2023.03.05 Going to Cool Places With You

03.05.23 Going to Cool Places with You
Much socialization as JJ and Sebastian make their first appearance as a couple, having sociable moments shared with Caressa, Sark, and Steele at Steamed and Hammered.
IC Date	03.05.23
Players	Caressa, Janneke, Sebastian, Sark, Steele
Location	Steamed and Hammered
Spheres	Bygone Changeling Mage

Steamed and Hammered - Tavern

There's a roughness to the place that is relaxing, remnants of what seems to be an old warehouse of some sort used a decoration to give it an underlying Steampunkish feel. From brick walls to the wooden floors, the atmosphere proclaims itself blue collar, a place where the working class can come in and enjoy good food and beverages without worry of being looked down upon. Several rows of solid oak barrels can be found to the side of the polished bar above a cobbled floor area that makes up the floor there and behind the bar. And what a bar it is! Behind it lies the gilded mirrors in which bottles of spirits are displayed on brass and glass shelves while fine-grained hardwoods give life to the bar itself that gleams with a warmth from it's polished surface. With the same warmth, wooden booths and tables fill the area with plenty of places to sit other than the bar itself.

Not all the tables are wood, however, for scattered here and there are a few tables that reinterprets the machinery of the industrial revolution and creates unique statement pieces with their large glass covered gear tops and the like. It continues in the double ceiling fans that speak of an era gone by that hang above. One section of wall is covered by locks from old doors. There is a quiet nook in the back complete with a old iron and brick fireplace and a large old generator that hums and vibrates. It's a good spot to escape perhaps some of the more boisterous happenings in the main area. Lighting comes in the form of industrial lights that hang from the ceiling, though they offer at best, dim lighting within the tavern. Overall, it is a familiar, comfortable environment where echoes of laughter and conversation hum. The place invites it's patrons to come in for a drink and bite to eat, and have a good laugh while enjoying the atmosphere in the company of friends.

<<Places and +Views>>

-----| FAE |----- Such a menagerie of steampunkish chimera can be found within the tavern flitting and skittering about the room. From mechanical beetles to little flying machines that mix da Vinci's helicopter with coiled springs or even tiny little steam engines, there is never a dull moment. Surely the place is a Nocker's dream, and the 'specials' are right up any Changeling's alley. Near the door to the back room, one may spy huge black red-eyed hounds that keep guard over who come and go through the door.

Contents: Sebastian Caressa Obvious Exits: Caressa is sitting near the fireplace sipping something from a mug. She stares into the fire between sips and deep, brooding breathes.

Janneke enters with Sebastian, her hand in his, and glances around with eager eyes. "How did I *miss* finding this place?," she asks, not really expecting an answer. "It's insanely cool." Apparently she's a fan of the Steampunk thing. "I need to get out of the store more, seriously..." <---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Caressa rolls Perception + Alertness vs 8 for 0 successes.
1 1 2 5 5 8 9
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

"I know, right?" Sebastian replies, giving her fingers a little squeeze. What's the emotional equivalent of new car smell? "We should make that a regular thing for a while, 'hey what are cool places that one of us knows about but maybe forgot to share with the class'."

Caressa sets her mug down to stretch. Other movements in the room catching her attention. A moment later she's looking back to the fire. She take the mug again with one hand, then other moves in the air moving a mote of flame across her fingers before it disappears.

Janneke giggles. "That sounds great, because I have so many places I really want to see and don't know about yet." Huhwha? "I know there's an actual concert hall here in Prospect, should see what's on the lineup. And pool, if you play. I'm not very good at it, but I know of at least two pool joints." She takes a moment to pause as she sees Caressa's flame-dance across her fingers. "Hrm," she says, nudging Sebastian. "Something's wrong there, you want to go and see if she's okay?"

Sebastian waggles a hand in the air. "Yeah, same." And, wait, there's a need for diplomacy? No problem, Sebby do it! "Uh. Does this have anything to do with building insurance?" he asks Caressa, wandering over in her general direction.

There are people moving her way! Easier to notice in the crowd. "Hey guys!" Caressa waves with a soft, if maybe slightly tense, smile. The smile of someone who isn't smmiling on the inside.

Janneke approaches along with Sebastian, and she studies Caressa's face for about two seconds before figuring out that something is wrong. "Afternoon. Are you okay? You look a little fed up with it all."

Caressa puts her index finger to her nose then lowers it, "You got it in one. Not fed up with -all- of it, but it is enough at least." Her gaze flits between the two of them, "Trying to decide if I deserved it or not, if I'm being honest."

Sebastian slips his hands into his pockets, leaning against a nearby stretch of wall. "Anything you want to talk through? Or just be distracted from?"

Janneke nods agreement with that, pointing at Sebastian to second his comment. "I think we're both pretty good listeners, and if nothing else, we could always help you come up with a list of new insults for whoever's got you upset."

Caressa shuffles to pull the alerting phone from her purse, just as she takes a sip of coco and...very prompty spews the sip. At least she managed to turn it towards the fire and not towards her friends. "Oh jeez! Sorry about that. Umm...just the distraction is fine and appreciated." She phone is dropped into her lap so she can grab napkins to clean up the mess on her chin and clothes. Caressa smiles to Janneke, "You'll have to teach me a few. Never been good at that sort of thing"

Sebastian winces a bit - more just at the sight, not that he actually got caught in the blast cone - and grabs an extra stack of napkins to hand to Caressa. "Just too hot, or--?"

