those he works with on the council really.
“Also…” He holds a finger up, now looking at her over the top of his glasses, “No smoking in this house. There is a lovely porch outside for such things…” Jonathan nods out into the living room, “There is too much precious artwork to ruin,” he says with a reverence like he was talking about the work of masters.
And as for setting the table, Jonathan nods a bit. “Sure, but only if you take the skates off. A lot of my dished have survived a war, would be a shame to lose it now.”
"No smoking! Fair fair, I love to paint. Mustn't ruin the artwork." Eve grind and nods and quickly begins to unlace her skates. Bobbing her head to an invisible tune, bare feet and wiggling pale toes are revealed and the woman stands and shimmies over to the glassware and dishes, placing two of everything on the table while she hums.
"I'm pretty sure Gilly thinks you're a wonderful councilman!" Finally Eve places the last glass down on the table and sits waiting patiently. "You teach don't you? The Bearers of Knowledge, a sacred duty to inform the future generations of our past mistakes so that they don't repeat ours." Thoughtfully Eve runs a finger along the rim of the glass, closing her eyes briefly as a jolt of pain overtakes her but she is not overwhelmed instead she swallows hard and smiles if Jonathan has turned to face her at all.
Keeping herself together was becoming easier, shifting to another form. The pain was persistent but eventually pain can become a dull ache in your bones. Behind your eyes. It was everywhere but she was so use to it. There were helpful things… "Do you have any painkillers?" Raising her hand in the air, "I'm a Purveyor of the Good Time and Getting Down but I do have a condition, my ability causes pain, all inside. Wound up, uncurling, clenching fast. Dizzy doozy." Rubbing her forehead, "I forgot my meds!" Gilly would shake her head at her. Her "meds" were a bunch of pills she bought from Rex but whatever it was fine it was fine.
There is a touch of suspicious at the mention of needing painkillers, but it smooths away as she continues. Her pain earns his sympathy. “I’m sorry to hear that. There are a lot of people that suffer like that.” Turning thoughtful he goes over what drugs he might have. When you are tough to injure, you don’t need much. “Well… I don’t have the good time kind.” He is a teacher after all as she noticed. “But…” he starts a touch reluctantly… it was a little illegal what he was pondering, but… what could it hurt? Him if anyone finds out.
After a moment or more of debate, Jonathan lets out a resigned sigh and gives the pasta a final stir and dumped into the strainer, fogging up the thick glasses for a moment. “I think I might have something. Not on recreational drug level, though.” That said he disappears into a hallway. When he returns shortly, there is a bottle in his hand, only a couple of pills left in it. “Uh.. vicodin okay?” He holds the bottle out for her inspection. “I might not be able to be hurt by someone, but I can still pull a muscle in my back. Rare… but it happens.”
Jonathan leaves the bottle with her, a trusting soul clearly, as he moves to finish mixing pasta with the sauce. “Almost ready.”
Reaching fingers to pluck the bottle from Jonathan's hand she nods eagerly, "I was never much of a pill popper in my youth so my tolerance is low," unscrewing the cap she dolls out two pills and swallows them back with a mmmming sound rumbling in her chest. "Why thank you J."
Peering more closely, "You don't say… no bleeding no nicks. If you stub your toe you're right as rain!" Interesting, Eve looks over him again. "If someone tried to run you through with a sword you'd break it or would it bend?" Eve had always been excited about the gifts of others, especially when she viewed herself as a Watcher for so long, not able to really change much but see it.
Let someone with a real ability handle it Eve.
Jolene's words echo in Eve's mind and she swallows more saliva and smiles hesitantly towards the councilman. "What a nifty gift, a blessing. Especially with all that's coming oh! Look at that." Rummaging in her pocket she pulls out the card that has his address on it as if to prove: see a lady did give me your address!
There is a sudden stop in his stirring of the food, his eyes shifting to some of the singed artwork among the bright and cheerful ones. The mask he wears daily cracks a little as some of the pain shows through for a moment. “Yeah…” he says after a moment, “a blessing.” Clearing his throat, he goes back to mixing in the sauce, very intent on it.
“I don’t think a sword would bend? But, I might get knocked back a bit? It’s a bit like having a kevlar vest on? Maybe?” Brows furrow a little in consideration as he taps the side of the pot with the pasta spoon to dislodge clinging remnants of sauce. “ I’m not sure. No one has tried it yet. Hit me… yeah. Been this way as far back as I can remember.”
