Tuesday Night -- The Streetsdiana_abelAugust 9 2011, 23:03:09 UTC
Diana had set up shop on her favorite corner again. The guitar case was open in front of her and already, passers-by had generously given. Of course, it helped that Diana had her Awe out in full force. She was radiating social favorability. She had only stopped doing it every once in awhile, when she saw someone passing by who she could tell couldn't afford to donate. She didn't want to be greedy, after all. And she certainly didn't want to take from those who couldn't afford to give.
She strummed her guitar, singing brightly:
And for the boy who's given me the sweetest love I know I wish for you another love so you won't be alone Because I am bound to walk among the wounded and the slain And when the storm comes crashing on the plain I will dance before the lightning to music sacred and profaneShe was about to transition into the final verse when she spotted a stranger approaching. Very, very good looking, she decided. And could probably afford to give. She amped up the Awe as she continued the song, her lavender eyes
( ... )
Jack felt... something. He honestly wasn't sure exactly what it was he was feeling, but he also wasn't fighting it. It wasn't unpleasant, and he generally tried to go with the things that weren't unpleasant about life.
She was a pretty girl, pale and striking. He noticed her eyes. He didn't notice them first, but he did notice them. He also folded a twenty dollar bill in half and dropped it into the open case. "Did you write that?" He wasn't in any hurry for his answer. The casual stance was meant to convey that he was happy to wait for the end of her song to get a response. It was a nice song.
Diana was quite pleased by the generous twenty, but her curiosity was far more powerful than that. There was something about the guy...she couldn't quite figure it out. He smelled pretty nice, which was a definite improvement over most of the people who had come by tonight. But that wasn't it. As she rounded into the last verse of the song, she decided to take a peek at his aura.
Oh, shed no tears for me Light no candle for my sake This journey I'll be making Is one we all must make Shoulder to the wind I'll turn my face into the spray And when the heavens open Let the drops fall where they may
Human. At least, on the surface (Diana wasn't always patient enough to delve). The color was a vibrant vermilion, indicating a bit of happiness. Nothing terribly exciting. Diana's music--she preferred to blame the music, rather than the Awe--had that effect on people.
If they finally wash away the stain From a daughter of the race of Caine I am not a stranger to the rain Let it rain!Her fingers flashed wildly back and forth as she
( ... )
He clapped - politely, but not only for the sake of manners. "You're very good." He didn't need to pile on for the compliment. Her voice was lovey, and her presence was riveting. Still, there was something, just tickling the back of his mind. Jack had been Jack long enough to recognize when he wasn't himself, even slightly.
"Can I just ask-- What are you doing?" He moved his hand vaguely in the air between them as explanation. "I'm not mad." And he really wasn't. He knew what he did to people, and he knew he couldn't help it. Not everyone who altered you was doing it on purpose or for malicious intent. "I'd just like to know what it is that's making me-- yeah."
His words weren't the most precise Diana had ever heard, but she got the meaning clear enough. It wasn't the first time someone, a mortal someone, had recognized her Awe. Still, it was always so unnerving to realize that you weren't on top of your game. For a moment, she considered dropping the Awe, but she worried about what that might do. She didn't want him turning around and trying to kill her.
She continued to play, but transitioned into a wordless song, the overture of The Mikado, to be specific. "I'd like to think it was my music," she said, trying to keep her voice cheerful, "but I'm guessing you're probably referring to my Presence. It's not, like, dangerous or anything like that. I just have an aura that's groovier than most normal people's auras."
Diana reasoned she probably sounded like a psychopath, but that was nothing new or exciting.
"You can take back the cash if it's bothering you," she said diplomatically. "No harm, no foul. But before you go, I need to ask; what is that scent you're wearing. It's totes
"No," Jack said with a little shake of his head. "Cash is yours." He could afford it, and her music was quite good.
"I'm wearing extra clarifying herbal soap." Sometimes Jack didn't think he'd ever get the scent of whatever he'd been hunting most recently out of his hair. He was not ashamed of the fact that he used expensive and probably girly soap. "Rosemary eucalyptus, I think? But that's not what you're talking about, either. Pheromones. I've got a little extra kick, too. Can't turn it off. Sorry." Not that he sounded particularly sorry. Most people, once they knew what was happening, were able to counter the effect with their own will power if they wanted to. Not everyone, but most people. "Does everyone where you come from have an extra groovy aura?"
Diana was a bit thrown. She hadn't been expecting pheromones. But this was Bete Noire. Unexpected seemed to go with the territory, the way grumpy went with NYC or laid back went with Augusta. She shook it off, filing away the information for later, and flashed a smile.
"Nope," she replied. "I'm special." This was one of the few occasions when Diana actually enjoyed being special. In other words, different. "How about you? Everyone in your world walking around with an enormous, neon kick me sign that says something other than 'kick me?'"
"Neon 'fuck me' sign? Yeah. Mine is a little more... intense, but everyone where I come from would cause at least a tiny stir in a place like this." Which might have implied that it was the city that was amplifying his effect. Not at all true, but it was a very simple explanation.
