01<@Ardweden> [Day: Tuesday, September 7. Time: 4:30.] 01<@Ardweden> [Somehow or another, you all decided to meet at the public library. Some crazy stuff has been happening lately, what with your waking forms showing up in the dream world, and a "gate" being mentioned or something - what a mess, really. You decided that investigating the weirdness is a good idea, possibly at the Walrus' suggestion.] 01<@Ardweden> [Unfortunately, yesterday did not turn out to be such a good day for it, as it was Labor Day... a day generally synonymous not only with "no school" but also "family time", because it also means "no work for parents".] 01<@Ardweden> [So today is it! School has been relatively uneventful - the most notable things happening were Tyler getting his grade for his presentation back (he got a C), and Sydney finding herself in the gym when she was looking for her English class. Again.] 01<@Ardweden> [We are now at the library! More specifically, one of the study rooms in the library, where the group can theoretically chat without being heard. It has a fairly long table with six chairs, plug ins for laptops, and a whiteboard with markers and an eraser. Let's see who's early and who's late!] 01<@Ardweden> [Session Start.] 06* Javy is one of the early ones. He knows the place pretty well. He's got his notebook out, and on top of it, a small wooden reed and a penknife he's using to finish it. 06* Hank arrives shortly after. "'Sup Javy?" He grabs a chair, swivls it around and sits on it backwards, resting his elbows across the top. 06* Tiffany comes a few minutes early but she's pretty close to being on time. She finds the room easily enough and gives a brief smile to Javy. "Hey Javy." She then turns to Hank. "Hey Hank." She loses the smile for a moment but it's not quite a full frown yet as she sets her backpack in the corner. 06* Javy glances up a little, and nods a greeting to Hank, but stays focused on his reed. He looks up at Tiffany, too, for a bit longer, and returns the smile hesitantly, but then goes back to the reed again. 'Sup Tiffany? 06* Sydney hurries into the room, her phone clutched in her left hand. "Sorry I'm late!" 06* Hank waves. "Hey, Sydney. 'Sup?" 06* Javy looks up again, and nods a quick greeting to her. He notches off a little piece of the reed. 06* Tiffany smiles a little bit at Sydney and tilts her head. "Not as bad as I thought you'd be. Pretty good for you, actually." 06* Sydney looks midly embarrassed. "I had my GPS on my phone, so I stopped to check it a lot." 06* Sydney waves back at Hank. "But I didn't actually get lost this time!" 06* Tiffany chuckles a bit. She actually looks happy for a moment. "Hey, relax. It's fine." 06* Hank grins. "Grats." 06* Sydney smiles. "Thanks." She pulls out a chair and sits down. 06* Javy nods, and sets down his knife. He smiles at Syd, and blows on the reed. 06* Sydney looks at Javy. "What're you making?" A reed. For, um. For that. 06* Javy points at his instrument case. 06* Tiffany glances at Sydney for a moment, then frowns, as if remembering something. She looks around the room and kind of wishes she had a laptop. Oh, right! 06* Sydney fumbles around in her backpack and produces a notebook and a purple pen. 06* @Tyler shows up, minus crew, and late. He looks irritable walking through those doors, constantly glancing around nervously here and there. Today, instead of the black spikey look, we got the red spikey look of hot topic emo goth punk. It's at least a change? 06* Javy reaches down, opens the case slightly, and slots the reed in, not opening it any more than he has to. He glances up when Tyler comes in, and nods a little greeting. 06* Hank looks irritable too, now that Tyler's here. He says nothing. Yet. 06* Tiffany glances at Sydney. "A notebook?" She tries not to notice Tyler. 06* @Tyler stands near the door, not saying anything, and barely nodding back to Javy. He looks really nervous. 06* Sydney gives Tyler a passably friendly wave, then looks back at Tiffany. "I like notebooks. They make me feel organized." 06* Javy nods to Sydney. "Me too." I...guess it couldn't hurt to have someone doing that. 06* Tiffany sighs and looks away slightly. "I mean...there's a lot of stuff to keep track of." 06* Javy nods, and looks between Hank and Tyler, unsure. 06* Sydney clicks her pen and writes "STUFF TO KEEP TRACK OF" at the top of the page. The ink is also purple. 06* Tiffany then glances over where Sydney's waving. Her expression doesn't change much, as she replies in an almost off-hand, kind of monotone manner. "Oh. Hey Tyler." 06* @Tyler just gives Tiff-tiff the biggest smile he can manage right now. 06* Javy follows that, too, and looks uncomfortable. 06* Tiffany sighs. "So I guess the first order of business is a 'what the hell'?" 