Not the right time

[Nathan Spriggs] Yet another cloudy day in Chicago, the temperatures continued to fluctuate between annoyingly hot and fairly cold however. It had made for a very strange week, not withstanding the strange murders and occurrences that seemed to plague the magi of the city wherever they went. One such happening had taken place the week before at Lincoln Park, and it was this that brought this particular meeting to existence.

The location was a bar by the name of Fiddler's in Bronzeville, the locale owned by one of the parties involved, a Cultist by the name of Nathan. He and an Orphan apprentice by the name of Emily had encountered something in Lincoln Park, and at long last, Emily had returned his call on the matter and decided to arrange a meeting. He'd given her directions and asked her to meet him there, to avoid another encounter with her particularly close-minded mentor. Now the sun had set and it was about time for her to arrive, he waited for her to show, the bar having closed early to avoid having to deal with too much of a crowd.

[Emily Littleton] To assume that Owen is Emily's mentor is putting the horse somewhat before the cart, but that is neither here nor there. He may, in time, step forward into that role. He may, in time, step sideways into a role more akin to cabalmate or friend. It was too early to know, and a fool's errand to start guessing.

Emily had Riley in tow when she'd called Nathan, and Nathan was appraised of such. The geek girls were catching up after Riley's romp through Europe, trading stories and pictures and gently-shaded accents. It was a pleasant thing, and it kept their minds off the heat and humidity. But the weather gave them resaon to wear more summery things (reason to wear less), and they may seem more like sorority sisters than Awakened will workers.

They parallel parked not far from Fiddler's, but not directly in front of the place. Emily even remembered to park on the correct side of the street. Then they're headed up to the doorway, chatting (undoubtedly) the whole while. And she knocks, which is strange, even in England, and then catches herself and eases the door open.

[Riley Poole] It's a rare and funny thing when two people meet and know that they're going to be friends.The first time Riley met Emily was at that gaming tournament at Best Buy. They're encounters since have been brief, and yet there's a closeness between them that belies the amount of time they've actually spent in each other's company.

So of course when Riley was recovered from jet lag, whens he was ready to be out and social and talking to people who aren't her father, the first person she went to was Emily. Riley brought her laptop and showed off amazing pictures of the Italian countryside and the beautiful Italian architecture and not a few of the same swarthy Italian man.

They arrive to at the bar together, Riley dressed the same as she had been when she was at Emily's, a snug-fitting cream colored camisole, a pair of denim shorts, and a pair of (gasp!) strappy sandals instead of her Converse high-tops. Her long wavy hair is pulled up and twisted about and generally looks very messy. She's not tan, or sunburned, or anything of the sort, but there's something about her that makes her look like a woman who just got home from an extended vacation.

Her brows raise when Emily knocks, but there's no real break in the conversation until they get inside. At which point Riley looks around and says, "Whoa. Nice! I wonder what this place is like when it's open."

[Nathan Spriggs] The bar is silent on the inside, lights are on but nobody home except the owner. A knocking sound cuts through the silence like a knife through hot butter however. Just as the blond Cultist is half-way to his feet, the door opens. The sight of the familiar woman, followed shortly another woman he recognized but wasn't quite familiar with, Nathan's lips curled into a smile. "Good to see you, how was your trip?" His tone was casual and friendly, none of the bitterness one might have expected from the fact she left him to get threatened by Owen over doing the right thing.

He sat at the table nearest to the door, though once they stepped inside, he got to his feet. The Cultist wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to just before his elbows, black workpants and reddish brown short boots. It was the same thing he always wore indoors, just as he always wore a trenchcoat outdoors. Utility and practicality over fashion any day of the week. "Either of you want anything to drink?"

[Chuck Carmichael] It's rare and funny when two people meet and know they're going to be friends. Except, for the geek trio [Wonder Triplet powers, activate!], it's happened twice for each of them, and in a relatively short span of time. Sure Chuck knows Ashley, likes her, knows they can work together though not necessarily Work together, but they're not going to be pals. The same applies to any number of other people he's met since moving to Chicago, but with Emily and Riley, it's different.

It's rare.
And funny.

It's without much thought, the driving around to find the girls (spidey-senses tingling [mixing comics, are we?]), or something to do. It's odd that he turns up at some random bar in Bronzeville (which is old, as has been covered numerous times, in numerous ways). Chuck doesn't particularly like old - he likes new and clean and neat, fast and overclocked to faster - but here he is, parallel parking near the car he knows is Em's and making his way to the bar not far from said car.

