Five bucks says there’s a door to the pits of hell in the kitchen by New Year

Kalen Holliday

[How awake are we?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN7 (3, 4, 6, 7, 7, 8, 10) ( success x 4 )

Kalen Holliday

[And how distracted by Resonance are we?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10) ( success x 2 )

Alexander

[Are we aware today?]

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 8, 9) ( success x 2 )

Grace

[Awareness too!]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (2, 4, 5, 6, 10) ( success x 2 )

Kalen Holliday

Kalen has some strange affection for this diner. He comes to work and have coffee and pie. By now the staff have gotten used to him, spiky hair and shimmery eyeliner and laptop and actual printed newspaper. It doesn't seem like the kind of place you should expect to see him. There were times when he spent time in places like this because he had nowhere else to go. Because they were warm and relatively safe and there was coffee. And sometimes he tries to remember who he was then, before all of this.

To remember what magic gave him.

Tonight he seems relatively awake. There is a half-finished slice of key lime pie on the table. A recently refilled mug of black coffee. Silver eyeliner and just a hint of something pale and shimmery and purple brushed over his eyelids brings out the green in them, bright against his pale skin. He's wearing a white shirt that is clingy and soft and artfully shredded in a few places. Gray jeans. It's rather more than he usually bothers with, but far less than he can do.

Some things, like temporary tattoos of butterflies, are just more suited to all-night affairs in altered states of consciousness in buildings one isn't supposed to be in. Back in the time he came here to remember...that kind of thing was a bit more commonplace for him.

Grace

The place is like Kalen's other office. He likes pie. Grace likes pi. It all works out, doesn't it?

Grace has her own mug of coffee at the opposite end of the table, though she keeps having to remind the waitress that she's there in order to get it refilled. Her type of pie tonight is a slice of pecan sweetness that has yet to be messed with too much. She's too engrossed in whatever's happening on her phone.

And, to put a counterpoint to Kalen, she certainly doesn't look like a business partner with the man. Jeans of the starving student type, and a black t-shirt under her plain gray turtleneck jacket are her choice of attire.

And she wears no silver eyeliner. As she told Alyssa some days ago, that would probably be an invitation to blindness via liquid liner wand.

Alexander

What would any gathering of Mages be without others being strangely drawn into their orbit? Somewhere along Colfax is a guy riding a motorbike. The from and the to aren’t particulary important. Neither are they overly clear – there’s no destination in mind, and he’s been riding around for a while. A visit to the plains probably happened at some point during the journey. There’s probably a metaphor in there somewhere about how the journey is the important part.

But we digress. Somewhere along Colfax is a merging of two familiar resonances, coming from a diner that Alexander is coming to know. Maybe not as well as Kalen, but he’s been here a few times and he’s not completely unknown to the staff. So in his walks, buried in his leathers and with his helmet carried in one hand. An order is placed at the counter before he walks the rest of the way to join Kalen and Grace.

“Hi guys.” He almost asks how things are going, but that’s occasionally a risky question to ask. So he settles for, “How are you both?” He begins the task of getting out of his jacket and some of the layers built up underneath. It is heading towards winter, after all.

Kalen Holliday

Kalen circles something, taps out a note into the mapping program, makes a note on the paper too.

Kalen looks up when he senses Alexander. Alexander gets a wave and a flash of a smile, and then Kalen slides over a little, nudges enough of the things he's working on out of the way for Alexander to eventually have food arrive and have space.

"Please tell me you brought home that charming creature with the apocalyptic orange hair," is his greeting to Alexander. Warm and just shy of purring. Mischievous.

Grace

It's no longer 'headed towards winter' as much as it is winter. It's amazing Grace isn't wearing her amazing technocolor technocoat. But alas. The coffee certainly helps keep warm.

Alex, though. In his presence, it wouldn't matter how many layers you put on, you'd still feel the nip of chill.

Grace's eyes flit up from her phone, then flashes a smile when she sees who it is.

"Wha huh? Apocalyptic orange hair?"

