Waiting For Rain IC: Spring Slowly Comes

[BlasTech]

"Good news. According to this thing, you're condition can only improve since you're apparently already dead." Isabelle muttered as she flicked through the sections of the medical report that were labelled in red.

The annotations of bone malformations, organ mutations and other anomalous results made for sobering reading. It was a stark reminder of just how much of a toll that Arcadia had had on the woman.

"It's a pity this thing seems stuck on 'neighbourhood GP' mode, could get so much more done with the unlocked version." She continued, comparing the readouts to the injuries and noting the unusual peeling of the scales around the impact site. It just highlighted the significant physical disparity between the changelings they'd encountered so far ... it was really almost like looking at an entirely new species at times.

She held up the phone to Vorel. "with the number of red lights this seems to have, it's no wonder you didn't want to go to the hospital last night." Isabelle said, leaning back on her haunches as a realisation occurred to her. "I doubt this is the worst you've been hurt before though, so is there anyone around here that changelings like us can go to when we're hurt badly? Anyplace that doesn't ask silly questions like 'why do you have wings?'"

"Or is it just a case of coming back here, and having Talmage dose you up on goblin fruit?"

[Thanqol]

"Oh, right, my mistake. Phone, admin access to medical suite," Vorel said. The holograms immediately switched to the bronze-gold of the previous night and the readings became dementedly more complicated. It also stopped displaying alerts related to Vorel's warped physical form, those all filed under a folder labelled 'known issues'.

"And don't worry about hospitals, the Mask covers that too. People can be staring at medical readings clearly stating that a Changeling has two hearts and can breathe fire and they won't twig that anything's unusual. The machines know, but people don't see what the machines are telling them."

She looked slightly more tetchy. "The downside of that means that people are generally quite happy to slam the door on your tail."

[Deadly]

Jon’s expression brightened further as the conversation turned to a topic he felt more at home discussing, “Oh yeah, they’ve got boxes full of stuff in the basement there - basketballs, footballs, nets, some hockey gear, and even some stuff I’m not that familiar with. I had a lot of fun just poking around, though it makes me wish we had enough people to set up a game of something...” Jon glanced toward a gap in the roof at the weather outside and sighed softly.

Charlene herself lightened up a little. "I don't think you will have a hard time convincing at least a few people here to have a game of something." She wouldn't even bother considering Felix, but surely Talmage and Vorel might be convinced. She thought a bit. "I... do miss a game of hockey," she wasn't exactly in peak form anymore, could use the practice, "but most such games do require a lot of people. Something like... maybe, tennis? Only need two for that, as a minimum, and could be four. I think you could find four people here."

[the_druid_droid]

Just as he started to nod, Jon remembered the shape Vorel was in, and hesitated. “Well... we should probably wait until Vorel is feeling better, but I’m sure we can find enough people for a match or two anyway.”

He glanced at the sky once more, “The weather’s iffy, but this place is crazy enough that they just might have an indoor tennis court, or at least someplace to string up a net... Want to go looking? It’ll at least give you a chance to check out the Summer rooms.”

The promise of some company seemed very pleasant suddenly, in part as an antidote to the gray morning skies looming outside, and Jon looked hopefully toward Charlene.

[BlasTech]

"Oh, right, my mistake. Phone, admin access to medical suite," Vorel said. The holograms immediately switched to the bronze-gold of the previous night and the readings became dementedly more complicated. It also stopped displaying alerts related to Vorel's warped physical form, those all filed under a folder labelled 'known issues'.

"And don't worry about hospitals, the Mask covers that too. People can be staring at medical readings clearly stating that a Changeling has two hearts and can breathe fire and they won't twig that anything's unusual. The machines know, but people don't see what the machines are telling them."

She looked slightly more tetchy. "The downside of that means that people are generally quite happy to slam the door on your tail."

"Well ... you suck bullet wounds out of me and you'll always have first place on my waiting list." Isabelle replied. She tried to make good use of the unlocked features, but found it hard to concentrate.

Should she apologise for the burden Vorel had taken from her? It may have been the natural assumption, but it didn't feel right to simply say "I'm sorry" over it.

The injuries had been Isabelle’s; brought on by her choices and were rightfully her wounds to carry. It gave her some comfort to think that she had been hurt so that others had not, whether it be her friends or the potential victims of Cludge. That thought had been a source of strength as she lay on the gravel road last night.

And then Vorel had taken that burden from her.

The glowing holograms faded as Isabelle placed the phone on the floor.

"Hey Vorel? About last night ... I just wanted to say ..."

She paused, still unsure whether this was the right word. But at least it felt more right than her previous choice.

"... Thanks."

[Thanqol]

Vorel flushed slightly - a discolouration of scales - and looked away. "No problem," she said. Her demeanour changed quite quickly when the topic shifted away from science and computing; she was clearly outside of her comfort zone.

[Deadly]

Charlene nodded. "Sure. Lead on, I assume you know the way better than me." She looked up at the sky as they walked. There was something nice about a gray and gloomy sky, a kind of silence. She found herself thinking; thunder could wrack the sky and there would still be that strange silence underneath. "Not exactly fit for outdoor sports," she agreed.

