Meet the Bean

[Henrietta Bean] *Once there was a girl. Who had a frizzy curl. That wiffled in the wind above her forehead. And when she was good she was very very good. And when she was bad she exploded. Angry cursing is accompanied by even angrier thumping as Henri tries to get back into her apartment. Oversized army boots bouncing off the sturdy door as the landlord - a ruddy Armenian man - leans out the window above the seedy flat and shakes hairy knuckled fist.*

"You no pay! You no stay! Simple as that!"

AAAAIGH!

*Squeals the diminutive etherite in girlish fury. She points a thin finger up at the window, orange goggles shoved up from her eyes as she stomps her feet. Pointed face upturned and twisted in anger.*

I'm paying NOW! Let me IN! it was ONE MONTH! My gear is in there.. you! I'll! Your guts for garters mate!! FODDED!

I'll bust the door I will!

[Ashley McGowen] Abandoned buildings have a certain odd beauty about them. Cabrini wasn't always what it is now. They stand stark against the backdrop of the rest of the city with their windows like hollow eyes, ruined glory and faded promise. Empty, the subtle and haunting reminder of what human beings leave behind them: like a little piece of the end of the world.

Ashley has always appreciated them. Of late that appreciation has grown.

It's a rough part of town but for all Ashley seems to care she might be walking on the Mile. They're Sleepers and she's untouchable. For a lot of reasons.

At the moment she's paused on the sidewalk in front of a bench, notebook in hand, resting it on the topmost wooden plank and taking a moment to scribble down her thoughts. Across the street, wind through an empty brick apartment. And then her head raises because someone shrieks, and callous though she may be there's no ignoring that.

Henri Bean. Getting booted out of her apartment. Ashley tucks the notebook away in her messenger bag and begins a slow approach, not wanting to startle the girl.

[Emily Littleton] There was a soup kitchen in Cabrini, not too far from here, that once been the site of an impromptu gathering of a few Awakened types. Emily no longer volunteers there, a recent development undoubtedly, but the Orphan had reason tonight to drop by and collect a few things. And then she decided on a walk-about to clear her head a little. The week has been kind to Emily, without any overt disasters or poignant reminders that she has strayed away from the flock, no longer a Sleeper and not yet fully established in her Awakened life.

No one had died in the recent few days. No one had called her, warned of an immanent danger, and set her stomach churning once again.

At this moment, she is walking down the street with her hands in the pockets of that warm, woollen winter coat. Her head is bowed, but her dark curls do not spill over slight shoulders -- no, they are held together in a loose bundle at the nape of her neck. Dark eyes are downcast, thoughtful but not unhappily burdened.

She is a plain one and only months ago had blended in with the background quite nicely. Until she opened her mouth, at least, and loosed the tumble of oddly shaped words (accents) that belied her home-less-ness with each syllable. She is plain, and somewhat quiet, but from somewhere around her (or about her) there is a palpable, thin, echo of Home.

Walking this way, she will inevitably intersect the path Ashley takes toward Henrietta. Unless one of these three changes course, they will meet up. Another innocent convocation in Cabrini.

[Henrietta Bean] You asked for it mate! Oh! You asked for it!

I hope your mind breaks! I hope your mind breaks and they send you straight to a bloody asylum for jackasses! And I hope you get ... get touched by the orderlies while you're there! OOOOOOOh you have nooo idea! You have no idea. Mess with Henri Bean will you!? Mess with Henri Bean. FINE! You hear me? FINE!

*Kiwi accent loud and clear as the girl cusses. She's disappeared under the canopy, out of prying eyes, muttering to herself about coleslaw as she puts a thin shoulder to the door a couple times, half hopeful. A high noise of frustration as she lays the boots to it again. A double take upon seeing Ashley.*

ER. Lo mate. Lend a Sheila a foot?

[Ashley McGowen] Ashley reaches Henri's side, and as she does so, she turns to eye the second story window where the Armenian man used to be. The Hermetic's hand drifts up to her collar, to the chain links that lie just beneath her shirt.

There's a trace of amusement as she watches the girl, twiggy and no bigger than Ashley herself, strain against the door. "If you call him back out, I can probably convince him to let you back up. Without you getting arrested for breaking and entering."

[Emily Littleton] As she gets nearer, the yelling filters into Emily's awareness. Her stride shortens, slows, and then stops and she looks up at the apartment building that seems to be the source of such distress. Emily can place the accent almost as quickly as she can place the name, which means that Wharil had not been leading her around... too much. At least not one time they talked.

