Scenario Entitled: Just One Big Happy FamilyCharacters: Practically everyone in the whole world, it seems.
Lake, headhunter back from his travels to find... this.
Jeremy, the good doctor, and the instigator of... this.
JT Frazier, FireBoy, in the middle of... this.
Ash, reformer from the States, just watching... this... from the sidelines.
Artemis, felinoid confused by... this. As usual.
Rooke, with her mind on one thing... prezzies!
Location: Freedom and Lazlo
Date: Late Spring, 107 P.A.
Jeremy stands there with Lake and JT, peering around the latter towards Alejandra -- an eyebrow ever so elegantly aloft. He smiles faintly as he peers, mulling something over.
Artemis sighs to herself, and sets her toy back down again. She stands, not fully, but into a crouch as she watches for Alejandra's reaction.
JT Frazier laughs softly. "James. Haven't been called that in years. But if it makes you comfortable Doctor, be my guest." Seeing Jeremy's gaze pass beyond him JT looks over his shoulder and smiles, nodding slightly. "I think it is Alejandra."
Lake grumbles softly, noting that a minor back objective has been lost. Not that he understood or cared just what Alej was worried about, but her goal seemed valid enough for any living human.
Alejandra swallows violently, though her worry fades a little when Jeremy doesn't recognize her. Now, if only Lake and JT would get the messages she's trying to toss at their heads with her own, that they shouldn't ID her. What the woman wouldn't do for just a smidgen of psychic power right now, it's obvious. She shrinks away a little, half-hiding behind one of... damn. She's gonna kick JT later for that.
Jeremy nods back to JT for a moment, then looks back at Alejandra, kind of half-charging towards her with a wide grin. Arms, as well, are outstretched in a wide fashion. "Alejandra!" he calls as he approaches, "It's been -entirely- too long!"
A faint whimper escapes Alejandra when Jeremy starts towards her. "Please... don' hurt me, Jer'my..." The plea is barely audible, since she's trying her best to disappear into the man standing behind her. Where's a nice paper bag for crawling when you need it?
Rooke comes in from the military sector in her white tanktop, a stiff gray dresscoat draped over one arm as she shoves her hands into the snug front pockets of her brown breeches. She looks out into the intersection between shaggy red forelocks, and purses her lips in slight dismay at the conglomeration of familiar folk somewhere... somewhere in the street.
At that, Jeremy takes a step or two back -- looking genuinely surprised. The wide arms raise, as if in surrender. " I won't, I won't," he protests faintly, eyebrow arched elegantly. "But...what's wrong, dear?"
Artemis breaks into a dead run as soon as she sees Alejandra's reaction to Jeremy. With a literally inhuman burst of speed, the diminutive felinoid form is between the two of them. She skids to a halt, and looks up at Jeremy with a blank expression.
Lake rubs the back of his neck gently, eyeing JT annoyedly as he lets Jeremy go for some reason or other, "Blast it... I almost..." he sighs softly, "Oh, nevermind. He seems a bit too cornball to get info from today anyway. Hmm, even more so."
Alejandra starts to tremble a little, shaky legs looking ready to dump her on the ground in the middle of the sidewalk. "I'm sorry, Jer'my... please, don't hate me no more?" Tears pool in her eyes, and begin to slide down her cheeks
Artemis looked like she was just on the verge of saying something when Alej's words stopped her. A confused look crosses her face (again...), but she stands her ground.
JT Frazier walks up alongside Jeremy, turning to face him. "Back off, Okay Doctor. I don't think Alej is to happy to see you." As Artemis arrives he gives her a quick nod.
Ash walks down the street with thumbs hooked in his belt, face brightening as he recognizes some folks he recognizes. Making his way over in that direction, his smile fades and he comes to a stop as he gets within earshot. He watches the encounter with a slightly embarassed expression.
