Ned's knocking on her door. Several raps, not exactly eager or nervous but genuinely loud enough to call on her should she be sleeping or showering. It goes once and would only come a second time if she didn't answer inside of thirty seconds or yell out that she was 'coming'.
She'd open the door to find Ned with his hands in jean pockets, jacket cinched tight against the cold outside, cheeks a bit flushed and eyes a bit wide.
"Hey. Update time."
Quick and to the point, he motions inside with a careful flick of a hand, moving past her threshold and reaching for the buttons of his coat.
"So the Doc and I are out on the town. I'm resisting the urge to use Analogies to explain my problems and he's being sarcastic when we go into Questor on Fifth. Little dive bar around the corner. We get inside and I'm looking for cheesie fries and there's this lady on a stool in a red jacket and the Doc's all "Hey look another Worker" and goes over to introduce himself..."
The jacket plops down across the back of the Sofa, his hands rubbing together for warmth, blown on between bouts of conversation.
"She gets a little weird, the Doc gets a little upfront-...he's just like that. Not just with us, apparently- and the pair square off and seem like they're almost ready to swear off one another permanently. A bit of paranoid fact-checking later...The Doc...pulled out this weird machine and the lady seemed to do the same on her phone....next thing I know she's introducing herself as a Mercurial Elite...or Virtual Adept as the Doc put it ."
He bends down to doff his shoes, plucking at the laces with slowly warming fingers.
"I ask her a bunch of stuff. What she can do, what she thinks of being what she is, what sleepers are like....and then she promptly turns to the Doc and warns him about the 'Technocrats' and the 'War' incoming...at which point I'm eating my cheesie fries and trying not to freak out because, War? We only just sorted out reality isn't all that it pretends to be!"
Shoes off, exhaling loudly, hands moving to scrub at his face.
"...And suddenly being on the ass end of this new lifestyle, with no real power to put to use, feels a whole lot more like we're destined for the Electric chair then any real sense of Destiny."
Finally coming up for Air, Ned turns to look at her, an apologetic smile on his face.
"How you doin'?"
Margot
Anxious knocking on one's door is an anxiety-inducing thing on its own. Often times those quick-paced worried raps on the door had come from another particular set of knuckles before now, and she had to remind herself that the owner of those knuckles not only owned one less set now, but was also locked up on the actual other side of the country.
"Hold on," came the call from the other side of the door, and some dozen seconds or so later Margot appeared at the door. Her hair was down and the side with the stronger part was swept behind an ear. She was wearing a white tank top, an open black sweater, jeans, and socks to protect her feet from the cool hardwood floors of her apartment. She looked surprised but relieved to see Ned standing on the other side of the door. Ned was better than the landlord coming to give her hell for bringing a rabbit into the building when she shouldn't have.
"Hey," she greeted and invited him in, and didn't have room to say much else because Ned had updates and immediately launched himself into story while working on removing his shoes and coat both. Margot stood back in the dead space of her small studio with her arms across her chest looking curious and listening well. When he reached the part about war her brow creased with worry and thought but she didn't say anything and let him continue instead.
When he finally scrubbed his face and got his breath back from dumping information, Ned would find Margot with that worry on her face still, but already it was beginning to twist into doubt and skepticism.
"Why would this woman know more about the state of magical politics than the Doc does? I mean, so she says there's war... The Doc told us that the war with the Technocracy already ended, didn't he?"
But how was she doing? She shrugged a shoulder and tried smiling back. It was mostly successful, but clearly distracted and put up. "I'm okay. I saw the Doc yesterday too. We didn't run into anyone, though."
Ned
"The Doc's pretty new here, isn't he? Maybe he hasn't been caught up to date with what anyone else knows. Hell, I'm not even sure who else is in the know or out there to be known."
Ned shrugs his way through the deluge of information he's laid out, already looking for a spot on her couch. Instead of sitting full, he pulls his legs up onto the couch to sit cross-legged, hands laid out on his knees and eyes focusing on some point on the coffee table. The burn mark Margot had left behind the last time he visited.
"He introduced himself and she did too and the Doc wasn't freaking out anymore than he normally did which suggests she was on the up and up. If not, a lack of threat. I'm inclined to believe her, because the Doc wasn't entirely unreceptive to the thought. They chatted a bit about things I wasn't clear on but...Yeah. Technocracy and War definitely got my attention."
He leans back on the couch, twisting to give her his attention.
"What have you been up to the last while? I haven't seen you for a bit."
Margot
The burn mark was left untouched, precisely as and where Ned would remember it. Margot hadn't tried to cover it up, but was leaving it as a reminder when she sat to work or Work or think. A black scorch in the dark wood of the tabletop, like a spot of acid dribbled from a beaker, telling her hey, this could have been you if you weren't careful.
