Log:Tales From Past Times, Scene 3

Tales From Past Times 2021/08/27 Helen Radical Grimm Kid Tengu Evan 3 Helen sits in a corner booth, studying a Big Fricken' Book, bonnet off and canes-as-wands in her lap. As the two mystics enter, a barista is putting down a fresh hot cup of coffee ... and taking away a cold one, her expression baffled.

Radical holds the door for Grimm as they walk into the coffee shop. "Here's hoping we dont' have any more weird events in the next day or two, hmm?"

"Thanks," Grimm says as she walks in, then looks over her shoulder at him and smirks. "Please. Weird is my life. And kind of yours, too."

The barista goes past the two -- early afternoon, cloudy day, scattered showers, light business -- muttering to herself. "... always /pays/ for them, never actually /drinks/ them ..." She's shaking her head as she pours the cold coffee down the drain.

Radical says to the barista, "At least whoever it is...pays for it. So that's good, right?" He chuckles quietly, and looks to Grimm, "I'll buy today. Get whatever." He then places his order, "Just a regular coffee for me with some room for cream."

The barista gestures towards Helen with her head. "Plain Jane in the corner. You gonna drink yours?" she jokes as she places Radical's order.

"Maybe next time, just offer it to any of the homeless around?" Grimm suggests. She looks to Radical and smiles. "Thanks for the treat. I'm starved. And it's the season for me to be a basic b****, so..." she turns to the barista and says, "Pumpkin spice latte and a slice of pumpkin bread, please." She doesn't totally break the bank there. She glances at this plain Jane and sees Helen. "Ah..."

The barista shrugs. "It's always lukewarm."

Radical pays for the order, and then takes his really basic coffee over to the small doctoring station to add some cream and sweetener. He glances over to Helen, just to see waht she's working on, but can't really see from that distance.

KT steps into the coffee shop with his usual 'alpha-attitude'. His biology has made him an incredible predator & he knows it. Its all in the eyes.

Helen sits in KT's booth, studying a Big Fricken' Book, bonnet off and canes-as-wands in her lap. Radical and Grimm are ordering. Overcast day, early afternoon, scattered showers, light business.

He strides in, eyeing the girl in the booth- narrowing his eyes instinctively, but then relenting since they are, on friendly terms. Much to his disappointment, despite what many high school girl's choice in calendars, desktop pictures or childhood favorite toys- there are very few horse enthusiasts among them, and fewer still who can keep him engaged long enough to sustain 'friendly terms' beyond Tyson's (or whatever cover shape chosen) requirements beyond that subject.

So the shapeshifter smiles & waves despite his territorial nature, promises were made & horses will be ridden. He pivots and moves to join Helen and her massive book.

He slides into the booth as if it were his and asks, "What is it with giant books? Its a thing now- I'm sure of it."

With his natural, mystic and dimensional senses, Radical sees that the book looks like it might be hand-written, possibly hand-bound, definitely magical -- of, actually, the dimensional variety. He can see a vastly different (as in, meters difference) book, fading through the covers and into the floor (for both top and bottom, they both being pointed in the Same direction, as it were).'

Grimm sips her coffee and makes a point not to bother the teens by looking their way. "My sleep schedule's going to be so messed up, it might almost become normal by Jack's standards," she chuckles to Radical.

Helen does not even bother looking up. "If it isn't the lord of chaos, the master of disaster, my Knight in black satin. Where else can you get coffee and a sandwich just by waving your hands in the air? Have a seat. Want something?"

Radical chuckles quietly, but then walks over toward where Helen is, apparently not having the same restraint Grimm has, at least today. He takes a closer look at the book, and then says to Helen, "Pardon me for interrupting, but I was curious about the book you have there, Miss Glick. Where is it from?"

Helen looks up at Radical, not appearing really surprised to see him, but surprised at the question. "Master Radical. My sister apprentices. It is a ... well, kind of a record of their experiences and observations of magic across their lives. As can be expected, it is painfully long, sometimes hard to read, full of contradictions, and to be frank it is giving me something of a headache at the moment. Why do you ask?"

Radical nods. "I could sense the magic in it. And..well, I'm not sure how to describe it. It's like it crosses dimensions in and of itself."

KT smiles at the titles. "Oh- I like those... and I suppose that is a good point."

He nods, sniffing the air and then giving the room a scan, to see if anything catches his nose or eye. He answers her with a non-committal, "Probably."

