Mar 18 10:23:42 108 PA - Impromptu Chat in the Plaza Park at Night
From Chronicles
Mar 18 10:23:42 108 PA.
PLAZA PARK
Evening has fallen, casting a blanket of shadowy darkness across the city. Despite this, however, the small Inuit woman has ventured beyond the space she lives in. Along the shores of the man-made lake is where she is. Her fur parka has been shed and lays discarded upon the grass. For her part, the small woman has settled at the shore, a spot that's got a sharper edge to it, and so her feet are left to dangle in the water. Her boots sit off to the side as well, and she idly swings her feet. Tornaq lays near to her, watching over her and keeping an eye on the surroundings. There's a faint drizzle lingering in the air, but it's not overbearing or a great amount of water. There's a small fire burning in a ring of rocks not too far from the two of them, though it would be hard to tell the purpose of the fire since there's no food readily visible. Within her lap she holds a knife and a block of wood, whittling at it in movements which are smooth and careful.
Gabriel comes walking into the Park, looking slightly aimless, as if he's still thinking about why he's chosen to come off of Main Street. He's dressed for warm weather, though his floppy USMC jungle hat is keeping the drizzle off his head, and his chemically treated light jacket and pants allowing the rest to slide off - not that there's much to do. Though he keeps looking behind him to see if he's being followed - which he expects - he can't help but be attracted to the fire like a moth, but with a brain. There's too much distance to call Monique or Tornaq yet without disturbing the night.
Gabriel has a shadow. Sort of. A coat is following him. The hood is extra on to keep out the drizzle. Cuffs are tucked into pockets to keep out the wind. Bella isn't walking very fast so even her boots are covered. It makes it easier to dodge puddles, too.
Lifting his head, Tornaq yawns widely, his ears swiveling a bit as he gathers in the sounds that the area has to offer. Monique quirks a smile, then lifts a hand to lightly pat one of his front paws near to her. He remains calm and at ease, though. Swishing one of her feet through the water, she continues to idly whittle away at the piece of wood, humming quietly to herself. A brief glance is given to the fire which burns not far from her, but then her dark-eyed gaze turns back to the block of wood she holds in her hands. One of her fingers brushes lightly over it, considering, but then she returns to whittling.
The older man gives a smile to the coat following him slowly through the late-night drizzle. "C'mon, Miss Bella, I think that we should just talk a little more before I take you back and make you comfortable at my little glade. Miss Monique's over here, too. Maybe have a bit of a conversation, rather than me sitting you down and lecturing, huh?" Gabriel is smiling widely, gesturing with his right hand. His left is raised to Monique and Tornaq in greeting. They're fairly close now, and he calls out, "Miss Monique! Hey, you whittling a horse? Y'know, that's what gave Odysseus the idea for the Trojan Horse. Brought down Troy, the mightiest empire east of the Greek city-states. Really the last thing in the way of creating a unified Greece." He seems to have wandered off topic a little. It's very late evening, approaching midnight, and there is a light drizzle in the air. The little Eskimo girl is dangling her feet in the just barely not-freeing lake, with her bear nearby. Gabriel, followed by a short coat, are approaching out of Main Street, very close to them at this point.
"I'ma comin'." She is. To a point. The fire looks way better than almost freezing water. Bella shuffles more towards that. She gets a good long look at the giant white cuddle toy, too. "Cute. Does it eat people?" That's a good thing to know, she thinks.
At least Taz seems to be in a moderately better mood than when he -left- the park last time around, the giant making his way through the trees of the park with cigar clamped between his teeth and this time, he doesn't even go to bother Gabriel and/or Bella. Instead he goes to find a place to sit down and stare at the polar bear. If someone had enhanced hearing they might hear Taz rumble curiously, "If it's painted... how come the fur ain't all sticky clumps..." But otherwise, he's actually minding his own business for once.
