Logs:Lost Boys

Lost Boys
Dramatis Personae Lucien, Melinda, Ted
In Absentia	2019-06-05 "Deep breaths, kid. You're doing fine."
Location <NYC> Central Park
Perhaps the most famous urban green space in the world, Central Park's over 800 acres of green and blue is a popular escape from the City's hustle and bustle for residents and visitors alike. It houses not only stands of trees and water features, but Belvedere Castle, the Alice in Wonderland statues, and the Central Park Zoo. Those areas tend to draw tourists like a magnet - it is, perhaps, for that very reason that places like Bethesda Terrace tend to attract more New Yorkers than not, if just to escape the press of tourism that infiltrates the whole city. The park is cheerful today! Vibrant, in stark defiance of the overcast sky that threatens rain but hasn't yet made good on that. Down in the southeast corner of the Great Lawn the ambiance is being pushed more aggressively -- food vendors, merch vendors, a stage set up -- plenty of music, dancing, singing along /encouraged/ here in contrast to the judgmental hushing often found in /actual/ theatres. Today's (family friendly!) Broadway-in-the-Park festival has brought out a throng of enthusiastic theatre aficionados excited by the Tony Awards fast approaching, but the location means that plenty of casual tourists and wanderers with little vested interest in theatre have been pulled over by the songs. Children wander the crowd in plastic Beetlejuice masks, holding sparkly Glinda-wands, playing with King Kong puppets. On stage at the moment is kind of a /spectacle/, /Hadestown/'s Persephone celebrating the summer in a riot of flowers and song. Here and there through the crowd there is spectacle as well, various performers intermittently milling or frequenting their respective booths. Some of the more elaborately made-up and costumed draw more excitement -- Elphaba in full witch attire, the ornately attired creatures from the /Lion King/, a number of strange and somewhat eerie looking Lost fae. /One/ of those -- goat-legged, sharp-clawed, a coating of soft grey fur lining parts of his skin, an elegant emerald-green vest worn open over his bare chest -- is just finishing up posing for a picture, dropping a wreath of flowers onto the head of a wide-eyed and excited young girl. When asked if the wreath is /magic/, Lucien's laughing response: "-- It's as magic as you let it be," does nothing to diminish the child's excitement before her parents usher her away. Ted has absolutely not been obsessing over Lucien since their brief encounter over his lost wallet and phone. Absolutely not. Sure, yes, he's looked the man up on IMDB and read pretty much every reviewer's commentary on every performance he's ever done and downloaded scripts and performances of every show and every online picture he could find, and... well, OK, so he's been kind of obsessing over Lucien. He's been doing other things too though! Anyway, when it turned out he was doing scenes from _Lost_ in Central Park Ted absolutely _had_ to go see it, even though he wasn't really a musical theatre sort of guy more generally. (It wasn't that he didn't enjoy musicals, just, well, after he came out in high school it was just such a _cliche_, and everyone would have laughed at him, so... well, anyway. ) The crowd is HUGE, of course, and although Ted had intended to arrive early to get a good spot, he was about the thousandth person to have that idea... so he's been winding his way through the crowd towards the performers for a while now. He's not too far from where Lucien-as-satyr is taking pictures with a little girl when another child nearby gets his attention, crying quietly and clearly trying not to. "Hey, little guy." Ted crouches down to bring him closer to eye-level, though it doesn't really work, "you OK?" "Yeah," the boy replies instantly, rubbing his eyes, trying to appear confident... then, more hesitantly, "I'm looking for my mom!" "Hm. Well, I think I can help with that, if you promise not to be scared." Upon obtaining approval, Ted lifts the boy up into the air... an advantage of his unusual height, which usually just leaves him feeling awkward... and calls out loudly "Has anybody misplaced this little faerie child?" Melinda arrives on great lawn in style, wearing sandals that lace up the length of her shins, a sundress that flutters mid thigh, and an only somewhat garish floppy hat. Despite the cloudy day, she's wearing large sunglasses that reflect the world in metalic pink and blue, giving exceptionally tired eyes a break from the brightness of the day star. She waits for Luci's fans to clear before she walks up, deploring the idea of photobombing what might have been an otherwise picturesque photo. She strides right up to him like she owns the place and states, "I have a very serious question for you, Mr. Tessier." She pulls a large water bottle filled to the top and swimming with ice cubes out of her large purse/bag and offers it to