[IC] [SR4] What I want to do when I grow up, High School builds character Options

[Audacity]

Blissfully unaware of the angst being generated by Graciana's leave-taking, Tristan continues to race Chauncy through Puyallup, weaving in and out of the light evening traffic to the score of a heavy rotation of Goblin Rock classics - Inferno, Children of Barsaive, Golden TuskRing, Jack Out, etc. Graciana's reply scrolls across his vision, and he smiles. Good. A little Badass Latina Mojo is exactly the backup I need. David would be proud.

Shifting down and turning onto the main commercial drag, the young ork dictates a response and attaches a map link.

The wolves shouldn't be any worse than local color, nothing that you and I and a nasty-looking spirit friend couldn't set straight. Meet me at the Cafe Frou-Frou on Pioneer and I'll explain the rest. If your friend knows how to get into places that they don't belong without tripping the sec, bring 'em along.

Message sent, Tristan closes the link and pulls into the Cafe Frou-Frou parking lot. He parks at the extreme edge and kills the engine, stowing his helmet and replacing its facial recognition-obscuring properties with the hood of his jacket, pulling it low and bending his head to bathe his face in shadow. To pass the time, he plugs the chip from Papa Gotcha into his commlink and begins to go over the information therein with a fine-toothed comb, committing as much as possible to memory and looking for potential leads until Graciana arrives - with or without ninja-styled backup. We can always brute force it if we have to, but I hate to rely on that as plan A.

[Ziathra]

Graciana finishes putting on her shoes, gets up and takes Zoé's hand.

“No, no. You told the truth, Zoé. It is not your fault the truth hurts. I think I would get missed, but not at school. I will see you tomorrow, okay? Vaya con Dios.”

Since Hop wants to stay, Graciana will make sure Hop has all his stuff before she leaves. Leave she does, though, heading straight to the Cafe Frou-Frou on Pioneer.

Before she leaves the garage, she sends one last message.

@Tristan [Graciana]: The friend and company aren't stealth-types, although one volunteered to come. I'm on my way.

Eventually, Graciana's Toyota pick-up truck pulls into the Cafe Frou-Frou parking lot. She carefully prowls the lot, eventually parking as close to Tristan and his bike as possible. By the time she hops out of the truck, the earrings she was wearing earlier are in the glove compartment and the survival knife is on her belt, but hidden as much as possible under her black jacket. Her black hair is severely pulled back into one ponytail again.

“Hi. What's this about a stray puppy?”

[Audacity]

As Graciana pulls up, Tristan raises his hand in greeting and turns down the background music piping through his earbuds. He waits patiently while she disembarks and approaches, giving her attire and demeanor a critical eye. They're going into gang territory, and he well knows that how you look and act is often more important than who or what you are when it comes to passing unmolested. And for all of his bravado and confidence, they really can't afford to be labelled unwanted outsiders or easy targets. His gaze travels up, down, and up again in stark appraisal, resting occasionally where you'd expect, and occasionally where you wouldn't, though given the more mundane circumstances of adolescence, perhaps even those momentary lingerings can be reasonably explained. In the end, he gives an approving nod.

"You look good," he says with a quick grin, displaying characteristically prominent orkish dental features. "Guy got in over his head with someone heavy, and now he's AWOL. All signs point to foul play. Still owes a friend of ours some money, and we're looking at a percentage if we can retrieve him." Glancing around to ensure that potential witnesses are few and generally otherwise occupied, he offers over the chip from Papa Gotcha with all of the pertinent target information. "The rest is in here. Take a look while I get us something to drink. You hungry?"

Tristan begins leading the way toward the front doors of the cafe, then pauses, looks down at the unsubtle suggestion of imminent violence strapped to either hip, and grins sheepishly.

"Mind if I toss these in your truck?"

[Ziathra]

Graciana puts up with the ogling. Tristan's a friend, after all. Besides, her figure is crap and she knows it. She is silent for a moment, considering the possibilities of just getting drive-through somewhere, then nods.

“We'd better put all the hardware on the floor of the back seat,” she tells him. “The stuff is worth both money and trouble.”

Since she is going inside, the knife goes back to the glove compartment.