Janneke moves to do the same thing, but the longer-armed taller Sebastian gets there first. Great minds think alike, apparently. "Oh, usually my favorite way to do it is to take a body part and combine it with a household item. Like 'dick-bucket.' or 'Ass-hamster.' After a while, you wind up laughing too hard to stay mad."

Caressa shakes her head, "No, a random text from a friend I had no way of expecting. The coco is only luke warm at this point. She looks at the phone, two more alerts sounding. One reply is sent before the phone is silenced and put back into her purse. "Hmm..I need good ways to insult a guy who is in love with a really big rooster. Without it being a cock joke." She blinks, giggles, "I wonder if he's compensating."

"That is some awfully low-hanging fruit, all right," Sebastian muses. "Maybe tell him that he couldn't fly if he tied himself to the local TV news-copter during tornado season?"

Janneke snickers. "Okay, I'm sorry, that's funny," she says with an amused expression. "Barnyard Ben, the would-be hen," JJ offers, merry about the whole thing. Hey, she may be nice, but she can be bitchy when she wants!

Caressa makes an offering motion towards Sebastian, "Eh, maybe. He just gaslighted me pretty hard. I'm glad I recognize it..but just kinda hurt. You know. Suppose to be 'family'," She makes a motion that an Italian mafia member in the movies might, "...but no one cares about that these days." She smiles at Janneke, "Maybe we should go out next time I'm pissed off. No one lets me be bitchy."

Sebastian inclines his head. "'Sorry, can't hang today, gotta wash my comb.' Yeah, maybe. Has Tiktok managed to revive slam poetry yet?"

Janneke shrugs and says, "Honey, sometimes the best medicine is being bitchy. Far be it from me to tell you how to act as a grown-ass woman, for one, and for another, nobody's always happy and calm and charming. Unless they're lobotomized, that is." She huhs and says, "Slam poetry... now I feel like I'm back in the 90s. Where's my Nirvana tee-shirt?"

Caressa tilts her head at Sebastian curiously, "I'm sorry, what?" She not up on the newest fancy apps. She's still a few decades behind on movies! Janneke earns a genuine smile from her, "Thank you! Not that I needed permission but, sometimes we need to hear it." Her gaze flits between the two, assuming they are still holding hands, "Did ya'll get into the superglue or are you an item now?" No really, she likes folks holding hands!

Sebastian had let go for a little while, but around this point is when he walks up behind Janneke and slips an arm around her waist. Not so much possessive, more 'hey look at us!'. "I stumbled onto the Perfect Song. After that, it was just inevitable."

Janneke actually blushes a little. Oh gods, JJ. She does, however, lean into the arm around her waist, and nods, smiling. "The first person to call me a cougar gets a size-seven Doc Marten straight up their ass," she says with amusement. "I don't know, sometimes... it just *is*, you know? Or *becomes*. And it's all good and feels like it always was."

Caressa giggles, shaking her head, "Oh, feel free to have a seat you two. I have no grounds to talk, my husband is my junior by..*mutter cough mutter* ...some number of decades." She blushes very deeply, "and I've never been happier, so I hope the save for you two...if you want it." You sit down at the Fireplace Tables.

And now it's Sebastian's turn to turn crimson. "Uh. We, uh, we're figuring it out as we go." It's not a yes, but it's not a no, either. "How did you and him meet, then?"

Janneke giggles and says, "I think we're just gonna see what... yeah, what happens as we go..." It's that whole New Relationship Energy thing, and both of them are awkward but in an adorable sort of way. "Yeah, how did you meet? And as for going out when you need to bitch, well, feel free to call me, I don't mind being an Agony Auntie."

Caressa makes a happy little sounds, "We travel in the same circles. We met a few years ago but nothing happened. Then last year I helped him with a matter and...these flood gates just opened, and all these sorts of memories. We both knew at the same time that together is where we wanted to be for the rest of our lives. We finally had the wedding last weekend and went to the mountains for a long weekend." She nods, "The figuring it out phase can be fun."

Sebastian blinks once. "Oh wow, I didn't know it was tnat recent!" He at least manages not to say anything out loud about the baby. "Yeah, I don't know about JJ's side of it, but it was kind of the same way with me, on a much smaller scale. There was an idea or two kicking around in the back of my head, but over the past few days, suddenly everything just fell into place pretty much all at once."

Janneke ohs, "Congratulations! And yeah, the floodgate thing, that seems familiar. Just... there but not there until it was *THERE*, you know?" That was completely incoherent, but she seems to mean it completely, in any case. "It's been a long while since I had to figure anything out, and it was a pretty different situation, so... it's welcome, and weird."

Caressa chuckles, "Yes, I'm about 31 weeks. I think we always knew my next one would be his. Very much wanted, semi planned and adored already." She nods to Janneke, "Yeah, last time was very different for me too....but it gave me my daughter so I won't complain too much."

"That's good to hear. I don't hear that about relationships much," Sebastian muses, "more often people are just straight-up complaining about how toxic the other person was. Co-workers are mixed, some are 'the worst' and others are 'well at least he got this one thing right'."

Janneke shakes her head at that. "Sometimes people get drawn together for all the wrong reasons and the thing that attracted them becomes the thing that repels them. People are all messed up, all in unique and different ways. The best we can do is try to find where the pieces of our weirdly-shaped selves fit together."

