ArchivedLogs:Witching Hour

Witching Hour
Dramatis Personae Jack, Kaylynn, Lucien, Matt
In Absentia	2015-07-16 "Merry meet!"
Location <NYC> East Village
Historically a center of counterculture, the East Village has a character all its own. Home to artists and musicians of many colours, this neighborhood is known for its punk vibe and artistic sensibilities. The birthplace of many protests, literary movements, it is home to a rather diverse community and vibrant nightlife. There's not much /to/ Astor Place, just a short stretch of street connecting other places, but the plazas there make it a frequent home to street faires and street markets. There's one such going on this week, bright and lively; at the moment there's a troupe of belly dancers in peacocky-bright outfits wending their way around the cube sculpture in the center of the traffic island to the sound of a band playing. Stalls and booths line the streets, selling everything from oils and incenses and herbs to crystals and gemstones to elaborately decorated athames and cauldrons; there are book-stalls and jewelry-stalls, clothing stalls and food vendors, people offering tarot readings and palmistry and things more esoteric still. The market has the rather unmystical name of WITCH'SFEST, (A Pagan Street Faire), it says underneath the header on the signs at its entryway. At one of the stalls Lucien is looking quite unmystical, himself. Pale linen trousers (immaculately pressed), a pale green short-sleeved button-down (the same), neat brown loafers, hair tousled /just/ so. His eyes are turned down towards a rather large row of plastic trays, quite a lot of various stones lined up in them. One finger toys idly with an unpolished stone banded in shades of green and black. "That one," says one of the young men working the stall, "has powerful healing qualities." Lucien's lips just press together a little bit thinner. Beside Lucien, Matt is dressed a bit more true to the spirit of the festival, his Elphaba-green t-shirt featuring a classical silhouette of a broom-riding witch passing before a full white moon, captioned with 'Yes, I can drive stick'. The tasseled and jingling ends of an iridescent purple sash dangle out from under the hem of the shirt, an unusual choice of belt for gray cargo shorts, and perhaps a purchase from elsewhere in the faire. His hippie-ish brown athletic sandals are practically a uniform among the other fairegoers. "Do you have any selenite rods?" he is inquiring cheerfully. "Bigger ones, that is." Than the ones he is indicating, presumably: a collection of pale, gleaming linear crystals. Jack hasn't been a common sight in the area but he has been here fairly often lately. The invisible teen has been coming back and checking on the building Autumn and DD live in, convinced they have some connection to the coffee crisis even if he's not sure what and has no proof. He's been hoping to find something and maybe be around to head off trouble if it comes looking for them. He hasn't gotten results today so he's wandered his way over to the street faire out of sheer curiosity. In jeans, and a light hoodie, he's got his hood up and hands in his pockets. He's not sure how this crowd would react to an invisible guy. He paises slightly when he catches sight of what he thinks is a familiar pair of faces. He stares for a moment in Lucien and Matt's direction before it clicks with him where he's seen them. He perks up slightly, starting to wander in their direction. Street fairs have always interested in Kaylynn, and this one more so than the others. After growing up in a town where anything pagan was frowned upon, it's really no wonder the woman is brimming with curiosity. Baby blue cloth wraps around Kaylynn's frame in the form of a sundress and a purse is slung around one shoulder. By the looks of it the woman has been doing a bit of shopping. Food shopping to be specific. She has several little baggies in her hands that were purchased from the vendors there, but now her attention seems to be on the other stalls. Her gaze ends up lingering at the stall with all the crystals, though she hasn't a clue what any of them are for. Still, they're sparkly enough to grab her attention! "{I was thinking labradorite...}" Lucien isn't really saying this in contradiction to Matt's request, just a quiet pensive murmur in soft French. He does pluck up two of the malachite stones, though, pressed-lips or no. For a brief moment a small hint of smile crosses his face, there quickly and then returned to his previous kind-of-pinched as his fingertips drift a large feathery-patterned grey-green stone labeled Seraphinite. He picks that one up, as well, sans commentary. He's just starting to turn from one set of bins to a second when his search is interrupted by a pair of teenagers who look enough alike they might be brother and sister: "-- Ohmygosh," one of them is practically squeeing (the other is hanging back, wide-eyed, slightly bouncy, though her smile is much shyer), "-- we saw /Pippin/ like, /ten/ times, can you sign my --" He looks down at his bag full of acquired goods. "... altar cloth? I have a Sharpie!" In a heartbeat, kind-of-pinched expression turns to warmer smile, French switched for English tinted with a hint of amusement. "Ten? Goodness, you have me beat. I only actually have seen it from the audience side once, I must confess." He is quick to get the youth's names, to sign a sufficiently light-coloured section of cloth. Quick, too, though, to turn back to his brother once they have headed off, expression relaxing into neutrality. "... Do you suppose that was a /magic/ Sharpie? They seem to think it imbued the cloth with, ah --" His fingers flutter, vague, letting this sentiment trail off. "{If I find a pretty one,}" Matt agrees, "{Dull labradorite is just a touch depressing, no?