2024.02.18: Bob gets a teacher

Bob gets a teacher
Bob discusses phone upgrades with Xiu, and gets a teacher
IC Date	February 18th, 2024
IC Time	Afternoon
Players	Bob,Xiu
Location	Prospect Roasters
Spheres	Mage

Bob meets Xiu outside Obok Suites room 301 and waves. "Hey. I've rented this one while I make my mom's home livable. Come on in." Bob will then roll inside, leaving the door open.

This apartment is stark. The floor is done in the same stone like vinyl that the rest of the suites use, the walls are cream off-white, and woodwork is all a dark european style. A large living area is central, with a kitchen and bathroom off of it, as well as a long hall. There are two pieces of furniture, a comfy couch, and a coffee table. The kitchen has a ramp and raised flooring for handicap access, and a fancy espresso machine is installed and on. There is a regular window, and curtains have been hung. They are closed.

Bob stops near the couch and asks, "Welcome to my home for now. Can I get you a coffee or espresso?"

Xiu has arrived in her usual garb. Baggy faded cargo pants, baggy dark hoodie, faded running shoes - and that mass of excessively long dark braids. She smiles as she sees Bob waiting for her at the door. "Hey Bob! 's good to see you!" she greets him on the floor, and reaches out to shake his hand - before she nods and follows him inside his abode.

It's when the door finally closes behind her that she tenses up a bit, rolling her shoulders. "Warning." she remarks and lightly smirks, moving her hands to the hem of her hoodie. "You remember what I have to do, yes?" She pauses for a moment and...hums. "Actually, a coffee would be great, yes. Thank you."

Bob gave a firm hand shake, no competitiveness in it, but not limp either.

Bob nods when Xiu tenses and notes her warning, "Yes, it's why I closed the curtains, so you could. I'll get us two coffees then while you get comfortable. ". He starts rolling into the kitchen, up the makeshift ramp. Over his shoulder he'll ask "How do you like your coffee?"

"Honestly, the curtains do not really matter to me. But I can see why you did it." Xiu says as she closes her eyes and pulls the hoodie up over her torso and head. As usual, there is nothing beneath except that predatory, strong physique. And, of course, the skin, red and irritated at the moment, but slowly fading as the fabric leaves her.

She lets out a soft grunt as she works the hoodie over her head and then down that mass of braided hair, before she finally folds the hoodie and simply sets it down next to the entrance. The cargo pants are, naturally, easier to deal with...and her running shoes are sitting outside, in front of the apartment door.

Once the cargo pants are folded and set down, she stretches for a moment and exhales, shaking her limbs as the rest of her skin slowly fades back to its healthy state - and she begins to glance around, slowly, silently as she takes in the sight of the place.

"Ah...black is fine." she finally speaks up, almost having missed the question.

Bob nods to himself and responds "Black it is. I like to add cinnamon and vanilla, and chocolate." He makes short work of creating their coffees, and brings them out resting on his wheelchair tray. Xiu's is in a large yellow Disney Winnie the Pooh mug, while Bob's is a large black mug with a definition of Tech Support written on it:

Tech Support - Someone who leverages precision guesswork to accomplish the impossible, based on unreliable data provided by those of questionable rationality. See also: Wizard, Magician.

The witch can't help but softly laugh at the sight of her mug, and she quietly strides towards him before she leans down and plucks it up. "Thank you." she says, and then eyes his mug for a moment. "....and that is a bit tongue in cheek, huh?" she remarks and smirks. Then she turns and heads back towards her folded clothes, actually crouching down next to the hoodie before she pulls a large piece of cotton cloth from her bulging hoodie pouch. She drapes it over her shoulder for a moment as she moves back towards Bob, and gestures towards the couch. "May I?" she asks.

A chuckle escapes from Bob too. "Tongue in cheek. Non, whatever do you mean.", he says with laughter in his Cajun accented voice. "Umm, perhaps um pas - a little bit."

Watching Xiu with the cloth brings a puzzled look, but Bob says "Sure, by all means."