him. "Have you melted yet? I'm beginning to worry those horns are going to melt to you permanently... and drive you into some sort of horror movie plot." She casts her eyes in the direction of the actual lost child and raises her brows. "Has it started already? Are children losing their parents in your proximity?" "Ms. Chylds." Lucien inclines his horned head towards Mel as she approaches. "You come with magic of your own. I am ever so much obliged." He takes the bottle, drinks /deep/. Sprinkles a little of the ice water on the back of his neck before returning the bottle. Ted's loud call draws his attention; he stops, briefly, to murmur something quiet to a staffer nearby armed with a radio clipped to their belt. "That one was not my handiwork," he answers Melinda, looking at the child perched on Ted's shoulders. "When I do manifest magic, I prefer it to stem tears, not cause them." Despite the goat-hooved legs he moves easily on the uneven grassy turf, an odd sinuous grace to his bearing. The event staffer trails after him as he moves toward Ted and his new small cargo, sweeping a deep bow before looking up at the child. "You are following in a grand tradition of adventurers, going wandering in our kingdom," he tells the boy, clawed hand uncurling languidly to indicate the other costumed fae nearby. "But the brave ones like you, they all do find their way home again. Tell me, do your parents have names we might call them? I think we could perhaps find a bit of magic just for you." Ted was hoping he would get some attention with his announcement, but he was thinking more in terms of the boy's parents, or perhaps a police officer. Instead he's getting Lucien in the guise of a horned, goat-footed... something... and some others he doesn't know. He opens his mouth, quite sure he's going to say something and hoping it isn't too foolish, but in fact he says nothing at all. Fortunately the boy helped him out by giggling and pointing in Lucien's direction. "You're silly!" he announces, then "They're Mum and Da!" Ted puts the boy back down on the ground. "Can't argue with that, I suppose," he observes, almost deadpan. "Good to see you again, Lucien" he adds after a brief hesitation, trying not to stare at his alarming but effective costume. "Shhh, you'll reveal my fae nature -- and I worked so hard on my human costume." Melinda also follows sticking a little closer than the event staffer. "But yes. I am a beverage fairy." She falls silent when Lucien begins to help the child Teddy found find other people, her gaze staying fixed on the young man's face. "But what do other people call your parents? LIke, a Mr. or Mrs. or Ms something? We need those names to work the spell correctly. Or did they give you a phone number to memorize?" She tries to offer a little more aid, pulling her sunglasses from her face to give the child a friendlier face to converse with. Lucien takes a half-step back, defers to Mel as she elaborates on the questions. "It's true," he tells the child, "A bit of absurdity is only in our nature. What do Mum and Da call you, I wonder?" Nearby, the event staffer has got her radio out, speaking into it quietly but watching the child for his answers. "-- Master Altman." Lucien's eyes have widened, their impossibly vivid green seeming now only fitting with the rest of his otherworldly attire. "I pray you haven't lost your way as well? It is a common enough affliction, in our part of the realm." "Mum calls me Walnut," the child explains seriously, "and Da calls me Champ when I'm being good and Douglas-Andrew-Daniels-so-help-me when he's mad." It's all said as one rapid breath, and Ted can't help but laugh. "And yeah! Phone number!" He rattles off a string of memorized digits, which the staffer promptly dials. "No, I'm pretty much where I set out to be, I guess," Ted replies, only a _little_ dazed. "That's... a great costume," he adds. "Well then," Mel nods, "I dub thee Douglas Andrew Daniels Not In Trouble. And this lovely person here is going to call your parents." She takes a step back and gestures to the staff member. From there, she washes her hands of it. Her good deed of the day accomplished. "How much longer are you here, Luci?" She looks over to Teddy again. "And are you going to introduce me to your friend?" "You've been such great assistance with our parent-summoning spell. I do hope," Lucien crouches down to the boy's level, a brief flourish of his hand producing a deep purple-black rose from, evidently, the air beside the child's head, "that when you have returned to your homeland you remember your time in Faerie fondly." He turns the flower over to the boy, the boy over to the festival worker. Rises, with a small smile playing on his lips. "Our costume designers do work wonders. Sometimes," he confides, leaning conspiratorially closer to Ted, "I do rather myself believe they deal in enchantments." Turning back to Mel, he touches a hand lightly to his chest, inclines his head just slightly. "Forgive