Caressa sips her coco and nods, "Oh trust me, I hear it all day, every day in my practice. Humanity really has a lot of things it needs to learn. Caressa nods, "I could complain about my ex, but at the time I think he was who and what I needed. It just became clear later that...well, everyone changes. Life changes us."

Sebastian nods. "Hopefully he's doing all right, too, then. I assume Chicken Boo is someone separate from both of them, right?"

Janneke blinks "Chicken Boo?" She is completely confused with that, and chuckles softly. "I could complain about my exes, too, but in a lot of those cases, it was as much me as them. Sometimes life is just... not how we want it, even if it's how we need it at that moment."

Caressa nods, "Yes, chicken boy is someone different. Not attached at all in any way. Just someone I thought would be a friend. But guess that is out of the picture now."

"Yeah, but look at this way, someone else who /isn't/ a flake could show up next week. Heck, five or six someones could do that. That was kind of how it was the first time I dropped by JJ's store, I was just passing by and then before I knew it there were like half a dozen of us." <OOC> Sebastian says, "me, obv"

Janneke ohs, "Right, the fellow from earlier, of course. My bad. Brain no worky." She laughs gently, and then offers, sincerely, "Maybe, maybe not. I wouldn't write it off if you feel there's a possibility, and you want to do that. Let it be for a while, see how you feel when time passes." She laughs again and notes, "Yeah, we had a whole convention of people, and it was the first day I was open, so it was pretty encouraging."

Caressa drains the last of her coco, "Very true! Thank you for that reminder." She looks to Janneke, "Your shop..could I visit it without.. umm, crossing the bridge, per se?"

Sebastian blinks again. Whatever Caressa is alluding to there is flying over his head, at least for the moment. "Has it stayed busy? It seemed like it, not that that's the main thing I was paying attention to." Massa has connected.

Janneke nods. "Yeah, the shop is Detonation Boulevard, on the same block as the Witches' Brew coffee shop and bookstore. No special trips required. Rock n' roll memorabilia, discs, and instrument repairs. That's what I do best, repairing instruments." She chuckles and adds, "My *other* place will have to wait until after you're ready to travel further."

Caressa nods, "Good to know! Seems like I'm at Witches Brew at least once a week. I obviously haven't been paying attention to the rest of the block. I'll come by sometime. It may be a long while till I travel further. Someone I dated for a while got.. lost? Never came back. So I have some stuff to work through in that regard."

Sebastian snaps his fingers. "Oh, /that/ bridge," he says, finally catching on. "The outdoor market, right? Was he on the other side of the same bridge?"

Janneke ooofs and says, "Oh, man... getting lost? That's terrifying. That shouldn't happen, either, something must've gone *very* wrong. I can see why you wouldn't want to travel far." She blinks at Sebastian's question, and then says, "Oh, no, *that*... no wonder!"

Caressa tilts her head at Sebastian, a little confused herself now. "He slept -a lot- and disappeared. Does that answer the question?" Trying her damnest to be discreet. "But anyway, yeah. I'm glad you two came by when you did. Otherwise I was thinking of doctoring up that coco."

Sebastian, Janneke and Caressa are gathered around a table near the fireplace talking. Sebastian turns a bit, one arm still around Janneke's waist, so he can peer into her eyes for a moment. "Okay, she lost me again, there."

Sark bounces a little as he steps through the front door, craning his head around to absorb the interior like a tourist. Dressed in a typical blue tshirt, well worn jeans, and flip flops, he keeps his hands clasped behind his back as he pauses to check the sign about seating, then promptly get distracted by something catching his eye in the air that seems to amuse him. Spying three faces he DOES recognize by the fireplace, he smiles brightly and gives the group an enthusiastic wave of one hand.

Janneke leans in and murmurs, smiling, "A friend of hers slept for a while, was... lost in a different sense, from the sound of it. As for the disappeared part... he may have *broken* if he wasn't able to cope." She winces and says softly, "Some minds dream best asleep." JJ is seated close to Sebastian, leaning into his long slender arm, talking quietly. She spies Sark, though, and says, "Look who just arrived!" She raises an arm and waves him over, smiling.

Sebastian gestures with his free hand. "Oh, hey," he calls over to Sark, before glancing back to Janneke. "And yeah, I guess so. I've heard a story or two about overloading someone, having them burn out after. Something like that, maybe."

Sark tucks his hands back behind his back and alters course to approach their little grouping, stopping within a good arm's reach to bounce a little on his feet and lower his voice, "Hihi! I was just checking out the neat little ones here, so I guess I should have assumed some of you might be here too. Things are good, yesyes?"

Janneke nods. "Rhapsody, when you do it on purpose, she murmurs to Sebastian. "When it's an accident... tragic." She looks thoughtful, and then smiles at Sark's greeting. "Things are good for us. Caressa is with us, too, but she excused herself for a moment. Do you want to join us? I was just thinking about ordering some nibbles to share around."

"Ltitle ones?" Sebastian asks, sitting up straighter at the mention of munchies. "You just missed the Great Rooster Stampede of 2023. I think it's going to become an annual tradition."

Sark grins, "Munchies are always a good thing. I dont think I've tried eating anything here before, so it will be an adventure! And of course. Caressa is always fun to have around." He glances down for a moment to find a spot to plant his butt and eases into it, wriggling himself into a comfortable position. He tilts his head at Sebastian and starts, "Rooster....oh wait. Um. Trent, right? Big goofy rooster?"

