when by now and tree by leaf

[hey_capn_jack]

04:00 - In the Kashtta Tower, soft music is floating from the piano room tucked back by the cursed hallway.

It's not terribly good music.

J picked his way through a primer someone had left on their piano, and is now demonstrating minimal proficiency at having memorized any of the songs. He can pretty reliably hit the first few bars of Ode to Joy

Comments

[paige_husk]

Paige Guthrie hasn't been in Chicago for long. She's still dealing with the fact that a rift dumped her in some alternate world and there is no way to get home. But that all seems like a distant memory as she takes in the lady with wings and holding green appendages.

"...um...yer gonna freeze quick without any shoes on."

This place is weird.

[sinsofskin]

Hmm. A wanderer.

Leona's wings twitch a little, clawed phalanges tracing through the air, but as annoyed as she is at this day and her less-than-relaxing spa trip and the fact that her bodyman is stuck in traffic and not right here to pick her up, there's no call to take that out on passers-by. She can go hunting later. So she smooths over her metaphorical ruffled feathers, and gives the girl a tight smile.

"I'm absolutely freezing already, darling." Her toes curl against the concrete. "You'd think this city would have the decency to follow its own patterns and set itself on fire, but no such luck today."

[paige_husk]

Paige hasn't experienced any of Chicago's little tricks yet. After Rogue brought her back to the Conrad she mostly moped in her room while trying to figure out a way to get back home. This is her first foray into the world at large and so she nods, not sure how to respond. Part of her wonders about the woman's sanity but well, there are green limbs. None of this should come to any surprise for a former Generation Xer.

"I have an extra pair back at the Conrad if'n ya want? It's a bit of a walk though an' I ain't sure they'd even fit ya..." she offers and then looks down at her own boot-encased feet. "Or I could let ya wear these ones. I won't feel the cold." Not if she husked her legs to steel or something.

[sinsofskin]

...well, that's intriguing! Leona warms a bit, looking over the girl a bit more closely. Usually she's the one picking people off the street and offering to clothe them. It makes her a bit more affable.

"There's a man supposed to be picking me up soon - soon as he gets out of whatever traffic he's stuck in," she says. "But I do appreciate the offer." The smile she gives now is more genuine. After a moment she switches the lizard extremity to her left hand, and offers her right. "Leona Sandric. A bit new here, or just a bit fearless?"

[alsotravels]

As the TARDIS lies in wait, she may notice a certain finite being (subset: Time Lord) wandering down the street, busily exploring Chicago on foot. This would be the Doctor.

Granted, it's a different configuration of Doctor than the ones she's previously encountered, but a Doctor is what it is. And this particular Doctor has just noticed what looks like a broken-down car with no one around it.

Perhaps he'll poke at it! This is the best plan.

[alt_tardis]

:: !! ::

The TARDIS likes Time Lords! Mostly, except for the Master, they tend to be more sensible than the other finite beings wandering around. This one does not appear to be the Master she's been warned about, and as she's been encouraged not to just go rummaging in people's brains without permission, physiological scans don't tell her much. Plan B, then.

:: is.entity{'Time Lord'} :D !! ; request(access»(psychic.{target:entity{YOU}})) ?? ::

Here, Doctor. Have a very cheerful psychic blue car asking to read your mind.

[alsotravels]

And, at that psychic contact, the Doctor jumps. No one's touched his mind since Gallifrey, since he felt the entire planet burn, and for a moment, that simple exclamation reads as attack.

He almost lashes out. Almost, but not quite. Then recognition sets in... This is friendly. This is something saying hello. Attacking things that are just saying hello isn't exactly polite, now, is it?

:: That depends on who's asking. I'm the Doctor; who are you? :: The response is relatively cheerful, layered with hints of apology for the startled reaction, and a bit of wariness.

[alt_tardis]

:: ...!!!!!!!! :: The TARDIS was totally not informed that there was a new Doctor in town. This is almost criminal. ...fortunately, she knows now, and can give him a proper welcome to the area.

She'll start by putting on something a little more familiar.

:: is.entity{TARDIS} !! ::, she says, as though the fact that the blue car is now phaserippling into a blue police box didn't adequately indicate that. :: request(data(arrival-date{YOU})) ?? ; is.idiom{"can has"»hug(metaphorical)} ?? ::

Because she did notice that startle reaction. And hey, the other Doctors seem to benefit from the occasional psychic hug.

[thatsortofaman]

The Doctor is prowling the city, looking for the TARDIS. This is considerably more difficult than it used to be, when he can't just reach out for her, send out little pings until he gets some sort of response, and it's so bloody slow the whole process is driving him mad. And sure, he could probably open up his journal and just ask where she is, but that would feel too much like giving up at this point.

So he'll just be finding her the hard way. Anyway, the walk should clear his head. Isn't that what walking does?

Except that he has a good deal more in his head to clear out than most people, and he never quite manages it entirely. Still, wandering the city in some complex search pattern, keeping an eye out for anything out of place enough to possibly be the TARDIS is at least... slightly distracting him from his actual problems.

[alt_tardis]

Although the TARDIS is out here with the aim of luring in New Persons, one does not blindly pass up the chance to accost one's Doctor. Doctors leave you places and wander off and who knows when they'll be back or if they'll even be the same person or about t turn into a different person and while the TARDIS is fine with this arrangement - is is Doctoral nature - it's still as good a reason as any to capitalize on whatever time they have left over.

So when she picks up a Doctorshaped presence in the vicinity she's scanning, she 'inflates' her tire and 'closes' her hood and rolls after him, though keen observers will notice that her tires aren't turning and it's actually a bit more of a slide.

:: ♥ ::, she pings.