Diana smiled. This guy had a sense of humor. Or at least got hers. She decided she wanted to play a bit. "Oh, every man thinks his is more intense," she teased. She decided he would make a lovely Toreador. He already talked a bit like one. And he definitely had the looks that the Torries sought. And cocky much? Very.
"So where are you from? I've always heard that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, but it seems to me anyone with hyperactive pheromones would be more poetically justified from Venus."
Easily, in a surprisingly coherent way, Diana switched from The Mikado to playing the theme song of a popular science fiction franchise from back home.
"Not even in the same galaxy. I'm from the Boeshane Peninsula. It's one of Earth's colony planets." His sense of humour definitely matched hers, mostly stemming from the fact that he so rarely took himself seriously these days. Life had become one massive joke. He figured he might as well be in on the laugh. "And I am more intense." He invaded her personal space, though he couldn't see her raising much of an objection, and leaned down over her. "But if that's a challenge, I'm up for it."
"You're either punning with me or coming on to me," Diana said. She paused a moment, tilting her head slightly to examine him. "Or both. I don't believe in absolutes most of the time. The world..." She paused, amending her statement in light of what he was telling her, "the universe...is one extraordinarily varied place."
Diana wasn't proud of it, but she was beginning to wonder if this guy would make a suitable meal. He was a big guy. Looked like he could survive a pint or two of blood. The problem was that he was just so likeable. Diana always had trouble feeding off of people she liked, which is why she usually stuck with truckers and head banging clubbers.
"So what's the future like?" she asked, finishing her song and tossing her guitar back so that it lay against her back. She looked up at him with her lovely eyes. "A certain Southern gentleman told me that humankind has finally stopped being so stupid and having wars and stuff."
"It's definitely both." She was exceptionally pretty. Not just that, but she had a quick wit and a finely crafted talent and a zest for life, which was actually more important than her physical beauty.
He stepped back, out of her personal space, though he did stay close. "We stopped warring among ourselves." Jack nodded sagely. "For a while. And then humans found someone else to fight. I've heard of a few universes out there that have nearly achieved complete peace. They sound wonderful." They also sounded like fairy tales, and perhaps the wistfulness in Jack's voice conveyed that.
"Even with the war, though, the future I've seen is... remarkable. Human beings are incredibly resilient. When Earth is burned down to a cinder, we're out there, pressing forward, clinging to life against all odds. Even at the end of the universe itself--" There was a tiny catch in his voice, for the year that wasn't. "Even in the face of the end, there's hope."
His words were delightfully happy. The delivery, incredibly sad. Suicidally sad. Sort of the way that Selene would talk about her children, when she thought no one else was listening. The way Arty would talk about Japeth. A beautiful, great joy somehow crushed.
Diana frowned thoughtfully, watching him. "I believe in hope," she said. "Above all other things. I like hearing that there's hope in the future. It makes me anxious to see it." She probably shouldn't have said that. Moving on quickly, she continued, "But you talk about ends so much. 'Earth burned down to a cinder,' which is uncool, by the way, and 'end of the universe' and 'in the face of the end.' Let me hear about a beginning, sailor."
Jack did note her wording, because he was in a similar boat. Otherwise it probably would have slipped right past him. Everyone got to see some of the future, after all, but Diana's tone and particular word choice made him think than she expected to see rather more of it that the rest of the masses.
"The beginning of the universe?" Jack turned away from her a bit, then looked back with a rather pleased smirk. "Are you sure you want me to ruin the mystery for you? It might not be quite as miraculous as you're thinking it is." But he did know. He knew how his universe had started, anyway.
Diana laughed. His resilience was certainly interesting. She wondered how much of it was an act. Not that it was really any of her business. "I just said a beginning, not the beginning of the universe. I'm not that smart." Actually, Diana quite enjoyed discussing philosophy. She had earned that love from her father. In light of recent events with Abe, however, she decided to avoid anything too deep with someone of the opposite sex for the time being.
"Tell me about the beginning of something wonderful," she said playfully, clasping her hands behind her back and swaying a bit. The many beaded necklaces around her neck jingled like sleigh bells. Under the moonlight, her peace sign with the word 'Shalom' flashed silver. Diana really wore who she was on her sleeve. And when she spoke, that much was clear. "I like hearing about wonderful things, sailor. And endings are never really wonderful things."
"Everything in my life with a beautiful beginning has also had an ending that was bittersweet at best. Unless you want to hear about a boy and two dragons. Otherwise, I think you're wanting this conversation to head into territory that requires a drink." But he'd tell her, if she really wanted to know. He was sure he didn't know this woman, which meant there wasn't any danger in her knowing him, as much as anyone possibly could. "I'll buy," he offered.
She strummed her guitar, singing brightly:
And for the boy who's given me the sweetest love I know
I wish for you another love so you won't be alone
Because I am bound to walk among the wounded and the slain
And when the storm comes crashing on the plain
I will dance before the lightning to music sacred and profaneShe was about to transition into the final verse when she spotted a stranger approaching. Very, very good looking, she decided. And could probably afford to give. She amped up the Awe as she continued the song, her lavender eyes ( ... )
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She was a pretty girl, pale and striking. He noticed her eyes. He didn't notice them first, but he did notice them. He also folded a twenty dollar bill in half and dropped it into the open case. "Did you write that?" He wasn't in any hurry for his answer. The casual stance was meant to convey that he was happy to wait for the end of her song to get a response. It was a nice song.
