[Jarod Nightingale] This is Jim. Ashley's father. She says not to go to her apartment.
Mirrorshades.
There'd been a message left on his phone. It was the kind of message that nobody ever liked to get: ominous and light on important details. Ashley was alive and physically alright. Beyond that... apparently only her father knew. It would be a lie to say that Jarod was surprised by this news. He wasn't. Ashley was an important figure in the Awakened community, and people who stuck out the way she did eventually drew the wrong sort of attention. But logically knowing that something was a possibility was different than being confronted with the reality.
A couple of months ago, he probably would have just erased the message, sighed, and inwardly hoped that she was alright before moving on with his day. A lot could happen in a couple of months though. A lot had happened.
After attempting to reach Ashley himself - and failing, as he'd expected - Jarod had called her father back to ask what was going on. Jim had been close-mouthed on the phone, expectedly so since one never knew who was listening in. (Though Jarod was beginning to suspect that Ashley's father wasn't exactly the talkative type even on normal occasions.) As such, a meeting had been arranged in the park.
The time between then and now had been spent largely as he would have spent it otherwise. He'd gone to class, met with some students during office hours (the rest of the foreign language department was generally amused by how busy Jarod's office hours usually were,) had lunch with Jake and Sebastian, picked Ilana up at school, helped her with her homework, made dinner for them both and attempted to watch the BBC news that he'd had recorded on his DVR. But once things had settled down and he'd been left largely to his own devices, he'd found he hadn't really been able to sit still. So he'd found a project for himself re-arranging some of the corals in his fish tank. Then he'd cleaned the utility room.
Ilana had asked him once, quietly, if he was okay. He'd told her not to worry. She stopped asking, but hadn't believed him.
But now he was in the park, waiting to meet Ashley's father for the first time. Even under better circumstances, that in itself might have been cause for a little concern (Jarod and fathers very seldom turned out to be a good combination,) but tonight he wasn't thinking about how to cajole or impress Jim Novotny. He was just... worried.
Grant Park itself wasn't terribly interesting this time of year, so he'd asked for Jim to meet him in Millennium park, across the street. He was walking through it now, absently gazing at the various snow-covered sculptures, hands in the silk-lined pockets of his coat.
[James Novotny] They don't look very much alike, Jim and Ashley. They both have dark hair, though Jim's is shot through with white by now around the temples and along his cheeks and jaw, and their eyes are the same bright clear blue. There, the similarity ends. He's a big man. Physically, he's in better condition than many much younger men; he has the hard, toughened physique of someone who spends a lot of time in manual labor. His hands are covered with tiny white scars. His hands are the size of small dinner plates, without any signs of the delicacy Ashley herself has, or any signs that it was ever there.
There the similarity ends but it would still be impossible to mistake another man for her father, once someone saw Jim. There's something contained about him, passion and rage tied down and harnessed. Channeled into more appropriate endeavors.
There's a baleful stare leveled out at the park, and he is standing near one of the sculptures without looking at it. His hands are in the pockets of a heavy black coat, the kind one expects to see on people who spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter. Beneath it are a pair of worn jeans and boots. He stands with the comfortable ease of an old warrior who hasn't gone soft quite yet.
If Jim is anxious, it doesn't show. His eyes rake over the landscape and back again, and he stands in silence but not quiet (quiet implies a tranquility, you see, and he has none of that.)
He notices Jarod idly, but he doesn't initially make much note of him. Until he senses the Verbena's resonance, and then...and then. He just stares at him, with the kind of look that suggests that Jarod isn't particularly welcome and he has other places he would much rather be.
[Jarod Nightingale] [Oo oo... I wanna use my new Awareness 3 powers!]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 3, 5, 7, 7, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[James Novotny] Jim doesn't feel primal in quite the same way Ashley does, but there's a similar air. Something bestial, or maybe that's just all the aggression that seems to be pent up and waiting. This is the kind of man who has achieved balance through harsh discipline and willpower alone, who was probably once something much more unpredictable than he is now. He's dangerous. Harnessed. For now. For this life.