While Ned sat himself cross-legged on her small loveseat that served as a couch in this cramped space, Margot remained standing on the other side of the coffee table with her arms still crossed over her chest.
"Huh," was all she had to say immediately after Ned further clarified. Her brow was pinched with thought, and she looked away from her fellow Apprentice and past her right shoulder, through the glass pane in the door that went out to her tiny balcony.
She mused quietly to herself, then blinked and looked back to him when he asked after her. It had been a little while since they'd spoken, he pointed out, and he was right.
"Ah...," she sounded hesitant, like she wasn't sure if she wanted to disclose or not, but realized soon as she made the sound that she'd already given away the game. You couldn't go on pretending nothing bothered you after starting up like that. So, with a relaxing of shoulders that came with unburdening them with confession, she tipped her head a little to the right and spoke with reluctance.
"I've been having an existential crisis, trying to process and sort all of this information and find where I'm supposed to be in it. Where you're supposed to be in it." She flicked her eyes back toward the door before continuing. "Maybe this War with the Technocrats is real, and maybe it means something to me. My Avatar might be a goddess of war. Maybe that's where I fit in?
"But first," she shook her head and swallowed. "I talked to the Doc, and I think I need to fix some things that I left back in Maine. I don't know how yet, but still."
Ned
"Fix?"
Ned offers, though doesn't push farther than that. He seems to register the discomfort she has on her mind and much as he had been thus far, he doesnt prod or push her to sort out the details any. She'd come to it in time. They all did eventually.
"I'm of a mind to think that this life and brand new sort of existence, is one big Existential Crisis. According to the Doc, that's how we grow, right? Progress through our understanding of reality to achieve something greater than ourselves...or a greater self...or a self of greatness." Ned frowns. "Fuck how did he put it again?"
He's shaking his head, dismissing the thought.
"As far as you and I are concerned, we're on the same path. Different perspectives, but same path. I'm not beholden or waging a moral war with some Goddess or other, but there's something that needs solving in my life and I'm not going to get it by sitting around quietly waiting. Half of this is terrifying. The idea of a War, an enemy we don't know anything about yet and...well if you had seen the Doc and that lady...her name was Grace...They looked like they couldn't even be bothered with one another most of the time."
A pause. A frown to match her own.
"Way I see it, our type's not made to work together very often. Which makes you and me and the Doc, something a bit unique. He puts on fronts and airs about how much of a pain we are, but he's still here. That counts for something."
He glances back up at her.
"You still want to go and find some Old Maleficent witch type and get some answers? Or is that on pause?"
Margot
Fix?, he had asked, and Margot nodded to confirm. But she seemed to be glad for a reason not to have to clarify further when Ned started talking about their existence and growth and paths and all of those philosophical things that you talked about when you could wield Reality its very self.
His last question had her pressing her lips together with displeasure, apparently not liking the idea of finding Old Maleficent.
"You know, I had something else in mind for who I was going to be talking to. But I don't know." She looked down at the spot on the coffee table from the short distance her height (or lack thereof) created from its surface and frowned. "Because you're right. About the The Doc, yourself and I."
She sighed a little and settled into quiet thought. Glanced distractedly over her shoulder and offered a beverage, and whether he accepted one or not she went and got herself a beer (thank you Doc for the altered ID) from the fridge. Came back and sat down beside him, either with her drink on her own or passing one off to him as well.
Only once she'd settled and taken a sip did she speak up again, sounding thoughtful and looking into the middle distance when she did.
"I feel like we need to get ready. I didn't know what for earlier, but if this War is real? I don't want to spend my life hiding."
Ned
"War." Ned repeats it.
"The idea doesn't...scare me as much as I thought it would. It's a purpose at least?" And Ned's frown returns, leaning out to catch the beer she offers with a nod and a murmur of 'thanks' before diving back into the discussion, free hand rubbing at the back of his neck.
"It's the lack of knowing. The Doc and Grace, kind of put me on edge about what it would be like to try and work together with others. They both seemed pretty strong and capable and comfortable with who they were but the differences there...were pretty significant and obvious. She was even using the same sort of tech...paradigm....similar...They were both using doo-dads and still...still tension."
His head shakes again, the frown turning to a grimace.
"To think we don't know anything yet about Technocrats, Nephandus, Marauders and Infernalists. We're blind and that's what I don't like. The Doc and I walked into a bar I goto quasi-regularly and Grace was there and I didn't even know it or think to look for it. She could have been something, done something or otherwise and I would have been some sitting duck." He gulps off his beer, hand coming down to wipe at his lips.