Janneke shakes her head, having no idea who that is. "So wait, is that Rooster Boy? And did he actually bring a giant rooster in here? Is *that* why Caressa was upset?" Okay, way to jump to conclusions, JJ. Still, it's an amusing image. She waves over the nearest server and asks for a selection of nibble food of varied kinds and a diet coke, because something has to offset the calories, right?

Sebastian leaves the main room to return to the street outside.

Sark looks up and murmurs his addition of a large mug of hot herbal tea, before shaking his head at JJ, "Maybe? I am pretty sure he does things she's familiar with, and I mean, I thought the rooster was kinda...blatant? But then I probably should not offer criticism of anyone ELSE's attempts to not be noticed. Heh."

Janneke huhs and looks a touch confused at this, holding up her hands helplessly. "The rooster was on a leash or something? Or here? I mean, she made a joke about the rooster but I didn't know it was in here. And... well, I don't know, it might not be wise to bring an animal that's on the menu into the place, huh?”

Sark chuckles softly, "That and I don’t think a rooster is the normal sort of animal you might have as a pet? They kinda crap everywhere they want to and peck people. He seemed to like blueberry muffin, however. When /I/ met him, there was no leash, so maybe he learned something."

Janneke ohs. That's as clear as mud. Well, no, it's clear enough, just... "But you didn't meet the rooster here, right? Just to clarify?" She pauses, thanking the waitress as she returns with the drinks, and then welcomes Caressa back to the table. "We lost a Sebastian and gained a Sark," she says merrily, "Sebastian had a shift to do."

Caressa finally returns from the restroom, and goes to retake her seat. "Oh! Sark!" Her cheeks instantly turn tomato red as she lowers into her chair. "When did you show up?" obviously while she was waddling away hurriedly.

Sark mmms and shakes his head at Janneke, "Nono, this was over at the Witches' Brew, several days ago." He grins brightly at Caressa's return and chirps at her, "Hello, gorgeous. I got bored enough to go walking around again and realized I hadn’t been in here in a long time. But then I saw those two by the fire and came over to be sociable."

Janneke smiles at that, and says, "At the... right across the street from my shop and I missed it, bah. I need to put front cameras on the store, just to see all the weird shit that goes down there." She's probably kidding. "Oh, I ordered some noshies, Caressa, they're meant for sharing." She has no idea the woman owns the place, clearly.

Caressa smiles and nods, "Sounds lovely! Thank you! I was starting to get the nibblies again." She leans over and if allowed, gives Sark's cheek a chaste little kiss. "Be glad my husband isn't around." It seems a good-natured tease. A certain familiarity between the two that they embrace.

Sark waggles his brows at Caressa, "It’s always more fun to let something simmer while you can’t do anything about it." He gives Caressa's closest leg a light, affectionate scritch, then looks up to thank the waitertype for the mug of tea that is set down in front of him. Leaning forward to inhale the steam for a moment, he sighs happily, "So other than making Caressa almost snort her cocoa, everything is good?"

No Almost about it! She spewed that coco! She..flame breathed that coco right into the fire!

Janneke says, “Yeah, same, Sebastian and I walked around quite a bit earlier so I worked up an appetite." She laughs and adds, "Flirting's fun when there's nothing attached but good humor and fun. It's just fun to be easygoing with people, not take things too seriously sometimes." She seems content with her lot in life right now, as always. JJ is a cheery sort. "It's been... an interesting weekend."”

Caressa flags waitstaff to get a new drink too. Tea sounds good this time. "I tell you Sark, I think I almost put out the fire when you texted me. Jj and Sabby were lucky they were more to the side of me than in front." She shakes her head, then looks down to her thigh and back to Sark, "Hey now, calm down man. I'll put my husband into a sex coma for a week if you keep that up." Then she giggles.

Sark stifles a little giggle with that and just smiles, "Hey, it was just an honest question. I didn't really 'date' much before I got my ass knocked out. And it’s only been a year. Most of this is heavy on the knowledge, light on the practical experience. I needed a good point of reference. Can’t take one person's feedback as representative, right?"

Janneke hrms. "We should set you up on a date with someone appropriate. But..." She looks thoughtful. "I suppose that could be a little more of a quandary than I thought, depending on how picky you are and... other things.

Steele enters from the street.

Caressa mms, studying Sark. "If you want a date, I'll keep my eyes open for someone. We can talk more of the other side of it later. I don't mind."

Caressa is seated at a table by the fireplace with Sark and Janneke.

Sark chuckles at both of them and scrunches his nose, "I think I'm okay with dating for now, but IM always happy to meet new people." When another familiar face steps in, he enthusiastically waves a hello to Steele.

Janneke looks up at the man Sark waves to, offering a smile. It's about then when the plates of appetizers arrive at the table to be shared, and she comments, "Timing seems to be perfect tonight."

Steele comes in, his ear pressed to the phone, but also with a phone in hand. There's a slight knit to his brow as he punches in things on the one phone. Only drug dealers have more than one phone. "That doesn't work. Run it again." He lifts his gaze from the phone and scans the room, then turns to head toward Caressa while he talks. "Mmm hmm.. okay. No. We've got the lock on the Apple Fritter and the Raging Hardon and the .. what.. the Mac 1? See if you can get a good price on the Northern Lights and Mimosa. I need to be able to retail it for under 200." He pulls the phone away from his ear and kisses Caressa on the head. "I have to go though. Just leave it in my office and I'll look tomorrow." He hangs up the phone, punches two buttons on the other one, gives them both a little spin around his fingers and drops them into his pockets like he's a goddamn gunslinger. "Hey, baby." He nods to the others and sweeps himself into a seat.