[thatsortofaman]

The Doctor starts a little, and then brightens, turning toward her and waiting as she slides up to him. He reaches out a hand and places it on her bonnet with a little smile when she gets close enough. He considers climbing inside, but... he'll wait to be invited. Or at least until he's asked her what he needs to.

"Hello," he says warmly, smiling fondly at her. She would be blue, wouldn't she? "I've been looking for you."

[alt_tardis]

She likes blue.

:: is.here !! ::, she transmits, making a pleased whrrl at the contact. It's not as if he couldn't tell that she was there. It just seemed germane to the conversation. :: is.infact{entity{TARDIS}.found(entity{you})} !! ::

The headlights glow a pleased blue-white.

:: ...relevant.idiomatic{"в советской России"} ::, she adds.

[twdenmother]

Ianto's been having a restless night, and coffee seemed to be in order. He's somewhat better groomed than he was the last time he spoke with J (he has, in fact, shaved recently), though he still looks rather worn out. Too much time wondering if you're going to be cut off from people you've inexplicably fallen in love with will do that.

On his way down to the kitchen, however, he's distracted by what sounds like someone torturing the poor piano, and curiosity gets the better of him. He makes his way to the piano room, wondering if he should offer his condolences, when he sees just who it is.

Oh.

He really should've thought about this possibility beforehand.

He'll just be going. The coffee won't make itself, after all.

[hey_capn_jack]

Some people have distinctive footsteps. And J is half-listening for them, because four in the morning in a building Torchwood lives in is probably never going to translate into "everyone's asleep" unless someone pipes in knockout gas. His reasoning is that if it's one of the people in the building who either wouldn't want to talk to him or might want advance notice - Owen, say, or Tosh - he could hit a particularly wrong note and curse audibly, or something.

Ianto, though, given Ianto and given what J himself did the last time they ran into each other, would probably disappear into some sort of coffee-preparing alternate dimension as soon as recognize him, which means that if there's going to be an exchange of any sort, it's probably the kind he should set a trap for.

And J does feel like he should probably... apologize for his saying-goodbye-without-actually-saying-goodbye, without ...actually speaking an apology or explaining that saying goodbye was what he was doing

[twdenmother]

Ianto curses silently and profusely, and then reminds himself that he should, perhaps, say something aloud.

"Yes... well. I was-" This is not going well.

"Coffee," he says, by way of explanation, and perhaps a touch too emphatically.

And then, because this is ridiculous in every possible sense, and he's always taken refuge from embarrassment in snark, "I'm actually quite glad it's you," sir. "It's a bit early in the morning for someone to be having an epileptic fit."

[hey_capn_jack]

J pauses in his piano... playing... and shoots a vaguely-wounded look at Ianto. He holds it for a moment, like Ianto should actually believe that he's hurt by that stinging evaluation of his piano-playing abilities.

"You're requiring us to schedule our epileptic fits now?" He plunks out an unhappy E-flat. "If I do it later in the day, it might conflict with someone's work."

E-flaaaaaaat.

He lets up on the unfortunate key, indicating the unfortunate keyboard. "You can do better?"

[rattle_thecages]

[ooc: I understand if this is too late, but I wanted to tag in! ♥]

Rachel Dawes is tending to her everyday business in the Conrad when she stumbles upon Dimitri Lang and the receptionist. Rachel met this woman under less than fortunate circumstances, but Rachel remembers her, and most of all, she remembers how brave Ms. Lang was throughout her testimony.

There is nothing about that day Rachel will forget.

She leans against the other side of the table, listening in for a minute before she realizes that might be rude. Then she offers up her small bag, containing an assortment of high-liters.

A hesitant smile quirks her mouth to the side. "Might this be of some assistance?"

[nowinprint]

{{Not too late at all! ^_^}}

"-would have to consider an entire set of infectious diseases as possible contributors to a location's market value, not just the usual zombies," is the last point Dmitri made before SURPRISE! HILITERS!, and no, it only makes about that much sense in context. And then the aforementioned hiliters interrupt her train of thought, and... hey!

She glances up, recognizing the person there and blinking for a moment before she decides, hell, it's a good day, all are welcome despite the unfortunate circumstances of their meeting. She grins, accepting the offering warmly.

"DA Dawes," she says. "The countess of civil law in the Conrad Hotel of Chicago, I think these might just hit the spot," she says. "Hey, have a seat and tell us about your three favorite views of Lake Michigan."

[rattle_thecages]

Rachel grins at the description Dmitri uses for her. At the warm reception, she finds the initial hesitation dwindling away.

"Don't mind if I do, Ms Lang," Rachel says cheekily, plopping down onto one of the chairs. "How about I tell you of the one view that's blown the rest out of the water for me? The view from the John Hancock Observatory. Took a day off from being the countess to be a tourist instead. I should try doing that more often."

You never know when you're going to get another apocalypse, after all.

She smiles at the receptionist before her attention returns to Dmitri and the collage. "... Did you say something about zombies?"

[nowinprint]

"Excellent choice, Lady Conrad," Dmitri says, then glances back to her receptionist friend. "What did we decide?-that took a moderate hit for educational- or science-based motive, but a major boost for not having been destroyed or damaged yet? -mostly," Dmitri amends. "And yes." That's back to Rachel again. "Zombies. So far still in the theoretical, but it is Chicago and one can never bee too careful. There was that time a velociraptor and a hellhound took apart the Coffee Shop a while back, but I think those were probably behemoths."

She shrugs.

"Still, though. I think it should be factored into the model. An establishment with a high level of defensibility against zombies or a zombie-disease outbreak would be correspondingly more likely to succeed in the Chicago market. What do you think?"