Frisbee is displeased

Josephine

[How aware of Resonance are we?]

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

Grace

[Awareness too!]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (2, 7, 7, 8, 8) ( success x 4 )

Alexander

[Ooh, dice! Awareness.]

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (5, 5, 9, 9) ( success x 2 )

Alexander

[Because he's starting to like playing around with his senses, a little sensing forces. Arete, TN4, -1 for taking time. 2 succs for the sceen?]

Dice: 1 d10 TN3 (9) ( success x 2 ) [WP]

Alexander

Some may think that avoiding places where there has been trouble is a good thing to do. Not so long ago, two of their kind had been attacked without warning by something else that tended to prefer a life in the shade. They had – nearly – been preyed on once, and there’s nothing to say that it wouldn’t happen again. It would be the safe thing to do.

Well, screw that. Making little change after little change to avoid the risk that something might happen again makes the world a smaller and scarier place than is really is. It’s not even a case of self-preservation, like staying away from a club used by vampires to pick up their next meal. It really is just letting fear take over.

So plans have been made, messages swapped, and here Alex is. He’s not so far away from the lake that he can’t see what might be happening on the grass nearby. It wouldn’t be the first, or the last, time that a particular Sending had appeared to ask for help. It has been a while since that last time, but then months had passed between then and the first visit. So you never know.

He’s sat on the grass at the moment, seeing what there is to see. There’s a rucksack on the ground next to him, currently unopened. The weather is warming up, although still not what some in the city would call pleasant, so the heavy jacket he was wearing lies on the grass by the pack. The sun is pleasant, warming. A frozen moment to relax in.

A light breeze blows through the park, and it reminds him of a night out in the mountains when he’d first worked out how to see it. Well, he’s got time to kill... Why not? He sinks back into himself and the sensation of the air moving over his skin and his reaches to see more of the world. To see the wind dancing again.

Josephine

Some Mages are preoccupied with vampires. Wars. Monsters. Duty. The fucking meaning of life.

Josephine is familiar with this phenomenon. She has been at the center of a little conclave of Mages and she remembers. Traditions and dreams and visions for the future. It was all idealistic and frantic and messy. She's not doing all that right now.

No. Instead, she is looking for a good place to crowdfund a mural for. And perhaps, perhaps she will enchant as she enchants her chalk drawings, except that this magic won't wash away in the rain. She's snapping pictures, here and there, with her phone, which is impressive as she leans and contorts and walks over uneven ground in high strappy red heels. Not just any red, but that rich eye-stopping candy red. With sparkles. Her jeans don't really match the eye-catching nature of those heels, though they do draw a look from the people who notice her. Her shirt reads, 'Free Hugs' and clings to her in ways that should probably have her some attention. But Josephine doesn't really want that attention anymore.

She snaps a few more pictures, dodges a double jogging stroller at the last second, shrugs off an apology about texting for the playdate of the twins. There is something frozen. Cold and still and entirely unlike the sense of blissful, peaceful spring that clings to her. And so she wanders that way.

Grace

Grace is wandering the park for much the same reasons Alex is. Though she knows they won't be out during the day, time was she let traumatic experiences tell her what was safe to do and not. That time has passed.

She walks here because this is a place she has always walked. Because she won't let a little thing like living black holes keep her from doing what she does. And as she walks, the sense of Alex -- Alex, like the mountain peaks that loom in the distance, cold and lonely and high -- flows over her like the snow that this season likes to melt.

He'll see her coming in a different way than normal, the wind making eddy currents around her, dancing in strange chaos around the barrier of her body. Perhaps he can even feel the flutter of feathers as she approaches -- wings not touched by the wind, but shifting anyway.

There's someone else coming too -- someone who feels like a dreamy happy plunge into flowers, and it has Grace -- grey-jacketed, blue-jeaned, besneakered -- looking around.

"Hey, Alex," she says, to a walking path in the opposite direction to him. "What's up?"

Alexander

There’s something to be said for education, where you learn to put the names to things. Where the names define the things. Where, in some Awakened opinions, you can change the thing by changing the name. And had Alexander studied science beyond high school, he might be able to put the names to the sensation of energy as the air moves. He can see it and knows that that current is stronger than that current, but the newtons and joules and other units of measurement aren’t something he’s aware of in the same way.

He watches the flow of air above the lake, convection flows as warmer air rises and colder air falls again. A vision of chaotic order – the air following the pattern but with random variations in the flow. Something makes him think of flying, soaring, on those updrafts. Something keen and shifting. Less like a skittering blade and more like a soaring bird. He turns, curious, that it feels like someone familiar but now a little more different than before.

“Grace?” It looks like her. It sounds like her. It – mostly – feels like her. “You’ve changed. Did Alyssa rub off on you in the end?” He smiles and turns to start fishing something out of the pack. It’s Frisbee time! He pushes himself up from the ground, wiggling it at Grace. “No flying off after it, now.”

Another sensation – another resonance – is nearby. It’s new and unknown and he turns to look at where it’s approaching from. “Hrm. Someone you know?”