me, I have quite abandoned manners today. Mel, this is Ted. Desi and I had the recent pleasure of making his acquaintance down on NYU's campus. Ted, Mel Chylds. Regrettably, Mel is not on any current stage just now -- though when she is, she has been far more enchanting than I could hope to be, with only a fraction of the --" He curls one elaborately made-up hand inward, black-tipped claws skimming just along the inside of his vest to produce another sable-dark rose. This one, he presents to Ted. "-- Glamour." "Nice to meet you, Mel," Ted cheerfully greets the new acquaintance as Doug heads off happily with the staffer, "I'm drfle." Whatever that last word, or thought, was supposed to convey is lost as Ted acknowledges the rose. Later, in contemplating this moment, which he will do rather compulsively for quite some time, Ted will manage to convince himself that he takes the flower in the same nonchalant and sophisticated manner that it was offered, that he acts in some way like he belongs in this scene. This will be entirely false; in fact he takes it rather glassy-eyed, only just barely managing to avoid a Jackie Gleason-style chant of "hominahominahomina." Still, he manages to get out something recognizable as an expression of thanks and awkwardly tries to find somewhere to put the flower, ultimately just holding it in one hand. (( For the younguns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK9odsWwfIo )) "Oh Mr. Tessier, you do flatter me." Mel fans herself as she turns her head demurely. She offers a bright smile to Ted, but hesitates to speak once he loses the ability to. Her smile goes from wickedly amused to softer, more friendly expression. "There you go again, weaving spells and enchantments with the flick of your wrist. Sometimes I feel that you've actually found your true form here and were always meant to be lord of the faerylands." She reaches up to start to wind her long hair into a knot, beneath her hat, but off her neck. "How is Desi doing?" "The enchantment is all around us," Lucien replies with a small curl of a smile. "I only help bring it into view." He steps momentarily aside as a trio of excited teenagers approach, plastic horns on one of the girls' heads, posing for a quick round of pictures. His smile has faded into something more pensive, claws curling against the side of his cheek, when he returns. "Desi has a particular knack for keeping herself quite occupied, summer notwithstanding. And you, my new friend?" His attention has returned, intent, to Ted. "Does the season have any adventure in store?" "Adventure?" Ted has taken advantage of the focus of the conversation being turned away from him for a little bit to regain some level of aplomb, or at least the semblance of it, but he's still feeling significantly out of his depth in this conversation while also very much wanting to make an impression. It's a bad combination in many ways, and in this case it drives him towards an admission he probably would not have made were he in a more rational state of mind. "Well, I managed to get myself arrested last week, and honestly, that's as much adventure as I'm looking for this summer." He tries to be matter-of-fact about it, but mostly fails. "Just hoping to make some extra cash and, I don't know, get to know people and stuff." It is no big deal for Mel that Luci gets pulled away. She is familiar with the life, if on a much smaller scale. She just waits, hands folded in front of her, as if conversation was on hold for the time being. She does add, as an aside, "Deep breaths, kid. You're doing fine. Believe me, this conversation would be much shorter if he was not interested in it." When Lucien returns, Melinda let out a little sigh, "Ah, well, I hope the occupation helps." Before any gloom can set in, Teddy answers the questions and her brows dart upward. "OH! Were you in there with Desi? Luci told me all about it. He kind of needed to vent after all those phone calls to get you out. I would think that the adventure part would more be the part where a bunch of assholes attempted to shoot up a crowd of college students and others at a vigil." Now, she's annoyed, lips sealed as she revisits her feelings about that day.. and night. "None of my family take well to idleness, but --" For a moment Lucien's head bows, long lashes lowering to shade his bright eyes. Whatever thought may have preoccupied him is eclipsed, evidently, by this new revelation, however. He touches fingertips lightly to his lips, looking up with a faint widening of eyes. "Goodness, but you were in that lot with her, n'est-ce pas? I admit when asking I had in mind -- perhaps travel or new learning opportunities moreso than being shot at by bigots. I am truly glad that you made it through safely." Mel's comment is both embarrassing, in that she assumes he's trying to make a good impression and stuff, and reassuring, in that she's entirely correct. Ted's response splits the difference, an appreciative nod