[Jarod Nightingale] Ashley argued her point. Lucien argued his right back. The back-and-forth was starting to get a little tedious, and Jarod put his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes in the manner of someone who had a tiresome headache.
Lucien commented that he didn't listen well. An interesting assessment, coming as it did from someone who seemed more inclined to rant about the world ending than give any clear details about what he actually wanted. But it would seem that Alex had the inside information, so perhaps it was he who he ought to be questioning anyway. Assuming he had the desire to question someone, which at the moment he didn't seem to.
When the Euthanatos disappeared and Ashley left the room in a cloud of silent rage, he let out a long sigh. "Give us a minute alone?" he asked of Alex, before turning and following in the Hermetic's wake. The Akashic could ignore this request, of course, but he seemed like a reasonable sort of person, so perhaps he would pick up on the intention.
Jarod was slow to join Ashley in the booth, giving her a brief interlude to collect her thoughts before he slid in beside her. There was a thoughtful expression on his face when he looked at her, something a little softer than had been there previously. "Well that was a waste of time." A pause. "You okay?"
[Alexander Liang] It is not too difficult, even for those who have not had much exposure to him, to tell that Alex is a creature of order. Not a slave to it like the Technocrats, or incapable of reacting to change or surprises, but certainly more comfortable when things happen in expected ways, cause-and-effect flowing from one event to another in a logical, predictable pattern. While he is perfectly capable of dealing with the unexpected, he doesn't necessarily LIKE it.
So, having the little troll-like
[Alexander Liang] ((Oh, crap, ignore that))
[Ashley McGowen] Either Jarod or Alex might be feeling a headache coming on right now. Of course, one of them possesses a sort of feline composure and the other is an Akashic Brother, so it's a fair bet that it isn't perturbing them overmuch, at least. What's surprising is that Ashley left the room at all, rather than stay to attempt to argue until she exhausted herself or won. This is not something she would have done, a year ago. Perhaps Jarod remembers - but then, they didn't know each other very well then.
It would've been easy to slam the notebook back down in a fit of rage and otherwise cause disruption to indicate her displeasure, but she does not. She carefully lays the book back down and then slides back into her corner of the booth, one of her knees drawn up to her chest in spite of the small area (she's small.) Curled into herself, end over end.
"No," she tells Jarod, taking a long swallow of whatever liquid remains in her glass. She doesn't leave time for elaboration. "At least we found out what's going on."
She doesn't know that Jarod told Alex to linger behind, and after a few seconds she peers around Jarod's shoulder, perhaps wondering where the Akashic has gotten off to. If he left to go and get the item, as requested.
[Alexander Liang] It is not too difficult, even for those who have not had much exposure to him, to tell that Alex is a creature of order. Not a slave to it like the Technocrats, or incapable of reacting to change or surprises, but certainly more comfortable when things happen in expected ways, cause-and-effect flowing from one event to another in a logical, predictable pattern. While he is perfectly capable of dealing with the unexpected, he doesn't necessarily LIKE it.
So, having the annoying troll-like little man show up to disrupt what was supposed to be a pre-planned meeting can't have pleased him very much. Nor, most likely, did the spilled beer which has by this point quite possibly ruined this pair of pants (and maybe even his shoes). Or the cryptic banter, Ashley's reaction to it, or the fact that Jarod asked him to hang back for a bit (presumably to give him a chance to "talk her down"). So far, tonight has basically been a rapid-fire string of unexpected annoyances.
But whether he's pretty much mastered some sort of harmonious Akashic Zen state or is just really good at hiding his emotions, he doesn't SEEM overly upset or angry. He seems more resigned, if anything. And as Jarod asks for a minute alone and heads off, Alex remains where they were for a minute.
And then he leans over, takes off his one shoe and sock, and squeezes the sock in a somewhat futile attempt to possibly dry it off a bit faster. God, wouldn't it be lovely if he could just sort of teleport all of the dampness straight out of the cloth? Yeah.
Sigh.
[Jarod Nightingale] "I meant arguing with him instead of trying to figure out if he was telling the truth." There was a flicker of annoyance in his voice, something that suggested he probably disagreed with Ashley's approach, though not her reasoning. Neither of them liked feeling as if they were being manipulated. Neither of them were particularly given to trusting strangers. And if any of them could have dug out a definitively honest answer, it would have been Ashley. Now they'd never know.