06* Sydney writes "What the hell?" on the page. "I agree. What exactly is going on?" 06* Tiffany shakes her head. "Well, two things. One is that something screwed us up and we don't. The second..." She glances pretty hard at Sydney. "Did you ever meet the cat outside your dream form?" Good question. I thought we were gonna go back to that one woman and confront 'er. 06* Sydney shakes her head back at Tiffany. "No, only as Hien." 06* @Tyler frowns at Hanks words but doesn't say anything. So why did he know your name? It's been bugging me. 06* Sydney taps her chin. "But didn't he know our dream forms' names without us telling him?" 06* Sydney writes down "Names?" That doesn't really mean all that much. I mean...they're all historical and mythological figures, right? I mean...I'd probably be able to guess Zeus if I saw someone I thought was supposed to be Zeus and knew the world. I dunno I didn't. My Joan of Arc don't look nothing like the Joan I saw online. Um. Well. I didn't recognize any of... 06* Sydney frowns. "I don't know of any mythological dragons named Hien." 06* Tiffany sighs. "I'm just throwing it out there. I'm saying there's probably rules of why someone would be a Kali or a Joan of Arc or something. But there's nothing that makes you a Sydney except being called that out here..." Just... um... Smaug. That's the only dragon I can think of. My sister likes the Hobbit a *lot*. You coulda been Fafnir or Nidhogg or Tiamat or somethin'. 06* Javy looks at Hank, rather surprised. 06* Hank grins at Javy. "I done my homework." 06* @Tyler frowns more. 06* Tiffany thinks, for a moment. "If he's working with the Raven, he might have known by the Raven telling him. I mean the Raven's been to each of our dreams. If not that, then it's just something the Walrus can do..." She sighs. "And I'm kind of worried about that..." 06* Sydney frowns slightly. "What's wrong with him being able to know names?" 06* Javy nods slightly to Hank, still looking surprised, and looks back to Tiffany, waiting. 06* Tiffany looks, hard, at Sydney. "Do *you* want someone to be able to know any information about you, instantly, at the drop of a hat?" I mean he's on our side *so* far but we have no guarentee it's going to stay that way. And if he can *do* that... 06* Hank laughs. "He did leave us his hat." 06* Tiffany glares at Hank. "Hank! This is serious." But just because he knows names doesn't mean he knows *everything*, does he? 06* Sydney writes down "Knows everything????" 06* Tiffany sighs. "Yeah, I know. But we're just going over possibilities here. And the cat's shown that somehow he knows more than he should. Not just about the world but about us." 06* Javy nods at that. "He, um. If he knows more, then. He's, well..." He looks around the group, and finishing, "Then he's hiding a lot." And I think that's important. <@Tyler> It's easy to travel into your dreams there. He knows what you dream Tiff-tiff. 06* Tiffany nods to Javy and snaps her fingers. "Exactly." He lives in dreams. I dunno why it surprises you. He's probably seen us before and we just don't remember. 06* Tiffany looks at Tyler hard but doesn't say anything. I mean, can you remember everythin' you dreamed? I can't. 06* Sydney frowns a bit more and writes down "Knows about the world and is hiding stuff? Sees us in dreams?" I....fine. Whatever. 06* Tiffany slumps in her chair and grumbles, only really audible to those sitting next to her. "I still think we should break into the Fringe." Anyway, I don't think the Walrus is part of the current problem. I mean he showed up to help us when we asked an' all. 06* Sydney hears Tiffany and frowns a bit more, but doesn't write that part down. <@Tyler> Sure. Tonight. 06* Javy glances over at Tiffany and looks unsure again. 06* Hank glances to Tiffany, then Tyler, then Javy. Then Sydney for good measure. 06* Tiffany gives Javy a glance and meets his gaze and holds it there. Let's see if he breaks it. 06* @Tyler looks at Hank. "Come on, it's not THAT hard to do and we might get answers." 06* Javy looks back at Tiffany for a couple of beats, then starts blushing and looks away towards Hank. 06* Hank leans back. Not so much that he falls off his chair, since he's sitting on it backwards. But enough so he's sitting tall. "I don't agree." What if Medea is there and puts some sort of weird scary curse on us? 06* Tiffany looks away from Javy after he breaks contact. "I don't think it'll be that easy. But I still think we should do it." 06* Hank glances at Sydney. "I dunno about that...." Then at the others, "But I think it's better to just talk to her." <@Tyler> And we don't have a weird scary curse now? It's not a, um. I don't think it's a curse. It ain't a curse. A curse is a bad thing. I don't think it's a good idea to make her mad. 06* Tiffany side-glances at Sydney. "So you want to just wait around for her to open up shop again in a month or so?" 06* Tiffany grumbles. "Fuck Medea. She told us to be a part of all this stuff and hasn't even been in contact with us since. That's screwy." It ain't like she forced ya. You signed the contract. 