And then there's Ashley, whom Emily has come to respect in an odd, inarticulate way. So curiosity draws her closer, with tentative footsteps and an expression of mixed concern and wariness.

She doesn't want to sneak up on them, though, so once she's within comfortable speaking range Emily offers an "Evening... Everything all right?" of her own.

It's decidedly British, but tinged with many other places.

[Henrietta Bean] *Henri looks over her shoulder as Emily approaches, electric blue eyes blinking wide and owlish. Not knowing Emily from adam, her response is uncharacteristically curt.*

yes, I'm practically puking ruddy rainbows mate. I'm about to skip.. down.. the yellow.. fucking.. brick.. road!

*Every pause punctuated with the flat stomp of a boot against a thick wood door. Bony fists curled tight in aggravation. Ashley generously offers to help with the landlord and Henri scoffs.*

He'd have to have a mind for that, I figure. I got it.

*A large, over technical metal slingshot is drug from her clanking utility belt. Between her hollering and kicking and the metallic rattle bang of her gadgets jarring together, Henri Bean was going to draw the attention of the whole neighborhood in a matter of minutes. A facts he seems to care little about as she aims the gadget at the door and mutters darkly.*

You might wanna step back, jus' thinkin.

[Ashley McGowen] The Bean pulls out her metal slingshot. Ashley has never seen this before, she doesn't -quite- know what it does, but Etherites have a certain reputation. One that suggests that they are not very subtle people, that they attract Paradox like Coke attracts yellowjackets, and that everything ends in an explosion. And the Hermetic steps backward, holding her hands up.

"Don't say I didn't offer you an alternative when you're stuck in the city jail with a cellmate named Meatstick." And then a glance sideways at the woman who has approached and asked if it's all right. Ashley hasn't seen Emily since last weekend at the chantry.

"Hello, Emily. Might want to get back." And she moves back out of range of the explosion, but lingers, still rather interested in seeing Henri's magic at work.

[Emily Littleton] This was the infamous Henrietta Bean? Perhaps there was more than one way to make a name for oneself in her given field, after all, Emily mused. She looked from the livid Etherite to the rather direct Hermetic, and then nodded.

"Right then," Emily said, moving away from the door and the short, agitated woman with some obvious wariness. "And it's good to see you," she says to Ashley, once they are far enough from the door to evade any explosions. It's good to see you, without anyone dying, without blood on my clothes, without some immediate disaster brewing.

It was nice to meet the Henrietta Bean, as well, but Emily was withholding that comment until she found out precisely what the slingshot was meant to do against a solid wooden door. And why that might bring about a cellmate named Meatstick or any time in a county facility.

Was every Awakened individual a little mad? She watched the doorway intently, and waited...

[Henrietta Bean] *Her goggles are jerked down over wide set eyes. Bean getting down to business as the gadget's toggles are flicked, lights glowing along the handle. There's a high electronic vibration building in the air, as the glass ball strung between the Y portions of the OMR begins to spin and click from one side to the other, reorganizing the ether between inorganic matter molecules. There's a sudden sensation of complete humorous disorganization. Discombobulation, as the steel lock turns a chalky brown color. Loses its luster. Henri grins a manic grin and holsters her techno-slingshot, reaching for the door just as electricity arcs from the device and runs up her arm, crackling through her hair with a brilliant blue spark. The girl's boyish form shudders and convulses half a second.*

Tzzzzt!

*A cough and a shrug. This clearly happens alot. Henri reaches forward to the lock and breaks off a chunk, popping it in her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. She mutters around a mouthful of chocolate. glaring at an unseen armenian.*

Fucker...

[Ashley McGowen] The lock turns brown, but given the dim light from the alley lamps and the flare of electricity, as well as her own poor eyesight, Ashley can't quite tell what Henri has done. For all she knows, the girl has performed something akin to alchemy, a respected Hermetic practice, and changed the properties of the metal itself.

Then she stares as Henri breaks off a chunk and pops it into her mouth. She is utterly bewildered, mouth hanging slightly open for a few seconds before she catches the scent of whatever Henri just ate. "Did you just...turn that lock into chocolate, Henri? Why would you...?"

[Emily Littleton] She stands there, agog, for a few moments. Emily watches Henri pull a piece of lock off and pop it into her mouth like nothing. She watches with a rapt fascination not quite unlike the fascination one has with train wrecks, traffic accidents or other horrifically fated endeavours. You just can't look away. There is a quite horror within the Orphan, for this violation of the resolute laws of physics, the last bastion of sanity she really felt might hold true in the face of this brazen Awakened world but noooo. No. The lock had turned to... chocolate.