Rooke keeps an eye on the group past between sporadic glimpses through pedestrian traffic at the southeastern corner of the intersection. She deliberates about heading on over, a real dilemma, since a 'human' is such a social being, no matter how very exhausted it is. She focuses on each person, craning her head a bit to sort them out at this distance, then heaves a small sigh. There's too many curious aspects to this little situation to just pass it by.. I mean, look at all the opportunities for awkward embarrassment there are.. mmm, mmm, mmm. She steps out into the street and crosses when the traffic eases up for the lights.
Lake refolds his arms across his chest. No he hasn't moved to block anyone. No, he hasn't quite taken a side in the whole issue yet. No, he doesn't quite get what the big deal is. And if you have to ask who he hasn't noticed yet... well then, you can just sit back and wait for it.
Jeremy laughs a little emptily at Alejandra, moving towards her with a kind of goofy striding, too-big pants doing all kinds of interesting ruffling. Of course, as the (felinid...? Felinoid...? Cat-girl/grrl...?)...as Artemis intervenes...then JT does the exact same thing -- Jeremy gets much less pleased. He gets confused...and just a little angry. He throws his arms in the air, then spits harshly to the sidewalk, "Oh, Christ! Can't two people have a misunderstanding in this town, without a crowd of do-gooders besieging them?!" He turns his gaze first on JT, brow furrowing, "You, first, oh-so-triumphant hero. You leave town every time you appear to have gotten Rooke -- who has a horrific kind of fear of betrayal, by the way -- to lean on you...yet you seem to have no trouble leaping in and interfering whenever I'm having a bit of difficulty. I just wish you could have the ease leaving -me- alone that you have everytime you leave Rooke to fend for herself. I just...-wish-. You've had it in for me since the beginning, which I've /never/ understood...but so be it. If you're to hate me -- at least be man enough to be open about it, James, instead of hiding behind a facade and sniping at me every chance you get..." His voice has lowered, at this point, to a discreet kind of frustration. His gaze then snaps back to the girl, whom he has decided will be a felinoid. "As for you...well...I don't know you -- but I'm busy trying to leap on top of something here...so...do you suppose you could kindly bugger off for a few moments, then ruin my day?" He stands there, gaze moving fluidly between JT and Artemis, eyes smoldering, his entire frame showing a kind of general discontent with his entire existance at this point.
Artemis shakes her head. "Arrtemish no reave. Arrtemish porishe. Arrtemish no know what going on... but Arrtemish shee that doctorr shcarre Arrejandrra."she says in a calm tone.
Alejandra brings her arms up around her chest, clasping opposite shoulders tightly. The shouting on Jeremy's part has her flinching a bit, but she's rather used to it after knowing him this long. The tears keep flowing, and the shaky legs get shakier, but she doesn't say anything. Just stares at the good doctor with her wide, frightened eyes. There's also a fair dose of pleading in those eyes, one might note.
Rooke lowers her head as she clears the median and gets a closer look at the scene. Oh gawd.. there goes Jeremy again. Civil disruption, if there /is/ such a thing.. Jeremy's managed to do it. She starts to look away, then physically /remove/ herself from the area, but one or two things re-attract her attention. She looks at those again, in a bit of a double-take, then moves more quickly across to join the fringes of the throng. Sidling up just beside Lake, even, and holding her dresscoat in linked arms before her.
Ash blinks with a startled look as Jeremy explodes upon two people, while a third apparantly sobs in fear of him. His lips part as if to say something, though he is still a bit beyond what would be considered a conversational distance. After a moment, it closes again wordlessly as Rooke makes her way into the fray, and he stands silently eyes sharp and observant.
JT Frazier's brow furrows at Jeremy's tirade? speech? Whatever. His mouth opens as if to retort, then closes again, jaw setting. He finally says "Hate you? Maybe at times. I reacted to a woman who was frightened for some reason, not out of any particular malice towards you. If this is a misunderstanding" he says, with a look to Alej "I'll back off. If Alej doesn't want to talk to you, I won't."