He's not only that, though. Because in spite of how menacing most people probably see him, there's something steady about him too - probably because he is so strict with himself. Something firm and bracing: he is, no matter what else, the kind of man you can turn to when the chips are down.
to Jarod Nightingale
[Jarod Nightingale] Jarod Nightingale was not the sort of man that most fathers would want anywhere near their daughters, no matter how grown up and capable said daughters were. Add in the fact that Ashley's father was Awakened, and there was yet another extra cart of baggage to deal with. For one, Jarod was Verbena. And while some Akashics had respect for them as a Tradition, many had a difficult time getting past the vast gulf of difference in their beliefs (Mind vs. Blood.) At worst, they might consider them amoral savages.
Jarod didn't look savage at all, but there was a feral note to his elegance - he moved like a cat, he felt like a cat... and everyone knew that cats couldn't be trusted - and when he approached the mass of restrained power that was almost certainly Ashley's father, a wave of coldly seductive resonance announced his presence.
Oh, the things a father might imagine...
But Jarod wasn't thinking about whether or not James approved of him. He just wanted to find Ashley. So when he came to a stop in front of the older man, he met his gaze head-on (unintimidated, though he felt reasonably certain that Jim could beat the shit out of him if the right inclination struck) and pulled one of the hands out of his pocket to hold it out in greeting. It was cold out, and he wore gloves tonight, as well as a soft scarf around his neck.
"James, I assume? Jarod Nightingale." (He didn't say good to meet you. This wasn't really the right circumstances for niceties.) "Can you tell me what happened to Ashley? I really need to know where she is."
[James Novotny] It's not the right circumstance for niceties - which is possibly a good thing, since one gets the impression that Jim wouldn't care much for them anyway. He has less patience with them than Ashley does (which is saying something): whatever tolerance Ashley has for them was ground into her by the Order of Hermes, a Tradition notorious for the love many of its members have of pomp and circumstance.
When Jarod extends his hand to shake, Jim takes it, and his grip is just a little too tight. Then again, he's powerfully built; perhaps he just doesn't recognize his own strength. Especially if his understanding of other people is about on par with Ashley's.
This is a man who is used to having other people make assumptions about his intelligence - much like Jarod, in some ways. And like Jarod, he prefers that people underestimate him. It's worked greatly to his advantage in the past, being thought of as a dumb brute. The look he's giving the younger man is decidedly shrewd, though, and more than a little unhappy. Oh, the things a father might imagine. "Jim," he grunts when Jarod offers his name forth. "Shatterer of the Way." He might not have offered his Akashic name, but they are, after all, of equal rank.
"You don't," Jim tells him. "Better if she keeps her head down. They got hold of her Sleeper name." He doesn't elaborate on what that means for her; Jarod, he assumes, can extrapolate as far as how very bad that is. If he can't, well. "She's safe. Burned her apartment when she found out they were coming."
[Jarod Nightingale] [Ok, I see what's going on here... Empathy?]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 1, 5, 5, 7, 8 (Success x 3 at target 5)
[James Novotny] There's a lot Jarod doesn't know about Ashley's history, about who she used to be or where she's been or what she's done. But even from what he does know, it isn't hard to imagine why Ashley's father might be...just a little overprotective. She's lived through more in her twenty-nine years than many people who have lived three times as long, and he knows she isn't as unshaken by it as she'd like to seem. Jim knows too.
He's not a people person in the slightest, and he thinks it's a waste of his time to be here updating other people on Ashley's condition. In fact, Ashley probably was the one who insisted that he come here at all. But he especially thinks it's a waste of his time updating a wealthy playboy who also happens to be from a Tradition he considers savage and intemperate.
In other words: with anyone but Kage and possibly Emily, he's likely to give anyone wanting to know where she is a hard time about it. Jarod, well...he falls pretty low on Jim's list of people who are worth Ashley compromising her location for.
to Jarod Nightingale
[Jarod Nightingale] If there was anyone out there who could claim to hold Ashley's best interests at heart more than he did, it was probably her father. Then again, fathers weren't always what they were supposed to be, and Jarod carried an innate distrust of parental figures that had been with him since childhood. He shook Jim's hand, and didn't complain when the grip became uncomfortable. Instead he returned the larger man's shrewd expression, checking his impatience as he returned his hand to the pocket of his coat.