Emily's nostrils flared a bit as she picked up on the scent.

"How...." she begins, shoving her mind out of disbelief and toward proper inquiry. "Why..." comes next. Finally Emily settles on a pained and somewhat concerned expression, a shaking of her head, and a worried look to Ashley. Dylan, in all his Madness, seemed a little safer to Emily than ... the Bean.

[Henrietta Bean] Course its chocolate. Whats the point a turnin a thing to something else?

*The frizzy haired Etherite cranks her head so far sideways it looks like her head will roll off her neck. An almost audible blink behind those huge orange goggles.*

Might as well be able to eat it.

*A scowl to Ashley and Emily, door booted solidly, chocolate lock exploding as the door swings inwards and a rather unpleasant smell wafts from the interior. The apartment is.. disgusting. It looks as though someone was simply squatting there while she was gone. Cans everywhere, pizza boxes piled in a tower beside another one of seemingly impossible construction, takeout boxes balanced and reinforced by sticky chopstick struts. Mold is visibly growing on more than one box, a large futon unmade in the midst of things. Henri's boots crunch on aluminum and grime as she strides towards what one would assume to be the bedroom. Were it not for the multitude of locks on the door. Something beeps angrily from the kitchenette area.*

[Ashley McGowen] Ashley catches the look on Emily's face. She knows little of the other woman except that she, like Enid, is very new to Awakened life. For Ashley, all of this can be summed up in the phrase 'Henri is an Etherite,' but for Emily it must look mad indeed. She just shakes her head toward the orphan and then turns to watch Henri.

"Why not just...melt it?" And she does not point out that Henri did not in fact eat the lock as the chocolate that makes it up shatters, and the door swings open. Then the smell hits her. She takes one look inside, raising the sleeve of her jacket to her face, and grimaces. "You know, Henri, I'm going to wait outside. But we should probably talk, once you've gotten your stuff."

And she steps back out into the alley, watching for the landlord.

[Emily Littleton] A place like that has an olfactory aura that speaks volumes. Emily's nose crinkles further, and she reaches up to cover her face with her hand. She steps away before the scent of decaying foodstuffs and cardboard, laced with multiple strains of mold, fully assaulted her senses and forced her eyes to water. Emily looked a little wan, and she hadn't even beheld the full glory (horror) of Bean's flat.

"I think I had better go," she said quietly to Ashley. "Have a nice evening, yeah?" She smiled a little, and it touched her eyes. It was harder to tell the shape of her mouth, as Emily's hand was warding it against an aerosolized spores or evils.

The Orphan cast another side-long look at the door, and then slowly began to shuffle off the way she came. Unless Ashley had a good reason for her to stay. A very, very good reason.

[Henrietta Bean] Melt it? - cause then I'd not be able to - DILLY! What is this Crap?! I told you to clean up you chunk of rubbish? Di- oh.

*Tiny metallic feet are waving about, articulated metal joints struggling in the air, just inside the kitchen door. The delicate boned etherite disappears into her apartment with a clank of her tool belt, one hand holding her jeans up on skinny hips. There's noises aplenty echoing from the apartment as Henri bean (Ether Queen) liberates her property from the clutches of the evil Armenian slumlord. She'll emerge a few minutes later with a metal armadillo under one arm, and various soldering/robotics/computer gear hauled on a large aluminum sheet behind her.*

[Emily Littleton] ((I am suddenly and inexplicably exhausted, and this is a good segue out for Emily. I am so sorry to bail, but I hope to catch you guys again soon! Thank you!))
to Ashley McGowen, Henrietta Bean

[Ashley McGowen] Emily is turning to go, and the Hermetic turns to look at her before she does. Scratch that. The Hermetic turns to look at her, nearly chokes as a breeze gently wafts by the door and carries with it some of the stench from inside, and then takes several steps away, to a safer distance.

Now that she's stepped more fully into the light Emily can definitely see that there have been a few changes in Ashley that weren't there when they last spoke. She seems to have a wan expression, the expression of someone that isn't sleeping or eating enough.

"Before you go, Emily," she says, letting out a cough and slowly lowering her sleeve to see whether it's safe, "how are you holding up after last weekend?"

[Ashley McGowen] ((Oops! If you have to leave, feel free to scratch my post.))
to Emily Littleton, Henrietta Bean