[BlasTech]

"Well ... I appreciated it ..."

The silence lingered just long enough to begin to get uncomfortable - Isabelle and Vorel both doing their best to look in opposite directions.

Someone might have coughed.

"So ..." Isabelle ventured. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out why you joined Solutions. Why aren't you still there now?"

[Thanqol]

"Oh, I still am." Vorel said. "Well. Sort of. My double is still there. And I have obligations here."

[BlasTech]

"Ah ... I see" Isabelle said, sheepishly. She should've know that it would have taken something special, something supernatural to drag Vorel away from what had obviously been her life's work to that point.

She tried to think of something else to talk about, but her sum total knowledge of the dragoness' interests was limited to electronics and fighting.

Well, that was a start at least.

"So how'd you end up as Sheriff of Summer?"

[Thanqol]

"Well -" Vorel paused to sneeze again "- I kind of was the second choice. Two years ago when Earl Grey came to town he killed the Herald and the Sheriff, amongst others. When Amy Acre killed him, people kind of wanted her to be Sheriff. Honestly, if she'd asked to be made Princess no one would have stood in her way. But she wanted none of it, and I was the only one who stood up."

She smiled, just a little. "I don't regret it. It's been... stable. Given me a job to do and time to put my thoughts in order."

[the_druid_droid]

Jon turned and began to lead the way back to the Summer wing of the house. He concentrated on finding a path that didn’t lead back through the maze of Autumn’s rooms, and wondered as they walked if Felix would know about any indoor tennis courts, or at least a good place to string up a net to help pass the time.

[Thanqol]

Unfortunately, the tennis court was outside. There were a variety of indoor activities, including a variety of weights, table tennis, pool, archery (if some space was cleared) and a few others that could be played in the spacious but cluttered storage basement. In general, though, the summer wing seemed to take good weather for granted.

[Deadly]

Charlene picked up one of the lighter hand weights and frowned. It seemed heavier than she thought it should have, as if her hand had a memory and it didn't match up with reality. She had never been a heavy lifter, but you did need a certain mass in hockey. She tried to remember. She had been playing hockey, hadn't she? Old faces flickered across her mind, some vaguely familiar others but a haze. Where was she? Was that her...? Some of those girls were pretty heavy... she had been one of the smaller ones hadn't she? But still... she shook her head. "I can see I'll need to spend some time with these." She put the weight back down for now and moved on.

"Somewhat limited, but there's table tennis, at least," she said, picking up one of the paddles and balancing it in her hand. "That's almost like tennis."

[BlasTech]

"Well -" Vorel paused to sneeze again "- I kind of was the second choice. Two years ago when Earl Grey came to town he killed the Herald and the Sheriff, amongst others. When Amy Acre killed him, people kind of wanted her to be Sheriff. Honestly, if she'd asked to be made Princess no one would have stood in her way. But she wanted none of it, and I was the only one who stood up."

She smiled, just a little. "I don't regret it. It's been... stable. Given me a job to do and time to put my thoughts in order."

"Any insights you'd care to share?" Isabelle asked as she picked up the phone and started the scanner again. "To tell you the truth, I've got no clue what I'm going to do now."

[Thanqol]

"Insights. Right. You're asking the wrong girl," Vorel laughed. "What I got is, find something to keep you sane. A job, a hobby, just something to balance out all the mystical stuff. The ones who lose it are always the ones without attachments."

[the_druid_droid]

“I guess it’s a start...” Jon grinned and picked up a paddle experimentally. That was something you couldn’t do with hooves, he realized, and on the heels of that thought came memories of pickup basketball, impromptu races, and all sorts of games he had played through high school and college.

Suddenly, Jon could feel his competitive streak starting to return. “What do you say, Charlene? Best of three?”

[Deadly]

"Sure." Charlene searched her memory, then picked up a ball and hid her hands under the table, shuffling the ball in secret a few times. "Pick a hand. If you get the ball, you may serve."

[How do we do this? Just winging it descriptively? I wouldn't want to halt the game for something like this, seeing how we're apparently never on at the same time]

[Thanqol]

[How do we do this? Just winging it descriptively? I wouldn't want to halt the game for something like this, seeing how we're apparently never on at the same time]

[Wing it. You can presume the player with higher Dex+Athletics wins ]

[Deadly]

[Wing it. You can presume the player with higher Dex+Athletics wins ]

[That'd be Jon, by one point, I think. I'll let Druid get it started, then]

[BlasTech]

"Insights. Right. You're asking the wrong girl," Vorel laughed. "What I got is, find something to keep you sane. A job, a hobby, just something to balance out all the mystical stuff. The ones who lose it are always the ones without attachments."

"Attachments ..." Isabelle frowned, her expression pensive. "What about our old lives? Family? We tried to get Jon back to his, but that didn't work. I don't know if he's just been distracted by all this stuff with Cludge, or if he's going to try again soon."

"I'm worried about mine ..."

[Thanqol]

"Attachments ..." Isabelle frowned, her expression pensive. "What about our old lives? Family? We tried to get Jon back to his, but that didn't work. I don't know if he's just been distracted by all this stuff with Cludge, or if he's going to try again soon."