Jeremy offers Artemis a kind of pleasant smile, all of a sudden -- but the frustration appears to be quickly wearing through it. "Indeed. The Doctor may scare Alejandra. Do take me in on a count of Scaring, with the Intent to Frighten." He pauses for another moment, then adds with a bit more wry amusement, "Perhaps you should add a charge of Speaking One's Mind, with a side count of Aggravated Honesty?" He sighs a bit, then turns back to face JT.
Jeremy peers at JT for a long moment, then just -shrugs-. He remarks with a bit too much sudden nonchalance, "Is that right? I can't be too sure, you see. I'm sure you'd like to think I'm paranoid...even a bit...insane." He strokes his jaw absently with one hand, then offers a light shrug. "At times, I am. Maybe. But this time -- I'm not. I'm just...not having a good day, you see. I was, until a few hours ago..." Another self-reflective pause...his eyes wandering to pavement. "But...no. Now I'm certainly not."
Lake hmphs softly, o O (I don't suppose this could just quietly go away, could it? Oh no. Now they'll probably drag this out to who knows what...) He sighs softly, "Typical..." something seems to have him down a bit amidst the whole thing. That and that nagging feeling that something ominous is appraoching. Then again, maybe it was the nachos. And why was someone chuckling behind him? No reason to turn around over it. Or to turn anywhere for that matter. That guy needs his peripheral vision realligned or something.
Artemis breathes deeply a few times, then says, again in her calm tone, "Arrtemish think maybe it betterr ifft doctorr reave?"
Okay okay.. so beside Lake isn't quite 'fringe'. If only people would form more coherent circular patterns when /thronging/, Rooke might be able to find a good /fringe/ to gawk from. She glances sidelong up at Lake for a moment, then offers out a quiet, "Heya." Her grey eyes move occasionally to the cowering Alejandra, but without too much surprise.. or pity.
Looking back up from a particularly interesting spot on the pavement, over towards Artemis' eyes, Jeremy faintly smiles. "I'm sure...that it's probably a good idea. But I don't quite plan on leaving before I sort all of this madness out."
JT Frazier stuffs his hands in his coat pockets, and rocks back and forth looking from Alej to jeremy "Alej, you alright with talking to the doctor here?"
Alejandra whispers into the silence that follows JT's words, "I dunno what I want... yes, yes, I'm okie."
JT Frazier nods slightly, stepping back away from jeremy "Alright. I was just worried about you. You looked so scared."
Artemis relaxes her stance, and exhales slowly at Alejandra's response. She takes a step to her left so that she's no longer directly between the her and Jeremy, but doesn't stray any farther than that.
Jeremy just looks around with a fairly certain gaze -- then finally moves it back towards Alejandra. "Look, Alejandra," he finally speaks, quite clear and civilized sounding, "I'd love to sort this out now -- but, apparently, quite a few people want me to leave this unresolved. For now, I'll aquiesce, and let you linger on under the rather incorrect impression that I hate you." He gives another infuriatingly nonchalant shrug -- as if things were all as simple as this. "Unless someone has anything else to say," he adds, turning to bow to the crowd, "I'll make my exit." He makes sure to do his best to try and meet the eyes of each of the onlookers -- smiling far too pleasantly at them.
Artemis . . o o O ( Feh. Humans. I'll never understand them.)
Lake would drop his bag of cookies, assuming of course he had a bag of cookies. He makes a rather slowmotion turn in the direction of the 'Heya', knowing full well what awaits him when he gets there. He seems not himself, which is to say that under most circumstances he'd appear relatively unconcerned with anyone that was speaking to him. As it is, he seems entirely too concerned, cautious if you will. His eyes open and close slowly before he finally just eeks out, "Hi." Flair for greeting, that he has.
Alejandra's hands on her shoulders tighten, "Please... Jer'my, don't go?" The words are all but ripped out of her throat, reluctantly voiced. All this time she's been crying, and it doesn't stop now. "T... talk, we gotta talk."
Artemis glances at Alej, silently quirking a furry brow, then looks back up at Jeremy.
JT Frazier shakes his head, stuffs his hands even further into his coat pockets and turn in Lake's direction, glancing back over his shoulder as he does so. With a slight shake he faces front and walks toward Lake.
