We have this strange obsession / You have the means in your possession

[gotbottle]

Who: Rachel Conway and THE ENTIRE CITY, I guess. If you want.
What: Hanging out at the tea house for tea, conversation, and CR.
Where: The Shrove's Wing.
When: Shundi, from midday until well into the evening.
Notes: Note the time of day if it makes a difference to your thread.
Warnings:

Potential for people Rachel knows to get mashed together like Barbies IT'S FUN SHE ENJOYS IT OKAY.

Working the middle shift is a mixed bag. On the one hand, Rachel's day is pretty much shot for anything else; not long enough before her shift for much in the way of adventures, and while her later evening is free it's not like she has a circle of friends or dates or anyone to go out on the town with after.

But the trade-off in being there for this shift is seeing the customer base turn over, from the people doing lunch to the leisurely afternoon lollygaggers, from those arriving for midafternoon tea to the evening dates. A wide range of people, alone or with company, comes and goes over the course of her shift, and she's happy to wait on or hang out with them all.

She can be found manning the tea bar, or sometimes carrying pots, cups, and food to and from tables. Sometimes she even gets to crash at a table or in a booth for a few, or she gets to go upstairs to wait on someone in one of the private rooms. It's a busy day and there are a lot of people to see.

Comments

[toooldforlosing]

"No good, won't see any tickets. Unless we add explosions. Zombies?" But he's still laughing. He sounds like he could use it.

[gotbottle]

Rachel laughs again, making a bit of a face. "Zombies sounds dangerous. Explosions could work. Or-- I know. What if I wear a short skirt and punch a few guys in the face instead of dating them?"

[toooldforlosing]

"Radical," he said, "but if it's short enough, they might let you get away with it. I might have to lose my shirt at one point."

[gotbottle]

"That's only fair," Rachel observed. "We gotta have something in this for everyone, right? Explosions, facepunching, tiny skirts, and shirtless attractive dudes ought to cover most everything."

[toooldforlosing]

"It does sound like a winner. You can think up a catch title, and we'll pitch it when we get back." When. Not if.

[gotbottle]

"I'll come up with something. I'll even give you a writing credit on the screenplay--half these ideas are yours, anyway. We'll totally pitch it when we're back," she says, echoing his words to reassure him that, yes, she agrees, and she's going to do what she can to see that happen.

[toooldforlosing]

"And then we can both retire in comfort."

He seems ill-suited to retirement, though, and he's guessing she's the same.

[gotbottle]

The face she makes shows him he's guessed right.

"Comfort's nice," she says diplomatically. "I don't know that I could hack it for a hell of a long time, though. I'd need things to do with myself."

[toooldforlosing]

He nods, his expression almost rueful. He'd told Winona he would walk away, for her, but a part of him still wondered if that would work. The day before he came to Baedal suggested otherwise.

"Well. Either way." After a pause, he says, "While you're working on intel, what do you want me to be doing? You seem to have a handle on organization."

[gotbottle]

Her gaze drops a moment at the compliment, stays there another handful of them as she thinks this over.

"I said I'd work on getting us friendly with a lawyer," she says, looking up at him. "I can't help thinking we should make sure we're in good with a doctor or two, as well. Like--people we know we can trust. With as much crazy shit as seems to happen around here, I'd feel better knowing we had someone we could go to that wasn't gonna inform on us or wasn't secretly working for the government or something. What do you think?"

[toooldforlosing]

"Not a bad idea," he agrees, thoughtful. "I still don't know if I trust the lady that patched me up, but I have to confess her work was good. I might do some more digging, though."

[gotbottle]

"There was another guy," Rachel offers. "Mike Anders. When we had the crows and all that other nonsense he was doing first aid at the inn. I talked to him for a little bit over the network. He seemed all right but that's just first impressions from a phone call."

She shrugs. "But he's definitely worth checking out. He was looking for somewhere to work, last we talked, right after things settled down. He didn't seem too ready to trust the city, either, so that might be a point in our favor."

[toooldforlosing]

"Anders. I'll look him up." A reliable doctor who wasn't working for the city would be good. A lawyer too. "If we could find someone who's been here a little longer who seemed trustworthy, it might be worth it. Seems like they try to keep us with our cohort as best they can."

[gotbottle]

"They do, don't they?" Rachel hummed thoughtfully. "We could try to find people from other cohorts. Or even locals, people born here."

[toooldforlosing]

"Yeah. I mean, no real way to vet anyone but..." He spread his hands. "None of us is gonna get any answers alone, and we've gotta pick someone to trust."

After all, he can't be sure that even Rachel is who she says, but he figures getting too paranoid will trap him just as surely as being sloppy.

[gotbottle]

It's a good thing one of them is thinking that way. Rachel's natural instinct is to trust; it's a sure sign of her discomfort with this place and the way she got here that she's even considering challenging things as much as she is.

"Yeah, exactly. I figure if we have multiple options, we have a better shot at getting the right people on our side."

[toooldforlosing]

"Right so. Lawyer, doctor, someone who's been here longer. I think that's a good place to start. I was thinking of talking to the sheriff at Mog's Hill at some point. If he ain't on the same page as the militia, it might be worthwhile to see where he does stand."

[gotbottle]

"That's a really good idea." She drums her fingertips on the counter top.

"Okay, so: divide and conquer? I'll do some digging around for information on your missing friend, and I'll find us a lawyer or two. And I'll rope a friend or two into digging around for city legends and stuff. And do you want to find us a doctor, and talk to the sheriff? I guess... maybe the guys who are asking around about legends might be able to figure out who's been here a while, too--those are the people who are gonna know more of the stories around here, right?"

[toooldforlosing]

"Sounds as logical as we can hope for," he agrees. "I think I'm going to try and get a place out of the inn soon, I'll let you know if you need another way to track me down."

[gotbottle]

"Yes, please. Tell me if you wind up out of there, so I know where to find you."

It occurs to her she should maybe check in with the rest of her little cohort-within-a-cohort for similar information. The things they're doing so far aren't dangerous but with the way this city is going, worry for the safety of others wouldn't be too out of line. She should know where people live and work, just in case.

Best misjournal.

[toooldforlosing]

He manages another smile. "And I guess I'll look for you here, first, most of the time."

HAHA yes. Suddenly your upstanding US Marshal is a wizard, what now?

[gotbottle]

She smiles, and nods. "Yeah. I'm here like, noon to eight most days. But if I'm not here..."

She gets another napkin off the pile and scrawls down her address, and how to find her single room in the building where she's renting. "I live over in Raven's Gate. Near the harbor," she says as she hands the napkin over.

[toooldforlosing]

"Thanks." He tucked the napkin into his jacket. "Might check out the neighborhood myself, if you like it."

[gotbottle]

"I do," she says, smiling. "It's pretty. And I kinda need to be near the water, I find it comforting. Also the neighborhood has a good mix of things--shops, clubs, people--and it seems pretty safe and clean. I don't feel like I'm taking my life into my hands walking back to my place after my shifts here at night."