Alexander

Ah, but there are degrees of winter and the city has still to descend into the deepest depths that it has to offer. But whatever your definition of the current season, it’s still not the most pleasant weather to be travelling at speed without ways of staying warm. One day, perhaps, there will be other ways to do that than a couple of t-shirts and something thermal underneath them. A small pile of clothing gets stacked roughly on a nearby, vacant seat.

Grace gets a smile in return, but then he looks as confused as Grace feels. “I.. have no idea who you’re talking about. Orange hair?” The only person that springs to mind with strangely coloured hair would be Lucy, but that’s pink.

Kalen Holliday

"Blue eyes. Spent the night trying to work up to asking you to dance." Kalen smiles. "I suppose it doesn't matter. I tried very hard not to give the impression we were dating.

"Serafine thought that Gallowglass and I had a romantic thing going on, once." He sounds so mystified by this. As though the fact that he had practically poured himself against Gallowglass' side in a bar would mean so many other things coming from most people?

"I finally did sleep, though. Much better." Again a smile, this one warmer and slightly less playful. "How are you?"

Grace

Ugh. Adam. Why Kalen seems to like that guy so much is beyond Grace. He's the worst. For all that Kalen likes to spend money in strange ways, he at least hasn't picked up the elitist snobbishness that sometimes goes with that.

She tries not to let that distaste for a certain someone show.

"Somebody's got a secret admirer? Huh. Congratulations, Alex. I think."

Could be he doesn't want to be admired. Probably not, but you know...

Alexander

There’s another moment or two before the penny finally drops. “Oh! Yeah. Her. The one who wouldn’t take no for an answer once she had worked up the courage to ask. No, she eventually lost interest and ended up finding someone else to go home with. And I pity the poor soul who did, she’ll have her stuff moved in by the end of next week.” His coffee and pie arrive, slipped onto the corner of table vacant of Kalen’s things and the other flatware already in use. He pours some cream before taking in a sip. He clarifies things for Grace. “We went out clubbing last night. My cabalmate here abandoned me to the mercies of the woman with orange hair. Abandoned!” He clutches his hand to his chest before poking his tongue out at Kalen.

“I’m doing ok. Can you remember what time we left this morning? I didn’t wake up until the middle of the afternoon. I’m usually up with the sun. I’m glad you slept well, though. Maybe we should do that kind of thing more often. It was so much more fun that that last trip to the Black Orchid. Less painful too.”

“And how’s Grace doing today? Is there a winner in your bet with Alyssa yet?”

Grace

"Ahh, then I take back the congratulations," she says, and prods the pecan pie with a fork.

"No," Grace says to his question of bets, and rolls her eyes. "He refuses to cooperate and set anything on fire. We had such faith in him, but he only managed to produce cookies, not smoke. Very disappointing."

Pecans get speared on the end of her fork. She nibbles on them.

Kalen Holliday

Kalen laughs as Alexander dramatically proclaims he was abandoned, leaning into Alexander for a second. "We should. Sleeping past noon is my new favorite thing.

"And listen to him. Like I don't have some women who moved into my pretend house the day I met her." Kalen laughs again. "Really, Alce, that is just how you find someone to pick up your dry cleaning and raise attack puppies." Is he joking? He doesn't sound like he's joking.

He wraps his hands around his own coffee, more for the warmth than because he intends to drink it. "Still no idea what sugar cookie recipes to use, maybe I'll narrow it down to six. I may yet set the kitchen to flames."

Alexander

His own pie – cherry, for anyone who may be interested – gets picked at with a fork and the end is quickly eaten. “I’m sure you can find things to smoke that would have a similar effect. Although you might wants to sort out those cookies first, I hear that getting the munchies is an unfortunate side effect.”

He smiles around the fork when Kalen talks about women moving in. “Somehow I can’t see Grace picking up your dry cleaning. Unless you make a habit of inviting women to stay. I’m sure there’s an orange-haired woman out there who would be all too happy to arrange your life for you. I don’t know about the attack puppies, though. Are they there to drown intruders in slobber?”

Another smile for Grace as he adds his own bet to the pot. “Five bucks says there’s a door to the pits of hell in the kitchen by New Year.”