But his investment in Lucien Anders (and the apparent mission that had just been dropped in their laps) was less than his concern for Ashley's well-being. Contrary to his outward demeanor, he did care about her. Probably more than he seemed to (especially tonight.) "He was an ass," he offered simply. "And he was trying to manipulate us. Don't let him." And there was his advice, for better or worse. As usual, a simple and pragmatic Jarod-esque assessment of the situation. "But he might not have been lying. We'll talk to Alex. Then we can decide if we're going to do anything."
It was the closest he ever got to being helpful.
And then he let a hand settle on Ashley's arm (if she let him - she might very well just shake him off, in the mood she was in) and looked at her in a manner that seemed to express a lot more than he was actually vocalizing. I'm here. I'm sorry. (You have to know by now that 90% of what I say and do around strangers is complete bullshit.)
[Cha+Performance - because sometimes Ashley needs help reading people.]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 7 (Failure at target 6)
[Jarod Nightingale] [*glower* +1]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7 (Success x 2 at target 7)
[Ashley McGowen] "I don't need to be present to determine if he's telling me the truth." She has a disciple's knowledge of the Ars Conjunctionis right now, though perhaps she still realizes that her time could have been better spent. Maybe she just doesn't care. "You could've found out while he was distracted with me."
Her response to the rest of what he says is a toneless noise, something noncommittal. Whether or not she is terribly invested at the moment is up for debate, particularly given that she recently stepped out of the public eye as far as Awakened life in Chicago goes. But that's the thing about responsibility - once you've assumed it, once you've gotten used to having it, it's damned hard to just ignore the fact that it's there. Try as one might.
His hand settles on her arm. Ashley doesn't shake him off, but he does get a glance out of the corner of her eye that is still laced with ill humor. It's not soft. It has no room to be.
"I have no intention of doing what he wants," she says. "But I'll hear Alex out."
[Alexander Liang] Soon enough, Alex has his sock and shoe back on and is heading back through the crowd towards the booth. He stops at the bar on the way (maybe to give Jarod a little more time to say... whatever it was he was planning to say, or maybe just because he feels like he needs a stiff drink after dealing with Lucien), ordering something and throwing it back before finishing his deliberately slower walk back towards the other two.
And then he's back at the booth, and apparently perceptive enough to notice the mood and know that there's seemingly no need for him to hang back any longer, as it seems whatever private discussion was passing between the two is finished.
"You know, Kage once said something to me about Chicago being a magnet for trouble. More fool me for dismissing it, I suppose."
[Jarod Nightingale] [WP]
Dice Rolled:[ 6 d10 ] 3, 3, 3, 5, 8, 10 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Jarod Nightingale] "I tried. I couldn't get a read on him, and he had a shield up." Because it was Ashley, he offered an honest answer to her accusation, but there was a flicker or irritation that returned to his eyes. It made them look a little cold. Almost, he said something else, but in the end he kept whatever other thoughts he may have had to himself.
Then Alex appeared, and... well, if matters were yet unresolved between them, at least they weren't showing it. (Apart from Ashley's evident displeasure with the situation as a whole.)
"Every city is a magnet for trouble," he offered off-hand to Alex as the other man sat down. "You learn how to avoid it after awhile, if you want to." And if anyone had managed to avoid the bulk of the major disasters in Chicago, it was Jarod. Perhaps because he was rich. Perhaps because his Tradition could be notorious for keeping to themselves. Maybe it was just because he didn't care enough to invest himself in the plight of others (or conversely, he cared more about himself than he did about them.) Either way, he'd managed to avoid most of these sorts of meetings. Information came to him through alternate routes. He wasn't used to this sort of thing - working with other people, saving the fucking world (as Lucien apparently saw it)... if this was a movie, Jarod Nightingale was not the hero. He didn't look it, he didn't act it. He wasn't suited to the role at all.
"So, care to fill us in on precisely what our dear friend was talking about?"
[Ashley McGowen] "There's a fucking disaster here every other month," Ashley says, finishing off what remains in her glass. It won't be long before the waitress swoops over; she's here often enough, and tips well enough, and is on good enough terms with the owner that they generally attend to such things rather quickly by now. "It was never this bad in Boston."
Maybe she just doesn't remember it; that much she isn't sure of. Much of her earlier Awakened years were spent in Boston, confronting the more established Hermetics and doing her best to tear down what they'd built up (to alert them to weak points, if one is being generous.)