Rooke inclines her head to look up at Lake fully, eyeing him briefly with a slight smile edging its way along the corners of her mouth. "So.. you do still exist. Where've you been, Lake?" Even though he could probably ask the same of her... but time perspective, it moves differently for girls. But she asks her question gently and familiarly, fully expecting a reasonable explanation, like he was out saving the earth. She flickers her gaze a bit towards JT as he approaches, and flashes him a wider, brief smile.
JT Frazier looks up as he approaches Lake "Had lunch yet?" he asks, then stops "Hi Rooke." are the next words out of his mouth, obviously a radical change in his train of thought.
Lake bites the corner of his lip gently, emitting a soft er before attempting a response, "Uh... out. Well... you know..." His shoulders shift softly as he notices JT reapproaching. It doesn't help him any, "I mean.... you /know/." The lad's in need of clarification. And lad is used here since Lake's logic train seems to be reverting age wise.
After a moment or two of gazing...Jeremy gets a bit surprised by a few of the onlookers. Well. Two...Rooke and Ash. Et two, two, hey? That is to say -- he's concerned to see them there. But, thankfully, he's snapped out of his reverie by a very weepy little masseusse. "Alright," he replies, bitterness melting right out of his tone as he replies in a tone at once delicate and light. "Come on, Alejandra...we'll talk about this. Just...not here. Not with these vultures." He offers out his arm, smiling with a fragile twist of the lips. "Let's get out of here."
As the situation in the street seems to begin to resolve itself, only to flow into something else, Ash's blunt features wash over with a mix of different emotions. Shrugging slightly, he takes in a breath and lets it out slowly, turning on his heel to stride toward the Succubus, leaving the others to work out their business without his prying eyes and ears.
Alejandra moves on automatic to obey, one of her hands unwrapping to settle on the offered arm. She glances over at Artemis to mumble out, "Sokay, senora." Though even she doesn't sound too sure of the truth in her statement. Then wide eyes are turned up to Jeremy, "Where're we goin'?" Silly girl sounds like she'd follow him anywhere.
JT Frazier stops in midstride and hunches his shoulders forward then continues, stopping next to Lake with his jaw set.
Rooke looks off to the side where apparently she's stowed a thoughtful thing to look at when she appears to be thinking. Her mouth pulls a bow of a frown for a moment while she considers Lake's non-information carefully. Very.. very carefully. Or perhaps she's simply grabbed up all the words and thrown them into a Scrabble bag, juggling them around in the hopes of finding something else in there.. something meaningful, even.
Jeremy just leads Alejandra northwards at a slow pace, his voice quiet. "I'm not exactly sure yet -- you have any where in mind? I was thinking perhaps the Java Factory..."
Artemis gives a quiet nod, her eyes not leaving Jeremy.
Ash enters the alcove leading to The Succubus and after pausing a moment, steps inside.
Lake raps rhythmically on his arm plating with the hand that was up to this point merely draped over it. He seems a bit at a loss as to why this is such a point of contention. In his mind, it was a very clear statement. Of course, in his mind salt and pepper are condiments.
Jeremy turns back to peer over his shoulder, offering Artemis a sheepish smile, "By the way, officer...terribly sorry about the antagonism. Today is...not the best of days for me. Perhaps...I shall properly introduce myself tomorrow. For now -- I say good day to you..." And with that, he heads off with Alejandra, off into the sunset. Because...on the new earth...the sun sets in the North. It's a very odd and freaky phenomenon.
An idea in mind? Alejandra doesn't look like she has /any/ ideas in her mind. She shakes her head a little, "Sounds good," given in mumbled answer while she follows him.
And so, off goes Jeremy, into his nonsensical exit. A very fitting end to a completely odd and surrealistic day.
Rooke starts to say something, assumedly profound, then looks abruptly away, following Jeremy and Alejandra's course with her eyes. They narrow a bit, inexplicably so, and by the time she looks back at Lake, the moment has passed. "Alright," she says simply. "Did you bring me anything?"
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