| Meeting at the IHOB | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary: Rayne has gone out for breakfast. Blake shows up and once again manages to get Rayne to open up more than she typically does.   |
Here at the IHOB, out on that... not so popular deck with a view of, well, nothing, sits a certain rainbow haired woman that, well, really, who else is it but Rayne? She's pretty identifiable. She's currently sitting there, reading a newspaper while sipping on a cup of coffee. Apparently her food hasn't arrived yet. By now Blake has taken a tour of most of the city's eating spots. Everything from the popular UR and the Taco stand by the police station to some of those more questionable eateries smuggled into back allies like "The Mystery Box" which doesn't offer a menu at all, just whatever they decide to serve up that day. That place is kinda fun. Still, if it's breakfast food you're wanting then there is no better place to go than IHOB. Blake's made it a point to come back to this place every couple of weeks or so but usually she turns up at least once a week. Like Tramp, she has a different place to pick up a meal pretty much every night. As she pulls up to the restaurant, Blake's keen eyes spy the familiar rainbow haired maiden up on a balcony. Wow, like Romeo and Juliet! Yes, Blake actually knows this work, thanks to her cultured girlfriend of some time back. She hops off her bike, doffs her helmet and calls to Rayne from the street, "Yo! What light through yonder window breaks and whatever!" She grins up at the chief, the light reflecting off her mirrored shades making her look like a crazed, wild insect. Rayne blinks and looks over at the calling voice. Yes, she recognizes it at this point. The words, however, seem alien coming from Blake's mouth. "Huh?" she asks. "Please don't break the windows here, Blake." She wouldn't put it past Blake to chuck rocks at a window to get her attention. Actually, she is familiar with Shakespeare, it just sounds... wrong coming from Blake to the point that she doesn't recognize the line immediately. "What are you up to today?" she follows up with conversationally. "Eating! Hold on, I'll come up," And for a hot minute, it looks like Blake might actually consider climbing up to the balcony from the outside but, mercifully, she has the decorum to go inside the building and climb the stairs like a civilized human being....or...living being, anyway. It isn't long before she tromps her way to Rayne's table, grinning down at her friend. Snatching a chair she turns it in that cliche cowboy way -you know, backwards- and straddles the seat, leaning her elbows on the back of it. "S'up chief? Been a while." Rayne gets a look of trepidation at Blake as she appears to be determining the best way to scale the outside... but no. There's a sigh of relief while Blake is inside the building, done and over by the time the werewolf is out on the balcony. There's a good six tables out here, but Rayne's is the only one occupied right now. "Eh. Not much. Found out a friend of mine is effectively a were-hyena. Everyone's kinda bummed about it because it looks like it can be transmitted if there's blood contact." Blake 's eyes light up, "Whoa, cool! Never heard of that. Ah, it's not so bad. IF its anything like being a wolf, anyway. Though I guess some of that...cursed stuff...is kinda crappy. How's it work? Full moon and all that or is it triggered by laughin' too much?" She flashes a grin. It's a terrible joke and she doesn't mean to be insensitive but in her mind it just doesn't sound like a problem. On the other hand, Chloe's transformation was very much a problem, so she isn't entirely clueless about these things. Hyenas, though, that is very new. Rayne shakes her head. "No, no, it's only a one-time transformation. Like, when I first met him, I thought it was just his species, but no, he was born human. Some dark promise of new power from a mad scientist turning out to not be a good idea kind of thing. He permanently looks like a hyenamorph." Blake arches a brow, "Ohhhhh." She frowns, shaking her head, "Aw, that sucks. I'm sorry." There seems to be little else she can say about that, though. She doesn't know the guy but obviously the news upsets Rayne. Sounds like this friend of hers is going to have to be more careful with his bodily fluids. Maybe that's what's got her feeling low? She probes a little. "You guys close?" Rayne shrugs. "I mean... At this point, he's kind of my oldest friend here? He's one of the old guard, I'd say... The people I would sometimes run with when I wasn't the one in charge. My boss then kinda put some magic mark on him to leash him in, but if you ask me, if he just treated Urus with respect instead of acting like a god over an underling, it wouldn't have been needed." Blake feh's, "That's cause people do stupid things when they're scared and nothing gets people more scared than things they can't control. Like, if they don't understand it then they have to put a leash on it...figuratively, you know?" She shakes her head, sighing heavily. "That's the same everywhere. Even among supernaturals, you'd have these factions of people trying to keep someone or other underfoot." She shrugs. "That's people for ya. Even in our kind there are like...levels of acceptability. True wolf -" she hooks a thumb towards herself, "We're like the cream of the crop....except if you're not in pack...." She grins and hooks a thumb towards herself yet again, "Also me...Cursed werewolves are kinda looked on with pity cause they didn't ask for it, ya know? Just people who got themselves cursed somehow....But lycans....Shit, they're the worst. Those guys are a plague. They're basically made in a lab and they will fuck your shit up....At least, that's how it was before