Caressa is distracted by the delivered plates so doesn't see Steele (not till he poses in). And the waiter is in the way too. "Indeed it does seem that way. I've been incredibly lucky today." She glances over to some empty bit of air then back. Caressa has more than one phone too! She smiles up at him, waiting oh so patiently for those phones to be put away. "Hey!" She reaches up and pulls him down into a deep kiss that lasts a few good moment. Long enough to get a look or two from other patrons.

Sark cackles a little under his breath, giving the married two a moment without harassment to wink at JJ and scoot a little closer to her instead. When the noshies arrive, he leeeeeans closer and reaches out to snag something small and fried to pop into his mouth before anyone can say 'aint that hot?', and starts munching, grumbling his approval. Barely around swallowing, he compliments JJ, "You make good food choices!" then to Steele, "Do I WANT to know what a 'Raging Hardon' is?"

Janneke recognizes some of those names. Nowadays, it's a legitimate business! She smiles at the greeting kiss, not the least bit phased by it. Hey, love is a beautiful thing, and happy people are a pleasure to see. She giggles at the wink, not minding him moving in closer. It's not like Sark is going to do anything untoward, right? "Raging Hardon is a strain of medicinal pot," she says, "Well, among other things," she adds cheekily.

Steele is instead, tugged into a kiss and he has to put a hand on the back of Caressa's chair to keep from falling over. It's a GOOD kiss. He also ALMOST yanks her up from her chair and tosses her over the table to do that kiss justice, but he JUST refrains - mostly because the food's hot. Don't want to burn the wife. When he finally sits, he pulls Caressa's chair closer and he glances briefly at Sark, then motions to Janneke. "Raging Hardon is actually a strain I developed myself. It isn't medical. It's rec. I liked the way it was and couldn't make it meet medical standards. They ALSO didn't like the name."

Caressa is all aglow, and giggles when he pulls her chair closer to his. "I've missed you. I'll have to tell you about my day later." She reaches to put a few small nibbles on her plate, "Janneke, this is my husband, Steele Smith. Steele, Janneke." There's a pause to sip tea, "Thankfully, these two have helped turn my mood around. And Jan's SO, but he had to run to work."

Sark giggles at the explanation, "I see!" and happily sucks down more of his tea before eyeing the little plates to find something else to try, popping little bits of chicken into his mouth to much on, making happily little noises as he does. He DOES nod enthusiastically at the introductions and mentions to JJ, "Steele is very cool and a good friend. He comes very recommended."

Janneke nods, and says easily, "I stand corrected. And I can't imagine why a bunch of tightasses wouldn't like the name. Does it live up to it?" She giggles. Might be a little something to pick up for a future event. Her expression is impish. "Hi, Steele, good to meet you." She fingerwaves in lieu of trying to shake hands across all the food. "JJ for short, and yeah, Sebastian had to run out, but I'll catch him later on." She also loads a plate with a selection of the nibble food and digs in happily. "Noted!," she tells Sark, beaming. "It's always good to meet more good people."

Caressa nods to Janneke, "It is very good stuff, better than viagra. Don't have worry about the side effects. Other than maybe waking up sore." She nods. "Also, might be cheaper than viagra. Natural is always best in my book."

Sark stifles another snicker at the exchange and just grins for a moment while he inhales another piece or two. Taking a moment to wash it down with some tea, he nods at JJ, "Which reminds me, if you are going to be around, I will try to visit your shop tomorrow and see what nifty shinies I can find. You might know of a couple of things I might find more interesting than others?"

Steele blinks at Janneke and leans over toward Caressa. "Isn't Steele your husband's name?" He tries to fight the smirk that curves up the corner of his mouth, but it's a losing battle. "Nice to meet you, JJ. It definitely lives up to its name. Maybe a little too well. But Caressa is right. None of the same side effects." He nods to Sark. "Which one? Pizza, Weed or Occult store?" Entreupeneurererer that he is.

Janneke smiles, blushing a bit and says, "Well, we're not quite at that stage of things yet, but when we are, it's something I'm definitely down to give a try." She's not shy, so much as she's got all the New Relationship Energy making her react to *everything* in an exaggerated way. "I do, actually, I got my hands on something really cool -- one of the original Monterey Pop t-shirts, it's a little faded, because it's over 50 years old, but it's in great shape. Plus, I found some first-run books you might like, and a set of Beer steins, believe it or not." She explains to Steele, "I run a rock n' roll memorabilia shop over by Witches Brew."

Caressa looks over to Steele, studying his face, and intention this his question. How far he plan on taking this, but he can't keep up to ruse. She laughs, leaning towards him briefly. "Oh, I think Sark was talking about going to Detonation Blvd." She pops a nom into her mouth and chews.

Sark nodsnods at Steele for JJ's explanation, echoing Caressa's comment, "Janneke's place. She has lots of old, shiny things." He then looks brightly at JJ, "I would love to see the first run books. Those always have something nifty attached to them that reprints never seem to have. Stories within the stories!" A couple more cheesy fried bits disappear off of the plates into his mouth, followed by satisfied grunts of pleasure as he munches and a muffled, "this'sgoodstuff..."

