Day 44 - A helping hand....

[yesthatsmyname]

Who: Mary Lightly, OPEN
When: Day 44, Mid-Afternoon
Where: 123 Black-Eyed Susan Drive
What: Mary has offered to help with the food shortage as best he can - in return, perhaps, for some unwanted tins of sardines and a little help with the leak in the basement.
Rating: PG, PG-13 if people get mouthy.

Comments

[ethanmaaars]

By the time Ethan made it to 123 Black-Eyed Susan Drive, he was soaking wet from head to toe. The rain didn't bother him so much - he'd gotten used to running around in it without an umbrella back home. But the rising flood waters were both troublesome and worrying. Bell Pointe's residents might be spending some time hanging out on rooftops if things kept up this way.

But Ethan's thoughts turned away from the weather (and the unpleasant squishiness in his shoes) as he drew nearer to the house. A man was sitting on the front porch, just as he'd said he would be. He fit the voice from the phone call but, unsurprisingly enough, didn't quite fit the name - Mary.

As Ethan drew nearer, still, he noticed that Mary's clothes were stained with blood, not unlike Ethan's own, which were ripped in places and bloodstained despite his efforts to clean them.

Yep. Everyone in Bell Pointe had a story to tell.

"Hey," Ethan called out, approaching the house. "I think I talked to you earlier, about the leaks in the basement? My name's Ethan. Ethan

[yesthatsmyname]

When he was addressed, the man looked up - calm as can be, even perhaps a little bored looking. He pushed himself to his feet, tucking the phone book under his arm as he regarded the newcomer. He looked...bedraggled, but then he had just trudged through the rain.

"Hello," he greeted softly, his head tilting slightly to one side. He held out his hand, presumably for a handshake...but his wrist was limp, letting his hand flop downward and making it sort of unclear what he was meaning to do.

"Mary Lightly. Pleased to meet you."

[ethanmaaars]

"Nice to meet you, too," Ethan said, eyeing the limp hand that was so unenthusiastically being offered to him. Presumably it was for a handshake, so he grasped it briefly before letting his own hand drop back down to his side.

And then Ethan just sort of stood there awkwardly, waiting to be invited in. "So, um, how bad is your basement so far?"

[yesthatsmyname]

That was...usually how people handled Mary's handshakes, so he thought nothing of it, turning to gesture the other man into the house. It was still very neat and clean...he'd only been there for one day, and hadn't really had the chance to make it 'homey' yet.

He turned to open the door and allow Ethan in, walking in after him.

"It's like a Sy Fy original disaster movie down there. Water is getting deeper fast, and I have no idea how to stop it up." He wandered into his living room, swinging his arms strangely as he moved. It looked particularly funny with his jacket sleeves ending mid-forearm.

I tl;dr'd really hard I'm sorry B(

[berceusedefou]

Considering the things that he and Mary had been talking about over the phone, the noble thought it the best in his shattered mind to see to it that they would be alone in their meeting. So, he hid. Just out of sight under the awning of a neighbouring house, above the flood waters and sheltered from the rain, Alfred waited. He watched Ethan leave, and still he waited. Just to be certain. Ever the paranoid, seclusive man he was on Rockfort, he had to be absolutely certain it would just be him and Mary

XD Its okay! Check out Mary's journal for his notes on Alfred so far, BTW XD

[yesthatsmyname]

True, Mary's clothes WERE rumpled - but there was something else wrong with them that wasn't immediately apparent until he stood up; they were too small for him, his jacket sleeves ending somewhere in the middle of his forearms. As Alfred approached, he looked to him with the enthusiasm he looked at anyone with. Which...unless you happened to be a certain serial killer...wasn't much.

He held out his hand for a handshake, his wrist limp so that his hand flopped awkwardly downward. When he spoke, his voice was the same monotone from on the phone...maybe even a little quieter. He locked eyes with the other man, blue irises burning from behind his thick glasses.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Mary Lightly, Son of Mary Lightly, Grandson of Mary Lightly, and Great-Grandson of Craig Lightly."

Introductions finished with, he gestured into the house.

"...Please...come in."

ahahah oh man, 'melodramatic British guy' is really all you have to say about Alfred 8D

[berceusedefou]

The lack of enthusiasm was something Alfred had gotten used to, at this point. True, in his glory days he probably would have had a man imprisoned if they didn't lower their head as they addressed him with a quiet, respectful 'Lord Ashford,' but things were quite different here. People didn't seem to take kindly to doing such.

At any rate, Alfred glanced at Mary's hand for a brief moment, awkwardly unsure of what exactly he'd meant by the gesture. Surely he didn't think... ? No, that was clearly a handshake offering. There were lines. It was enough that he had come to Mary's residence and was talking to him politely. He wasn't comfortable accepting a handshake. He rather bluntly left the other man's hand to hang, drawing his own behind his back and returning only the gaze.

"I do hope you pardon my directness but I so hate to beat around the bush; You'd said you'd been murdered before you arrived here, over the phone," he stated, stalking inside the house, "Is there any more light you wish to shed upon that?"

[yesthatsmyname]

So...no handshakes with this guy, then. Okay. Good to know. He dropped his hand, following Alfred into the house. He would have to make a note of that one, but he would wait a minute until he had his notepad at the ready.

"There's not a lot of light to shed," he murmured, shutting the door behind them and gesturing to the kitchen. He sat down at the table, resting his arms atop it. He collected him for a moment before speaking...really, it wasn't like he had a whole lot to hide at this point. If he was dead, it didn't matter. If he was dreaming, it really didn't matter.

"I was pursuing a serial killer. He challenged me on my own. I took the challenge, I went to the location, and my death was staged to look like a scene from a movie. Meant to be spectated. He knew. Of course he knew. I should have thought of that." His eyes darkened a little - not anger, but...disappointment. "I was stabbed in the chest...thrown down the stairs. And I died."