Chloe. She got pinched by one and caught the virus but we managed to work through her blood lust. It took A LOT of time but it worked...for her anyway. She wasn't a mindless monster...but yeah, she could totally pass it on to someone if she bit em...like...a human anyway. But like....True wolves? They hate em. They'll kill em on sight...which is usually for the best cause lycans will rip out your throat just like that!" She snaps her fingers. "That's how we met, ya know? I was hired to smuggle C'lo outta a hospital where the alpha was the Chief doc there and she was pretty much gonna kill her anyway before she could fully turn....Prejudice is everywhere, man. Everywhere." Rayne winces at Blake's story of Chloe's past. "Yeah, Urus sounds pretty... Lycan-like, except he can't make himself look human again." Her food arrives! It's... a rice porridge, a cruller, and some steamed dumplings? Rayne looks like she's not entirely certain of the food herself... apparently she's trying something new. The waitress at least is skilled enough to get it there perfectly fine even though she has that clearly injured ankle. She also asks Blake what she'd like. "It sucks that people do those kinds of things to other people, but... at least it meant you got to meet Chloe in this life?" Blake as can be expected, hasn't bothered to even read the menu. Instead, she tells the poor waitress to surprise her. "Just make sure it's big." So, whatever that means. She has a healthy appetite but she isn't terribly discerning aside from the fact that its preferably cooked to some degree- usually. She agrees with Rayne, "Oh yeah! It's great. Plus it was a professional challenge, know what I mean? I'm used to killing the damn things so taking her out without actually, you know, hurting her was tricky but good practice. Oh yeah, and I fought the alpha. Dr. C! Man, she kicked my ass, not gonna lie. I pretty close to dead for a while there but it all worked out in the end. She got over her crazy and C'lo got over hers. We all learned something new. - Dude...what is that stuff?" She can't just ask this question either. She's got to rudely point to the bowl of porridge. "Looks like jail food." Rayne dunks her kruller into the porridge. "So... who hired you to do that? Or was it Chloe having been able to get an internet connection or something? I kinda don't picture that place letting her do that, for some reason..." She looks down at her food, then shrugs. "It's Chinese." She takes a bite of the kruller and tilts her head as she considers the food. "It's actually spiced pretty well. And I won't ask how you know what jail food is like." Blake just laughs and lets that go unanswered. They both know she's probably gotten into her fair share of bar room brawls and god knows what other shenanigans. Probably not the best thing to talk to your cop friend about. Maybe some day. Blake leans her chair forward, balancing it on the front legs which is a terrible idea. "Chinese, huh? Yeah, I guess they do like their rice. It just looks so soupy. Nyeh." For once something doesn't look appealing to Blake. It's a miracle. "Oh! That was her ex girlfriend. Long story but it's kinda like....Okay...get this." Blake plonks the chair down and you can be sure that she is about pull Rayne into the weeds of a long long story. "So like, True Wolves all have a territory they cover. You've got an alpha that covers a region, right? So...the Hales are like the tippy top. Not only does big daddy cover his own area but he's kinda the boss of everyone....Anyway, his daughter...Dr. C - Cate?she's the alpha of the town I kinda crashed in for a while. I got mixed up with her youngest son..." She flashes Rayne a lascivious grin. "We hooked up for a while so I got to know the family. Rolf's older sister - well, his LITTLE older sister...He's got a couple of sisters...so like the one just before him...She has this girlfriend, Ali, who grew up with the family and she's got all kinds of weird magic power...fire mostly...Chloe was her ex...and that whole gang got together one day at a coffee shop and on the way out lycans attacked. It was coordinated so like...I was with Rolf at the Agency?That's a whole other story...they work for The Agency - Anyway, lycans came and fucked their shit up pretty bad. Chloe got caught in the crossfire...They took her to the hospital and soon she tested positive for the lycan virus...So Cate was gonna kill her but Ali wouldn't have any of it so....she hired me...smuggled her out and I took her and ran." This has got to be the most convoluted retelling of the story but it's all true. Rayne munches on her food as she listens to the full story. An already ex hiring a merc (a merc she's already on friendly terms with, but still) is a bit odd to Rayne, but apparently it was an amicable breakup? Whatever. She rolls her eyes at Blake's flashed grin. Rayne was able to figure that part out without the grin. Yeah, trying to keep track of the various sisters and brother and types of werewolves is a bit confusing, but she thinks she's got a handle on it? "Ah. I see. I think." There's a slight frown as she's not 100 percent certain on that. "All that territorial stuff sounds a bit petty, out of date bullshit to me, but I guess that's how wolves do." Blake nods, "Yeah, I agree. Never had a pack since my mom and dad were part of a pack that got themselves killed for being stupid." And that is all she has to say about that. "Didn't really grow up as a wolf anyway. Didn't really know much about it...just kinda figured it out along the way. I broke a kid's arm playing tag. Punched a tree. It all started to come together after a while, you know? Super healing, smell, speed. Problem is that packs don't really trust wolves like me. Most lone wolves came to be that