Josephine

The source of that unfamiliar Resonance walks right up to them. She does it slowly enough, but she doesn't hesitate. Josephine moves through the world as if it belongs to her. As though there is no place she would rather be than right here, right now, meandering across the young spring grass toward two strangers.

She is already smiling, but her smile widens as her fingers pull over the fall of her hair, making sure it is all to one side as it should be and tilts her chin up so that she can look at them less through her eyelashes. Easy enough with Grace. But, even in those heels, she doesn't really look all the way to Alexander.

"Hi," she says. "Josephine." If it has occurred to her that she might be interrupting, there is no sign of that awareness as she extends one hand, layers of rings with an assortment of mostly semi-precious gemstones catching the light, metal bracelets ringing. Her nails are painted the same red as her shoes, each ring finger with a little jeweled flower design glued to it. And, for all that she might not tend to dwell on any particular part of the world long, she keeps the hand she is not offering in their line of sight.

Grace

"Alyssa's not rubbing on me," Grace says, absentmindedly, again to a walking path instead of to Alex. But then, the words actually parse. "Oh! I mean, that. Right. I did kind of change at that, yes.

She turns to give him a little smile, and then back again to the approach of Josephine -- who gets a curious expression. Grace reads her shirt, notices the hand stuck out, and then smiles at her and goes in for the weirdest handshake. For one, Grace goes for the wrong arm first. And then both arms. And then drops the extraneous arm.

"Hi. I like free. Grace."

Alexander

“Mind if I ask you what.. how... Hell, I dunno, what happened? Just so I might have a clue what to look forward to?” He scratches his head, turning to meet Josephine as she approaches.

Sendings. Vampires. Games of soccer between the Awakened. One thing can be said about Washington Park, it’s never quiet. And, just to keep that reputation intact, here’s another newcomer. One who – at least for the moment – doesn’t seem intent on jumping down their throats with both Doc Martens.

“Alexander.” He reaches out to shake hands, too. His grip, contrary to what might be expected given the way that his presence feels, is warm. “Plus Frisbee.” He smiles, wiggling it between his hands again.

Josephine

Josephine participates in Grace's awkward handshake dance, starting to offer the other hand or both hands, but eventually Grace gets one of her hands. There is a little squeeze, Josephine isn't delicate but she doesn't try to impress upon anyone any measure of strength with her grip. "Me too. Especially in the case of hugs. Or shots. I accept both as expressions of love."

Alexander manages a more normal handshake, but then waggles a frisbee at her. Washington Park is hardly boring. Excellent. She reaches out to take the lip of the waggling frisbee and lets her hand nod up and down with it.

"Well," she says, in a voice rich with the threat of laughter. "I'm pleased to meet all three of you."

Grace

Grace grins at Alex. "Frisbee is probably the most awesome of us. Did you know that Frisbee likes flying around wherever it goes? Like, you just try that yourself, it's... kinda awesome, actually."

She leans over to him, whispers in his ear, "And yeah, I had a... vision quest or whatever. It's... different. Like a dream but not even close to it. Seeking, they call it."

Then, to Josephine. "I am shit at hugs. Seriously. Not so bad at frisbee."

Alexander

“Also the most evil. Frisbee has been known to randomly attack people without warning. Although that could be down to whoever’s throwing him, but that’s just boring. And it happens a lot more than intended, so there must be some kind of evil spirits built into the things. Maybe they have some evil plan to take over the world?” He’s grinning, obviously joking. Although given track record in the city, never say never...

Alex nods to what Grace whispers, then shrugs. “Tell me about it later. Frisbee has company.” Company that mostly likely knows full well what Seekings are, but there are some conversations you don’t have with complete strangers around.

“Do you play?” he asks Josephine. The heels are probably a sign that this wouldn’t be the best of time even if she did. But, then, he knows Sera. So who the hell knows. “Haven’t seen you in town before. Just moved in?” She may well have been here for years, but given their propensity to ‘accidentally’ bump into each other all the time? Unlikely.

Josephine

Josephine laughs a little when Grace pronounces herself shit at hugs, but she offers up no protests. No offers to practice. She doesn't stop smiling when they start whispering, just waits. There was a time that she was part of something, when she whispered and laughed and was in the place of being the one who knew the city.

But that was San Francisco.

"About six months ago," she says to Alexander. "And my last ridiculous athletics in parks partner preferred hacky sacks, but I have been known to join in on frisbee on occasion. I had a brief fling with a skateboard once, but we decided to see other people. Frisbees and I have always been good though, even if we mostly only see each other at parties."

Grace

"Jesus Christ, Alex. Do not summon evil Frisbee spirits bent on world takeover. Watch your language, dude," Grace says, in extreme mocking mode.

Then, she steps backwards without looking, doing a little reverse-walk to put distance between herself and the guy with the frisbee.

"Well, welcome to Denver! Frisbee loves you! Or loves hitting you in the head, we'll find out shortly!"