"OH. OH! Okay. Cool. I'll have to check it out too." Steele kisses Caressa on the shoulder and then reaches to take a bite of food for himself. "By Witch's Brew? I love that place. I'll definitely stop in soon."

Janneke beams. "I went in there the other night and it was a blast. Kind of chaos, but fun." She adds, "I'm across the street in the place that used to be Off the Record. I still don't know why they had a coffee shop inside a record store, across the street from a place as good as Witches Brew, but go figure." She shrugs. "I guess that's why they went out of business."

Caressa nods to Steele, "Maybe we should take the kids over after school one day this week?" She sits a little straighter and her hands disappear under the table for a few moment, then return again. "Ahha! I was wondering!" She motions towards JJ. "I'm glad you took over that place." It gives her a certain kind of joy. "The previous guy was a... what was your phrase earlier.. ass-hamster?"

Sark barely avoids spitting the food in his mouth out at the phrase 'ass hamster', concealing the snicker behind one hand. A swallow, a clearing of his throat, and some subsiding chuckles later, he smirks at Caressa, "Clearly a lovely individual. And yes, I go to the Witches Brew all the time, so I was very surprised to see she had taken over the space right across the street. Probably stared at it for weeks without noticing.

Steele snorts at WHERE the place is, and he nods. "I prefer 'pompous piece of shit,' but that's just me. I'm sure you'll do much better. Witch's Brew is also under new management. Anyu was the original owner and she had... some difficulties. I'm not sure what I think about the new owner, though. Seems sketchy to me." He smiles at Sark and shrugs. "I've dealt with a LOT of people in my line of work and also personally. There are very few people that I actually despise and he's at least three of them."

Janneke manages not to spit out a mouthful of fries with that comment of Caressa's; instead, she swallows, then giggles helplessly. "Asshamster," she agrees sagely. "See, just *saying* it brightens your whole mood! And I keep hearing that the previous owner was a jackwad, so I'm glad I got that place. It also explains why people have come into the shop and said 'Oh, thank god' when they looked around." She ohhs and says, "I Never met Anyu but I encountered the new owner the other night... he's gorgeous, but... I don't know, I got axe murderer vibes somehow." A pause. "The one who's at least three of them -- the former owner of my place, or the current owner of Witches Brew?"

Caressa bobbles her head a bit, uncertain of whether to nod or shake. "Oh, Lyric is a sweetie. Not much of a people person. And I suspect there might be a bit of a temper, but he was nice. Teased me once about giving me kittens." She nods and leans forward at bit, "Those -eyes-, I swear!" Then clears her throat, "But that was before Steele and I hooked up, I think. My timeline is a little skewed at the moment."

Sark mmmms, "I've met the owner of Witches Brew. He just seems very...um...prettypretty lookit me? I see lots of those. Give him some compliments and he'll let you get away with lots of things he shouldn't." He slowly nods at Caressa's assessment and sucks down a bit more of his tea, letting the munchies he's inhaled, settle a little.

Janneke ohhhs. "Okay, I just felt weird about him. He is a very beautiful man, though. Kittens, huh?" She quirks a brow, but shrugs, figuring that it's a weird figure of speech or something. Or an inside joke. She looks over at Sark and says, "You're an exceptionally pretty man too, you know." Well, not a man, but his manshape is... well, you get the idea. "It's good to know my impression was wrong, then. I don't know where I get these things, sometimes."

Caressa nods, "He is. There's something..I just want to pet him. But also a very bad thing I feel." She shrugs. JJ, have you met Trey yet? He has very pretty eyes too, but I think you'd feel better around him." She looks over to Sark and just smiles.

Sark grins a little at the pretty comment, "Well, I COULD have gone older, but I like how people dismiss me because of my apparent age. Humans always seem to disregard teenagers as useless. Which is just fine for me and my watching, yesyes?" At the mention of Trey, he tilts his head, not having heard this name before.

Janneke shakes her head at the question. "No, I don't think I've met anyone by that name. Is he a friend of yours? Does he spend time there too? Perhaps I will, at some point. Another one with pretty eyes. I like that. If for no other reason than that they're pretty." She regards Sark with amusement and says, "I think you chose just right."

Steele peers at Caressa, still smirking. "Pretty boy. Hmph." He pretends for about a quarter of an instant to be offended by Caressa's remark about the owner of Witch's brew. "Kittens...." But he's listening and isn't ACTUALLY mad.

Caressa nods to Sark, "Hang out at Witches long enough you'll see him. You two might get along well. He likes riddles, general a very calm, fun guy." She smiles at Steele, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "You are the handsomiest, and I only have eyes for you. Pretty boys are trouble. Pretty teenage boys are even more trouble."

Sark scrunches his nose in amusement and snickers under his breath, murmuring, "I have no idea what you're talking about," to Caressa. JJ gets a reach out to lightly scritch behind the nearest shoulder before he adds, "Thank you. And thank YOU for all these lovely munchies..."

Janneke ohs, "It's my pleasure. I'm just in a really good mood, so... I figured I'd share the bounty." She laughs at Steele's mock offense about the kittens, and studies Sark's face as he pretends innocence. She leans into the scritch and beams back, affable as always. "Oh, funny note. Balance's bathroom was painted green."

Steele grins at Caressa and gives her leg a little squeeze before he reaches for another nom or two, happy to listen for a little bit while he stuffs his face. Did he remember to eat today?

