Logs:Radical Mandate

Radical Mandate
Dramatis Personae Daiki, Jax, Lily
In Absentia	2021-10-23 "Don't tell Polaris I said that. Or Wendy."
Location <NYC> Chimaera Arts - Dumbo
This is just one of the many abandoned warehouses in DUMBO, and like many of them it has recently changed hands. Unlike most of those, however, it does not have some corporate developer's sign out front promising a transformation into luxury condominiums or a boutique shopping center or the latest concept restaurant. Instead it's marked by a piece of weathered but wildly colorful plywood propped up on a stack of broken pallets, which reads "Chimaera Art Space!" above "chimaera.org" in smaller letters. The warehouse is moderately large and decorated with graffiti art in various styles--some of it recognizable as the work of renowned local street artists. A pair of monstrous scrap metal sculptures, perhaps still works in progress, flank the entrance. The building itself has undergone significant renovation recently, complete with wiring, plumbing, and a modular partitioning system. The grounds, too, have been cleaned up, ramshackle fences torn down and rusting detritus removed in favor of reclaimed (and brilliantly repainted) outdoor furniture ringing an impressively engineered firepit. It's been a long week -- and then some -- but things are finally starting to return to something like normal around Chimaera. The evening bustle is mostly from the classes taking place -- a fused glass workshop over in one corner of the warehouse, an intro drawing class in one of the classrooms, a sex ed class (Let's Talk About Consent!) in another. It's this last that Jax (bright as always in overalls printed with venus flytrap plants, a deep purple long-sleeved tee, his hair vivid purple-green-blue ombre; there's a similar venus flytrap on his eyepatch, only this one snaps shut at loooong intervals on glowing insects that buzz into view) has just finished teaching, and as the door opens and his students trickle out he does not, draped kind of droopily over a large yoga ball at the front of the classroom that has perhaps served as his seating. An elderly one-eyed beagle curled up in the corner gets up, licks his lips, turns in a circle, goes back to sleep. "-- yeah," Jax agrees, "s'bout where I am, too, Obes." As is his usual habit here, Daiki has been flitting unobtrusively about, tidying this or restocking that. He is perhaps a bit overdressed by Chimaera standards, but quite casual by his own in a neatly pressed blue pinpoint with the top button undone, an understated gray vest, black trousers, and black chukkas. Now he's slipping into the classroom just vacated by the students, carrying a bottle of cranberry juice that he offers to Jax without comment. "I made ochazuke with the rice and sweet potatoes," he says quietly, "if you're planning to linger." Lily appears at the door of the classroom after Daiki, a mug of peppermint tea in each hand. Dressed in a light heather grey sweater, dark barrel-cut jeans, her hair pulled back into tight Dutch braids that brush against her black medic pack, Lily looks -- not well-rested, but like she has slept some amount of hours, plural, in the last couple of days. Lily looks at Daiki and the cranberry juice, down at the steaming liquids in her hands. "Ah. I seem to have been thwarted." She hesitates, looks back towards the door, before holding out one mug in the Jax-ward direction anyway. The other is held out to Daiki with a small, awkward smile. "Oh, y'all are angels." Jax rolls himself up into a seated position and then rolls some more, pushing the ball closer to an actual table so he can accept All The Things at once. "Thank you kindly. I was gonna cook when I got home but it'll be a blessin' not to have to. -- Y'all about done with your nights," is kind of optimistic, "or -- still got work callin'?" Daiki passes off the juice with one hand as he accepts tea with the other, his smile small and tired but no less bemused. "I should really consider inoffensively thwarting people more often." He cradles the warm mug between his hands. "I've still got inventorying to do. The influx of donations and outgoing expenses from the actions can mask our resupply. I want to take advantage of that logistical chaff while I can." The very faint crease of his brows might barely register to the casual observer, but for him it's practically an explicit admission of anxiety. "Obscurity isn't always security, but bandages are bandages and it'll mean just a little less work for our --" He stops, lips pressing into an unhappy line. "-- B." Lily sets the other mug on Jax's table and sinks down into one of the more traditional chairs. "I think I'm about done, I was just here to pick up some more med supplies and meet up with Eloise -- I can help with inventory, if you'd like, before heading back to the Bronx." There's a beat after she says that where she frowns, then adds, "Don't tell Polaris I said that. Or Wendy." "Dusk is," Jax starts, but then stops, his lips pressing into a thinner line. He swallows his words, takes a large swig of juice instead. "Thanks," he says again, subdued, "m'sure she'll be glad of it." His knuckles grind against his eye -- just a moment before he drops his hand. "Why would I tell Polaris and Wendy?" he starts, confused -- then suspicious, "Wait why shouldn't I tell Polaris and Wendy? Are you supposed to be havin' a sit-down should you be eatin' with me there is," he offers magnanimously, "ochazuke with rice an' sweet potatoes. I heard a rumour there's that. Gosh am I gonna have to make rest hours mandatory? I could do that. If everyone's spent we ain't never..." But he cuts this off, too. There's a brief flutter of the lights in the room as he takes his next gulp of juice. "If you want to help I won't refuse, but it sounds like you've a lot to do already." Daiki studies Lily for a moment, dark eyes keen and appraising behind his glasses. "Either way, I won't tell," he reassures her, "but Wendy can see right through you and also you kind of just fessed up to --" He pulls one hand from his mug to make a dramatic flourish in Jax's direction. "-- one of the people who can make rest hours mandatory. What if -- please bear with me here, this is a radical idea..." He squares his shoulders, underlining his already impressive height. "What if we all sit down and eat, then figure out what more needs doing tonight and how we can do that and also get some rest?" Lily tenses at the mention of Dusk, only minutely relaxing when the conversation moves on. "I've done half the medical supplies already, I can at least help you with that part before I head back." She looks from Daiki to Jax and sighs, slumping down a little more in the plastic chair. "The church got me into the bad habit of confessing," Lily grumbles. "This is why nobody tells me anything." A darker look flits over her face at that, soon gone. "I am resting. Sleeping, even. No need to do anything drastic." Her stomach rumbles, as if to undermine her. "That does sound -- nice? Efficient." "May be a radical idea but we're in a radical space, I think we should go for it." Jax sets the juice down, but only so that he can pick up the tea and sip that instead. A little softer, "-- honestly, all things considered, I think mandated rest's one'a the least drastic choices I could make for this team. But we can start with supper."