His stomach rumbles, unintentionally breaking nay tension KT might have been propping up. That's what he gets for puffing his chest out right after a tough training session across the street.

Helen nods, hefting the front of the book and leveraging it shut. Leather over wood panels, it sits about four inches thick. "Hand-made paper, hand-written, thousands of apprentices -- yes, I can imagine it does. Some dimensional or compression magic to it, I guess." She gestures for Kid Tengu to order what he likes from the e-menu, then looks up at Radical. "So I have knowledge but not experience. Judgement is borne more of the latter, I'm told -- but do consider me a resource for the former, Master Radical, if only to be a new set of eyes with a different outlook."

Radical nods, and he smiles, which can be barely seen through the mask he wears. "Thank you for satisfying my curiosity. And I will keep your offer in mind, to be sure." He nods again, "I'll leave you both to your conversation. Again...please pardon the interruption."

KT shrugs and says, "No anx." Then the young shifter takes a look over the menu- slowly, so he can eavesdrop on the various conversations going on around the room.

Helen isn't certain the "'nup" will follow up, but you never know. She returns to inhaling the aroma of the coffee, then sipping at her ice water.

Radical heads back over to where Grimm has taken a seat, and he sits down, setting his cup on the table. He pulls his mask up just far enough to be able to drink the coffee relatively comfortably, and he takes a sip.

Grimm sips her drink, then offers a grin. "Terrorizing the kids again?" she teases.

Radical chuckles. "Just asking a question, that's all. Not trying to make anyone nervous." He sips his coffee again, and then looks to Grimm, "Though you seem to make people more nervous than I do, despite how I dress."

"You usually get 'nups like that all up in your magic-girl business?" KT asks, producing a blunt throwing knife used for practice throwing and spinning it on a finger of his normal, human looking arm.

"Not usually," Helen says, looking with interest at the Kid's agility. "Most don't like dealing with death and what comes after. For me it's just ... life as usual. There's a task and it needs to be done; why not do it well?"

Grimm smirks at Radical. "Scaring people is part of my schtick. Maybe if I dress in leather with a full mask, they'll be more at ease?" she suggests and nibbles on her pumpkin bread. "I don't get why they'd be nervous. I'm a f***in' delight," she grins.

Radical chuckles at Grimm's comment. "Yes. A delight, to be sure."

Grimm laughs lightly. "You know it," she smiles. "Otherwise you wouldn't have paid for my treats."

Radical chuckles. "True enough. Then again, you've ended up giving me a lot of work, based on what happened over the last few hours. I have about twelve hours to come up with an option for those folks we met. I think I'm going to give them my mana battery that I used for a couple of yaers. Maybe build them a couple more. It'll save them some time and effort, I think."

Grimm chews on her lower lip, but gives him an innocent and sweet smile to act like she's not guilty, but clearly knows she is. She realize she can't really squirm out of that. "Okay, so...you're not wrong. Though technically, was it really -me- that did it?" she says playfully. More sincerely, she leans in a bit and keeps her voice low, "The mana battery actually sounds like a great idea. If there's anything I can do to help with this, I've got your back. Even if it's just...making you tea and snacks. Fetching screwdrivers or whatever. I'm in to help fix things."

Radical nods. "I'll probably need some help putting a few more of them together. Ideally one per mage that we saw. Or one for every two. The utility of them will be highly dependent about how much free mana there is on that world. It's clearly not devoid of it, so they should be okay."

Grimm nods thoughtfully. "That does sound like a lot of work. But I've got your back like you have mine," she smiles and sips her coffee. "You'll have to show me how to cobble some of that together, but I'll leave the tricky stuff to you."

Radical nods. "There's not much to then, honestly. They're built ont eh same theory as desiccants, but instead of absorbing moisture, they absorb mana. It's a pretty passive process, for the most part."

Grimm stares at Radical blankly. After a pregnant pause, she utters, "-Seriously-?"

Radical chuckles, "Why are you surprised? I would wear the thing and just let it absorb mana around me during the day, so I could use it later."

Grimm holds out her palm at him and shakes her head. "No, my dude. I mean seriously? 'There's not much to it, just using Pavlov's theory of dissidents applied to absorb mana basic stuff'," she tries to impersonate his way of speaking as Radical when she does the misquote, but she is not good at doing impressions when not using her powers.