Reply
Oh, shed no tears for me
Light no candle for my sake
This journey I'll be making
Is one we all must make
Shoulder to the wind
I'll turn my face into the spray
And when the heavens open
Let the drops fall where they may
Human. At least, on the surface (Diana wasn't always patient enough to delve). The color was a vibrant vermilion, indicating a bit of happiness. Nothing terribly exciting. Diana's music--she preferred to blame the music, rather than the Awe--had that effect on people.
If they finally wash away the stain
From a daughter of the race of Caine
I am not a stranger to the rain
Let it rain!Her fingers flashed wildly back and forth as she ( ... )
Reply
"Can I just ask-- What are you doing?" He moved his hand vaguely in the air between them as explanation. "I'm not mad." And he really wasn't. He knew what he did to people, and he knew he couldn't help it. Not everyone who altered you was doing it on purpose or for malicious intent. "I'd just like to know what it is that's making me-- yeah."
Reply
She continued to play, but transitioned into a wordless song, the overture of The Mikado, to be specific. "I'd like to think it was my music," she said, trying to keep her voice cheerful, "but I'm guessing you're probably referring to my Presence. It's not, like, dangerous or anything like that. I just have an aura that's groovier than most normal people's auras."
Diana reasoned she probably sounded like a psychopath, but that was nothing new or exciting.
"You can take back the cash if it's bothering you," she said diplomatically. "No harm, no foul. But before you go, I need to ask; what is that scent you're wearing. It's totes
Reply
"I'm wearing extra clarifying herbal soap." Sometimes Jack didn't think he'd ever get the scent of whatever he'd been hunting most recently out of his hair. He was not ashamed of the fact that he used expensive and probably girly soap. "Rosemary eucalyptus, I think? But that's not what you're talking about, either. Pheromones. I've got a little extra kick, too. Can't turn it off. Sorry." Not that he sounded particularly sorry. Most people, once they knew what was happening, were able to counter the effect with their own will power if they wanted to. Not everyone, but most people. "Does everyone where you come from have an extra groovy aura?"
Reply
"Nope," she replied. "I'm special." This was one of the few occasions when Diana actually enjoyed being special. In other words, different. "How about you? Everyone in your world walking around with an enormous, neon kick me sign that says something other than 'kick me?'"
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"So where are you from? I've always heard that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, but it seems to me anyone with hyperactive pheromones would be more poetically justified from Venus."
Easily, in a surprisingly coherent way, Diana switched from The Mikado to playing the theme song of a popular science fiction franchise from back home.
Reply
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Diana wasn't proud of it, but she was beginning to wonder if this guy would make a suitable meal. He was a big guy. Looked like he could survive a pint or two of blood. The problem was that he was just so likeable. Diana always had trouble feeding off of people she liked, which is why she usually stuck with truckers and head banging clubbers.
"So what's the future like?" she asked, finishing her song and tossing her guitar back so that it lay against her back. She looked up at him with her lovely eyes. "A certain Southern gentleman told me that humankind has finally stopped being so stupid and having wars and stuff."
Reply
He stepped back, out of her personal space, though he did stay close. "We stopped warring among ourselves." Jack nodded sagely. "For a while. And then humans found someone else to fight. I've heard of a few universes out there that have nearly achieved complete peace. They sound wonderful." They also sounded like fairy tales, and perhaps the wistfulness in Jack's voice conveyed that.
"Even with the war, though, the future I've seen is... remarkable. Human beings are incredibly resilient. When Earth is burned down to a cinder, we're out there, pressing forward, clinging to life against all odds. Even at the end of the universe itself--" There was a tiny catch in his voice, for the year that wasn't. "Even in the face of the end, there's hope."
Reply
Diana frowned thoughtfully, watching him. "I believe in hope," she said. "Above all other things. I like hearing that there's hope in the future. It makes me anxious to see it." She probably shouldn't have said that. Moving on quickly, she continued, "But you talk about ends so much. 'Earth burned down to a cinder,' which is uncool, by the way, and 'end of the universe' and 'in the face of the end.' Let me hear about a beginning, sailor."
Reply
"The beginning of the universe?" Jack turned away from her a bit, then looked back with a rather pleased smirk. "Are you sure you want me to ruin the mystery for you? It might not be quite as miraculous as you're thinking it is." But he did know. He knew how his universe had started, anyway.
Reply
"Tell me about the beginning of something wonderful," she said playfully, clasping her hands behind her back and swaying a bit. The many beaded necklaces around her neck jingled like sleigh bells. Under the moonlight, her peace sign with the word 'Shalom' flashed silver. Diana really wore who she was on her sleeve. And when she spoke, that much was clear. "I like hearing about wonderful things, sailor. And endings are never really wonderful things."
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