cause they got kicked out and usually for being dicks. There are just a few like me who have their reasons....but we're not super popular....Hey, what about your people. They travel in flocks?" Rayne listens, nodding from time to time, but then blinks as the conversation turns to herself. "Oh. Uh. Well. I don't really know so much, myself. Never met a large group of them in one place... Father said his people lived on their own on Sicily before Carthage decided they shouldn't. But he always describes it in a way that really makes me think it was more human than bird-like in nature... just a little backwards compared to what I understand of the people around them. He doesn't talk about it much... I kinda get the feeling we might be a bit of an endangered species, so to speak." This is about when the first wave of Blake's meal shows up. Unfortunately for her, it includes that porridge in addition to some very pale looking sausages, almost white, with the insides very finely ground. There's also a plate of fried eggs with some form of sliced meat and dill sprinkled on top. Blake hmphs, "Well, you know what that means don'tcha? Better get to pro-creatin'!" She waggles her brows but the truth is that she's only partly kidding. Hey, what's Rayne got to lose at this point? She'd probably be a decent mother, if not a little Type A about it but there are worse things. Ah! And now the spread arrives. Blake claps her hands together, "AW yeah! Alright!" The smell of all these different meat products makes her very happy....And then there's the porridge. "Aw man, NAW! This stuff?" She peers down at the concoction incredulously. "Dude...Its like wet cement." She tilts her head to one side and then proceeds to jab a finger into the bowl and then her mouth. She considers the confection. "Eh, s'alright. Had worse." With that, she takes up the bowl and drinks the stuff down like soup...in spite of it NOT having the texture of it. Lovely table manners. Rayne winces at Blake's manners. The 'porridge' is actually rice, primarily. It's Chinese, of course it's rice. The procreating comment of course gets an eyeroll. "Eh. If I was concerned about it, I would have tried to have kids with Harold rather than just finish raising his." She glances away. "...Lot of good that did me." Apparently she had some history with said step-children that wasn't so great. She is, of course, eating her food much more slowly than Blake. Whose next plate appears to be something not from Earth at all. Good luck with that! Blake catches the snag in Rayne's mood at the mention of this past relationship. It occurs to Blake that Rayne does typically carry on alone most days. The more she knows of this woman, the more she is convinced this is by design. Rayne's afraid of something. She slurps up the last of the goop and sets the bowl on the table with a -thunk-. "Can I ask ya something? What are you waitin' for? Look its none of my business but...You're a nice lady and, yeah sure, you've got a lot of baggage but who doesn't, right?...You spend a lot of time alone and I just wonder if you're not getting yourself used to a life that really isn't gonna make ya happy in the long run." Blake's expression this time is thoughtful and when she glances Rayne's way there is none of her usual mischief. She's really trying to -see- Rayne here and that can sometimes be a little disconcerting. Rayne groans and facepalms. Well, she can't tell off Blake for prying that much. It'd just feel... wrong somehow. "I'm not... 'waiting' per say. I'm just not looking. It's not like I have time right now anyway. But it's like..." she pauses, then looks up. "Didn't we already have this conversation?" There's a slight head tilt before she shakes her head. "No, that was about my physical space issue, wasn't it? Same thing, though." Blake doesn't relent just yet. "What about friends? Look, " she holds up her hands. "It's not my call. I hear ya. You've got your reasons and you're entitled to them. Not saying you need to go and hook up all over the place like me...But I just wonder if being alone so much in general is good for ya. There's gotta be more to life than work and your little apartment." She shrugs and then pounds her fist on the table once. "I'm gonna be your friend. We'll...work out what that means in your terms and all but there's gotta be some room for compromise too. Let me take ya out once in a while. You don't have to get shit faced. I'll take care of that part but, you know, other stuff. You need to live just for you once in a while...but that also means letting yourself get close to people...in some way. They'll care, whether you like it or not. I do. That's all I'm sayin." Rayne blinks and pulls her head back. "I have friends! Urus, Sunset... uhh..." When was the last time she spoke with Sunset? And both of them are from the time before all this mess happened. She hangs her head and sighs. "Am I really getting that pathetic?" There's a sigh and a nod. "I acquiesce to your demands..." "Hey!" Blake scolds, holding up a finger in warning, "There's nothin' pathetic about being lonely and overworked. That's like a typical first world problem. A lot of successful people struggle with that shit but you don't have to. I'm gonna help ya with that." And now she grins and the mischief is back. She's happy to have gotten this out of Rayne. So much so, in fact, that she has to confess. "And I guess you're gonna help me too. I used to be better at travelin' around alone but....I guess I got used to being around people...settling. Feels...weird to be disconnected again, you know? Feels...I dunno, wrong. I like your company, Rayne. You're all...surly and shit but you're smart and you've got a good heart. You're good people and I like that." | |
Enable comment auto-refresher