Turning as her name is called, Monique spies Gabriel and then lifts her right hand to offer a wave in return. A smile lights her features as she does so, and Tornaq rumbles softly in his own greeting. Her brow furrows a little bit, and then she lightly shakes her head. "Not make horse. Wood not say it horse," she comments, her dark eyes showing a sparkle. "I not know Troy," she adds, frowning for a moment, confused. She lightly swishes her feet through the water, her attention almost going back to the whittling of the wood, but Bella stalls that with her question. "Tornaq not eat people. Tornaq only give hurt if need to, to protect," she says, giving a small nod, a smile touching her lips. The temperature of the water doesn't seem to bother her at all, oddly enough. Tornaq rumbles, turning his attention to Taz and whuffing a foggy breath. That brings Monique to look in that same direction, and she tilts her head to one side. The bear noses her shoulder, reaching out to do so, and the small Inuit woman raises an eyebrow slightly.
"Hello, my little Eskimo girl, mind if we sit down with you?" Gabriel is unusually rude, not waiting for a positive answer. Instead, he sits near the fire, given Tornaq one of his normal neutral stares. He and the bear have an understanding, even if it isn't a magical connection. Of course, the old soldier sits in more of a knee-crouch. One knee on the ground, the other leg with a foot on the ground, crooked. It's a good way to jump into motion if something comes out of nowhere. "C'mon over, Bella, the fire's nice, and Tornaq doesn't bite unless you try to hurt his charge." Again, he uses his arm to wave the silently moving coat in his direction. To Monique, a curious eyebrow. "What does the wood say?" He removes a small whittling knife of his own from a pocket on his leg. "I *tell* the wood what it wants to be." The giant Taz receives a nodded, "Hey, Taz. You Juicers don't need sleep, or do you have insomnia?" It's an honest question, not an insult or jibe.
"Can go fer five days, no sleep, no problem." Taz rumbles simply with a roll of his broad shoulders, still studying the bear and he leans towards it, snorting once to puff out a gust of fog as well. "Normal, three hours, tops... never more than that... hard to sleep. Boring." He rumbles before putting his stogie back in his teeth to take a few puffs after all of that. It seems in a world where there is demons, angels, dinosaurs, monsters, and giant robots... it's a polar bear that seems to attract Taz's attention more than anything.
"Oh. Yeah. The big protector." Bella remembers that. Bella doesn't sit, but she comes closer to the fire. "Oughtta have a big pile of 'em. Lotsa protectin'. Bet they'd be nice ta sleep on, too." Her hood turns to look at Taz. "Don'tcha just have an off button 'r somethin. When ya wanna stop?"
Looking to Gabriel, the small woman lightly shakes her head. "I not mind if sit with me," she says, a smile touching at the corners of her lips. She lifts a hand, gesturing towards the space, for him to feel free. Tornaq looks to Gabriel and gives what seems a nod, mutual respect and neutrality being shared. Raising an eyebrow slightly, Monique looks to Gabriel and then she frowns a moment, considering the question. "Wood show what shape is inside, not need be told what will be. This become wolf," she says, giving a small nod. Tornaq shifts his weight and returns his attention to Taz, studying him as he is studied in turn. Monique blinks a little and looks to Bella, and then she gives a small nod. "Have slept on, before. Comfortable, yes. Soft, warm," she says, a smile touching her lips, and she gives a small nod again.
Gabriel raises an eyebrow at Monique's explanation of what the wood is going to become. "Michelangelo said that he just cut away the marble to expose what was already there." He turns his head to Bella with a shrug. "I don't want to frighten you or anything, Miss Bella, but it seems to me you're being awfully trusting. Particularly for someone with the history you've given me. How do you know that I'm not a wolf?"
Bella points her hood back at Gabriel. With a little snicker. "How ya know -I- ain't?" The coat shrugs. "Ain' scareda ya. Sides, ya said it's justa place. Nothin' there. Ain' like I can't just leave if I wanna. Whatcha gonna do? Try 'n tie me ta a tree 'r somethin?"
As apparently Taz's answer is enough to stop conversation on to his sleeping habits Taz continues to stare eye to eye with the big polar bear, it's near as big as him likely. He does answer, "An' she has a gun, an' I'd know where ta start lookin'." In his deep rumble with a chuckle following before he puffs on his cigar more and blows smoke into the air. That done he stands up to his full ten foot height and looks at monique, studying her for a few long moments. "Pretty woman." He rumbles, "Can see why need bear." He nods to himself and then he stretches. "Bored." He rumbles, looking around for something to do.