Picking up the pot, Jonathan slides it all into a bowl, “I’m not like.. Invincible, mind you.” His eyes move to the card when she pulls it out. He catches a look at the back again, brows tick up a little. “Oh hey… “ The now empty pot is set down , the now filled bowl picked up and carried to the table. “Let me see that card again.”
Eve frowns at Jonathan's reaction but she can sympathize with how he feels, "I use to feel like my gift was a curse. Often times it was. Now this one… isn't as pleasant but we have them for a reason. We just need to find it."
Taking the card Eve slides it across the table for Jonathan's inspection, eyeing the noodles in anticipation. She almost licks her lips. "Kevlar. That's a cute name." Swaying in her seat she wiggles her toes, the nicknames are just her way. There's no way around them. Onto the card though, the reason she's even having dinner with an almost complete stranger. "She said it like it this was where I would find her. Sneaky."
As the card is gingerly taken, Jonathan shifts the pasta spoon to the edge of the bowl closest to Eve. The gesture a clear invitation to serve herself… she is after all the guest in his home. Next to the bowl is some slices of bread, slathered with garlic butter as well. “Where you’d find this woman?” He huhs softly, looking at the card and studying the handwriting like it could give him answers. However, he wasn’t an investigator… so there are no clues there.
However, when he turns it over, pushing his thick rimmed black glasses a bit more on his nose, looking through the bottom half. Once he reads whose business card it is, brows lift. “Oh…” He settles into the chair across the table from Eve at the dining table. “Farkas… I know Greg, he sits on the council with me.” Jonathan looks up at the strange woman who gave it to him. “Maybe he knows this woman…. What was her name again?” Did she even tell him?
"Lisa! Lisa Bradbury!"
Eve digs in dolling spaghetti and then garlic bread on her plate with obvious excitement. "At a bus stop, she was… in Elmhurst. Yes I was on my way to Little Darlings." No shame at all. There's a few minutes of silence on Eve's part as she starts to eat, moaning in delight as the food touches her taste buds. "Delicioussssss Kevlar."
Eyeing the card with a blink, "Ahh that's the head Doctor right? Blink blink tell me your feelings, presto! Complete. Rinse, repeat. Mood stabilizers." A snort and knock against her head. They didn't understand at first before The Bomb What was wrong with her. They just thought she was a crazy woman. Not a crazy woman having prophetic dreams. "Maybe.." Leaning in over her plate with a devilish grin, "We should pay him a visit."
“Kinda like the author?” Jonathan can’t help but ask out of amusement. “What a last name to have.” Not that you are one to talk, Mr. Smith. There is also no judgement on where she was going, to each their own really. He gingerly sets the card down between them and moves into getting his own food.
“Greg is a psychologist, yes,” Jon confirms watching the noodles and sauce settle on his plate. “Stand up fellow.” Though he pauses mid reach for a slice of garlic bed when Eve uses the term… we. “I—” Jonathan’s first instinct is to tell her she doesn’t need him, but then he thinks on it… He’s a little curious who this woman is, too. “I guess I could go as a buffer? He might be more willing to speak to us if I am there to make the introductions.”
Of course, who hasn’t heard of Eve?
“Yeah… maybe me going with you is the better idea,” Jonathan says after a moment and a bit of bread.
"Mm I love a good Buffett." Eve really does and the pale woman looks over Jonathan as he offers to come along (when she really has enlisted him). "Buffer yes yes, Gilly is usually mine." Or Monica, or Luther, Boomer… Chicken… snapping out of the mental list of her friends and family the dark haired woman shovels more spaghetti into her mouth and then guzzling water, setting the glass down with a thud.
"Yes I think it is." Munching into her own garlic bread with a crunch. Eve smiles across at Jonathan as she chews. The many possibilities running through her mind.
Eve's the type to collect adventure buddies as she calls them. These adventure buddies never really understand they are on an adventure until it's like a rollercoaster, too late to stop as it speeds down the track. "We," Biting into her own bread again and speaking with a full mouth, garbled and breadcrumbs surrounding her lips.
"Are guna hav sO" pieces of bread flying, "Muc FuN! HMMM?"