06* Javy nods at Tiffany a couple of times. 06* Sydney sighs. "I don't know." I know I did. And I'm responsible for my own actions. Which means I'm going to get answers. By breaking into her shop? I'm also just not comfortable with the idea of breaking into a place. 06* Tiffany looks hard at Hank. "If I need to." 06* Tiffany sighs. "I'll do it myself if I have to." 06* Hank sighs. "Yer so upset that the Cat knows more about you then you want, but yer all prepared to break into that woman's place fer the same reason. 06* Javy thins his lips, and looks down at this book. "There's got to be, um..." He trails off, thinking. 06* @Tyler laughs. "Can you tiff?" 06* Tiffany looks at Tyler. "Of course I can." <@Tyler> I'd like to see that Fuck no. You'd slow me down. 06* Javy swallows, and looks towards Syd, saying a little too loud. "... someone else. Someone else to ask. Even about her. We saw. Her shop, it's. It's been around. A real long time. Someone must know." Bright ass hair would give us away from a mile off. 06* @Tyler laughs. "I'd be in and out before you get the first tumbler set." 06* Hank nods to Javy. "Hey yeah, that's a good point. There's gotta be others." 06* Sydney attempts to not give too much attention to the discussion of criminal activity. "Could we ask around without looking too suspicious?" I can if no one else. I'm the new guy, 'member? No one'd get suspicious of me askin' about the town. 06* Javy nods at Hank supportively. And there's gotta be, like... papers and stuff Liscenses to run a business, property deeds, that kinda thing. 06* Sydney nods and writes that down. 06* Tiffany sighs. "I guess that's one way. Though the Fringe is older than dirt. Hard to know if you're ever going to get anything new." 06* Javy looks at Tiffany again, his blush pretty much settled. "But, um. Like you said. Maybe it's, like. Maybe it's all the same person." 06* Tiffany sighs. "Yeah, that'd even be worse." All the same what now? 06* Javy knots his brows. "But then, then the info, ah. It'd still be good." 06* @Tyler rolls eyes. "You never find info like this." 06* Tiffany sighs. "Do you know much about Medea, Hank? Like, not the one we met. The myth." Uh, yeah. She's like some Greek witch who helped out a hero in exchange for his marrying her. But he didn't want to go through with the marriage, so he ditched her, and she cursed him for it. 06* Hank shrugs. "Something like that, anywho." Yeah. And she also tricked two daughters into grinding up their own father and putting him in a stew pot. 06* Javy shudders a little, and crosses himself. 06* Sydney looks at Hank. "That actually seems like a good reason to-" And then Tiffany. "Eww." 06* Tiffany sighs. "Supposedly there's also an old crone who was accused about of the same thing here in town. And it was around the time the Fringe was still active." 06* Sydney shudders. "And you're not worried about what she might do to you if she catches you?" 06* Hank sits forward. 06* Tiffany looks at Sydney. "No. I'm not." Accused of cursing her husband and killing her kids? Or of the stew pot thing? Killing her kids. 06* Sydney exhales. "You're *way* braver than I am, then." 06* @Tyler shakes his head. "Probably just trying to scare us." 06* Tiffany sighs and runs her fingers through her hair. "Whatever. Tyler. You in? Or you just faking that you'd actually want to team up with me to look good for everyone else?" 06* Hank frowns. "So you're really gonna go through with this?" 06* Javy looks uneasily at Tyler and Tiffany. 06* Tiffany sighs and looks at Hank. "We're not going to break anything. We're not going to steal anything. We're just two kids doing what kids do. If anything, we'll make it up to Medea and be honest. Just saying we wanted info." Still ain't right. It ain't right to put us in the middle of this situation without telling us the full story either. 06* @Tyler laughs. "Don't get me wrong, I don't wanna team up with you tiff- tiff, but when you're the only one doing it right, I'm in." 06* Tiffany snerks and replies dryly. "Gee. Thanks." Just don't slow me down, butt wipe. 06* Javy looks between the pair, almost despairing. "Can't you wait one more day? Just. Let us see what we can find. I'm, um. Well..." he looks towards Hank. "...good. I can research." 06* Hank nods to Javy. "I'll help ya best I can." 06* Sydney waves her pen. "I'm taking notes!" she says, a bit desperately. 06* Tiffany smiles slightly at Sydney and replies softly, calming a little visibly. "And you're doing a good job of it too." <@Tyler> Sure, sure, go ahead and research Javy. 06* Sydney smiles back a bit and then looks down at her page. 06* Javy nods at Syd, and then at Tyler, looking relieved. 06* Javy looks towards Tiffany, then, to see if she's going to go along with it. 06* Tiffany glances at Javy for a moment, confused. "What?" So you ain't gonna go break into the place tonight and give us time to research? <@Tyler> I'm sure Tiff Tiff thinks it's a great idea for you to research. 