The witch nods, and once she reaches the couch, she actually spreads the cloth on the seating, before she finally turns and settles down on it. "How has life been treating you?" she wonders, before she takes a slow sip of her coffee and licks her lips. "I have no-" Pause. She glances down at her coffee, raises her eyebrows, and takes another sip of it, before nodding at the man and lifting the mug a bit. "Good. But, yes, I have not seen you in quite some time. Has life been okay?"

The wheelchair is rolled to near the couch, at conversational distance. He smiles. "I've been good. Met with a group of five people, perhaps another one, and we're forming a chantry. Viktor is one of them. Been learning. Had a successful seeking in the Digital Web while exploring some virgin sectors. Since then been studying supernal memory compression algorithms and abstract existence types." He pauses. "Uhh, what you would call Prime I think. I feel I am close to a breakthrough."

"Oooh?" Xiu says, lifting her head a bit more. "I did not know so many were still...well.." she smirks. "Sticking their heads out of their huts, so to speak. Is Luke one of them?" she wonders. "And maybe, ah, Ceilia? Those two etherites and Viktor are pretty much the technology folk I know that are still around." She gestures forward. "And you, of course."

She then hrms. "'prime'" she echoes and rolls her shoulders. "I am not sure. Quite frankly, Bob, I do not think along those lines of Hermetic Sphere lingo. It just does not mesh well with what I do. Prime was..." She wiggles one hand's fingers... "..magickal energies?"

Bob smiles, "Ceilia is one. Luke..is not. I think that's Ceilia's employer. Viktor, Ceilia, Grayson, Leigh - these are the others. There's also another named Sark that I intend to introduce to the group. He and I have become friendly. It is..an eclectic group, and quite non-standard I know."

"Oh yeah, Leigh. Forgot about that one." Xiu remarks, lightly nodding after. "Annnd no, Luke is not Ceilia's employer. Just a fellow etherite, really." She lightly grins..and then subtly cants her head. Sark. The name rings a bell to the witch, but...she is not sure. She does not mention it. "Well, it sounds rather standard. The techno folks banding together to work on things." She lightly shrugs. "Though I am not sure who Grayson is, admittedly."

"Oh, ok. Cool. Grayson is the Hermetic. And yes, by Prime I mean magical energies, things like that. How have you been since we talked?"

"Huh. It seems like the hermetics are elusive in my life." Xiu remarks. "I hardly ever met Phil, who is one. And I never even heard of Grayson before." she remarks, before she takes another sip of her coffee and slowly licks her lips. "...yeah, that is odd. A Hermetic in your bunch. Is he..." she wonders. "..I don't know, technology-oriented?"

She then rolls her shoulders a bit. "And life has been okay enough. The city is...quiet when it comes to our enemies. I might take a short trip to a nearby county again soon." she remarks and lightly grins. "But, yes, I have been okay."

A sigh. "Yeah, I had hoped for a straight techno focus. But Ceilia..oh let me back track. So you remember maybe I had started discussing finding others like us that were young like me to form a Chantry perhaps, umm back in December. Well I mentioned it to Ceilia and before I knew it she had taken the ball and run with it, which is great. But she wants to be very inclusive so more of a focus on 'increase knowledge and mutual defense' focus, and we have potential members of Sorcs, uh other things, and and non-tech traditions, like Grayson.", he pauses sipping his coffee. The strong smells of vanilla and cinnamon spread out from the cup as he savors the taste.

Bob continues with "Nearby county huh? That happen to be where a friend owns a Irish place?"

"Yeah, I remember." Xiu remarks, lightly nodding before falling silent, and she takes slow sips of her coffee - her eyes locked on Bob there. She then inhales...and lets out a soft laugh. "Yes. Ceilia is very...ah." She pauses. "Impulsive. Me and Steele had to make her hit the brakes a couple of times.." she murmurs and licks some of her teeth. "'Sorcs' are nothing special. I mean, there are many in the traditions." SHe gestures forward. "Your folk have them, although I have no idea *what* you call them."

She then shakes her head. "Oh, no no. That space is well under control of her. No, I meant.." she gestures. "Some other city for a week or two. Just to do some hunting while this place is not bearing any fruit."