Look! It's a convergence. (All the geeks get the girls.)

When Chuck walks in, the girls are being offered drinks, and he grins. "Vodka and sugar free Redbull?"

[Emily Littleton] It's a hot and humid twilight, which makes the silence stick to everything, cling to it like molasses and dewdrops. It makes them move a little more carefully, clothes drape a little less loftily. It is what it is, and Emily moves through that quiet as if it didn't encumber her in the slightest. She is different, now, than when she saw Nathan last. There's a surety surrounding her, an underlying calm (grace) that marks her for her intended Tradition even now.

"Evening, Nathan," she says, and her voice is more tinged through with hints of home. It is warmer, even for him. Resonant. There's a smile, still small but warmer also. "Nathan, this is Riley; Riley, Nathan. I don't know if you two have met yet."

Emily's messenger bag is slung as always, hip to shoulder, and her hands find their way around the strap idly. It's a common post.

"Newcastle, if you have it on draught. Otherwise just water, still, is fine for me." The particulars of her request are still strange, shaded toward other places. Water without gas, beer only from tap, English at that.

And then Chuck's wandering in, which causes her turn and regard him curiously. There's a smile there, yes, different than the ones offered Nathan and Riley, and it's riddled through with a How did you...?

She's wearing a light weight sundress that comes to her knees. It's navy with lighter blue patterns, batik. It brings out the hue of her dark eyes.

[Riley Poole] "Completely fantastic," Riley says in answer to the question of her trip. If she seems surprised that he knows about it, well, she shows it. Riley Poole is not exactly what one would call a closed book, not even close. The things she feels about the things she sees or does or sees done can be easily deduced when looking at her face. "The motherland is a beautiful place, not a lot of wireless, though, that was kind of sucky."

"I'll have what she's having, and we have met, more or less, under just about the worst of circumstances. How are your arms?" she asks, eyeing his as if they might still be injured from that day in the woods so long ago now.

Chuck comes in and asks for a drink, and Riley turns. Along with Emily, he's one of the few in town that know Riley is home again already, the apprentice having CCd the both of them on her "THE EAGLE HAS LANDED WHERE'S THE WI-FI?" text. Also, surely Chuck has noticed movement in Riley's condo. Dr. O is back and looks at the world from the patio door. Sometimes when the blinds are open movement of people inside can be seen as the Pooles get used to being in America again. So she just grins at her partner when he comes in to the closed bar, then turns back to Nathan.

[Riley Poole] [oh by the way, this should be awesome: percept + aware on EMILY SMILEY FACE D'AWW]
Dice Rolled:[ 4 d10 ] 1, 2, 5, 7 (Failure at target 6)

[Nathan Spriggs] Nathan is about to say something just as Chuck wanders in, a look of confusion overtaking him momentarily before regaining his wits. He gave Chuck a calm smile and a wave, even though he'd arrived uninvited and unexpected and ordered a drink. His eyes came back to Riley for a moment, "I actually meant Emily's, but it's good to hear yours was good as well." It wasn't to correct her or make her feel embarrassed, just stating facts to avoid later confusion.

"My arms are fine, thanks for asking. I still need to apologize to you for rushing in like an idiot." At those words, he turned from the crowd and headed for the bar, taking out some glasses and searching for things in the cabinets.

It wasn't until a minute or two later that he returned to the table he'd been at before, four glasses and two bottles of Newcastle brown ale on a tray, one of the glasses was filled 3/4ths Stroh rum and 1/4th Red Bull. Meanwhile, the last glass contained a clear liquid which was simply water. "Here you go, I hope this is what you meant?"

[Chuck Carmichael] It's MAAAAAAGIC, he mouths, complete with jazz fingers, class clown dramatics and cute grin - Riley may not be able to read Emily's smiley face (d'awwww!), but she doesn't have to try particularly hard to read the arm that slings around her shoulder or the kiss that finds the top of her head. It's similar but still quite different than the similarly slung arm and kissed head that Riley gets before he steps back, eying Nathan.

"I'm not . . . this isn't a private party, is it? The door was unlocked. No closed sign."

He's blinking, innocent - of course he is. It's Chuck! He's also as amiable and affable as ever, regardless of things that happened Ago. Three strikes and all that (for most people, for most things).

[Emily Littleton] Riley steps right in to answer about her vacation, and Emily's smile cants upward on one side: amused. It was like that, though, coming back from exciting new places. You just wanted to tell everyone about the glorious things you'd seen, smelled, eaten, experienced. Emily's trip had been more sedate, so when Nathan acknowleged her again with the question she simply said:

"Productive." Smiled, then added. "It was good to be home."