"That's gotta change."
He glances across his shoulder at her, a brow perked.
"The Doc said he's as much obligated to us about info. as we are to learning. So I think it's time we focused our questions and attentions on prioritized questions. Namely, keeping safe so we can achieve that greater self he's going on about." Another sip. "Starting with what we can expect to go up against..."
Margot
Margot nodded along and sipped her beer. Glanced back to him when he looked her way. She was frowning seriously. Leave it to a couple of Apprentices to catch wind of some Bad News and take it way too much to heart. Elsewhere in the city the good doctor probably sensed his shadow being walked on or a cluster headache start to bud. Having kids getting themselves into trouble always caused those kinds of tremors.
"You're right," she agreed. "We'll ask him about that. How he defends himself against these things would be good to know as well."
She paused, sipped again, then leaned forward to set her bottle on the table.
"I don't like how the Traditions can't get along. It makes me worry about how far that can stretch, from disagreement to hostility. Even if we are all banded against some united 'Bad' or 'Evil', if somebody on this side of enemy lines has qualms then..." She shook her head and frowned enough to wrinkle up her nose. "No, I don't like it. In-fighting only ever puts holes in boats."
Ned
"All the more reason for our little group to maintain cohesion."
Ned climbs to his feet, beer in hand. It's half-gone by now, the familiar buzz of alcohol in his system setting his thoughts up for analysis.
"It probably isn't as bad as all that but...given you need to have this firm belief? This structure to ensure you can work and craft and solve the way you do? It's understandable not wanting to listen to other people.You get stubborn and resolute that your way is how it works and you have these-" He gestures sharply "-fireballs and lightning bolts at your disposal so long as you're still believing. Can't afford to lose that or diminish it. Paradox comes along and slaps you for the weakness. Or someone out there with a bigger stick comes along and starts taking you apart."
Another gulp.
"I doubt we can count on anything from the Traditions to provide for us but that doesn't mean we have to be completely cut off. I'll work my job to earn the money to survive, but that doesn't mean I like my job. Just make compromises where it's safe to. I think that'll get us through." A pause. "I hope, anyway."
"...The other thing is, as much as I think these capabilities have potential, it doesn't beat knowing how to throw a punch." He looks at her, a touch amused. "Our zombie fight could have gone a bit better."
Margot
She frowned and sipped with a look on her face that told Ned she agreed with him but still didn't necessarily feel great about the entire situation.
"Yeah, I'm trying to decide on my degree now too. If I should even...," she trailed off, thoughtful, content to listen to Ned move on to self-defense. How to throw a punch. His amused look was answered with a small smirk and a light of sheepishness.
"Hey, it did the trick didn't it? Neither of us got hurt."
She thought for a moment, then spun off that thought.
"My brother taught me a couple of things about self defense. I think that you were on the right track with that zombie, looking for and finding the weak point. We can use things like that." She frowned and added, reluctantly: "Or guns..."
Ned
"Not a fan of guns and trying to sort out getting one, nevermind bullets and licenses is...well, it gives me a headache thinking about it. I can show you some boxing and I used to take Kendo back when I was in College. Sword fighting's not the most practical of efforts but you learn how to hold your wrists and not hurt yourself swinging things around wildly."
He takes a minute to assess what she says about identifying the weak-point, nodding as he goes.
"That was Life. The Sphere. I can scan for signs, symptoms and weaknesses in the body, but Matter will work the same way for inanimate objects. Knowing how to apply the knowledge we have is pretty important and we can make sure we're safe in a pinch at least. Getting a handle on our perceptual capabilities will also do a lot for preventions sake. I want to talk to the Doc about recognizing resonances. There's gotta be some easy way of detecting that we can use to at least safe-guard against being caught unawares and you've been sighing and nursing your beer for the last five minutes now."
He exhales, loudly and tilts his head to look at her from a new angle.
"You're also not finishing a lot of your sentences. So how's about in the interest of maintaining our little collective, you tell me what's really bothering you."
Margot
[wp]
Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (1, 3, 4, 8, 8) ( success x 2 )
Margot
His dissent with guns was accepted just as easily as she would have accepted an agreement to the idea. Margot had seen the zombie and the goblin and she truthfully wasn't sure how she felt about that thing still roaming the city planting fungus in people to grow. It made her stomach a little sick whenever that occurred to her.
The talk of spheres and resonances all made sense, but soon the subject changed and the metaphorical lamp was turned bright and hot onto her face. Okay, you, what's the problem? Out with it. She looked up, wide-eyed and startled with being on the spot and for a moment looked ready to fret from it entirely.
Instead she sighed after a second and looked down at her hands wrapped around the beer bottle which now set upon one knee.
