Welcome to the Terminal

Participants:

eileen_icon.gif joseph_icon.gif kaylee2_icon.gif lynette_icon.gif

Scene Title Welcome to the Terminal
Synopsis With Kaylee as her accomplice, Eileen enacts her plan to pass one of Raith's puppies off on an innocent bystander at the same time Lynette is making her first visit to Grand Central Terminal. Perhaps surprisingly, the only casualty is a pair of Joseph's shoes.
Date May 24, 2010

Grand Central Terminal


It could be morning! It probably is not. Nevertheless, when Joseph emerges from wherever he has made his home down in the Grand Central Terminal's basement levels, he kind of appears like perhaps it's morning time — dressed for the day, but baffled in the way that the tired are, blinking at a half-squint in the pallid lights of the tiled concourses. Of course, bewilderement might also be due to the bundle he has in his arms, a smaller, paler shorter haired, timid version of the large dog shadowing his heels.

"Hello? Did someone— ?"

There's a high pitched, anxious whine from the pale puppy in his arms, slightly muffled by what appears to be at least a part of a shoe in its small maw, fat paws hooked over the arm he has bracketing the dog to his chest. "Did someone lose a dog?" Joseph tries again, a slight note of despair in his voice echoing off the curving ceilings.

Stepping out into view is a brand new face to these parts, but a pleasant enough one, at least. "Goodness," Lynette says, a crooked smile on her lips as she walks over his way, "You look a bit like a lost puppy yourself." Leaning over, she reaches to ruffle the little dog as she greets it in sweet tones, "Hello there, Sugar. Aren't you cute!"

"Not me… I have mine still."

Chirps Kaylee's voice from somewhere nearby, tone amused since she knew what Eileen had planned. The young telepath settles on the ground, still wearing her deep red turtle neck and blue jeans. Another fluffy ball of golden fur, is pulling as hard as it can on a knotted sock, issuing little growling sounds as she tries to jerk it out of the telepath's hands.

Usin the Sock, Kaylee pulls the puppy close and scoops it up, happy to let it hold on to it's toy. The young canine seems happy to let itself be settled into the space left by folding her legs together, gnawing at one of the knots.

"Hey there, Joseph." Offering the pastor a lop-sided smile, "And no… wasn't my idea." Eyes flick curiously over to Lynette, since she's not yet familiar to the young woman.

A few feet away from Kaylee, seated in a fold-out chair with a copy of yesterday's newspaper spread across her lap and a steaming mug of tea in hand, is Eileen. Joseph's bleating earns him a mildly inquisitive look directed over the top of the paper, one dark brown brow arched, but that is all. She raises the mug to her lips, perhaps to hide whatever expression might be tugging at the corners of her mouth — guilty or otherwise — and drinks deeply with eyes half-lidded.

That she's here at all would normally be grounds enough for suspicion, but Terry is still sick. It's possible that the Englishwoman simply stopped by to take another look at the child to see if there's been a change in his condition since the last time she was here, but either way. Her timing is curiously impeccable.

The dog's expression creases worried lines up at Lynette, its cold nose bouncing off her wrist as he anxiously tries to follow the track of her hand. As opposed to the exuberant creature Kaylee is fussing over, or the calm-collected demeanor of the far older black dog that's trailed Joseph on out, this one seems timid and shy of even the promise of being petted, tiny bright teeth setting firm into the scrap of leather its torn for himself. "Cute, maybe, but I woke up and he'd gotten into my shoes," Joseph tells Lynette in his usual meandering Tennessee tones, shifting the dog around in his arms for the sake of both of their comfort.

"Surrounded by leather bits and— well. Uh. Pee. Hi, I'm Joseph," is added instinctively, to be polite, squirming a hand out from the bundle of dog in his arms to offer it to shake with Lynette before he's looking on towards Kaylee. Despite himself, he offers a smile for the blonder puppy she's occupied with. "You just got the one?" he asks, even as dark eyes flick towards Eileen.

Seeing the pup's shyness, Lynette pauses the petting to hold her hand out for inspection. It's a friendly hand! Promise! Her other hand is the one that takes Joseph's hand for a gentle (on her side anyway) shake. "Not the most pleasant way to wake up, I'm sure. Lynette. I'm sort of new in town. I'll be running the Gun Hill apartments, now that the weather's behaving." She glances toward the other two as well, to include them in her introduction.

When Joseph glances her way, Kaylee looks like she wants to laugh, but she does lift her brows at him and give a little jerk of her head towards Eileen. Snitch! "Yup." The telepath offers outloud with a smile and a slow nod of her head. "Same place that one came from." She tugs at the knotted sock, which gets a growl and a few barks of protests stating clearly, 'Mine!', for her efforts.

When the new operator introduces herself, Kaylee gives her a nod, unable to get up or anything with a lap of squirming fur. "I'm Kaylee and this…" The glances down at the puppy, a hand runs over it's head, of course the puppy has to try and get a couple of playful snaps in and pawed at the hand. "..is Missy."

Eileen has heard of Lynette. Now that she has a face to put to the name, she offers the other woman a tentative smile from where she's seated but does not rise to offer her hand — not when the puppy is still busy scrutinizing it. "Rowan, isn't it?" she asks, not unkindly. "City of Angels?" As she speaks, she's folding up the newspaper while pointedly avoiding Joseph's eye and pretending she didn't just see Kaylee rat her out. "Eileen," is what's offered next. "I haven't got a dog and I don't expect I ever will. What brings you down to the Terminal?"

Divert, divert.