Caressa nods, "Thank you for coming out. At least I'm feeling like myself again. JJ, if you and Sabastian want to try out Herb and Wood for dinner some night. Just tell the hostess, 'Hawthorne, yarrow make a lovely tea..and it is on me. Least I could do to thank you two." She blinks at JJ, "Like..pea green? or...maybe I don't want to know." She slides the last bite on her plate over to Steele for him to finish too.

Sark waggles his brows at JJ's curious look, but keeps quiet about it, instead using both hands to clutch his mug and drain the rest of his tea, looking VERY happy with the company as he looks around the table. To JJ's comment, he murmurs, "You do a very good job of making the people around you, happier, and you've done me a HUGE favor."

You say, “Herb and Wood? That sounds lovely. I'll have to convince him, because I think he worries about keeping things equal, and we have different financial situations, but if I tell him it's a gift, he will probably accept it no problem. Thank you! And yeah -- like, puky pea green, yeah. I had to rip out the tile and replace it with white because I was getting nauseated just looking at it." She blinks at Sark and flushes a bit, smiling and murmuring, "Thank you. I try. It's... well, it was worth it, Sark, you know that. To me, you're always welcome.”

"Bathroom the color of something already eaten once. Delightful." Steele ... doesn't like Balance. "Sounds about right on par for him though. When you walked in there the first time, did you get considerably stupider? Because I'm pretty sure that's the aura that the place projected."

Caressa adds, looking over to Steele, "Do we need to order some to take home too?" Her nose wrinkles up at the bathroom color. "Yeah, I would have changed that too, fast!"

Sark ughs a little at the description of the color, "Issit supposed to be that color to MAKE you puke once you got into the bathroom?" He blehs softly and shakes his head at that thought, finally setting his mug down and turning around to ask for a glass of water.

You say, “Well, no, but by the time I saw it, the place was out of business and most of the coffee shop fixtures had been sold. I got some of their vinyl stock for a song, honestly. Forgive the pun. Every person I've spoken to who knew him said he was a cockbasket, so I don't feel bad about taking the place over at all. I still don't know why they put the stairs to the upstairs apartment on the *outside* of the building, but since it doesn't get all that cold here, I don't mind much." She shrugs and laughs. "There was also a basement apartment, but shit, who can afford a 2500 square foot apartment *and* is willing to live in a basement?" She shoves some more of the plates' remaining food toward Steele wordlessly, with a wink, and tells Sark, "That's the only reason I can think to paint it that color. It was revolting. Some night I'll have people over to my place now that I've redecorated, it's much nicer."”

Steele winks right back to JJ. Friendly, not flirty, and he pulls the food closer. "This should be enough. There's granola at the house if I'm still snacky." But as for balance, he nods. "He was a part of a couple of different communities and both sides pretty much despised him."

Caressa adds, for the record to JJ, "His protege? brother, whatever the hell that relationship was.. use to own this place. It had been boarded up for a bit. We are -still- occasionally finding shards of plates in the back. Even after two thorough cleanings. It is horrible. He.. was horrible too. two peas in a proverbial pod."

Sark rumbles a little as he digests what is being said, giving Caressa a curious look when she talks about the cleanup. A light shake of his head and instead he drains almost the entire glass of water, stifling the belch with the back of his hand, followed by a, "Much better..."

Janneke huhs. "Broken dishes?" She looks very confused, then shrugs. "So this fellow was just randomly breaking plates? It's kind of sad that this place was made and then left like that. It... used to have more to it, didn't it? At least, that's what I've heard." She shakes her head, making a tsking noise. "That's no way to treat a proper kitchen!"

Steele rubs his fingers over his fairly close beard and gives it a little tug. "That guy? ALSO an ass hamster."

Caressa reaches up, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She giggles at Steele. "I think I need to be heading home, if you're done eating love?" <FAE> and thus showing her little pointy ear that she usually keeps hidden. Perhaps an indication that they should talk of it later.

Sark snickers again at the hamster phrase...and will much later in the evening, fall over dying of laughter when he makes the connection to what 'ass' and 'hamster' have to do with each other after someone educates him on Richard Gere. But that's later, when he'll be struggling to breathe. When Caressa makes noise about heading home, he flashes the couple a grin and murmurs, "Im happy I caught you both before you had to flee."

Janneke says, “It's been great to spend time with you, and Steele, it was great to meet you!" She beams as she studies the wreckage of their snacking frenzy, always a good thing in her opinion. "Don't worry, you'll see me again, I'm impossible to get rid of.”

Caressa grins, "Oh yeah, we'll see each other around. Not at all worried about that."

Steele nods, picking up one more thing to eat and washing it down with a sip of whatever drink Caressa had." He rises and offers his hand to Caressa. "Come on, my love." He nods to JJ. "Same. Stop by Down the Rabbit Hole whenever." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pack of rolling papers which is actually a business card, and hands it to JJ.

Tea. It was a nice fruity black tea. Caressa reaches for his hand and rises to her feet. "Tell Sabastian it was nice to see him again too." She ruffles Sark's hair playfully in her passing towards the door.

Sark grins at the farewells and wiggles the fingers of one hand at Steele and Caressa, "Have a good night!" He murmurs to JJ, "I think he also has a neat tattoo parlor, which I think Stella wants to visit and see about getting more ink." He even rumbles happily at the hair ruffling, closing his eyes a bit for it Janneke waves to the departing couple, accepting the business card and tucking it into her purse with a 'definitely make use of this,' and then looks to Sark with a curious air. "A tattoo parlor; the one up the street from my store?"