Monique gives a nod of agreement. "Yes. Cut away extra to show what inside," she says, a smile touching her lips. She lowers her gaze to the piece of wood, shaving off more pieces of it. It's already started to take the shape of a wolf sitting, it's nose lifted to the sky as though howling at the moon. Should the great white bear be standing, he would be taller at the shoulder than his shaman's small height. The small Inuit woman looks to Taz, and a blush of colour creeps to her cheeks, her chin ducking out of shyness. "Thank you," she says quietly, her voice near a whisper. She is, it would seem, unaccustomed to being complimented and easily turned shy by such words. Tornaq reaches out a nose to lightly touch her shoulder nearest to him, and he rumbles softly.
Gabriel smiles at Bella. A strange smile, but still, a smile, as if there's more unsaid, but nothing that needs to be said save for, "Actually, my place? There's only one way in, and one way out, and if you don't walk it exactly right, large things explode. So if you're going to trust me, you need to trust me. If you want to leave, you need to get me. You can't just disappear into the night." He then looks between Taz and Bella for a moment, with Monique and her companion momentarily left out of the conversation. "What kind of weapon?" Then a look at the girl, or more accurately, the coat. "You know how to use it? Rather than someone just telling you how to pull a trigger? You can be just as dangerous to innocent people than your target, if you don't know how to use it properly." Perhaps none of that needed to be said - but to be safe, it needed to be said. Then to Monique, a confirmation. "Yeah, that's lookin' good, little lady."
"Really? Neat." Yep. Not stepping just right and exploding is neat. "Now I still wanna go. 'N yeah I gotta gun. Ain't hard ta use neither. Point't at somebody ya don' like. Pulla trigger buncha times. Wave bye." Bella keeps the technical stuff simple.
Taz looks back over to the bear and then asks Monique, "Does the painted bear wrestle? Haven't wrestled a bear painted white before." His rumble is not aggressive, more hopeful maybe. Monique looks to Gabriel, and the blush in her cheeks deepens. Her chin ducks a little, and she gives a small nod. "Thank you," she says quietly, sounding shy, and a little smile touches her lips. She continues to work on the whittling. Taz's question draws her attention to him, and she raises an eyebrow slightly before shaking her head. "Tornaq not wrestle," she says softly, studying him for a lingering moment.
Taz frowns, "Pity." He switches his stogie to the other side of his mouth and puffs, puffpuffpuff. Just so he can blow smoke rings in the air. Walking over towards the fire he then moves to sit down, "I'm Taz." He introduces himself to Monique in his usual deep rumble, tapping his chest lightly as if to just -make sure- that everyone knows, that he means himself when he says I. "How can you guys all sit around and do nothing for so long?" The big juicer asks them, "I mean, yeah, the wolf is cool..." He rumbles, but there is a definite 'but' coming, "But," See there it is, "Nothing to really get the blood flowin'. Hasn't even been a good brawl in Moe's lately."
With a subtle laugh, the man from Kentucky says, "Sorry to burst your bubble, Taz, but I think that the bear - non-painted bear, that's his natural color, try to check his pubes if you think you can - could kick your Juicer ass." Big smile, but clearly not meant as an insult, just educated guess or observation. Gabriel is once more wearing a fatherly smile as he gazes at Bella. "Fair enough. A weapon's a weapon. Just don't go spraying it around unless you really, really have to." His head then leans to the side as he does his best to gaze into the hood. "Miss Bella, forgive me for being intrusive, but what are you? Plain vanilla human like me who was smart enough and tough enough to make it out of the 'Dregs? Supernatural shape-shifter? I know that you're not inherently evil. But you could be any variety of things, and if you aren't too shy about it, I'd sure appreciate hearing about it." He then taps his chest and says with a grin, "Don't worry, I think it's great to be a vanilla human."
The coat startles and twitches. "Huh? Whatcha mean by that? I'm me." Bella's quiet a bit. Then a shrug. "Jus' me. Kinda easy ta spot alla different one's ain't it?" Bella tips her hood towards the not vanilla people. "They got bears. Or they's big as bears. Or they make ya glowy. Or toss ya 'round with not touchin' ya. Or whatever."
The small Inuit woman tilts her head a little to one side, and then she gives a small nod. "I Monique. Bear is Tornaq," she offers, a smile touching at the corners of her lips. She looks to the smoke rings he creates, but then she looks to him again. "Relax is difficult when not used to doing so. Have been busy through day," she comments, her tone one of explanation. She looks to Bella at the words spoken, and her brow furrows a little bit, a hint of a frown touching her lips. Her gaze lowers, and she returns to her carving, a thoughtful cast holding to her features.
