catch-all

[requiemshark]

Who: Ephemera and open. 
What: Catch-all for November. 
Where: Shops, guard post, ect. 
When: various 
Warnings: tbd

Shops

The downside to Ephemera's particular set of hobbies, if it can be called a downside, is that he needs a fair amount of supplies. Paints run out, brushes need to be washed and that takes soap, and so on. He's not particular about food - will eat anything so long as it's even remotely edible - but Ephemera likes his paints a certain way. 

One of these days, he'll probably need to make a deal with the gods to get some nice ones. 

In the meantime, there's a tall man in full power armor rummaging around the shops for paint. Do what you will. 

Guard Post - paperwork

Urg. Paperwork. 

Ephemera actually likes being on the Guard, most of the time. He does not, however, like writing out reports. Unfortunately, the commander is very particular and, Ephemera has discovered, more than willing to track him down and dress him down with the furor a drill sergeant would envy until he meets her standards. 

Repeatedly. And in public. 

So he's struggling through his most recent report, trying to make it as blunt and professional as he possibly can. 

It's giving him a headache. 

Speakeasy 

It's important to practice hand-eye coordination. Especially when you're like Ephemera and struggle a bit with depth-perception. Getting one of your eyes knocked out will do that. But he's learned to compensate even without his HUD, and most of the time no one can even tell. 

Unless he has his helmet off, that is. 

He's working his way through a mug of very sweet coffee, and throwing knives at a stationary target on the wall. One after another. Thunk. 

He probably won't hit anyone on purpose. 

Wildcard

Dealer's choice. 

Comments

shops;

[restinglichface]

[Lup's been just the slightest touch absent on her social circuit since Barry's arrival six days earlier, but can anyone blame a girl for wanting to spend some quality time with her boyfriend after nearly twelve years apart? And okay, maybe she should've sent out a mass text to let her closest pals know about her happy reunion, but she's been distracted. Give her a break!

Either way, Barry's still healing from his accidental burns and since he can't keep borrowing Magnus' shirts forever, Lup's out getting a little air and hunting in his place, riffling through the various shops and seeing what she can find in his size. Which means the few shirts she's found so far are way too big for Lup herself, all in vibrant colors that she knows he'll make a face at.

She's already collected quite a few by the time she lays eyes on Ephemera peeking through supplies, and because Lup sometimes makes bad choices, she tiptoes her way silently behind him, before throwing in her own casual commentary,]

Hmm, I dunno. Not sure if that shade is gonna bring out the color of his eyes.

[requiemshark]

[Though a combination of mild self control and a lot of luck, Ephemera doesn't go straight for his gun when Lup sneaks up on him. Instead he drops the paint, twists into a low fighting stance, and then--

Stares at her like an idiot.]

Goddamn it, woman.

[He has motion sensors in his helmet. Why do people keep sneaking up on him?]

You're going to get stabbed one of these days.

[restinglichface]

[She doesn't look too upset over it, honestly.]

You do that and I'll just come back to haunt your ass, lich style. Perks of being an undead horror.

[But see, she cares so Lup drops to the ground to pick up his paint, handing it back his way once she rises back to her full height. The last time he'd seen her, she'd still been a little out of it in terms of dealing with her body. And there's still a lot to get used to, but at least she's looking more put together, long hair twisted into a long braid that's draped over her shoulder, outfit a lot more coordinated. She's getting there.]

[requiemshark]

Yeah, yeah. How's the dental plan?

[He tugs his helmet off, blinking at her as he takes the paint back.]

You're looking good, Lup. Not crashing into shit.

[restinglichface]

A little bare bones. [Sorry. She had to go there.

But then comes the compliment and she laughs, cheeks going just the slightest touch pink at her delight.] Yeah well, I've been putting in the hours, keeping on my grind. The ush. Gotta say, it's nice to not fall down the stairs every friggin' time I want to leave the house. It's... [She complained before, but it's still kind of wonderful. Lup's missed this. All of this.]

It's pretty nice being back.

--Anyway, you busy? Or can a gal crash this party and hang?

[requiemshark]

[Ephemera snorts.] You're awful. Never stop.

[Apparently he thinks puns are funny, now. Weird.

He blinks at her.]

Sure, if you want. I wanted to ask you something, anyway.

[Something a bit more serious.]

[restinglichface]

[It's not that much of a surprise. Everything Lup says is golden. Even shitty skeleton puns.]

Oh shit, did I just step into a trap? [She hadn't quite expected that in response, but the elf grins anyway. Lay it on her, my man. Lup can take it.]

Hit me.

Shops, before the squad event

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance is out exploring the shops mostly because it's something to do that isn't sitting at the clinic and waiting for something terrible to happen. He needs the distraction, and it's not only that but something useful to do.

Still, his thoughts are kind of distant, which they probably shouldn't be considering the somewhat dangerous situation in Hadriel at the moment. So he's not paying all that much attention, and doesn't realize there's someone in the shop that he's looking through until they're in pretty much the same row of shelves.

Of course, it's very easy to recognize exactly who it is, because he hasn't seen anyone else with that kind of armour.]

Hello, Ephemera.

[requiemshark]

[Ephemera removes his helmet to be polite, giving Sweets a faint smile.]

Doc. Didn't think I'd see you today.

[lifetothefullest]

[He offers a small smile of his own response.]

It's easy to forget how small this place actually is.

[And therefore how easy it is to run into people completely on accident.]

How are you?

{Regarding... Everything, since the last time they spoke.]

[requiemshark]

Hnn. All right.

[He glances down at the paints in his hand.]

Ran out. So.