"Okay. I told the Doc what I ran away from yesterday at coffee and it's been eating at me that he knows and you don't and I can't really explain why but..." Breath whooshed out and she kept her eyes sternly on the bottle.
"Look, I ran off from circumstances that were written off on paper but probably drew a lot of attention from these... people that we've gotta be worried about. My brother, he..." Her voice shook and she paused to swallow, but just as she managed not to dissolve into tears the day before when speaking to the Doctor about this very thing, Margot again kept her composure well enough to carry on. Looking at the bottle and hiding behind her hair helped.
"He wasn't in his right mind and he killed my mom. I took off his arm and then resurrected my mom. I was worried about the questions I'd get asked so I came out here soon after."
A pause, and she concluded: "I just left her there, incomplete, and my brother remembers it all. I shouldn't have just left that."
Ned
"...You have to make yourself right first before you can fix it."
Spoken like an inevitability. Like she would. It's almost off-hand the way Ned says it and one has to wonder how he maintains the composure he does when she offers up the story finally. Car crashes, Hospital work, Cancer patients and battling with drunks. Not to mention the Awakening thing and dealing with reality not being at all what it actually was. All of these add up to a particularly thick skin. If he seems unphased, that'd be a lie. He's just grown more comfortable with this sort of insanity in the last few weeks.
That said:
"I'm sorry about your Mother. And your brother." He sighs, the sound as...well, helpless as the apology was. He moves back over to the couch to sit down, a touch closer then before and sets the beer on the table, brow perked at her with that careful sort of expectation.
"All things considered, I think anyone who might have asked any questions probably understands why you bolted. Most normal folks wouldn't know what to do with that sort of situation to begin with nevermind having to cope with being all Witch hazel in the meantime. Unique and unprecedented circumstances yeah?"
He wraps an arm around her shoulders, a comforting gesture, gaze returning to the odd burn mark on her coffee table.
"You said you're gonna have to go back. I don't see why we can't go with you. Well...I can't speak for the Doc, but I'm willing to make the trip. We can sort it all out as best we can and maybe get your Brother some help in the meantime as well." A pause. "Being able to alter reality has to be good for something, right?"
Margot
Margot the Morose. That's how she had to look. She sat upon the couch with her knees together and her head down, hair come loose from behind her ears to hang in brown sheets on either side of her face. She was leaned forward, curved in like an armadillo weathering uncertain circumstances.
She stayed still when he said that she'd need to make herself 'right' before going back, and sighed quietly along with hem when he apologized about her small and broken family. His apology felt helpless, but Margot wasn't the sort of person to consider a 'sorry' to be worth nothing. It would be callous to disregard a gesture of comfort, even if it had no tangible aid in the situation.
When he came to sit nearer her hip and wrapped an arm about her slender shoulders she closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. Maintained that grasp on her composure, but admittedly did have to release that death grip on her beer to reach up and hastily swipe a tear out of her eyelashes with a knuckle.
In a small, thick voice she spoke, reaching up to push the hair back out of her face as though suddenly aware of it being there. "The Doc already offered to go back and help. I told him no then, but maybe it's not so bad an idea. Just... not yet. I feel like I've got more to learn first.
"Besides, Luke's not going anywhere anytime soon."
Ned
"Definitely have more to learn."
He gives her shoudlers a squeeze, jostling her pent up ball of muscle and tension slightly in the process before reaching for his beer again. The last minute or so was worth draining off the last of the contents, the bottle set back on the coffee table with a soft thunk.
"Luke...Brother? Like I said before, reality altering power should have it's upswings. The Doc made mention of a Mind Sphere. As well as several others. I see no reason your brother can't be made to 'forget' what he did. New identity or some such. Maybe the Doc can even bring your Mom back." A pause. That one was a little...blunt and Ned seemed to realize that a moment after he said it. Enough to make him wince. He carries on though.
"I've been thinking some about it and half of what makes reality are the rules that convince us to believe they are true. Obviously with how things work now, we wouldn't necessarily be pigeonholed to believing that we die inside of a hundred years, require food and and water to keep living or even that the dead need to remain dead. When I said 'Fix' things, I meant it. Not some reconcilliation but an actual correction. It'll take time, sure but once you get there..."
Another pause, Ned exhaling slowly again, this time his gaze settled on a distant point somewhere directly infront of him.
"This all hinges of course, on your ability to stand toe to toe with this Goddess of yours. Above any and all facts, War, Family or Learning." He looks at her from his place on the couch, beer bottle held between both hands. "Maine can wait, absolutely but...I'm not sure She can."
Margot
[Okay you guys that's a wrap]
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