superimposed over a bashful hunch of his shoulders and a sputter that never quite manages to achieve the level of speech. He's more articulate about the vigil. "Yeah, there were a bunch of us," he acknowledges. "And, yeah... that was... well, scary as shit, honestly. And they didn't _attempt_ to shoot us up," he continues, more heatedly, "they _shot_... if it weren't for Shane and Flicker and everyone, there'd've been a _lot_ more bodies. They rescued, I dunno, pretty much everybody." There's a pounding in his ears, and he gulps a breath down a throat that is suddenly reluctant to take it. More quietly, he adds "And it turns out I'm bulletproof." It's the first time he's said that out loud, and for reasons he doesn't entirely understand it feels like a guilty confession. Melinda gives Lucien a wide eyed look as well, slightly exasperated but duly embarrassed. She turns back to Teddy as he relays his story. "I was more referring to the percentage of the crowd hit rather than a successful no injury situation, but..." She trails off when he gains heat, keeping her mouth closed until he is done. Even then she waits a beat and glances at Lucien once more. "So... you got shot. I'm sorry to hear that." The slight softening of Lucien's gaze does nothing to change the altogether uncanny surreality of his bearing, still holding himself with the faun's eerie grace and quirks of motion. "Flicker and Shane have magic of their own," he acknowledges softly, "but as I heard the tale, so did most who ended up in that cell. You were there because you chose not to abandon your companions, no? Your principles? That takes a strength -- even beyond resisting bullets. Even so." His hands spread before him. "It is a strength I pray you find no need to test again." "Thanks," Ted replies to Mel, both sincerely and sheepishly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to jump down your throat about it. And, yeah... a few times, I think. But..." he pauses, shrugs convulsively, continues brightly "well, I'm fine. And the cops stopped me before I fed the asshole his own bike, so... well." He's about to say something bitter like 'so I guess everyone important is fine, then' but it feels petulant and childish, so he doesn't. "I, um... well, I mean, I... I guess it's a thing I do, now," he continues reluctantly, but somehow inexorably. "When I'm scared... I, um, get big. And green. That's how I lost my wallet," he adds as an afterthought, "and my phone, and my, um, my pants," he half-mumbles to Lucien, "when you found them. And, well, I mean..." he trails off, unsure how to explain his decision to stay in the fight after he'd gone green, but quite sure it wasn't anywhere near so noble as Lucien was making it sound... while at the same time, very much enjoying that Lucien was making it sound that way. It leaves him feeling both on top of the world, and wanting to drop into a hole in the ground and disappear, and how he can feel both of those things at once he honestly has no idea, but there it is. "Anyway, though, with you on the not doing it again. I mean, this is my last pair of jeans," he adds, trying not-too-successfully to make a joke out of it, "I can't afford to keep bursting out of them." "There is a difference between physically fine and wholly fine. It is okay if you are one, but not the other. Mental and emotional health make up a bigger part of our well being than we think." Melinda fishes her water bottle out once more and takes a sip, offering it to Lucien once more as well. "Gotta take care of all of it. And if you need help with that, perhaps your campus has aid? Or ... hell, Luci, what was the name of that one group?" She scowls as she searches her thoughts. "OH!" And with that she's forgotten she was trying to come up with a name. "When you get your summer job, you should totally go to the Garment District store -- which is different from the actual garment district. They have a lot of stuff that they sell for a dollar a pound. It's not the best clothes, but if you're ripping through stuff... might not need to be nice." "NYU-X," Lucien fills in for Melinda, "is the student group for mutants on that campus. I admit that I have little idea if replacement trousers are a thing they can assist with. I have gotten the impression that the challenges that come with being a mutant are --" He gives a very small shake of his head. "Quite varied, and quite unique." There's another cluster of people approaching, hopeful looks in their eyes, and Lucien sweeps a low and elegant bow to Ted and Melinda. "It seems I must away. I hope the rest of your summer proves /less/ adventuresome, then. But if it does, who knows." For just a moment, his smile is a crooked fey thing, lighting his green eyes. "Perhaps I'll see my way to working some magic for you again." And then the faun is whisking away. At Mel's suggestion of therapy, Ted looks blank-faced for a long moment, then nods slowly. "Yeah, maybe," he agrees tentatively, and chuckles at