“I just need something to drink, thanks. Some coffee would be good.” She pops the chip into her comm unit's chip reader, but doesn't start reading until she sits down somewhere. Speaking of sitting down, she picks out the loneliest booth in Cafe Frou-Frou and takes possession of it while Tristan gets the goodies.

She looks through the chip, taking a copy of Daniel Bleriot, a.k.a. Stray Puppy's face and doing her best to memorize it. The poor guy. If I disappear, I hope someone comes looking for me.

[Audacity]

Tristan agrees and stashes the dual implements of hurt application down under the back seat of the truck, covering them with his riding jacket just to be doubly safe after a moment's thought. Then he follows Graciana into the cafe, detouring to the ordering stand while she selects a booth. A mundane commercial exchange later and he's approaching the table with a pair of steaming mugs and a packaged sandwich. She may not be hungry, but he's a growing boy (and how!) and needs to eat.

"Papa thinks the Dealers are a good place to start," he says as he places her mug down and slides into the opposing bench. "Guy named Callahan runs things for 'em in the neighborhood, and he and our boy may have had a disagreement over rental prices. I figure we scope the place out tonight, see what's what, and try and get some eyeballs on this guy. If he's got our boy, he might lead us right to him."

Over the rim of the mug, he fixes Graciana with an inquiring gaze, brow raised. Thoughts?

[ShadowDragon8685]

Sighing heavily, Zoé slumps back onto the sofa after Graciana vanished, feeling a little more lonely, despite having more people in the apartment still than she ever had before. She leans into Daiyu's side, sliding one hand behind the Asian teen, stroking Daiyu's feet with silken-soft fingers, then settling her fingertips into the undersides of Daiyu's toes. "Well... I can run some Matrix searches. That would be pretty boring for you two - oh! Well, maybe... You two can watch a movie - I can watch it inside, when I'm in full sim, and we can still chat and all."

She smiles, softly. "Does that work for you guys?"

@Graciana [Liara]: Be safe out there, whatever you're doing.

[Ziathra]

Graciana sips her coffee and takes a moment to think.

“We're going to have to go up there. A Watcher spirit would get hopelessly lost between here and Redmond. It sounds as if we may want me to go astral and find Callahan, then set a Watcher on him. I can look for our stray puppy that way too, but it would be a lot easier with something with his aura on it.

“We could also slip around invisibly, but we don't know where we're going. That's going to get messy.

“I've got a reason to talk to the Dealers, if you want to just walk up to them, but it would be in Puyullap, not Redmond. We definitely need back up for that. I have an idea, but it's going to call for a vacant lot or other dirt between here and there.”

[Audacity]

Watcher spirit? Well, there's an idea! Tristan thinks to himself, mentally congratulating himself for calling Graciana. Made the right choice, it would seem!

"Good thing you're here," he says aloud, carefully unwrapping his pre-packaged dinner. "I was just going to go there and start knocking on doors until someone pointed him out, then probably just tail him back to wherever - your way is much better." He takes a bite that encompasses fully a quarter of the entire sandwich, thinks for a moment while he chews, swallows, and continues. "I'm all for anything that keeps us out from the wrong end of a gun. Tell me about the chit-chat you need to have with the Dealers."

[Koekepan]

Cafe Frou-Frou is an interesting place in that it manages to combine decent products, fairly low prices, and tolerance of a wide variety of customers. It has various secrets, including piped music both in real and AR forms, and lots of sound absorbing materials. Automation means that a minimum of staff is required, and most of the staff's duties can be summed up as customer service.

Cafe Frou-Frou welcomes all metahuman races, with only two stipulations: no law breaking on the one hand, and no rowdiness or other unsociable behaviour. Free coffee for all Knight Errant employees helps to keep the peace, but a few teens having a drink and a snack raises no eyebrows whatsoever.

[Ziathra]

“That's the funny part,” Graciana begins to explain after drinking more coffee. “I need to talk to them about renting some real estate. I need somewhere to cast spells and summon spirits and do other stuff. I may also need somewhere to live in a big hurry. If what I heard this afternoon is right, Mama may throw me out of the house soon.

“Anyway, I think we should just wander the astral and snoop. It's a lot safer. Boring for you, but safer.”

[Audacity]

"I like safe," Tristan agrees between alternating mouthfuls of sandwich and coffee. He swallows audibly. "Still, we should at least go down there and have a look around. See the cat's apartment. Maybe find some clues, something you can use to do your astral thing."