[timisnotme]

Tim had no idea where Black Eyed Susan Drive was, but fortunately the town wasn't all that big so after a bit of searching he was able to find the right address. He had taken the precaution of emptying his pockets before meeting someone new on the off chance his other half had decided to store more organs in there or dirt or snow or who knows what else. Other than some scungy napkin thing he had escaped this time without any random new junk.

Then with pockets bursting with cans of sardines he knocked on Mary's door. This guy was more than strange, but beer was beer. And he didn't want to have to fight Hyde for the last one.

[yesthatsmyname]

...And then the door swung open, and that very strange fellow from on the phone stood behind it, staring blankly at Tim. One hand rested at his side, but the other - presumably the one that had been at his side - was still held up, his hand limply dangling from his wrist.

His voice was quieter in person.

"...Very prompt. Hello." He stepped back to allow Tim inside, finally dropping his other hand.

"Come in for a minute. The rain is nasty out there."

[timisnotme]

Riiiiiight. Okay. Well if he could deal with Hyde he could deal with this. He shrugged and stepped into the house. They really all were set up identically. Except for the fact that this guy could survive a nuclear holocaust with the amount of sardines and canned food on his counters. Oh right, the reason he was there. He pulled out the five cans of sardines and offered them to Mary.

"Here you go. All we had was five cans, and none of us eat these so have at 'em."

[yesthatsmyname]

Mary liked canned foods. They kept for long periods of time, they were self-contained, and they were convenient in case of emergencies. Also, he simply found sardines tasty. He happily accepted the cans, placing them with the others he had so far amassed on the counter. He then wandered over to the fridge, pulling out the pack of Hmoey Beer and carrying it over.

"Thank you very much - here is the beer. I haven't touched any of them. I don't care to drink very often." He held it out by the handle, looking altogether sort of...awkward.

"...I don't think I caught your name."

[hypocriteonjl]

Gavril had heard of Mary's offer over the phone as he attempted to upgrade his armor for god knows what time. Although he was new himself and still had some food lying around, he saw it as a perfect opportunity to potentially help more than one person. He could help this nasally-sounding man with his basement, and then give the food to someone else who needs it. It was his duty not only as a super hero, but also as a follower of Marx.

He arrived at 123 Black-Eyed Susan Drive as quickly as he could, in full armor. This wasn't because he wanted to show up like a hero--but rather because it was either that or show up in a tank top and boxers, and that seemed incredibly inappropriate. Gently, he knocked on the door.

"Is house that want Sardine?"

[yesthatsmyname]

Mary had anticipated that he would meet some interesting townspeople with this venture. And so far, he had. Quite interesting. But even as deadpan as Mary was, as ready to expect the unexpected, he wasn't QUITE ready for the sight that met him when he opened his front door. He stood in the doorway, blinking dimly, one light eyebrow slowly, slowly raising.

What on EARTH was he looking at?

"...Yes?" His voice was the same calm deadpan it had been over the phone, but it came out more as a question than an answer. Without taking his eyes off of the stranger, his hand slipped into his pocket, retrieving the notepad tucked away there and starting to write. Very fast.

[hypocriteonjl]

Gavril immediately sensed the other man's... reluctance? surprise? He wasn't quite sure what to call it, but he certainly felt it. Rather than bring attention to it, he felt his best course of action was to, for the most part, seem completely oblivious. It should come to light on its own, so there was no reason to draw attention to it. Of course, it never crossed his mind that someone might find it odd (even in his own world) to come face-to-face with a big man in a large suit of armor on their front door.

In his right hand was a bag filled with all the cans of sardines he could find in his house. With a fluid motion, he presented it to Mary.

"This is everything in house. I am sorry there not more."

[yesthatsmyname]

Seriously. WHAT was he LOOKING AT?

He reached out with his limp wrist and took the bag, not taking his eyes off of where he presumed this...thing's eyes (cameras?) were. His face remained blank, save for the arched brow - and finally, after a moment, he found words again.

"...Thank you. I, ah...we haven't met yet. I'm Mary. And...you...?"

Am I late?

[coffeecoffeetea]

Nikolae muttered to himself. He hated being wet, but that was what happened when you wanted to get some decent food for your housemates, especially if one of them was a little girl. So he brought the things they weren't going to eat until they really had to, knowing that this new person would gladly scarf them down: sardines, one odd container of kippers and anchovies, and some other random things he would hopefully trade for.

Knocking on the door, he waited for a response.

Nah!

[yesthatsmyname]

The door swung open, and...there was Mary, looking much less pained than he had during the video call. His icy eyes flicked over the man in front of him, then he smiled - more of a twitch at the corners of his lips than anything else. "Ah, Nikolae Thomas. Pleased to meet you in person...come on in. It's wet out there."

With that, he stepped out of the way, hand still dangling awkwardly in mid-air after opening the door.

There was...an impressive collection of cans adorning his counter at this point. It seemed a few other townspeople didn't enjoy sardines very much.

Re: Nah!

[coffeecoffeetea]

"Good to see that you are in health," Nikolae said. Stepping inside, he gave him his thanks. "Will you be able to survive on fish alone? You might want to keep some fruits about."

Overall, the house was like other houses he had seen, and oddly, quite similar to the one he, Jaime, and Samara lived in.

[yesthatsmyname]

He shut the door behind the other man, watching him walk in for a moment before wandering into the kitchen. He moved a little...strangely - his stance was very loose and slouchy, and he swung his arms a lot.

"I'll be all right. I've kept some canned fruit and vegetables. I like sardines, but really, living on nothing but sardines would just be crazy." Right Mary. It would be crazy. "I've still got plenty of things you can trade for, if you like."