Gabriel turns his back on the fire for a while, allowing his eyes to just to pure darkness again. Or at least near pure darkness as barely illuminated by the distant street lamps. He studies the skies for a moment, as if making calculations, then looks down at the military watch on his left wrist. "Yeah, Miss Bella, it's getting late, and unless you can run faster than you've been shuffling, it's going to be a while 'till we get to my place. Won't take long to break out the blankets though, and like I said, you can take the hammock. Big extra overcoat if you need it, too." The older fellow stands and looks to the others. "Miss Monique, Taz. Tornaq. The constellations say that it's time to leave, and so does my watch. Try to get little Miss Bella here somewhere safe and warm before it's already tomorrow. You guys sleep well - or whatever facsimile thereof," he smiles, mostly directed at Taz, though honestly he has no idea how much the little Eskimo needs sleep either.
Taz looks over towards Gabriel and Bella when the two prepare to leave apparently and he nods slightly, "Sure thing. If I don't go crazy first." He rumbles with a wide grin before he looks back towards Monique, and not the bear for once, watching her carve wood. "How can you tell what it's supposed to be just by lookin' at it?" He rumbles curiously.
"Yeah." Bella agrees. Wordily too. The whole coat turns away from the lake and the fire. She's pretty sure the hammocks and explosives are the other way. "Try rockin' yerself ta sleep, Taz. Ya just gotta use really really big rocks."
Taz rumbles a deep chuckle, "Pretty sure the Harness would keep me goin' even through that Coat. Even through that."
Looking to Gabriel, Monique offers a smile, her dark eyes showing a sparkle to them. "Be safe, Gabriel, Bella. Farewell and a good night," she offers, a small smile touching her lips again. She needs sleep eventually, but it would seem not just yet. Looking to Taz, she tilts her head to one side. "Hard to explain. Is matter of look in wood, see what shape want come out. Is way of my People, in carving," she says thoughtfully, then gives a small nod.
Gabriel will wait for Bella to catch up so that she can walk next to him as an equal, not trailing behind him like a slave, or a lesser being. "C'mon, Miss Bella, let's find some warmth. 'night, guys." Monique and Taz - and Tornaq - all receive waves, and then he's on his way out of the Plaza Park.
Taz hmmms, "I can understand sort of. When I look at a computer screen, seeing the way the programs work I can just... see what I gotta do sometimes, to get past that program and into the heart of it." He rumbles thoughtfully.
"Similar, yes. See what need be done, and do what needed," Monique says, a smile touching her lips. She puts the finishing touches on the wolf, then tucks the knife back into the sheath at her waist. Pushing herself to her feet, she doesn't dry off her feet before stepping into her boots, and she steps over to Taz to offer the wolf to him. "Gift, for you," she says, giving a small nod. "Need go for night. Farewell, and keep safe. Path will cross again, speak more then," she offers, a smile touching her lips. Tornaq rumbles softly and gets to his feet, stretching himself full before shaking himself off.
Taz reaches out both large hands to cradle the comparatively tiny wolf in his hands, looking a bit stunned at being given it. "Thank you." He rumbles, looking from the carving to the woman and then back to the carving and back to the woman again before his fingers close ever so gently around the carving. Big as he is, he probably has to be gentle, very gentle, to not crush it. "If I could make anything... I would give you something in return." The big juicer rises to his full height and looks down into his hands again before he carefully puts the carving into a pouch that was on a cord around his neck and tucks it back into his armor.
Monique smiles at him, and then she gives a small nod. "You're welcome," she says softly, her dark eyes showing a sparkle to them. Her gaze holds to him for a moment more, and then she lifts a hand to lightly pat Tornaq's leg. "No need for give something in return -- but if feel must, then friendship good to give," she says, a smile touching her lips. "Have safe night, Taz," she says, giving a small nod. With Tornaq at her side, she starts to walk away from the lake and towards the exit of the park.
Taz smiles, "Always willin' ta give that." He rumbles, "Jus' not always findin' people deservin' o' it." He looks after her as she walks off, "You have it."