It didn't take a Seer to figure out that Ashley's father wasn't overly fond of him - even just the idea of him. And yes, it did seem likely that the only reason he tolerated this meeting at all was because of Ashley. There was an intense urge to gain control that always accompanied this kind of situation, but James wasn't likely to respond well to manipulation or orders.
"I'm glad she's safe," he said quietly, and he seemed sincere in that - largely because he was. "But I don't think it's good for her to be alone with this. I know how to be careful. I won't tell anyone where she is." He took a breath (swallowed his pride.) "...Please."
[James Novotny] Maybe Jim disagrees about what's good for Ashley. She learned her fierce independence somewhere, and Jim doesn't seem like the sort of man who makes a habit of gentle reassurance. He's not. Ashley is not a person who has encountered much warmth in her life, and it's not hard to imagine that, watching Jim react (or not react, rather.)
If anything, for a moment he seems mildly irritated. And largely unmoved by Jarod's request or whatever effort it might have taken him to make it. Still, Jarod had the right of it - he is tolerating this meeting because of his daughter, and he's trying to keep her best interests (her wants) at heart. "I don't think she wanted you to see where she's at," he says, after a few seconds. Which is true.
One might imagine she wouldn't be entirely pleased with him for expressing that to anyone, but, well. Even Hermetics don't always get what they want.
There's another silence, a debate, though it's a little hard to tell whatever thoughts are crossing his mind just then. His eyes never leave Jarod's face. On someone else, that kind of attention would be seen as polite and engaging; on him, it isn't. He doesn't concede; he just turns around and starts walking. He doesn't look back over his shoulder to see whether Jarod is following him.
[Jarod Nightingale] The wise thing to do here was probably to just accept this response and walk away. One would imagine that if Ashley really wanted to get in touch with him, she'd have done it herself by now. Ashley was an Adept of Mind. She had ways of communicating that no one would ever be able to intercept.
For a moment, he stood there silently and watched as James walked away. There was a muffled click in his jaw as he bit down angrily. This wasn't his problem. Not really. Ashley was safe, and she wanted to be alone, so why press the issue?
"Look, I get it. You don't like me. You don't want to talk to me. You don't want me anywhere near your daughter," he called out to Jim's back. "Ashley's upset. She just had her life ripped out from under her. Of course she's angry. Of course she's trying to push people away. That doesn't mean that you should let her. Do you really think she wants to be alone right now? There are people in this city who care about her. I'm one of them. Deal with it."
[James Novotny] "I meant for you to follow," Jim clarifies without missing a beat. One might imagine he's used to being misunderstood in this way, or at least it's something he's started to expect. He spends a lot of time in nonverbal communication, but he can be a difficult man to read at times. Unlike Ashley, he is aware of that. Unlike Ashley, he is as keenly in tune to other peoples' nonverbal communication as his own.
He casts a glance over his shoulder toward Jarod and slows his step, even though the other man could probably catch up with him easily. He didn't get very far. And he'll wait for the Verbena until they are side by side along the path, headed back toward his car - rented, a solid and efficient vehicle. It's difficult to imagine him with anything but.
"I'm not letting her," he adds. "This already happened once." He's more than aware of his daughter's tendency to push people away; he was witness to her first attempts to do so, back when she first Awakened. It's worsened since.
"But if she tells you to leave, you had better."
[Jarod Nightingale] [Subterfuge - Wait, what? Oh... no I'm not embarrassed at all. (Manip 4 for the win!)]
Dice Rolled:[ 7 d10 ] 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (Success x 3 at target 8)
[James Novotny] [Really?]