Another sip of coffee before Bob responds, as he gathers his thoughts. "Ah, ok. That makes sense about Ceilia. I think, there but for the grace of the goddess would I be, if I hadn't met you and Lyra early on. That well, instilled caution in me. Especially when Lyra told me about one of our sets of enemies, the N ones." He seems concerned about saying the word. I wish I knew enough, or was mobile enough, to help you hunt in some way."

Bob pauses, then says "I am working with Steele to get my mind sorted, get this block gone so I can walk again."

"...huh." Xiu says and lightly frowns. "A block on the....mind?" She blinks and gestures towards the man with her free hand. "Are you saying that you being bound to your wheelchair is nothing physical?" she wonders, before she brings her coffee cup towards her lips, but does not take a sip yet as she waits for the answer.

Sadness alights on Bob's face like a butterfly of shadows. "Well, when the accident happened. I had been playing a video game in the back seat, and had forgotten my headset. My father had just said to turn it off, that it was distracting, when the black ford bronco broadsided us. So..maybe it was my fault? Often feels like it was my fault. A shaman in New Orleans said my mind needed to come to terms with the guilt, before it would allow my legs to be healed. So not all in the mind, but that's the blocker for the healing."

"...huh." Xiu lets out. "Yeah, I remember about the accident. But I was not aware that it is a mostly mental thing." She lightly purses her lips...and then lightly grins. "No worries. Steele can help. Though the guy is horribly busy at times..." she remarks. "But between him and I, I am quite sure we can get things done regarding your..." she gestures forward. "problem."

"That is much appreciated." Bob says. "Oh, I almost forgot. The phone. I talked with Viktor. I need to finish my study of magical energies to where I can make stuff, but that should be done in a couple weeks. Vik isn't good at working directly with the energies, though he is better than I at working with the areas we'd need for the phone. We thought the things you might want in the upgraded version are along the lines of protection from getting hacked, protection from getting traced, hardening the phone so it can take a bullet or a sword, and maybe something else, some kind of panic button escape. For example, we could have the phone digitize itself and you, and upload you to a different place or some other effect you wanted that was within our capabilities."

Xiu sits up a bit more straight as the topic of the phone comes up - and she nods, smiling. "Yes, very much. Those things soooound good, though..." she arches an eyebrow. "Uh. You...really don't need to build a teleporter into the phone for me." she remarks and softly laughs. "Really, my main needs regarding the thing is it be hackproof and traceproof. Those two things are essentially what it all revolves around." She gestures with a hand. "Rugged is a good idea, too, yeah. But.." Is she skittish about a digital teleporter? "...nooot sure about the teleporting thing. I mean..." She inhales softly.

Bob nods, "We can skip the teleporter. That was the most unclear portion anyways. So we'll focus on hack resistant, trace resistant. No such thing in cybersecurity world as hackproof, but we'll get it as close as we can. And ruggedize it. So I can tell Viktor it sounds good and we have your ok?"

"Well, yeah.." Xiu says and softly laughs. "I do not expect you to make a phone that remains proof when the Union actually puts a focus and a lot of resources behind getting in." She shakes her head. "If I am in that position, something already went horribly wrong." She then takes another long sip of her coffee, the mug almost empty, and she nods. There is a wide smile on her face. "You *absolutely* have my okay, Bob. You and Viktor both. I just still have no idea how to repay you two."

Another sip of coffee. Bob smiles. "Well. I'l work on the phone regardless. But Lyra and I were talking about getting a teacher, and she recommended I talk with you. I know we are different traditions. I'm a technoshaman, you're a witch. But there's a lot I need to learn that's foundational stuff, and a lot that's not magic stuff. For example, I knew we existed, I knew some of the enemies we have. I didn't know Bygones existed or Werewolves, until the other day when someone told me a bit about Bygones and let slip accidentally that werewolves existed. There's a lot about the world I don't know. And on the mundane side, I can't shoot, I can't punch, and I can't use a sword or knife. I mean, obviously that would have to wait until I walk again, but if you think you can teach someone so different, I'd be very greatful and try to help in your hunts any way I can."