Evan wanders into the coffee shop, his attention on his PDA. He still manages to avoid everyone as he makes his way to the counter.

Radical laughs, "You know what a desiccant is, right? Those little packets in your shoes? It's like that. Just not with moisture."

"I guess that makes sense. Mortality and I are intimately acquainted, but I can wait to see what comes after myself." KT says before finally selecting a cherry danish and sugary coffee treat.

"I agree about the rest though. Being your best self is a duty, like any other, but only you can hold yourself to it." He reasons to Helen.

"No, I didn't even know what those packets were or how they work, just that you don't eat them," Grimm laughs. "Or how those little packets in my beef jerky can be switched over to mana. 'Not much to them' my foot. You're underselling," she accuses and wags a finger at him.

Evan shifts his attention long enough from his PDA to order. "Turkish coffee. 2 shots espresso added. And one of those power shot packets." UPon being told they don't have any power shot packets, Evan says, "OK, three espressos added," the pays and tips without looking up from his PDA.

Radical shrugs, "Okay, what I mean is...there are no real working parts to the mana battery."

Grimm grins and chuckles at Radical. "Okay, then maybe you'll even be able to teach someone like me how to help you assemble them. Got it."

Helen crosses her arms over The top of the book and leans on it a little, considering the Kid's words. Raiding her hand to wave at Evan even if he doesn't see her, she says, "We are our own best -- and worst -- keepers." << Back right booth, bonanza brain, >> she sends to Evan via their e-link.

Radical nods to Grimm, "Sure, I can do that. It's not hard. It's just a matter of getting the right crystalline structures."

The red headed teen startles slightly as he's getting his over-caffeinated drink then, finally, looks around the coffee shop. He nods to those he recognizes then makes his way towards Helen and KT.

KT waves to Evan as he nods. "Exactly. Well, usually anyway." He answers mysteriously.

Grimm crosses her ankles and tucks them under her chair as she tears a piece of her pumpkin bread slice off. "Like I said, whatever I can do to help make up for the work I created for you. Even if it's just making sure you stay fed," she grins.

Radical smiles. "I appreciate that. At least...work is..." He stops himself as he realizes he might reveal too much openly. "...quiet, right now"

Helen mmms. "Indeed. I have a host of Sisters now who wouldn't even think of letting me slack off." She scoots over to give Evan room to sit. "Who keeps you in line?" she asks Kid Tengu.

"Who could? I'm the only Abraxxian on this planet. By all rights, I am the highest authority here." KT answers Helen honestly. He leaves out the fact, that according to Abraxxian law- everything he surveys is his too. But that was one of the many things he disagreed with about his Father's rule back on their world.

"But... self-preservation, and keeping my family safe keep things on an even keel I'd guess." He adds as Evan joins them.

Grimm nods at that and doesn't talk further about work. "I'm still mostly free unless there's some crazy case that I need to consult on, or some emergency with Starguard. There's always another option to make more time," she suggests.

Radical nods to Grimm, "Hopefully we'll have enough time before this impending dimensional war hits us. I think we have enough time, based on what I've seen of the future. Which is you know...vague and every changing. But gives you some basic ideas of what's coming.

"I judiciously use gummies and guilt to keep him in line," murmurs Evan as he sits down.

As the red headed teen sits down, those as the 'kids' table can see he looking over missing persons websites. Or rather, a program of his is.

Grimm nods slowly at his mention of that. "And...given you haven't warned me about anything, I'm guessing we make it through whatever this is?" she asks quietly, not wanting to scare locals.

Radical shrugs, "As far as I know? People's threads don't' end suddenly en masse in the near future. Not like what was seen with the Ataxianate. And that event was avoided."

KT glances at Evan's PDA and promptly looks away. He doesn't care what it /looks/ like. He refuses to believe- perhaps due to his Abraxxian pride, that one of his humans have been lost. He holds his breath a moment, as if breathing might extinguish the last embers of hope in him.

He ignores it and buries it, responding to Evan, "I refuse to acknowledge the possibility of that being true..." Which isn't a denial of the statement.

Evan manages to not respond to KT's denial. But then, maybe his smirk says it all. He looks at the PDA for a moment, some of the parameters of the search change, then he flips the screen to a FPS. As he waits for the loading screen, Evan takes a sip of his drink. "HOw goes, Helen? Got any horses yet?"