Jarod asks Alex to elaborate, and Ashley's eyes just settle on him again. Expectant.
[Alexander Liang] "I know New York had its own share of issues, but generally speaking, insane spirit women and flaming death from above was rarely among them." He shrugs. "Still, as much as I almost hate to tempt Fate by saying this, I suppose it could always be worse."
And then he's looking back and forth between the other two as he begins telling what he knows. "Unfortunately, I'm not sure anyone can fill you in precisely what he was talking about. Or how much of it is true, lies, or the product of insanity. The other night, though, he mentioned that the Sending started out as a last, desperate message from one mage who knew she was dying to the one person she truly cared about. And that, unfortunately, passing through the Avatar Storm screwed it up. So now it's basically an incredibly powerful spirit that more or less revolves around the Resonance from its creator's initial overwhelming sense of need."
He pauses, perhaps to let that bit sink in. "He also said that it seemed as if it was drawn to Chicago for a specific reason, and didn't just wind up here by accident or coincidence. And that it tends to gravitate to people who feel the same sort of feelings of need, which tends to lead to things like the fireworks from the other night."
[Jarod Nightingale] Ashley commented that Chicago was worse than Boston. Alex agreed that it seemed a bit worse than New York as well, to which Jarod offered a wry, tired smile. "You must have lived in a different part of the city than I did. But I suppose you're right. It wasn't so... dramatic, there. Mostly I remember a lot of powerful, selfish people trying to knock each other off the ladder on their way to the top." (A different sort of danger, but danger nonetheless.)
Then Alex relayed the information that he knew about the recent local disasters, and the being that was causing them, and most of it was a repeat of what they'd been told by Lucien, but it helped to hear it from a man who was calm and rational and seemingly disinclined to spew noxious insults after every other word. Jarod listened to this, seemingly more relaxed (and less broody) than the Adept seated next to him.
"And what is it exactly that Mr. Handsome would like from us? To go play fetch for him?"
[Ashley McGowen] "I'm sure what he'd like is to destroy something unique because that's the easiest answer," Ashley says, flicking the pen that she has left on the table next to the notebook. Still brooding, apparently.
Perhaps mention of the construct's need is what has done it; Ashley knows hunger. Ashley is Hunger. It doesn't take a mind reader to understand that she might have a certain kind of twisted empathy with such a creature - she has in the past, with other things, in other circumstances. And with the fact that other people seem to regard it as so dangerous.
After a moment she looks back up at Alex though. However inclined to sulk she is, she's still listening.
[Alexander Liang] "It's possible, honestly. He did imply that one of the soul-shards the thing has picked up belonged to someone he was particularly close to. I could see revenge as a motive to kill it. Or desire to free up what's left of her spirit to move on rather than be trapped inside something else."
He shrugs. "You know about as much as I do about what he actually wants, though. He could be spinning a web of bullshit to try and get us to run around and play fetch for him so he can step in after the fact and benefit. He could just as easily be looking to bind the thing for his own purposes. Or be responsible for it being here in the first place."
"He gave Solomon a handful of names to contact to establish his credentials, but you'd have to ask him whether or not he actually followed up on it. And that's not even considering whether or not some good references from a few old colleagues are enough to trust in the first place."
[Jarod Nightingale] Ashley's comment got a long, measuring look from Jarod. "Maybe. But that something unique also wants to destroy us."
"I don't know Solomon, but I've never heard a single thing about him that would make me think I could trust his opinion. On the contrary." Jarod didn't actually complete that thought with explanations of what he had heard, but it seemed fairly evident from the disgusted tone in his voice and the slight pulling of lips away from his teeth (he had sharp canines - too sharp, almost... they looked a bit feral when he was angry) that whatever his surmised opinion of the man was, it wasn't a good one. (And likely, if one ever got Jarod and Solomon in the same room and asked them to interact with each other, the world might very well crack in two.)
He sighed. "This is bullshit." (Directed at no one in particular. At fate, maybe. [He didn't believe in fate.]) "I'm not playing errand boy for some Euthanatos. Not without a damn good reason, and a lot more information than what we got. For all we know he could be working with that thing. Where is it that we were supposed to go? He mentioned a restaurant."
[Ashley McGowen] "Regardless. There are other ways. She's a self-aware construct. If we just destroy that without attempting to understand it, nobody benefits."