}" But he is absorbed at present with the selection of longish selenite rods the booth-keeper has brought out. "Maybe a bit longer?" he presses, both hopeful and apologetic. When the fans approach, his smile widens to a grin at once friendly and a little proud. "I don't think the magic was in the /marker/, as far as they were concerned," he replies, bumping Lucien's shoulder with his. "{The magic is called 'fame.'}" He tilts his head suddenly, turning in Jack's direction. His brows furrow in something like recognition despite the teen's invisibility. "Oh! Hello, there. Long time no see...so to speak." Jack stays silent and just listens as Lucien signs autographs. He doesn't want to get in the way or draw attention to himself. He may not understand the French but he does chuckle at the comment on the magic sharpie. When Matt notices him, Jack jumps. He looks as sheepish as empty clothes can for a moment, nodding his hooded head. "Hi," he offers. "I thought I'd come over and say hello...just saw you guys here." "What's...Pippin?" Kaylynn's southern lilt is clear even with those few words, as is the embarrassment that follows moments later. She didn't mean to say the question out loud, that much is clear, it just accidentally slipped out. The woman's close enough to the stall now that she was /probably/ heard and if she wasn't well...the sudden apology she's making probably marks her as an odd one. "Sorry! I uh...I didn't mean to interrupt." There's a tinge of pink to her cheeks as her gaze slides to the various stones there. If they were larger she could crawl under one right now. Lucien glances up, eyes flicking first to the empty hood that is Jack and then to Kaylynn. Then back to Jack. Then to his brother, eyebrows ticking just the tiniest fraction of an inch upward. "{A friend of yours?}" He sounds unsurprised, really. Perhaps he assumes /all/ mutants are friends of Matt's. His eyes slide back to Kaylynn, head inclining slightly. "You are not interrupting anything. The stones aren't going anywhere -- not for several hours, at least, they do not close here a while yet." The question does put a smile back on his face -- brief, again, just the faintest hint of curl and then gone once more. "Ah -- it is a stage show." "Luci, you might remember Jack better if..." Matt trails off,suddenly blushing fiercely. "Nevermind. But you /have/ met, once upon a dream." He shakes his head. "How are you doing, though? Enjoying the festival?" The last question seems aimed as much at Kaylynn as at Jack, and what follows is definitely addressed to her, with a boyish smile. "It was on Broadway! Alas, you just missed it. I'm Matt, by the way, and this is my brother, Lucien." "Wait, what?" Jack asks, glancing at Matt when he blushes that way. It's got Jack wondering just how Lucien might remember him. He doesn't press more though. "But uh...yeah, Mr. Tessier. We met awhile ago," he says, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He glances curiously at Kaylynn but tugs his hood down just in case. "I'm doing alright," he answers Matt. "I was...um...working on a project in the area and thought I'd come over and see what was going on." "Oh!" Kaylynn claps her hands together once, a light bulb clicking in place somewhere. "I thought it sounded a familiar, I saw the posters but I never managed to go and catch a performance. Congratulations on what sounds like a successful show!" The softly accented is voice is now accompanied by a grin for the entire group, and soon the slight woman is tipping an invisible hat in Matt's direction. "It's nice to meet y'all, I'm Kaylynn." The southerner doesn't seem to have noticed anything odd about Jack, so it seems he's all in the clear. Instead, she's commenting on the faire, "It's amazing, I wish I'd come down to see this sooner." "We -- ah." Lucien's mouth closes abruptly, quick enough to /hear/ the small click of teeth as his jaw clamps. "Not precisely a friend, then." His fingers tighten around the rocks he has collected in his palm. In counterpoint to Matt's smile, his own smile thins when his brother elaborates. "Thank you," he does respond to Kaylynn, politely. "And I do rather enjoy these markets that crop up. It will be something new next week, I am sure." He tips a curious glance to Jack. "A project? What --" For a moment he pauses, brows furrowing just slightly. His weight slides onto his back foot, shifting closer in to his brother; less visibly, though easy for Matt to feel, there's a sudden spike in mental activity. A jolt of pain followed by a habitual-reflexive smoothing-over into calm, even nothingness. Outwardly, the hitch in his words lasts only a fragment of a second before he pulls in a small breath and his softly accented voice picks back up, "-- sort of a project?" "Merry meet!" Matt takes off *his* invisible hat and flourishes it before returning it to his tousled head. "It is a fine day for a faire, but there'll be many others just as fine. Bright green eyes flick back to Jack. "A project?" The words come out perfectly synchronized to his brother's, though he leaves off immediately after, cringing visibly and sucking in a sharp breath. One of his hands grips Lucien's arm tight, not letting go even after the pain has passed. "{Dear gods, what...