[Ziathra]

Graciana nods. “I don't know what we'll find if there was a fire in there, but it's worth a try. We should probably get going down there soon if we're going tonight. Oh, want to drop your bike off at your house, or what?”

[Audacity]

"We can drop it off at my place - it's on the way," Tristan says, stuffing down the last of the sandwich and coffee. While he chews, he makes a few arcane gestures in the air with his AR gloved hands, marking the location of his home and sending her updated route. Swallow, stand, beckon toward the door; Tristan weaves through the parking lot toward their vehicles, making first for her truck to collect his gear.

"I'll see you in a few," the young adept says with a smile, securing the twin belts and zipping up the armored biking jacket. He turns up the background pulse of thrashing guitars and leads the way on the back of his sleek street racer.

[Ziathra]

Graciana pitches their trash on their way out the door. She gives Tristan a little bit of lead, then gets going. Just to calm her nerves, she plays some electronica as she drives. I'll bet he'll want to play that noise he loves all the way there. Nice guy, but I will never understand his taste in music.

Since she has a few moments, she answers the last message on her comm link.

@Liara [Graciana]: Thanks. I hope the movie is a good one.

Should I run another search? No, I need to pay attention to my driving. I'll search for financial aid later, or tomorrow.

Shortly after Tristan parks his bike at his house, Graciana pulls up, picks him up and heads with him off to Redmond.

[Aria]

Well shit! Hop hadn't the time for a movie right now but didn't want to insult his host

"With Gracie gone we're not going anywhere tonight anyway. Hope whatever she's getting into that she's willing to give this a shot. With Rio not turning up after the meeting with Papa we're getting a bit thin, and short on wheels! If the school really are out to stiff us then this cash will be needed, if nothing else to help cover the cost of a new ID. I don't fancy moving on, and I know my family will be pissed, but it's better than the alternative! FRAG ME...!" Hop's outburst startled even himself "Errr, sorry, but mother of Gods, I just got here. Look, sorry, I don't normally let my emotions get the better of me. We thought it would be simple here...turn up, stay under the radar..." he trailed off

[ShadowDragon8685]

Zoé starts at Hop's outburst, and frowns, nodding. "I know..."

She gestures to her seat. "Wanna talk about it? What's your family like?"

[Koekepan]

The ride to Treyo's place is short, and parking the bike is quick, then he and Graciana are on their way to Redmond.

This is a longer drive - nearly an hour, all told. It's not too bad until near Redmond, and there the condition of the roads nosedives. It's clear where any pretence of road maintenance stopped. The good news is that the truck's suspension handles it with aplomb.

Around 8PM, Graciana's mother starts to send her messages which waver between concern for her baby girl and veiled suspicion that the little ingrate is selling herself on some street corner while her hard working mother slaves away to put a roof over her head and food on the table.

[Ziathra]

When the first message from Mama rolls in, Graciana groans.

“It's Mama, Tristan. I'd better be back by 10:30. We're not going to get much done tonight.”

She doesn't answer Mama, though, until she can take her attention off her driving. That means no answers while she's on the freeway and definitely no answers on the trashy roads of Redmond. She'll wait until she can pull over and stop for a bit. This also gives her time to compose a reply.

@Mama [Graciana]: I'm sorry I didn't answer sooner. I was driving and had to pay close attention. I'm doing Tristan a favor. Yes, he's paying me gas money. Yes, he is keeping his hands to himself. Yes, I am driving very carefully. Please don't worry. Love, Graciana.

[Koekepan]

By the time that Graciana's truck is picking its way through the rotten, potholed roads of Redmond itself, her commlink starts to light up with a series of barely coherent, frantic, and frantically angry messages from her mother, ranging from the frankly illegal "... stuff his testicles in his ears ..." to the hopelessly impossible "... come back home right now! I want you home by 9PM, not a second later!"

Regardless of that, the truck is soon at the indicated address - a burned out shell of a building, fresh enough to still smell of smoke and burned plastic. A few street dwellers, gaunt and pathetic as pariah dogs, peer dully at the truck from behind bits of rubble or broken wall where they find shelter against the breeze and the occasional drifts of drizzle.