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 3, 5, 8, 10, 10 (Success x 3 at target 6)
[Jarod Nightingale] There was a moment there, after James turned around and informed Jarod that he'd meant for him to follow, when a subtle look of confusion whispered across the Verbena's features, to be shortly followed by a rising tide of irritation and embarrassment. (If there was one sure thing about cats, it was that they hated looking stupid.)
And this was probably about the stupidest he'd looked in... years, actually. To his credit, he composed himself quickly and neatly, as if nothing at all had happened. Most people wouldn't have known that he was upset at all. (But as we've already pointed out, James Novotny wasn't as unintelligent as he looked.) Then he gave a little snort of amusement and started walking, taking quick, long strides until he caught up to the man's side.
"If she wants me to leave, I doubt I'll have much of a choice."
[James Novotny] Jim knows he's upset. Whether or not Jim finds any amusement - or anything else - in the fact is debatable, and not particularly evident. Then again, in Jim's opinion most self-respecting men would be embarrassed after that, so maybe he just takes it in stride, as a matter-of-course. He doesn't smirk, though, or roll his eyes or scoff.
"No," he rumbles. His daughter, after all, is an Adept, even aside from being headstrong and more than a little stubborn. He's realized it to his occasional chagrin - it took him a long time to even become a disciple, and higher rank does not seem to be his lot in this life - but she's given up a lot to come that far. He would be proud, if he allowed himself. He does not.
He swings himself down into the car without fanfare. There's a radio playing inside - classic rock, mostly. He doesn't live that aspect of his life in silence, at least, whatever has happened to Ashley.
Jim is, perhaps expectedly, silent on the drive. And the drive takes quite a while; this is Chicago traffic, and there's a long way to go from the north side, from Millenium Park. This new place is a long way from Ashley's old apartment, in fact. It doesn't matter: she won't be going back there, and she won't be revisiting any aspects of her old life. It's like the city starts to gray the further south they go. The roads start to crack and so do the buildings, and slowly there seem to be fewer and fewer inhabited dwellings.
Bridgeport is an old Irish neighborhood, or was. It's close to Bronzeville and Back-of-the-Yards. There are plenty of people who might see the charm in it, but Jarod's probably not one of them. In all likelihood Ashley isn't one of them either - then again, she's friends with Thomas, so who knows.
One thing is certain, though: nobody would think to look for her here. She could disappear here, become a part of the city where people and things just disappear, and no one would be the wiser. That was the point.
The house is an old brick house. From the front, it looks completely innocuous, and that would be because power and heat haven't been activated there yet. It looks like every other foreclosed or abandoned home on this street, and there are quite a few - parts of Chicago's south side look like a ghost town, these days. Jim stops in front of it and then gets out, moving up the front steps with a surprising lightness of foot in spite of his size and age.
[Jarod Nightingale] All things considered, the two of them had managed to get along about as well as could be expected under the circumstances. This was likely in part due to the fact that - whatever could be said about him as a parent - James wanted his daughter to be happy. Parents usually did. And Jarod could appreciate a man who kept his composure even under trying circumstances. He could also appreciate blunt honesty.
...Though he didn't particularly appreciate classic rock. But he could (and did) check his music snobbery for a few minutes, so when he got into the car alongside Ashley's father, he was mostly silent. Silence was something he could tolerate easily enough, even with strangers, so it wasn't a particularly uncomfortable sort of silence (and anyway, there was the music to break it.) Likely, Jim wasn't terribly interested in talking anyway. He... didn't seem much like the talkative type.
Jarod did ask, at one point, if Jim was an Akashic. Because he'd heard the title, and it felt reminiscent of the time he'd spent in China. (And also because he was fairly certain at this point that Ashley's father was not Hermetic.) He also asked a couple of questions about Ashley's state of affairs - did she manage to save anything from the fire, do they know why she was targeted... but if Jim seemed disinclined to discuss it, he wouldn't press. (These were questions he could ask her himself.)
Ashley was right on one count - Jarod was not pleased to see the state of the place that she was now calling home, or the neighborhood that she was in. He wasn't surprised, and all things considered it was probably safer here than many other places, but it still bothered him. It was the peak of the coldest part of winter, and Ashley was living in a condemned building. (While he had access to any number of luxuries - one of them being reliable climate control.)
