(Untitled)

[notenlightened]

Reese is in the Conrad common room. There's a book resting open in her lap, but she hasn't turned a page in the last twenty minutes. She's deep in thought - mostly about this situation she seems to have gotten herself in with Crews, but also, also inconveniently, her thoughts are drifting to what her father might say if he knew about this entire

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[mightvebeen]

Madeline May (stage name) wanders into the common room taking a couple of sweeping gazes across it.

She turns her attention to the only other person in the room. Never mind that she's reading a book, Maddy is missing a book.

"... you haven't seen any cooking books in here, have you?"

[notenlightened]

Dani Reese (real name) glances up from what appears to be reading, but is actually somewhat still thinking instead.

It's not a cookbook in her hands, that's for sure. In fact, she's pretty sure it's one of Crews', now that she thinks about it. But even if you asked her what it's about, we can't promise she'd be able to tell you.

"No, sorry," she says. "But I haven't actually been looking for one."

[mightvebeen]

((OOC: You made me laugh with the (real name). I felt it necessary to say. Ahem.))

Maddy frowns. She doesn't exactly feel like putting the effort into lifting things about to search under them.

"Hmm. That's annoying." She wanted to avoid this, but- Maddy closes her eyes and holds out her hands, focusing on the details of the recipe book that she has in mind, calling it to her in her head.

It appears in her hands a minute later. Her head starts to hurt thanks to the effort of calling an unknown object from an unknown location. "There we are. I'm not actually a cook, but I'm trying out for a character in a play who is one. You see. Method acting. Good old Marlon Brando style."

[notenlightened]

Reese might know about the existence of things like angels here. Hell, she's even met one of them in person. But it doesn't exactly compare to someone demonstrating their abilities in front of her. Granted, she doesn't exactly know that she herself (as well as Crews) each have their own unique ability, thanks to the Rift, but if she has it her way, she'll deny it until the cows come home. And then deny it some more.

"So this is what, like, research?" Reese asks, after she gets over the initial shock of seeing something appear out of nowhere.

[mightvebeen]

"Yep! Research in the sense that I make things so I can know how a cook cooks," Maddy explains with a tilt of her head. "I've never been much for cooking before, and I may have caused a slight fire earlier in the week, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. At least the basics down. I don't need to be a good cook. Just know how to pretend to be a good cook."

A cocky smile breaks across her face, and then she seems to register Reese's surprise.

"...what? I sort of figured everyone living down here was used to that sort of thing."

[notenlightened]

Reese nods once, slowly. A life as a cop doesn't exactly lend itself to possessing a wide repetoire in cooking meals. Her dinners tend to be of the take-out or the heatable variety. So there's a moment of admiration that occurs, but it's brief, and then she moves on to Maddy's registering of her reaction before.

"Yeah. Maybe I'm just lower on the learning curve," she mutters.

[mightvebeen]

"Or maybe you've magically been able to avoid all the crazy," Maddy says with an eyebrow raise at her as she folds her arms over her chest. "So what are you? It's not like ordinary humans make it down here so you're either not from this world (and I promise that's not me hitting on you) or you're an angel... or you're like me."

[notenlightened]

"Maybe," Reese admits, with a genuine shrug. Apart from the diner, the coffee shop and the Conrad, she hasn't really gotten up to much exploring.

She still hasn't connected the dots of her recent repelling of Crews to the fact that she has any kind of ability, so she shrugs again.

"Normal, as far as I know."

[mightvebeen]

"Then you must be a Wanderer. Normal humans don't live down here. You came from another world right? Sounds so galactic and exciting, but I guess everything seems wonderful until you experience it. I always expected Wanderers to look more like aliens," Madeline sinks into a chair, puts her feet up, and plops the book in her lap. "You hear other world and you make assumptions.

[notenlightened]

"Another world," Reese says, and then nods. "Back in L.A. - where I'm from."

But now she doesn't know if this is the same year or even the same Chicago that would greet her if she decided to take a trip here. It looks convincing enough, but just the fact that there are angels and demons thrown into the mix is a sign that there may be more than what normal Chicago has to offer.

[mightvebeen]

"So how was it?"

Madeline raises an eyebrow at her.

"The going through the Rift thing? Did you feel anything? Or is it like one second you're somewhere you recognize, and then the next you're not? I've never met a wanderer before. Only heard of them."

As if they are elusive creatures.

[notenlightened]

"I--"

Reese falters. No one's actually asked her what coming through felt like yet. But now that she's been asked, she can't put a finger on it.

"I just - showed up. Didn't really feel anything."

[mightvebeen]

"That's... anticlimactic," Madeline says with a thoughtful frown as she flips through the book. "Seriously. I'd be pissed. The least they can do is hit you with some lights and colors and funky sounds. Something like The Twilight Zone opening, you know? Some indication that you've gone through a major shift."

[notenlightened]

Reese shrugs again.

"I guess I'm just not a very climactic person."

Crews, he'd be able to handle flashing lights and colors and funky sounds. If that had actually happened to her - well, she'd be a lot more messed-up about the situation than she is now. Being here is enough of a shift already, thanks.