And it could be argued that people are dying, in addition to the threat to them, and Ashley probably wouldn't be altogether unsympathetic. She'd be sad for those people. But this is a dark world; people die every day. Perhaps she doesn't see a difference between this one thing and any other.
"I'm not inclined to do nothing. But I'm not particularly keen on working for or with Lucien, either, if it comes down to it. Even if we knew who he was, random high status Traditionalists showing up here and thinking they get to dictate how we work is not something I want established as a pattern of behavior."
[Alexander Liang] "Could always go looking for the thing he wants, then not give it to him. Or put it to other use." And then he gives a look that speaks volumes. "Assuming, of course, someone who already knows far too much and has the disconcerting ability to show up wherever something's happening wouldn't also know exactly what had been done and couldn't just pop in and steal it anyway." He shrugs. "Of course, I know pretty much jack all about spirits, binding, or any of the various other things for which Dreamspeakers, Hermetics, Jnani and are renowned, so I freely admit that my natural inclination in all this is pretty much to take a step back and let people who are vastly more qualified than I worry about things. Just like I think the only people you should consider asking to defuse a bomb would be someone who's had at least a little more experience than maybe having watched a buddy cop movie once."
Then he turns back towards Jarod, and nods. "A few weeks ago I heard some rumors about some unusual goings on. Mentioned it to Ashley a while back, but didn't give it all that much thought. Now Lucien is apparently claiming that it's tied into the whole spirit thing somehow. Though your guess is as good as mine as to how. Or just what the hell he thinks I should be looking into concerning it."
He frowns. "He did say whatever it's supposed to be is related to what I was thinking of the other night, though. Which I'm assuming means it's something related to the person it was originally supposed to find."
"Like I said, I know jack all about spirits. But I know people. And it strikes me that, if this spirit thinks anything like a person, it has to be at least somewhat still motivated by its original purpose. Find someone. Deliver message. Well, according to Lucien," and at this point, the tone of his voice seems to stress the idea that anything the man has told anyone needs to be taken with a massive grain of salt, "the original recipient is already dead. Next thought - maybe she has relatives? Someone who 'feels' like the right person? Maybe living in Chicago?" He shrugs. "He says no." He shakes his head. "But adding up his cryptic bullshit makes it seem like he's hinting that the original recipient might have left something behind. Something the spirit would recognize as hers, I'd assume. Which can be used to... I have no idea what it would be used for, honestly."
[Jarod Nightingale] It was a lot to take in and mull over, and Jarod's eyebrows creased as he glanced down at the table contemplatively.
"It's worth looking into," he finally concluded. "But I think we should sleep on it and get together again later. I have to teach a class in the morning, and..." he paused, glancing at Ashley. "... I think we could all use a break. And a fucking drink. Or three." (But of course, as he'd mentioned, he had to teach a class in the morning. So that bit wasn't likely to happen.) He regarded Alex for a silent moment, then (oddly) smiled. It wasn't the sort of smile he'd given the waitress earlier (all confident seduction) but rather something that suggested pleasant surprise. "Thanks for the info. I think you might actually be okay."
(He said this like his opinion of others was the only one that mattered. [And, well, it was - to him.])
Then he looked at Ashley questioningly for a moment, but whatever he might have been wondering, he didn't say it out loud. She could choose to stop him if she wished to, but otherwise the three of them would head their separate ways.
[Ashley McGowen] The points Alex brings up are good ones - and moreover, it's enough information that she can decide what to do on her own, without Lucien's association. Or his orders (as she sees them, at least.) She raises her eyebrows at him at what he suggests, and some of the pall that's descended is temporarily shaken away.
"We can meet again later," she agrees. Her emotions run away from her at times, and she isn't always inclined to be reasonable when she's upset; this is, however, at least something she's able to acknowledge. "Thanks for coming to tell us what you know, Alex."
They could use a break and a fucking drink (or three) but Jarod is likely to make his own way off and Ashley suspects that Alex soon will too. She meets the look Jarod gives her but doesn't seem inclined to follow him, right now. Still too angry, perhaps, and in too poor a mood to focus on much else. Either way, the three paths diverge, though Ashley doesn't seem intent on leaving the booth for a while. She opens her notebook back up.
And when she redirects her attention to it, she keeps one hand resting around the glass of beer, and the corner of her eye raised toward waitresses and any sign of a certain bug eyed man. Just in case.