He got out of the car after Jim, following the older man up the steps.
[James Novotny] Jim seems willing to answer Jarod's questions at the very least. Like Ashley, he has no objection to being asked anything - there seems to simply be very little he offers of his own volition. "Vajrapani," is his short answer to Jarod when the other man asks after his Tradition. So, yes - and perhaps the fact that he's settled into the most warlike of the factions won't come as any surprise at all.
He does not speak on his initiation either to the Vajrapani or the Brotherhood as a whole, though. Even though the Vajrapani are almost notoriously insular. He distinguished himself somehow, in order to get in. He impressed somebody.
Of what Ashley recovered, Jim says little. He mentions her library. He mentions a few personal items. He mentions the dog and cat. He mentions very little because that's all she recovered.
The steps whine under his feet, and the far corner of the porch is sagging in. There's no need for Ashley or Jim to repair it yet; there are other things inside the house that will take priority, things that probably present a danger to the structure of the house. Inside it's as cold as it is outside. Ashley is a mage well versed in the Ars Essentiae, and rather than risk drawing attention to herself just yet, she's chosen to cover herself and the two animals who are currently sharing space with her, wrap them in warmth. The floors here are hardwood too, though they're worn thin and bare and a little buckled in some places. Perhaps she'll work to restore them; it's one of those situations in which knowing magi well versed in the Ars Materiae comes in handy.
It's bare, in here. Whatever might have been left by the previous occupants has been cleared out, and she and Jim have both obviously been cleaning the place: the rooms are barren but they have been mopped and scrubbed, in the past few days. Candles are along the walls and along the floors, carefully balanced in holders to catch the hot wax. No house fires.
Ashley isn't immediately inside. Jim leads Jarod back through the halls, which are quiet and poorly lit, into a bigger room adjacent to the kitchen. This, too, is bare other than the shelves that have been haphazardly placed through the room and pushed back toward the walls: they were transported together with all of the books, apparently.
On the floor there is a sleeping bag, which is new and at least looks as though it is warm and durable. For now, it works. And other than that, very few things seem to have escaped the apartment with Ashley. There is a photo of smiling faces painted with woad, balanced on one of the shelves. There is a very old stone carving of a serpent devouring its own tail. There is a wooden box, a puzzle box of some sort that looks large enough to contain a small book or journal, on one of the shelves too. And, oddly, there is a violin case that presumably contains a violin and bow, carefully placed up against the wall.
Off to the side there is a doorway to a small room, still dark. Inside it feels like Hunger, though less than Ashley's old study did.
And Ashley herself, who has been waiting outside the range of one of the candles, ready. When she sees that it's her father and Jarod she steps out. She's clean, at least, currently dressed in nothing more than a green T-shirt advertising a Boston pub and a pair of jeans. She looks at Jarod quietly, for a moment.
[Jarod Nightingale] [Mind 2 - resonance? What resonance? - diff 5 -1 -1]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 5, 10, 10 (Success x 4 at target 3) [WP]
[Jarod Nightingale] [Also, Life scan - you really are okay, right?]
Dice Rolled:[ 3 d10 ] 1, 5, 6 (Success x 1 at target 3)
[Jarod Nightingale] This was not a home. It was a hiding place. And from the look of things... not a very comfortable one. Jarod noted the lack of heat and electricity, and although he had no skill with the Arts that Ashley was using to keep herself and her pets alive, he did put two and two together. There was no way they could survive at this time of year without some means of keeping warm - mundane or otherwise.
He'd done some work in the car on the way over - quietly and subtly erasing his resonance from easy perception. Jim would only notice it because of the absence of what had been there before. So when Ashley heard the sound of footsteps on the old, warped floorboards, she would not immediately know that it was Jarod who accompanied her father. But perhaps she'd guess. And anyway, as soon as she stepped out she'd see him.