"I'm worried about mine ..."

"Yeah." Again, Vorel seemed kind of lost for words. "I don't know, I'm sorry."

[the_druid_droid]

[Jon’s Dex + Athletics is 7. Assuming that wins by a point, I figure we’ll have this be a marginal victory type thing.]

Jon considered for a moment, then pointed to Charlene’s right hand. “Well, is it my lucky day?”

[Deadly]

[Seems fair. Charlene's score is 6 dots.

*grabs dice* If it's even you get to start... rolled: 7, I guess she'll have that victory at least :)]

Charlene smiled as she held up the empty hand. "Sorry." She held up the other with the ball and picked up the bat. "Ready?" Once Jon was in position she threw the ball into the air and served. The ball bounced neatly off her side once, sailed over the net and down on Jon's side.

Charlene's eyes were fixed on the ball as they played back and forth, the pace quickly becoming furious. It immediately became clear to her that Jon was fast, very fast. After a while and a few narrow saves, the ball whizzed past an inch from her bat. Charlene picked up the ball and threw it to Jon. "Beginner's luck," she teased. "You haven't won yet," she said and readied herself for the second match. She focused, ready to give him a run for his money.

[the_druid_droid]

A smile started to grow on Jon’s face as they played; as the pace picked up, their muscle memory for the game seemed to kick in, and the little white ball whizzed back and forth over the net. Jon was impressed - Charlene was a good opponent, and he could already tell the game was going to be close.

Even better, the rhythm of smacking the little plastic ball was comforting, and while they were playing Jon didn’t have to think about confronting his family or finding a job; those things would have to come eventually, but right now, it was enough to get lost in this game while they waited for the weather to improve. When the ball finally went sailing past his opponent, Jon’s eyes flashed triumphantly, “Gotcha! We’ll see if you still call beginner’s luck after I win this!”

[Deadly]

[I serve again? I thought it alternated. I'll just move the game along, then]

"Bring it," Charlene countered. The movements came naturally, she had played a number of competitive sports before, but it was clear that she wasn't going to beat Jon just by being fast. She would need a little wit. As the ball was served again she kept her eye out for the right moment, an opening to exploit. She knew she only got one chance, if it failed Jon would be looking out for it again and that would make a second attempt even harder.

The ball rushed back and forth between them. Charlene nearly missed it once, but then it was there, and she struck... the ball sailed over the net, hit Jon's side once, and twisted its expected course. Jon was on the wrong side of the table when the ball had other plans. It was gone before he could move to fix his mistake.

"Hah!" Charlene smirked. She liked winning, everybody liked winning, but what she really liked was the interaction between players. "What was that you said, about winning?"

[It's almost sad knowing in advance who's going to win the last match ]

[BlasTech]

"Yeah." Again, Vorel seemed kind of lost for words. "I don't know, I'm sorry."

"... yeah, yeah. I know. Probably the same as with everything else lately; it's something I'll have to figure out on my own. I guess I just hope that if I keep asking, or somehow ask the right question, I'll get some magical answer that makes everything better eh?" She finished, a self depricating smile tugging at her lips.

"Anyway, work. Right. Not sure how many people will hire a person who just fell out of the hedge, heck I probably can't even get into a club without proof of ID, and it's going to be a while before I can get back to Seattle and get my wallet. What was it like for you when you got back?"

[Thanqol]

"Depends on what court you want to go through. Prince Vickrum can organise you a new identity." Vorel said, ticking the seasons off on her talons, "Prince Talmage knows everyone worth knowing in town and he can get you a cash in hand job no problem, or get someone to look the other way. Gammy Snaps doesn't have much influence in mundane society but she's the one to talk to about working with magical things full time. And Prince Pope will put you up for as long as you need, no charge."

[the_druid_droid]

[Thanks, wasn’t sure how you wanted to set it up. We could just handwave that we were playing loser serves, I suppose?]

“I think I said you were going to be wondering if it really was beginner’s luck after I win this game,” Jon half-smiled as he said it, and raised his paddle to serve. With a plastic thock the ball bounced over the net and into Charlene’s court, and the game was on.

With this being the deciding point, both sides brought out their best, and the little plastic ball was bouncing and spinning all over the table, sometimes just barely contacting the edge before careening off in a different direction. The game felt surprisingly good; it was a relief to be doing something normal at last, and Jon felt himself getting happily lost in the rhythm of exchange. It would almost be a pity to have to end it, but winning had its own benefits...

At last, he saw an opening - Charlene had over-extended herself to return his last shot, and with a flick of his wrist, he sliced the ball back over the net, just barely grazing the side of the table before it headed off on a near-random trajectory just outside of Charlene’s range.

“What was that about beginner’s luck?”

[BlasTech]

"Heh. Not what I asked, but okay." Isabelle chuckled, she gave Vorel a smile to reassure the dragonness that no insult was intended, but couldn't hide the slight watering in her eyes.

"Anyway, enough probing questions from me. This is going to take a little bit longer, so it's your turn now. Ask me something, tell me something, pick a subject and let me ramble, whatever you want."