Xiu..blinks. "I...was about to ask how I could ever teach you, because trust me when I say that I am even exotic among many of the witches out there, but..." she remarks and starts grinning. "Yeah. Yeah, I can teach you a couple things about the world. And how to curbstomp somebody once you can use your legs again." She nods. "That is fine by me, Bob. Absolutely fine by me." She downs what littel is left of her coffee, and slowly sets the mug down. "But yeah. There are many things out there that go bump in the night. I have seen my share. Normally there is not much trouble if you keep your distance and know what to look for, but...admittedly there are still many things I do not know, either. It is not like those other beings and us share notes."

Bob smiles, "Great! Is there an student's oath or something? And yeah, there seems to be a lot of stuff out there. I was at a superbowl party at King's Brewerie, thrown by the owner I guess, Sammy. I felt two movements of power there, but didn't recognize what they were. Definitely not mage. I felt like a babe in the woods, knowing something was there but not knowing what it was. I played it cool and didn't immediately get up and dart for the doors, and it turned out ok. Though Sammy and some puffed up actress type almost got into it. They seemed to know each other, and not in a nice way. Umm, Alys maybe. I only heard the name once."

The witch waves a hand. "Nono, no. No oaths or rituals or shenanigans required, Bob." she says and softly laughs. "I am simply helping you with knowledge of nightfolk and to defend yourself. That does not require anything special."

She then lowers her hand and..cants her head a bit. "..huh. Yeah, I can see how large events raise the chance of *something* being around." She nods. "The safest thing you can do? Just do not react, unless it is something obvious. Essentially, just act like you are Average John Doe and blend in with the mass. Chances are high that whatever is happening, it is not about you. *if* you are in a situation where it would very probably about you, do not go to events." She lightly grins - though does not react to the names.

"Good. Yes, that's what I did. And that makes sense..if you're actively hunted you shouldn't be out in the open." He takes another sip of his coffee, and finds it drained. "Would you like a refill?", he asks Xiu.

Xiu glances down at her mug, and then shakes her head, smiling. "I am not very used to coffee." she remarks and gestures. "Usually it is light teas for me. But if you have some water, I will gladly take some. Can go into the same mug, no need to break out a fresh glass."

The mug is reached for. "Sure, water it is. I live on coffee, so..another cup for me. Be right back." He takes the mugs and rolls into the kitchen, efficiently rinsing Xiu's mug and filling from a bottle of spring water, then making Bob's second cup before rolling back and handing Xiu his cup.

Bob considers, then says "So, where is the best place to start?"

Xiu takes the cup, smiling softly before she leans back on the couch again, one arm draped over the backrest and..is about to take a sip of the water before she blinks. "Huh? Oh! Well.." she says and smirks. "The lay of the land, so to speak. "In general the vampires stick to the cities. The werewolves and other shifters *tend* to be in the wilderness. At least from what I have seen, though I am rather sure they are in the city as well at times. There are the Changelings - Fey - which are as enigmatic as it gets." She rolls her shoulders. "I have no idea where they hang, but I think it is actually mostly the city surrounds." She lifts a hand. "Really, I don't know much about those. And then.." she says.. "Are the 'bygones'. Those mythical, old creatures. There are all kinds, and they live and hang at whatever you'd espect. I have seen a couple different ones over my time, and they..." she shakes her head. "Are as varied as it gets. I am not sure there is any advice to give regarding those aside of treating each like its own thing."

Bob started to sip his coffee but pauses, "Other shifters? I only knew about Werewolves. Changelings..huh, cool. I have met a Bygone, like I said. Don't know about the others, but then again how would I know."

"Huh? You managed to meet a bygone this early?" Xiu wonders and blinks, before she lightly smirks. "Interesting. But, yes, there are other shifters, not just the wolves." She lightly waves a hand. "Ravens, cats, foxes...the wolves are the most territorial and hostile, however." she explains. "Definitely keep your distance from them. And even the other shifters...welll.." She inhales and wiggles a hand. "Treat with respect."

Bob nods, "Will do." His phone starts beeping, then says "This is a reminder. You have a mental health appointment in one hour.". Bob looks a bit embarrassed, then says "I am supposed to meet with Steele and should probably get ready, if that's OK. But I am happy to continue this conversation at your convenience whenever it's good for you. And I appreciate everything so very much." It might be a little embarrass how grateful Bob is.