Joseph's expression kind of goes like :| as Kaylee indicates Eileen as the culprit, attention away from where the largest of the three canines present, Alicia, finally trots on over to Kaylee to push her overlarge head into the general vicinity of puppy and woman to sniff at the former and receives pettings from the latter. "Well you sure don't got a dog now, do you?" is— mildly spoken. Joseph's temper is something he keeps pretty well, and among the various wrongs he and Eileen have shared—

Puppy-giving is not among the worst. The nervous dog finally gives in, drops the piece of shoe, to tentatively wrinkle its nose in cautious sniffs along Lynette's knuckles. "Welcome to the Terminal, in any case. We can setcha up with supplies you'll need for Gun Hill — kind of what we do, don't we?" and Joseph includes the dog in his arms in the conversation on that last rhetorical query.

"Thanks, it's nice to meet you all. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone," Lynette says with a soft, friendly smile for the others. "Rowan, exactly. And I'm sort of double based in LA and Oklahoma. Or, well, was." She doesn't seem to mind having been moved around, used to it, maybe. "That is sort of why I'm here. Supplies and all that, as well as just getting to know the people and places. And how you all do things on the right side."

"Alicia… hey sweetie." Kaylee is all too familiar with the great big dog, the affection for the dog evident. "Feels like forever since I seen you." Scratching along the black fur, buring her fingers in it. Of course, if Missy could make a face, it would probably be the same as Joseph's as that huge head comes near.

The puppy proceeds to tell Alicia what she thinks about the shaggy dog being near her human… and what does she think she's doing sniffing at her. Boundries! Of course, only Hailey could know what is being said as the puppy growls and barks at the much bigger dog.

Kaylee grimaces as her own dog tries to boss the bigger dog, trying to hear what is being said, as she watches over the back of Alicia.

"If you need any extra hands, some of the other safehouses should have some to spare. Nichols has been looking to put Varlane to work, and knowing Oliver she'll probably go along, too." Eileen sets the newspaper on the ground at her feet, nudges it under her chair with the toe of her boot and finally unfolds her limbs as she rises to stand. There's no use in continuing the masquerade any longer, even if she refuses to acknowledge unspoken accusations and take responsibility for Joseph's shoes.

Or what's left of them. "We've got a doctor coming to stay with you," she says. "Odessa Knutson. She's looking for a safehouse where she can set up a makeshift clinic, but she might stick around if you're willing to let her operate out of an adjacent apartment."

Aaand Alicia simply moves her large, wrinkled face down enough to lever her big nose beneath the squirming blonde, tipping her up and over to loll in Kaylee's lap, and guttural whuff of a bark deep enough to have vibrato, in comparison to puppyish squeaks. A moment later, she's lifting her head to lick a damp stripe up Kaylee's face, a lazy tail wag following, before the old dog is slowly making her way back to Joseph. From this angle, the shaven patches of her black fur show more visibly, near her belly, the rough stitched injuries on the way to healing from her encounter a short time ago.

All the barking turns the unnamed puppy in Joseph's arms into a wriggling mass of lanky-limbed furball, more out of anxiety than a need to play, which has the pastor, in turn, knitting his brow in similar concern. In that, both puppy and non-voluntary caretaker have some characteristics in common.

"Okay, I'ma take this guy to get— food or get used to the place. I guess. You're real welcome, Spurling." This, to Eileen, despite her Britishly ignoring his burden. "I'll see you later, Kaylee — you can help Lynette out, right? It was nice t'meet you," he adds to the less familiar woman with a quick smile, if slightly harried by the dog in his arms. Still, the puppy is getting good handling — Eileen's choice of puppy-respectacle was not necessarily unwise, as much as Alicia's glances up have a jealous tinge to them. Letting the puppy flop over his shoulder, Joseph starts to head off, muttering minor words of reassurance to the young canine as Alicia dogs— as it were— his steps.

"Varlane. Magnes? Hell yeah, send 'im over, I'll put him to work. That place needs a lot of prettying up." Lynette does move to pet Joseph's pup a little more before it's taken away, and she nods over to Eileen. "Knutson. Gotcha. I'm sure she and I can work something out as far as a clinic. It isn't like I don't have the openings," she says with a wry smile. To the departing fellow, she lifts a hand in a wave, "We'll see each other again, I'm sure."

"Of course," Kaylee calls after Joseph, watching him retreat with some amusement, thoughtful for a long moment before she looks at the puppy in her lap who seems suddenly quiet. "Gotta learn to pick your fight wisely, kiddo."

Angling her head to catch a glimpse at Eileen, the telepath smirks. "Good call." She comments softly with a grin, puppy gathered up so that she can make the awkward transition to standing.

Facing Lyette with a dog sprawled out sleepily in her arms, Kaylee smiles a bit, jerking her head to the side. "I need to drag her somewhere to attempt to get her to go…" She hefts the bundle of fur to get a better grip, getting a groan of protest, one leg hanging far down. "Then I can take you to get the supplies you need. Maybe I can rustle up some help to get the stuff there well… since well… I've my hands full."

One down, only three more to go. Although Eileen doesn't visibly sag with relief once Joseph has shown the ladies his back on his way out, some of the tension in her neck and shoulders melts away around the same time the pastor's retreating shadow does. "Come on, then," she says to Lynette. "I'll show you around while Thatcher's tending to her monster."

"Good luck with that," Lynette says to Kaylee, nodding to her offer before she turns to Eileen. "Sounds perfect. Thanks. To both of you, really." And off to the tour! Of which Lynn actually seems remarkably interested in.


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