06* Javy nods to Hank's statement, but is clearly still waiting for Tiffany's response. 06* Tiffany looks at Hank for a moment, blinking. "I..." She looks at Javy, then back at Hank and huffs, looking off to the side. "Fine." She then looks back at him. "But if we don't find anything useful, I'm doing it my way. Whether Tyler comes or not." She looks away again. She doesn't look too happy with it. 06* Javy looks grateful, and keeps looking at her. "Tha, thanks. Tiffany. I'll, ah. I'll do my best." 06* Tiffany doesn't look back at Javy. "Yeah. Right." 06* Javy nods a couple of times, and opens his mouth to say more, but after a short little vowel, closes it again. 06* Sydney draws a line in her notebook. "So. Researching." 06* Hank looks to Javy. <@Tyler> Don't you worry Tiff Tiff. 06* Javy nods, and thinks for a few beats, toying with his own notebook. "I, ah. We looked some before. Tiffany and me. But there's probably more here." Could try the city library. Put a sock in it, Tyler. 06* Tiffany gets up and walks out of the room. 06* Javy watches her go, worried. "We looked here. But, um. Maybe there's more." 06* Sydney watches Tiffany go with a concerned look, then sighs. "Give me a quick summary of what you found before, please?" she asks Javy. 06* @Tyler just frowns at Tiffany. Nothing specific enough. From what I read. Um. Like. Histories of Ashgate. Uh... 06* Hank is the only one who's expressionless! ... legends. Population information. 06* Sydney takes notes! Anythin' good? What Tiffany said before about Medea. Um... 06* Javy thinks more. 50 pages of Ashgate history. It's, um. That shop. Uh, the, the Lunatic, the Fringe. You know. It's always there. Like. In the pictures. All the way back. Can't "always" been there. Someone had ta build it. But you're saying it was built before the town was? 06* Javy nods a couple of times. "Definitely. It had to be. Um, it had to be built. But all the pictures there have it. Like, somewhere in it. In the square. It didn't say much, though." There oughtta be records of it then. 06* Javy nods. "We can check back. Um. She, ah, Tiffany, I mean, she had one. Back to the Civil War. It's there." 06* Sydney glances up at the doorway. Fair 'nough. 06* @Tyler frowns a bit. We could look at those. Or at the, the city archives. Or... 06* Javy thins his lips, and looks thoughtful. "Um. We could, ah. I could ask, ah, Nate. Just about the shop. He could help." Good idear. 06* Javy looks to the other two. "You think it's okay to, um. To. To tell him?" I think it's fine to tell him about the shop. 06* Hank nods. "Yeah. No harm in that." 06* Javy nods. "Okay. I'll, ah, text him. Maybe he's near here." He takes his phone out, and checks it for messages. 01<@Ardweden> [No messages waiting.] 06* Javy sends a quick text to Nate asking where he is, then. 01<@Ardweden> [Nate texts back: "Home. What's up?"] 06* Javy sends back, "At the library. Could use some research help. Free soon?" 01<@Ardweden> ["Sure, after dinner. In an hour?"] 06* Javy replies, "Great. Thanks. See you then." And then looks up at the rest of the group. "We have an hour. Then he'll show. So, um. We can look more in the meantime." Aight. 06* Javy presses his seat back, and looks down towards his case, before stopping. "Uh. Tiffany left her, ah, her bag." I was figuring she'd come back. 06* Hank leans to look around the table at it. "Huh. Guess she did." 06* @Tyler shrugs and heads out not waving at those folks. 06* Hank glances to Javy. "You wanna bring it to her, Javy? I'd do it but I get the feeling she doesn't wanna see me." He frowns. "And frankly, feelin's mutual right now." 06* Javy nods. "So, um. Someone should stay here, then. While we get the books. In case she. You know. Comes back." He looks at Hank. "Or, ah, I could do that." I'll wait here anyways. I'll see if I can find us any readin' material. 06* Hank gets up to do that! 06* Javy nods. "I'll be there soon." He takes his phone out again, and sends a text to Tiffany. "Hey. You still around? You left your bag. I could bring it to you." He pauses, and adds, "I could use your help." And then erases the "I" and puts in "We" before sending it. * After a while, Javy gets a text back. "With what?" 06* Javy reads it, and replies, "The research. About the Fringe. Like before?" 06* Tiffany sends back. "ithink we already foundeverything were gonna find on that" 06* Javy reads it, and replies, "But maybe not? Could be more. Or could talk with people. But if you're not around, Syd's staying in the room with the bag. Or could still bring it to you." 06* Tiffany responds. "im getting my bag. thx" 06* Javy looks at the phone, and then closes it after a beat, looking at Syd. "Okay. Um, I'll be back. Are you good?" Yep! I'll just wait right here. 06* Javy nods, and gets up to head out into the main library. "Thanks, Syd." 01 [Session End.]