"Ashley... Jesus, why didn't you tell me?" He looked a little upset, but not at her so much as over her. And despite the fact that her father was standing right there next to him, he stepped forward to reach out to her, wrapping her in a tight hug. He didn't ask her if she was alright, because he could tell for himself that physically she was fine, and because emotionally... of course she wasn't. (He also didn't ask because her Dad was there, and he didn't expect an honest answer.) Instead he just held on until Ashley pulled away - not long, one would imagine - then he reached out with his gloved hand to brush a bit of her bangs off of her forehead.
"I'm supposed to leave for New York tomorrow. I almost missed you."
[James Novotny] It isn't long before she pulls away, and if he knew her relationship with her father better he might be surprised that she allowed him to hug her in front of her father at all. Seeking that kind of physical reassurance, clinging, is something children do. She is not a child. She hasn't been a child for a long time. But for as long as it lasts, her arms are tight around him, her head pressed into his chest.
She tugs away from him, though she allows him to brush her hair away. Jim watches the two of them, silent for a moment, and then they'll hear his footsteps receding into darkness. Presumably, he's going off to do one of the many repairs the house is currently in need of. It's a hiding place, but it could be a home someday. She intends to make it into one, somehow.
The moment her father leaves she relaxes and steps closer, reaching out and resting a hand on his side. "I didn't really want to risk anything being traced to you," she tells him. "It was bad enough having my dad call people. I was just going to hide, but I figured you or Kage might drop by to see me, and I didn't want you to get picked up."
She doesn't know that her name has been in the news. She doesn't know she's currently wanted for arson. She doesn't need to know those details for certain, though; they're easy enough to guess at.
Ashley glances toward the remnants of her library. "Emily said Molly got attacked too. I thought at first somebody sold me out. I didn't want to say anything until I knew what happened."
[Jarod Nightingale] She'd wanted to be careful, and of course he appreciated that. All things considered, he shouldn't even be here. He shouldn't have gotten close with her at all. He should have stayed as he was - on the sidelines, disconnected. But he wasn't, and for a moment his more human emotions pushed aside the cold instinct for survival. He didn't feel anxious or angry. That had come and gone, and would most certainly return again later, but right now... he just felt relieved.
"It's good you were careful. You need to be. Just..." he paused, closed his mouth for a second. His jaw clicked. "Never mind. I'm just glad you're safe."
Once Jim was safely out of their immediate vicinity, he leaned down and pulled Ashley into a kiss. It was the kind of kiss that people gave when they'd had a scare and were just happy to see that the other person was still alive and whole - uninhibited, and perhaps just a little insecure. Like the contact was a means of grounding and reassurance.
"I see you got your books out, at least. And the animals. That's lucky."
[James Novotny] If Ashley had a better guess of what Jarod was going to say before he closed his mouth, she might be glad of it. She'd be glad he didn't press her as far as contacting him, let her know he was worried and how much what happened had been eating at him. She'd be glad he didn't express any of the fears that he might have had during those few days. (I was thinking that I don't want to lose you.)
...No. She'd be very glad of it indeed.
She doesn't pull away from him when the kiss eventually breaks. Ashley wraps her arms around his neck and stays as close as she can get, apparently all right with it, for now, when she doesn't have her father to call her out on it. "Somebody warned me about an hour before they showed up," she says. "They threw a brick through my window with a note attached. So I had a little time."
But not much. If she hadn't had that warning at all, though, she would probably be dead right now; this goes without her saying it. "I got this place a little while ago so I had a sanctum to go to ground to if I needed it," she says. "I'm glad I did."
[Jarod] Ashley held on after the kiss broke, arms around his neck, and although Jarod had to bend down to account for their difference in height (and this probably was not the world's most comfortable position for him) he remained in place - a thing of stability for the Adept to hang on to until she decided to let go.
When she spoke, he leaned his forehead gently against hers and closed his eyes, pulling back a touch to look at her again when she mentioned the house as a back-up plan. She wasn't the only one who was glad she'd had it. Though he couldn't (and wouldn't) bring himself to actually say as much, had Ashley needed a place to go... he wouldn't have been able to offer her his own. (But then, Ashley had other friends and family, so its doubtful it would have come down to that.)