[Ziathra]

Graciana parks the truck and checks her commlink. Graciana doesn't know whether to laugh or cry when she reads the additional messages. I hope I have enough money for a coffin hotel. Do I need to go get a camper shell put on the truck?

“Just a moment,” she says to Tristan after she finishes reading. “I want to call a Watcher before I project.”

Graciana sends her thoughts out, silently calling to the little spirits known as Watchers, asking for one to appear...

[Koekepan]

Instead of one watcher spirit the size of her hand showing up, something goes strangely wrong and from her hands she sees astral cobwebs filling the entire truck's space. Tiny spiders by the hundred and thousand crawl along the strands, chittering manically. Gradually they manifest, and the whole of the truck seems to be a haven for spiders which stridulate and chirrup and rearrange the strands.

There is no sign of immediate horror from the onlookers. Either they are incapable of that emotion, or the vision is commonplace in Redmond.

Or perhaps their addled brains merely register it all as the ghost of a drug or BTL trip gone bad.

[Ziathra]

Graciana holds very, very still.

“That's never happened before. Let me get them back to the astral.”

Graciana silently commands the tiny multitude, Watch over me and my truck from the astral plane. Tell me if anyone tries to touch me or approaches the truck.

[Koekepan]

The spider horde obediently listens to Graciana's words and stops manifesting - but it is still there on the astral, guarding every angle and cranny of the truck.

[Vegas]

Daiyu sighed heavily as Graciana walked out on their group and she sunk back against the couch feeling a little defeated. Hop's outburst didn't help lift her sprits either.

"Well, that just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I mean I'm all for helping friends, but just cutting and running out like that on something that could be a big deal...?"

She cast a side glance in Zoé's direction with a slight smile as her toes curled slightly.

"I'm down for watching a movie and eating junk food tonight and trying to hit up this location tomorrow or something after school perhaps? Maybe by then we can get the whole group back together? So Zoé, if you want to go matrix diving or whatever you need to do, I'll be here... Hop, you sticking around? "

[ShadowDragon8685]

Zoé sighs softly, nodding at Daiyu as the Asian teen complains about Graciana's abandoning them before the food had even arrived.

"I hope it's really important," she murmurs. She looks down, smiling as Daiyu's toes curled around her fingertips, and settles in beside the taller elf, pressing into her. "Alrighty... Oh, heh. I forgot."

She blushes, slightly. "Somehow, I don't get the idea either of you are the type to narc me out, so..." She nods towards the flatscreen, and it starts to slide up the wall, as she hops up from the couch. The flatscreen display reveals a secret hidey-hole, within which are a number of magazines, both for her pistol and her rifle, as well as spare boxes with bulk ammunition; there are also a number of data-chips on a shelf, unmarked, a bag of green vegetative matter, a few small ceramic pipes and a stack of papers. She picks up one of the chips, looking at it thoughtfully for a moment, before shrugging, setting it back down.

The blue girl looks back at Hop and Daiyu, taking the pipes, papers, and bag back to the coffee table, the screen lowering again. "My aunt got me these," she explains, with a goofy grin. "Which is, yanno, kind of the opposite of what's supposed to happen, right? But she's the best. I'm not sure I cared for them all that much. I felt really funny, really fast - I guess I've got the constitution to match my size - but if you guys want to, go ahead. It's just cannabis, no funny stuff."

She sits back onto the couch, tucking herself under Daiyu's arm, laying her head on the taller elf's shoulder, arms wrapping around her, her eyes closing. "You guys want to watch something animated? That's what I'd go for - I know it's cliche, but I really like silly, animated kids' movies... Something with explosions and action might be fun, too. I'll be able to watch it while I'm under, and I'll still be here with you."

Zoé's voice then comes, not from her mouth, but from the apartment's sound system. "And I'll be able to talk to you, too." She looks up, and pats the couch, in the spot vacated by Graciana, then gestures to the chair. "Hop, will ya relax, sit down, and enjoy a movie with us?"

Her request delivered, Zoé lets out a sigh, and closes her eyes, sinking into what seems to be a peaceful trance, as she goes into full VR.

@Daiyu [Liara]: Don't be afraid to lay me down, pick me up or whatever, if you need to use the head or wanna raid the fridge or something. When the food gets here, I'll have to go get it - I have it delivered to the desk and go down to get it myself, 'cause I don't like giving out the unit number.