A drink from her eyes was like water from wine

[wedontjump]

It's almost election day, and... very few people in this post are thinking about that.

In Cicero, Mat Wallace is taking advantage of the nice weather and is sitting on a bench in the garden. He sort of looks like a gigantic rabbit, though - jumping at little noises and generally looking like if you move too quickly, he might run away. He's

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[anjelsword]

Aniki is heading the opposite direction of Tay, her sword kept as a constant mental image, ready to be drawn from her handy-dandy psychic space that she's starting both to get used to and to appreciate. When she sees the girl coming toward her, armed and clearly looking for a fight of some kind, she pauses to consider the odds of it being one of her recruits.

Perhaps not likely. But hell. This is Chicago. The whole damn city isn't likely.

"Out to start a war?"

[archangelet]

Tay stops and gives Aniki a once-over. She's clearly a fighter, she carries herself the right way, and despite the fact that Tay can't see any weapons, Tay's pretty sure she'd be a dangerous enemy.

Tay grins, almost wolfishly. "A sweet kid like me? What would I be lookin' to start a war for?" It's a bit of a challenge, but one that has the potential to be friendly. If Aniki is friendly.

[anjelsword]

Aniki returns the grin, warming to this girl almost immediately. Even if she turns out to be an enemy, she'll be an enemy worth having. Aniki looks her over. "Sweet as honey in a bees' nest, you are. Have a name?"

[archangelet]

"I do," Tay says solemnly, nodding, and she doesn't say anything for a few seconds. "Oh, you'd like to know what it is, don't you?" Hey, she's feeling bitchy lately (damn vampire and his damn flirting), and it's good for her to get it out in a vaguely comradic setting.

"I'm Tay," she says, and offers her hand to Aniki.

[savesomelight]

The weird emotional vibes coming from the garden are very familiar to Piper. It's like someone's reflecting her own emotions back onto her. Odd.

She peeks out from behind a tree to see who the culprit is, notes him as unfamiliar, and darts behind the tree. Aubrey's death and her failure to find a CLF person to convince to stop have made her shyer than ever.

She finally realizes she's being silly and pokes her head out again, "Um... Hi!" She calls, still protected by the tree. Not that she really has any reason to be scared- he's just as twitchy as she is. Piper's just a bit silly.

[guardsintheory]

Mattie jumps, high enough to nearly fall off his bench, but he doesn't yelp, and so he considers that a win.

"Um! Uh. Hi! Hi." He looks a bit sheepish, and rubs the back of his neck. "Sorry, I'm just a little... you startled me."

[savesomelight]

Piper squeaks and ducks behind the tree, flushing brilliantly. She certainly wasn't expecting that sort of reaction, although really, she should have.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to!" She pokes her head out again, not quite managing to get much more than her forehead and eyes out. Even just from that it's clear that she's still beet red.

"Hi... I said that already... Um... I'm Piper. Are you new?"

[guardsintheory]

"It's okay!" Mat assures her quickly, and turns quite a bit red himself. He hadn't meant to embarrass some teenaged girl. "I'm just really... um, jumpy."

He smiles crookedly and ducks his head. "Um, y-yeah. I'm Mat? I'm... Well, I know Buffy. Sorta."

In that 'I'm her guardian angel' way.

[changingtheodds]

Ruvin is close to the front doors of the Conrad, leaning against the building and soaking in a little sun. She's still not sure what to do now. She feels lost, scrambled, like she's drifting. Directionless. Useless.

Meaningless.

Maybe Robin's right. Maybe she's not supposed to be as she was fashioned any more. But where does that leave her now?

[please_see_me]

Dusty, of course, sees her and grins widely, jogging up to lean against the wall next to her. Ruvin's her friend, and she's looking a little blue, so it's Dusty's job to cheer her up!

"Hiya!" she says as she flops, grinning madly. "What's up?"

[changingtheodds]

Ruvin startles a bit, giving Dusty a timid smile. It's so strange to see Tula's face with such an innocent smile, none of her friend's ferocity or reckless humor. It's not a bad expression by any means--just strange, a little uncomfortable.

"Hello." It comes out much quieter than she means it to. "Nothing, really. Just thinking... After everything that's happened, I promised I wouldn't go far from the Conrad."

[amuseamused]

Jennifer Rose is also down at Navy Pier. She was there for a gardening show with a few classmates, but they were interested in something complicated involving types of grass for landscaping, and shows just aren't interesting alone.

She's wandered out to the Pier itself and has acquired her own ice cream (strawberry, to match her dress!). After wandering along the pier a bit and admiring the scenery, she ends up near Donna's bench. "Excuse me. Do you mind if I join you?"

[withpockets]

Donna looks up and smiles at the young woman. She's got legitimate questions about the girl's choice of fashion, but Donna's open-minded and all that, so she's not about to say anything.

"Not at all," she says, her London accent shining through. Whenever she leaves the house, she remembers that her accent is rather out of place - the high concentration of Brits in the Casa makes her forget, more often than not.

It's not always a comfortable feeling.

[amuseamused]

"Thank you very much." Jennifer Rose sits down and uses her free hand to dig out her sketch pad. It's a little tricky since the corners like to catch on her bag, but she'll get it eventually.

"You have a lovely accent. Where are you from?"

[withpockets]

"London, actually. Chiswick, if you know anything about the area." She's got a cup of ice cream, not a cone, and she nods towards Jennifer Rose's sketchbook. "You need a hand with that?"

[pplrunincircles]

Elizabeth has made it out to the pier at some point before she made it to the mall. She has been scavenging this city for dying people. It's taking a serious hit to her grades, but sometimes she doesn't mind serious hits to her grades cause it means daddy comes home just to lecture her. Plus, this is her duty.

It's not like she has a choice in the matter.

She is tired and frustrated by the time she makes it to the Navy Pier. Of course, all of the seats here are taken. It's like the world is conspiring against her or something, but there's a Wanderer! She likes Wanderers. Well, she liked the one that she met except for the part where he freaked out on her and turned ghost. Or whatever that was.

"D'you mind if I have a seat," she asks Donna. "I'm pooped, and I sorta got a long way home. I guess I could catch a cab or take the bus, but I could probably use the exercise! I didn't realize how out of shape I was until I turned 16 course everything changed then, anyway, except that I'm still outta shape."