"It's good to have a contingency plan. I learned that the hard way, once." After a pause, he added, "I should help you get this place fixed up. On the inside, at least. You need a bed." He pointed this out in a tone of casual observation, though considering the source, one might imagine that Jarod was probably thinking about this from at least a partially selfish perspective. "And heat," he added, as an afterthought.
Wherever James was, he may or may not have been able to hear them. Jarod didn't much seem to care either way. Whenever Ashley felt comfortable releasing her hold on him, he'd straighten up and begin pacing slowly around the room. There wasn't much to see but candles and books, but he was curious about this new space. He assumed he'd have to get used to it, since it wasn't likely that Ashley would be moving again anytime soon.
On impulse, he asked, "...Do you want to come to New York with me? Get out of here for a few days?"
[Ashley] She might have held on for a while longer, but it can't be very comfortable for him leaning down like that, so after a moment she lets him go. And she straightens, turning to face him as he moves through the new area. It's an old home; at one point it was probably a very nice home, but that's typical of many of the abandoned buildings in south Chicago.
"I managed to get some of my savings out," she tells him, and the slightly lifted chin that accompanies the statement does very little to take the stubborn pride out of it. "And I should be able to get a stipend from the Order of Hermes, for the time being." The benefit to being part of such a large and heavily organized Tradition. Its members are among some of the busiest people in the world, particularly the higher ranking ones, and many of them either don't have time to hold day jobs or are like her - they can't.
It's not perfect for a long term plan, but Ashley doesn't intend for the situation to be a persistent one. She bites the inside of her cheek, thoughtful. "I'm going to need another identity before I can hook up light and heat in here. If I didn't think it would probably make me more noticeable here I'd just use the Ars Essentiae, but..."
Well, light and heat where city grids say there should be none tends to draw attention.
Then Jarod asks her about New York, and there's a startled glance in his direction. "I, um. Sure. What is...are you going for business?"
[Jarod] He didn't argue with her when she pointed out that she had money, and (from her perspective, at least) didn't need his help. Ashley was a capable person. Whether or not she could manage on her own had never really been a question, in his mind. That didn't mean he wasn't going to offer. But he let it drop for now. More than likely, it would come back up again sooner or later. (Jarod was more stubborn than a lot of people gave him credit for.)
His breath appeared as a little cloud of steam when he spoke, and he slid his hands back into his pockets to protect them from the cold. "I'm working Fashion Week. Last modeling gig before I retire. Not your scene, I imagine, but you don't have to hang out and watch. Just figured maybe you could use the time off, and, well... New York's always good for a getaway." After a moment's consideration, he looked up at the ceiling pensively. "I'm flying out tomorrow morning. You'd need a a fake identity for that, too. Unless you want to drive and meet me."
[Ashley] A little while ago if she'd tried to imagine the difficulties of working around no longer having a Sleeper name, it's the big ones that would have occurred to her. Things like school. Like trying to find work. Things like where she can work or go to school (because with them actively watching for her now, most high profile jobs will be barred, as will studying or working at a public institution of any kind.) But there are a lot of things identification is needed for that she doesn't have access to, until she finds a means. Travel. Leaving the country. Renting a hotel room. Hell, she can't even buy alcohol.
"I can't drive," Ashley points out, her brows furrowing. "And I figure Dad will want to stay here and work on the house even if I go...I'd need someone to watch the dog and cat besides."
She, too, is wearing a slightly pensive expression. "I guess I could probably call in a favor in Boston and get a Hermes Portal there." It's a rather frivolous use for a favor, but then again, Jarod isn't wrong about her wanting to get out of the city for a few days. Out of this house. Ashley leans back against the wall and folds her arms, contemplates. There's a wry glance in Jarod's direction. "I guess I'd probably almost fit in a carryon."
A beat. There'd been some momentary curiosity when he'd mentioned why he was going. It isn't really Ashley's scene, but she hasn't actually seen him at work or anything approaching it before. "I'll figure something out, I guess."