You look tired.

[lifetothefullest]

Is your hand healing?

[Hopefully so, if he's painting enough to run out of supplies. The last comment earns a small laugh, although even that's tired.]

I've been told that's what happens when you get close to thirty. You're suddenly tired all the time and start caring about how your lawn looks.

[He's joking, obviously, but that's the best way to deflect right? Of course it is.]

[requiemshark]

[Ephemera shrugs.]

Good enough.

[He probably shouldn't be pushing it this hard, but he's never been good about waiting on injuries. They take too long, and if he's stubborn enough, he can work through the pain. Ignore it until the ache becomes a background hum and then, eventually, nothing at all.

The nerve damage helps.

Ephemera just grins. He and Sweets have similar ideas on humor.]

You never struck me as the grumpy old man, but....hnnn, yeah, I see it now. We should get you a cane. And a beard.

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance would like to lecture, and usually hypocrisy doesn't stop him, but he really can't talk on this. He'd run around all over Hadriel with really serious injuries, including a broken hand, and he'd done a ton of things with it he absolutely shouldn't have.

So he focuses on the last point, rolling his eyes.]

I'd be a great grumpy old man. But no beard; I look ridiculous.

[He can, however, grow one, contrary to popular belief. He just shouldn't. It's depressing.]

speakeasy!

[evocation]

[Kyna still hasn't decided how to feel about Ephemera. Generally, when people get on her bad side, they stay on her bad side, and breaking her ribs is about as easy of a way to get on that list as there is, but now she's started to consider where he's coming from, which makes blindly disliking him a hell of a lot harder. That's why when she spots him in the speakeasy, she doesn't immediately leave or say something snotty. She just watches, sipping at her drink as he practices, frowning slightly. She should just leave it, but she's really, really terrible at leaving anything alone, so after about fifteen minutes or so, she speaks up.]

It would be way more impressive if the target was moving.

[Oddly enough, this time it doesn't seem like she's intentionally trying to annoy him.]

[requiemshark]

I'm not doing it to impress you.

[Ephemera glances at her briefly. She's been watching for a while. Hasn't said anything sharp yet. Maybe, like him, she's trying this diplomacy thing out. Trying not to provoke anything even when the opportunity is there.

If he wanted to fight, it would be easy. But he's trying to be better.

Ephemera touches his bad eye briefly.]

Have to practice, or my depth-perception gets fucked up.

[evocation]

[She is trying this diplomacy thing out, mostly. It's weird for her, but Lup loves him, and Lup's opinion is like gold to Kyna by now. Plus, she doesn't want to make things worse on Wash. She cocks her head, considering him.]

You guys are all super into throwing knives where you're from, aren't you?

[Is that joking? Maybe a lame attempt if he squints.]

[requiemshark]

Not really.

[Sometimes. Most people like guns just fine.

Ephemera shrugs, trying an underhand throw. It hits the target just fine.

Good. He's been doing okay with his aim. Not perfect, but acceptable.]

We use what we've got.

[evocation]

You have a ton of fancy shit.

[She's nodding to his suit now.]

[requiemshark]

[Ephemera nods, watching her.]

Always somebody stronger, faster, smarter. Gotta keep up.

[evocation]

Stronger like me?

[Now she's talking shit, but again, somehow it doesn't sound particularly mean spirited.]

shops

[armcollector]

[There's not a lot of opportunity to catch someone in full armor grabbing whatever paint he can carry, so Magnus counts his blessings.

He wandered out to the shops to grab some extra stuff for the woodworking projects he busies himself with on his downtime, when he's not playing with his varren. Varnish, mostly, but he'd have some use for paint on occasion too, which is what brought him to the same place.

He fiddles with the little bottle of varnish he was able to pick up already, spinning it between his fingers, as he checks out the armor. It looks really fucking sci-fi, not completely unlike anything he's seen before, given his foray into many different types of worlds, but still appearing more advanced than he's used to.]

Worried someone's gonna try to shiv ya while you're shopping for art supplies?

[Magnus' friendly grin makes it obvious he's just teasing.]

[requiemshark]

[Ephemera glances up briefly.]

I'd feel sorry for the shiv. What's with the varnish?

speakeasy;

[hardwearing]

Well, they were bound to run into each other somewhere besides the hallways between Ephemera and Kyna's apartments eventually. Wash is actually here waiting for her, but he came early to scope the place out and see if he can get a feel for the mood of the city right now. Even here, it's tense. Not terribly surprising.

He crowd watches from the corner of the bar until Ephemera enters, makes himself a coffee and goes to the dartboard on the far wall to throw some knives, it would seem. And that catches Wash's interest. He's never seen Ephemera use knives before -- that was more Felix's thing, back on Chorus -- but he's not terrible. Especially considering he's only got one eye. Once Ephemera's thrown his (seemingly, there could be more hidden on him) last knife Wash gets up to pull a few from the target. He's curious how they're weighted.

"I'm surprised you don't use a combat throw."

[requiemshark]

Washington isn't trying to conceal himself, so Ephemera doesn't tense overly much when the man wanders over. They're on something like speaking terms now. It's confusing. But it feels like progress. Ephemera runs a hand through his hair, squinting at the target.

All of the knives stuck into the wall. Most of them are acceptably close where he was aiming them. All of them are the heavier utility knives. Suitable for hand to hand combat or dealing with damaged gear. Not generally the sort that one throws.

"It's harder, this way."

He goes back to his coffee. Drinks. Keeps his good eye on Washington and holds his hand out for the knives.

"My depth perception is fucked. Can't rely on the HUD all the time. So."