Sark looks unsure for a moment, then tilts his head, "I...think so? I'll have to make sure before I offer to take Stella by. We only talked about it for a few moments, once, while I was over visiting. Sometimes the details slip away from me." He scrunches his nose in amusement at that, before asking, "I did not get a chance to follow up, but I assume everyone else is okay after we had the little meeting with the old fart?"

Janneke says, “I'm sure you'll remember the important things. And if so, and you offer, she'll be pleased you remembered." She takes a swallow from her drink and says, "Yeah, everyone was fine. He wasn't even that grumpy about it. So it all ended well, I think.”

Sark nods quickly, "Oh goodgood. I was thinking about trying to pay him another visit by myself sometime soon, and see just how cranky he is. If it’s been a long time since he's spoken to another of us...maybe I will get lucky."

Janneke says, "I'd take a chance. Why not? He might have some wisdom to learn, or at the very least, some good stories to tell. And if it sucks, well, at least now you know, right?"

Sark rumbles at that and nods, "And well, he is sorta confined to that realm, so its not like he could chase me out here if he got very angry. I’d like to avoid that so he doesn't take it out on anyone else, but we'll see. The knowledge he has would be wonderful to trade for."

Janneke grins at that. "Also very true. And hey, he probably gets bored without new things to occupy his mind, so giving him something new to think about is probably going to be welcome. Still. Be careful, okay? I don't want to have to do a rescue mission."

Sark smiles brightly at that, "Well, Oswald said he played chess with him, so maybe I can use that. And I promise, no rescue missions. I don’t fight very well, but my color is very very good about surviving. We are extremely hard to kill."

Janneke ohs and smiles. "Sometime I will have to hear more about the lore. I honestly know very little, but I'd love to hear more. Even if just to know for future reference."

Sark bobs his head, "I would be happy to help a little with that. But also keep in mind that things like me out here, do not always match the versions in that shiny realm. I've got almost no experience in there, so some things could be very very different."

Janneke nodnods. "I was figuring that would be true. But... at some point in the distant past, there wasn't as much difference as there is now. I wish I remembered more from those days, because I'd happily tell you all I can."

Sark smiles a little more and murmurs, "If you like, I would be happy to trade, but I know you and yours have rules about what you can and cannot talk about, so I don’t want to get you into any trouble."

Janneke inhales, and then says, her voice quiet, "There's reasons for it. Not just for our protection, but for the protection of those who Dream. Do dragons Dream? I believe they must, else the... old fart would not exist. I might not be doing you a service by telling you too much, even if I show it to you, because there is still wonder in it because it is... known but not *known*, if you follow?"

Sark mmmms softly, "We....dont really handle things the same way. I only sleep a few nights a week. When I do. I connect to every other wyrm still out there and thoughts are shared. We don't really have dreams like that. At least, not that I know of."

Janneke shakes her head. "Not all dreams come with sleep," she says quietly, smiling. "Your mind, your aspirations, thoughts, desires... all these things come from somewhere and lead somewhere, at least in concept and idea."

Sark hmmms softly at that and considers for a moment, "Well, if you just mean imagination, then yes, of course, I have that. According to OUR histories, which may or may not be true, the original four Celestial Wyrms created this world, then fled to the four corners to debate their creation. The lessers, us, live through our lives trying to understand how they did that and what we can do to save it."

Janneke falls quiet as he described their origin tale, and ohs softly, looking fascinated. She presses a finger to her lips, thinking, and then says, "Are there many left? I hope so... I would love to think there are more like you, or akin to you at least, still in this world."

Sark mmms softly, "Well, when the world started hurting, a lot of us left this realm for others, like the astral and the umbra. Some of us stayed behind, because we hope to find the answer. Ones like the prismatic one in your realm I think slowly spawned us, the individual colors...and we each retained certain properties. Golds are known for being good protectors and healers. Reds are good warriors and ones that like to lead the charge, but they can also be a little aggressive, personality wise. I've only met a handful, but then IM barely more than 400, and I slept most of that."

Janneke doesn't recognize those terms, not yet, but she leaves that aside. She'll figure them out later. The important part is the story still being told. "Do your people stay in touch aside from during dreams? I mean, do you see one another much or is that too risky nowadays?"

Sark shakes his head slowly, "Meeting face to face is a little rare. Most of the time, we don’t like another so close to our territory. Far too easy to attract attention that way, plus...my nest is set on a nexus of ley lines. I need that power to survive. Another of me somewhere close is going to need to find their own nexus, and there's a good chance they will pick a line I am already tapping, and that will just cause...problems. Visiting? That doesn't happen often, but it can...and then it just depends on the personalities involved." He pauses to smile a little, "One thing I guess we have in common with the humans...some of us are dicks."

Janneke bursts out laughing and says, "Ya don't say? I mean, I would never have expected that, I thought they would all be as nice as you." She's teasing, clearly, but the other information is kept close as well, committed to memory. "I wonder if those lines have any coincidence to naturally-occurring places of power among my people, as well. Glades..."

Sark shakes his head, "I don’t know, but it could be very interesting to find out? I would find it hard to believe that the lines we follow dont affect anyone else. I know Mages can sense them, so you may be right. Maybe the next time you find one of these...glades...let me know and I can come take a look?"

Janneke ahhs and says, "Then there's got to be something, I think, because those kinds of power transcend boundaries, at least that's what I learned back when I first started to learn cantrips."