the replacement-trousers line. "I think I can handle that part on my own. At least --" he cuts off as the newcomers arrive, and waves dazedly as Lucien prances off. "Oh... bye?" Turning back to Mel, he nods again. "The Garment District is a good idea. At least for, like, wearing around the city or whatever." After all, it's not like he can ask his mom to let him use the emergency card to buy new pants without her asking a lot of questions he's _not_ prepared to answer. Then, curiously... "so, this NYU-X group... what do they do, exactly?" "I shall see you in my dreams, Mr. Faun. Do be well in the meantime." Melinda curtsies to Lucien's bow, always ready to be dramatic, apparently. She straightens up and slips her sunglasses back on. "Ah. NYU-X. It's been a long time since I've been in school and I did not go to school here - but I imagine that they are peer support. People who have been through shit before helping people who are going through it for the first time. Desi is a better resource than I will be, I am afraid. They'll be able to help you brain storm stuff that you can do regarding clothes. You all can talk about things and find some solace in the fact that people feel the same way as you. I should probably be off too. I'm not really a family friendly sort." Ted laughs. "Well, in _that_ outfit I'm not sure Lucien was either," he acknowledges, "but everyone seemed willing to ignore the fact, which I guess counts. Anyway, it was nice meeting you!" He offers a hand with the tentative air of someone wondering if a hug would be more socially appropriate. "I'm sorry... what? What was that about Lucien's outfit?" Confusion clouds Mel's countenance as she looks the younger man over. Her arms cross over her chest, waiting for an answer. "I, um... I just..." Ted flounders, seeming taken aback by the question. "I guess I'm just not used to hanging out with actors. Like, if someone showed up to my mom's Sunday dinner table dressed like that it would raise some eyebrows, you know?" "Oh honey..." Melinda shakes her head. "That was nothing. First summer in the City? Not every shirtless person in Central Park is an actor. And many of them would be welcome at many of the dinner tables. Making suggestive comments at someone who is at work and working with children is not appreciated." She delivers her words firmly, like a steam engine, unstoppable and few if any gaps for words edgewise. She pulls her sunglasses off again, so she can really stare him down. "I get it you think he's hot. It was very easy to tell by all that stammering and blushing. And he is. But he's also a very skilled performer and an extremely resourceful individual. Your butt would seriously still be in jail if not for him -- and it would be getting to the point where your school would not want anything to do with you and you would be expelled. So be respectful. And if you invite him to your mother's house and he shows up in costume, then defend his right to wear what he wants without being reduced to a sex object." When she finish she is cool and still, waiting on an answer. Ted wilts a bit under the well-earned rebuke and nods slowly. "Yeah. You're right, of course." He tries to think of something more to say, and can't, so he settles for "Sorry." Then, startled: "He got us out of jail?" "Yes, kid. He got you out of jail. Spent the next night he meant spending with his sister for her birthday making sure it would be extremely embarrassing if you kids had to spend the night. Look, he likes to be treated respectfully as a regular person - not like a hero and definitely not as a wet dream, so maybe try to keep that in mind next time you guys talk, yeah? Treat him like a big brother?" Mel finished speaking and slips her sunglasses back on again. "So. Remember. Garment District Store. NYU-X, and Desiree. Brothers. Got it?" Ted nods, chagrined. "Yeah. Sorry." He's saying that too much lately, he decides, and needs to work on avoiding the need for it. "Got it." Then a double-take and: "No, wait... Desiree?" "Heavens preserve us!" Mel dropped into a rough Rocky Mountain hick accent. "Desi. Desi Tessier." "Oh!" Ted feels dumb. Well, dumber than he already did. "Sorry... I didn't make the connection. Right. Got it." He goes to stick his hands in his pockets and notices the flower, which he's been holding throughout this conversation; stares at it awkwardly, unsure what to do with it, or perhaps with his hand. Ultimately he adopts Eeyore's solution, using the hand to hold the flower and the flower to put in his hand, and having solved that problem he puts his other hand in his pocket returns his attention to Mel. "Well. I, um... it was nice meeting you, Miss... Chylds, he said, right? I... thanks for your help." Despite his words, he makes no actual move to leave, just stands there looking at the crowd around him. "Eh, call me Mel." She feels perhaps a little concerned about the state she is leaving him in, but heads out back home anyway. "See you around!"