Alexander

“Ahh, the skateboard. Such a fickle one. One minute you think you’re the best of friends, the next you’re on your ass wondering what you did wrong. Are you still seeing each other?”

Alex grins. “Hey, I’m not doing any summoning. I’m just pointing out the potential for the end of the world to come from the most innocent and unlikely of places.” He starts taking his own walk backwards, putting space between the three of them. He makes a throwing gesture at Josephine, seemingly asking if she wants to join in. He’ll throw to Grace first, though.

“So was it to, from, or just because it seemed like a good idea?”

Josephine

Josephine begins to back up as well. You need a bit of space for frisbee. Even in heels, she barely glances behind her. It adds a little bit of a sway to her walk, not knowing quite how her feet will settle, but she's completely comfortable with that. Practiced. She grins at Grace's welcome.

"Technically the skateboard was cheating on her primary partner with me. I did eventually end up with one, but we never really go out." She is still smiling, understand, but there is a hint of something under that tone, something less devil may care.

"And I believe that it was actually in spite of, more than any of the options you presented. I just...wanted a new place for awhile."

Grace

Josephine talks, and Grace gets the hint that something more is going on there with those metaphors, but mostly -- she is just lost. Cheating skateboards are just beyond her.

So, she smiles and awaits Alex's throw. "Come on, Alex. Don't screw it up. The world's safety depends upon your throwing arm!"

Alexander

That there’s more behind that answer is noted but, at the moment, left. The conversation has the potential to turn into areas that you don’t generally get into with somebody you’ve just met. Except possibly where Johnny or Jack are involved in a dark bar somewhere. “Well, welcome to Denver. May the ends of the world be few.” His tone is still joking, but there’s more behind that too.

But then it’s onto Frisbee. Ultimate, or otherwise. “Oh, gee, thanks. No pressure then!” He throws the thing in Josephine’s direction.

[Dex+Ath, because you can't have enough dice rolling.]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 3, 6, 6, 9) ( success x 3 )

Josephine

[Catch? Dex+Athletics]

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

Josephine

She is only paying so much attention to the frisbee for a moment. But then the frisbee is suddenly closing on her and she takes one slightly awkward hop in those ridiculous shoes and catches the frisbee. And she laughs, because of course she does. Playing frisbee in parks with strangers is a thing that she loves. Maybe they will be friends. Maybe not.

Right now though, she has a frisbee. The frisbee would like to be flying. That is, after all, what frisbees are born to do.

Shhhhhhh...you can be born in a soulless assembly line. If you're awesome. And frisbees are awesome.

She tosses the frisbee toward Grace.

[Do you throw better than you catch?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 9) ( success x 3 )

Grace

[Catch a thing! Dex+Ath]

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (1, 4, 4, 4) ( botch x 1 )

Grace

[lol]

Grace

Give Grace some credit -- she tries. Even though she might suck at it, she attempts to catch the frisbee. Attempts, and then flubs it. Arms flailing, the frisbee flips up and smacks her right in the eye. Mind you, Josephine didn't throw it at her eye -- no. She seems to have interfered in the natural progress of the thing. Poorly.

"Ow! Fuck!"

She grabs at her eye, waves at Josephine -- not your fault. "No, it loves Josephine and hates the crap out of me..."

Even in her half-blind state, she goes to retrieve the frisbee off the ground and hopefully -- throw it to Alex.

[Can she throw it back with a smacked eye? Dex + Ath]

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

Alexander

[Catch?]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 2, 4, 5, 5, 7) ( success x 1 )

Alexander

“There, you see! That’s what happens when you try to get in the way of the Frisbee’s plan for world domination! There’s no point in resisting. Just give in to running half way across the park because it feels like seeing what’s over there.”

The plastic disk comes flying his way. The aim is good, but he almost fumbles the thing before he finally gets a good grip on the thing. “Frisbee is displeased.” He strokes it a couple of times before tossing it onto Josephine again.

“Have you met any others of our little dysfunctional family yet?”

[Throw?]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9) ( success x 3 )

Josephine

[Catch?]

Dice: 7 d10 TN6 (3, 3, 4, 4, 9, 10, 10) ( success x 3 )

Josephine

This time when the frisbee comes into the air, Josephine is ready. She pounces at the frisbee with a wild grin. Captures it, if only momentarily, as one captures fireflies.

"Oh. A few. But rarely more than once." Rather like fireflies. And, for all that she walked up to them as though she belonged there, and for all she is a spring creature with easy smiles - when their game is over Josephine has taken a few steps back, laughing, and blown them a kiss in preparation to slip away when Alexander offers his number.

She would have let them go. Here and gone, like flashes of firefly light.

None of the others have tried to do anything like capture any way to contact her. She cocks her head briefly to the side, then returns long enough to get Alexander's number. And, since he offered, she gives her number to him in return. Grace, who is there, gets it as well. Scribbled on a scrap of paper in a bright purple Sharpie. She dots the 'i' in her name with a heart. Of course she does.

They're just lucky she didn't write her number on the fucking frisbee for good measure.