}" Nodding slightly, Jack glances at Kaylynn again before answering. "I've been...looking into what's causing the trouble with all the coffee lately," he admits quietly. "Trying to see if I can..." and he cuts off too, drawing in a sharp breath at that sudden unusual and unpleasant feeling. He shudders visibly and looks around. "The hell?" he mutters, trying to shake the feeling off quicker. A bright laugh escapes Kaylynn at Matt's invisible hat flourishing before she nods, "I'll have to check out the other fairs that pop up then." There's a curious glance to Jack now at the mention of the caffeine problem, "It's be?" She cuts out mid-sentence, brows furrowing and a look of disgust briefly overcoming the pleasant expression she had on previously. "Wha?" The woman shakes her head almost as if she were trying to rid herself of the nasty feeling. "That um..that..." What were they talking about again? The blanket of chemically induced calm that has washed over Lucien's mind extends, when Matt grips him; a push of soothing, calm and even and steady, trickles out into his brother as well. His eyes flick first to Jack and Kaylynn, but then past them around the faire with a deeper furrow of brow. "... Mmm." It's a rather /displeased/ 'mmm'. "This," it's a little crisp, just under his breath, "is getting somewhat out of hand." The arm that Matt is not gripping lifts, forefinger and thumb rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "What causes half of all the trouble in this city these days?" His brows lift. "If it is not mutants, it is someone taking issue with them. At least the caffeine problem is straightforward." Matt draws a long, slow breath and lets it out again as calm washes over him. Though he does not release Lucien's arm, his grip does relax considerably. "Oh, the caffeine thing." He nods, a little absently. "You're...investigating? Please be careful, there are a lot of cranky people out there looking for scapegoats, no?" He chews on his lip for a moment. "I could really use a cup of tea right now." Jack's jaw clenches as he forces himself to calm down. He takes a few deep breaths, and nods in reply to that displeased mmm. He agrees. "One problem at a time," he murmurs. Matt gets his attention after a moment and Jack offers an invisible smile. "I am. I even have an um...a lead," he replies, happy about that. "I'll be okay," he hopes so anyway. "I'll be careful though." Right, caffeine! It takes Kaylynn a few more seconds, but eventually her features settle back into the soft expression she usually sports. "If you could fix that, it'd be brilliant. I've replaced caffeine with extra sugar...as if I didn't eat enough of it already. Maybe you can save us before I end up with diabetes!" There's smile for Jack now and then a bit of concern at the brothers' mentions of problems and scapegoats. "Do you?" There is mild curiosity in Lucien's voice. "Good luck with that. I imagine many in the city would reward you handsomely for solving that particular mystery." He nods at his brother's mention of tea. "{We should actually pay for these first --}" Lucien tips his hand up, fingers uncurling to show the small rocks still in his palm. His other hand moves to rest at the small of Matt's back. "But then tea, yes? We can find you some, I am sure." He offers a small smile, a small tip of head, to Kaylynn, before turning aside from the others to pay for his purchases -- together with a few larger selenite rods. "Mm, tea..." Matt brightens up again, just a little. "Oh, and rocks. I kind of forgot we were shopping." He runs a hand through his short, choppy brown hair. "Caffeine withdrawal, it's just awful." He reaches over to pick out a tumbled labradorite from among its fellows. It had looked dull gray until he moved it, whereupon a ghostly blue light flashes in its depths. This he also hands to the clerk, with a sheepish duck of his head. "It was nice meeting you, Kaylynn, and nice seeing you again, Jack. Good luck!" There's a nod from Jack in reply to Lucien. "I do. I met some...kids I'm pretty sure are connected," he says, glancing over his shoulder. There's a faint laigh at the idea of a reward. "Even if I was doing it for a reward...I doubt they'd be willing to give it to me once they saw me...or didn't," he mutters. "I'm just...trying to help," he says. "Nice to see you both again," he chimes to Matt and Lucien. "And nice meeting you, ma'am," the invisible teen offers with a nod to Kaylynn and then starts to head off. Kaylynn dips her head to the group, shooting them one last smile. "It was nice meeting y'all too. Have a wonderful day!" There's a tiny wave and then the woman is also heading off. Is that a food stall she missed? This grave error must be rectified immediately!