[Jarod] He should have figured that she couldn't drive - that this was an ill-fated suggestion from the get-go, but rather than become frustrated by the setback, he just laughed, trying to picture Ashley using a Hermes portal to go on vacation (and how the other Hermetics might feel about that.) There was a sigh - something that sounded a bit long-suffering, but in a playful way.
"No, don't do that. I'll just cancel my flight and drive us both. If you think you can tolerate being stuck in a car with me for thirteen hours."
He unbuttoned the top part of his coat, reaching into the inside pocket to check the time on his cell phone... before he remembered that he'd shut it off before coming out here so that no one looking for a signal would pick it up, so he dropped his hand back to his side and glanced around - as if to look for a clock (though he knew perfectly well that he wasn't going to find one.) "It's probably getting late. If we're going to drive I should get back home and pack. Can you be ready by 6am tomorrow?"
It felt strange, making plans like this when so many serious things were happening around them. But then... that was life. Arson on Monday. Monsters on Tuesday. Road trips on Wednesday.
[Ashley] People sometimes have a difficult time on road trips with Ashley. It's something she's come to understand over the years - most people fill up the hours with music. This is not an option, when she's in the car. If she were a personality more given to being considerate of others, to worrying about whether she's an inconvenience, this would probably greatly distress her every time she asks someone for a ride. As it is, it only bothers her a little bit.
"It can't be worse than trips back and forth to Boston," she says, with a look toward him. A slight smile. She doesn't protest now that he's offered to drive them, though she can't hide that she's a little pleased that he's willing to drive them both when he could just have told her to find her own way or not to come. "I, um. Thank you."
She won't have anything to pack. Ashley escaped her apartment with three pairs of clothes; chances are she'll probably have to buy more while they're on the trip. And an interesting trip it will probably be - and most likely a little poignant, for her. She hasn't been to New York since she was at Julliard. Since her Awakening in a hospital there.
Ashley glances off down the darkened hallway. "I'll be ready. I should go tell my dad I'm going with you."
[Jarod] "I'm sure he'll be thrilled," Jarod teased gently, a wry half-smile touching one corner of his mouth. He probably assumed that Ashley wouldn't have much to bring with her (or much in the way of spending money to get by on her own once they arrived,) but he didn't press about it right now or make a show of trying to take care of her. That wasn't the kind of relationship they had.
"Don't worry about it. You'll just have to try and entertain me. And I'll bring headphones for when it gets quiet."
He buttoned his coat up again, then made his way down the hall toward the door. "I'll pick you up a few blocks that way." He pointed in the direction he meant. "If you need to get a-hold of me, don't try to call or visit." Not that she was likely to even contemplate that right now. "Just... you know." He turned around and stopped, tapping the side of his head lightly. Then he bent down and kissed her goodbye.
"See you in the morning."
[Ashley] "He probably won't use words with me for the rest of the night after I tell him," Ashley says, with a roll of her eyes. At the very least she doesn't seem troubled by the idea - or unconscious of the fact that her father dislikes the idea of Jarod at all. One might imagine that Jim has made mention, or at least grunted his disapproval.
There's a glance over toward her bookshelves, which now contain only her mystical library. The rather substantial collection she had of mundane books went up in smoke. All the novels, all the nonfiction, all the poetry. There'd easily been thousands; it's a heartbreaking thought. "I read Kage poems the last time we road tripped," Ashley says. "And I'd offer, but..."
She'll have to reamass her collection. Very slowly. She shrugs at Jarod; doubtlessly she'll find other means of entertaining them both. Or they'll stay quiet.
Then he mentions how she can get in contact with him, and Ashley raises her eyebrows - surprised, perhaps, that he would trust her enough for that type of communication. But she nods to him, and hugs him again for a moment after he kisses her goodbye. "See you tomorrow." And then, of course, her attention will be turned to the daunting task of convincing Jim Novotny, Shatterer of the Way, that it will be better for all if Jarod is allowed to retain his kneecaps.