Helen suddenly grins. "Two, a matched pair of Dutch drafts from different lines. /Beautiful/ boy and girl. We're not allowed to breed them officially. Maddie's getting used to moving them around by the reins."

KT gushes as his order is delivered. "But- we can feed them right?" KT asks Helen, now that the subject has turned to her horses. "I can help move them around." He adds, as if it needs to be said the kid who can lift one could move them around.

Evan nods as he sips his drink. "Cool. I'll have to some see them soon. Think you'll get any riding horses or just working ones?" He smiles at KT asking about feeding them.

Grimm takes a deep breath and lets it out. "I remember the thing with the Ataxianate. I guess...I didn't realize it was -all- threads, but I didn't understand enough then."

Helen's grin remains. "Feed them, sure. Moving them around, only if you're serious about learning, 'cause they're learning too." She looks at Evan. "Maybe -- carriage horses would be close enough, but I don't really need them. Another draft pair though, probably. And they can be ridden, if you can handle their girth. The rein commands are effectively the same."

Evan looks over at KT with a smile. "I think I'd paid someone's good money to see you ride, brah."

Radical nods to Grimm, "Well, it was enough of them to get my...predecessor's attention. I didn't have hte ability to see the threads then at all, but I was told about it."

"One of the first things I did when I came to town was take a lesson." KT answers. He leaves out that it was as Katie and that he literally ran all the way to the community center when he heard that not only were horses still alive on this world, but that they could be ridden for free on special days.

That was when he first met Artemis and that ended up going great- all it took was for them to be marooned in another dimension and be forced to be roommates for a couple of months. He never figured out what holiday or occasion was being celebrated, but he kept an eye out anyway & has never looked back.

Evan murmurs, "If you'd asked, I could've shown you the basics, brah." He takes a sip of his coffee then starts to speak again, but appreantly changes his mind.

Grimm nods softly. "Well, then...hey, that's good news it's not like back then, right?" she smiles, finding -some- comfort in that.

Helen very nearly glows herself at the pure and uncomplicated delight Kid Tengu shows for the horses. "If you want, once we have figured our schedule out, and once you know your own schedule," Helen temporizes, "if you are willing to help out with their care, we can figure out some regular visiting hours."

Radical nods to Grimm, "Absolutely. I think it's promising. I'm not going to claim that there's NO danger, of course. But...perhaps it isn't as likely as we might have thought originally."

Grimm lets out a sigh of relief. "Maybe I can plan that vacation after all," she jests faintly and sips her coffee.

Radical chuckles. "I'm...not sure when, though. So...hard to settle on dates for a hotel"

"I figured everyone was busy, and it was a free class. Sounded like a good way not to be a bother. But i'm sure you could still teach me some stuff too." KT answers Evan before turning to Helen.

He smiles and nods. "Sure- I can deal with that. I keep all kinds of hours, so you let me know what works for them and I'll be there."

Grimm cracks a grin. "Definitely won't go for nonrefundable advanced reservations, then. I think the harder part is getting my boyfriend to take time off work," she sighs a bit, but smiles and sips her coffee.

Evan picks up his PDA and starts blasting away in the FPS as he says, "I'll stop by when I can, Helen. Make sure no one's sold you a painted pnny."

Radical chuckles, and sips his coffee, as he speaks with Grimm, "I'm sure you can convince him to take time off, even if you have to do it forcibly."

Grimm raises a brow at that. "Forcibly? Like...?"

Helen regards the two boys, then asks quietly, "Everything okay in Darkland? If not, let me know if I can help."

Evan looks over at KT then back to Helen. "Someone we know went missing. It's not a surprise, but it is at the same time. It's thrown us off our game." He shrugs. "We'll cope." His tone is quietly tired.

KT shakes his head. "Naw- everything is..." He stops after Evan starts. "Yeah- we'll cope." He says shifting his story up to match Evan's.

Grimm grins slyly. "You mean like whisk him away against his will or something?" she asks Radical.

Radical chuckles. "That's waht I was thinking. But...he probably wouldn't react well to that, I bet."

"Aahhh, no. No he would not," Grimm says with no measure of uncertainty. "Though...I could make him forget all about his objections."

KTs PDA beeps- a specific tone. "Oh- excuse me." He says, slipping out of the booth and going to the bathroom. A few moments later, after a quick shift, KT slips out the front door an dinto the night.