Grace

"Alex. Please. I did not go live in Kalen's house the day I met him. I didn't know him from an ax murderer. He does just make a habit of inviting people to stay with him," Grace says. "He's talking about the lady he picked up to raise puppies, after she almost killed him."

As though that explains everything.

Grace just smiles and eats more pie.

Kalen Holliday

Kalen looks over at Alexander, and smiles just a little. "Yeah...I kept meaning to tell you about that, except in some ways the less you know about her the better, all things considered. But...it's been months now. And she's very happy running my errands and raising puppies that will eventually be guard dogs for the library. I think she's okay.

"Anyway, I think I'm leaving the door to the pits of hell in the cellar. More thematically appropriate. And I've already reinforced the door with iron."

Alexander

“Um, ok. I’d ask who this puppy-raising woman is, but if you think it’s best I don’t know...” They had already had a little conversation about keeping secrets back when Alex had first agreed to join the cabal. It would have been one thing if what Kalen had neglected to mention had been about him. But what they’d agreed about keeping secrets about other people was a bit fuzzier. It isn’t so much that Alex wants or needs to know everything that’s going on in Kalen’s life out of some need to know for the sake of knowing. It’s more that Kalen wants him to be there for when Kalen forgets certain things. It’s about trust. And Alexander does trust Kalen, so he lets it go. If it’s not something that Kalen is going to need to reminded about that whole human thing then... “Fair enough.

“Are you sure iron will be strong enough? That stuff melts, you know.”

Grace

"Oh..." Right. Alex is a cop. Don't mention the attempted theft and murder bits in front of him. Grace almost forgot about that.

"Oops. Sorry. I didn't say anything," Grace says, chews pie, tries to look sufficiently contrite.

"Kalen, you've reinforced all the doors. You like reinforced everything."

Kalen Holliday

"If I promise she's not going to break any laws I don't ask her to from now on, will you not arrest her? It's not that I care if you know, I just...the whole story would leave you in a very awkward place with your job. She was confused and scared and she made a mistake, but she's outside of those circumstances now. She doesn't want to go back, and I...I made that happen. I gave her a new life, and I'd rather like her to keep it.

"So...reinforced fireproof door to cellar. Got it." He sighs. "Actually, now that it's about to be very public knowledge, I should put in an actual panic room."

Alexander

“It’s fine. Really. I’m actually surprised that whole thing hasn’t been more of a thing that it was.” There’s a glance at Grace, but there’s no malice. She had her reasons for keeping him at arm’s reach. There may well be other times in the future where the same conflict comes up – it would be amazing if it didn’t – but he tries not to think it’s anything personal.

The pie sits, half-eaten, as Alexander takes a drink from the coffee cup. “You did think about that way of getting out in case the place gets sieged, right?”

Grace

"To be honest, I like the way you care about security, Kalen. Even if it is a bit over the top, it feels good having a place to go that's better than my apartment."

Better than her apartment, where anyone could bust down the door. The apartment she barely lives in. It works as a 'normal' address and that's about it.

"Well, what you don't know, you don't have to report, right?"

Grace

[Ugh. It is 1AM. Do you guys mind if I jet out? I didn't see it was this late. We can say Grace gets really interested in her phone or something.]

Kalen Holliday

"I still tell you all the fun secrets," Kalen says with a smile. "Promise." And that is, perhaps surprisingly in context, a rather serious promise.

"I...the last place I was...it didn't even matter. So...not exactly. Mostly it's set up to withstand something of a siege. And there are things I can do to reinforce the building. They're a bit draining to keep up with outside of a threat, though they may be more worthwhile soon."

Alexander

[I'm flagging some too, so not a problem if we find a wrap]

Kalen Holliday

[We can even just fade them here. It's not a perfect place. But I don't think this is a thing we even have to push to wrap. I'm about a bit longer, but not much longer. So...whatevs.]

Alexander

[Works for me - I don't think there's any earth-shattering reveal coming up. is there?]

Kalen Holliday

[Nah. He might at some point explain Kelsey, but not in public. :)]