Chuck slings an arm around her and Emily's smile widens, again. She leans a bit into the embrace and Riley will not have to guess at the subtext there. It seems the rather difficult blonde at Denny's had had a point, if voiced a bit too soon, on the subject.

"Chuck..." Emily says, and it's a patient, explaining sort of tone. "Nathan and I were going to catch up about that incident in the park before I left." You know the one, her eyes say as she looks up to catch his attention.

"Riley came along because we were already hanging out. So not a private party, perse, but it may look like we're ganging up on him." There's an apologetic look tossed Nathan's way, which softens to something appreciative as the tray comes back into view. She was not trying to put anything past him, or double up the guestlist (she does not want a repeat of the tensions from the Pizza Place).

[Riley Poole] Riley doesn't look embarrassed or chagrined when she's corrected. She just grins that charming smile of hers, and laughs. "Ah, that makes much more sense. And makes me a little less paranoid."

Chuck wanders over and throws an arm around Emily in a way that isn't exactly the same as the brief hug she gets. She quirks a brow, glances between the pair of them, that grin widening. She doesn't do a victory dance, no, but that smile says I so called that.

Nathan's arms are fine, fine enough to bring over a tray with their drinks. Riley's own laptop bag is removed and carefully set on the floor. She keeps everything in there, amazingly enough. Laptop of course, cell phone, cord, chargers, papers, wallet, and slipped in at an odd angle so that it fits: a strangely ornate dagger.

"Thanks," she says, taking up a seat and bringing one of the bottles over to her. She sits leaning forward, elbows on the table like an unruly teen. When her hair falls loose and tries to obscure her face, she sweeps it back. "So what's this about about an incident in the park?" she asks, looking around. She's been out of the loop since before she left on vacation, and appears for all the world ready to get into things. Trouble, maybe. Riley tends to get into trouble, despite her best efforts to the contrary.

[Marianna Engmani] Bartime was like a religious holiday. Much like the sabbat, only usually it fell on a Thirsty Thursday. But today Anna was pretty sober, there was something she was supposed to remember, but like hell if she could right about now, there was something about this bar...but she couldn't be arsed to care about that. For now, Eustace's iPhone sent them bar to bar until they found the most perfectly kitschy place to call 'home'.

"So...this place next?" She had a bored sound her voice as she cursed how straight-laced Chicago was, no smoking...what a worthless pile. Anna scowled as she poked the weird looking man-child next to her and held the door for him. "Ladies first." she gestures elegantly for him and then pushes through before he could make a move. Of course the lineup of faces as she walked in gave her more than a bit of pause, that was just...eerie. Too many of them familiar.

"NORM!" well, she'd at least embrace it.

[Kaya Talayesva] The sound of flip flops comes down the stairs from the apartment. Slowly, Kaya comes into view, white and pink flip flops, mini denim skirt and a fancy pink tank top. All of which bought by Nathan cause he liked them on her. She had her hair pulled up in a pony tail, and looked quite relaxed.

At the bottom of the stairs, she saw the bar was full.....of mages. She looked a bit surprised, but then shrugged it off and headed behind the bar, putting on an apron and getting to work.

[Eustace Hoogaboom] Sporting a deep purple scarf to match a purple-speckled hat, Eustace had paused in the doorway for a moment, taking the scene before him for a moment before he was pushed by Anna into the bar. He glanced down at his phone for a moment, before looking back around the bar again, he had a slightly befuddled expression on his face.

"I guess so... Not quite I was expecting, given the reviews people've posted on the 'net, but I guess I shouldn't have expected anything, what with no picture posted..." He shrugged at Anna, with a hopeless expression. "Guess we might as well check it out since we're here." He glanced up at her when she called out, a bemused smile and a cocked eyebrow.

"Is Crane here? Or has me moved out already?" He chuckled slightly to himself, before glancing towards the bar proper. "My round right? Picking up where we left off? What'dja want?" He started making for the 'tender, barely noting the presence of another living soul in the entire bar.

[Nathan Spriggs] As Chuck seemed to falter (?) for a moment realizing it was a private party, Nathan shook his head slightly, he'd been much less sleep deprived than the night of the pizza place. Not to mention leads had been obtained and things were going decently for once. "It sort of was originally, but if you're here, you're here. Nothing to it, just more glasses I have to take out."

He took his glass from the tray and sipped the water quietly, observing the atmosphere between Emily and Chuck and making mental notes of it. An informed decision made him take a seat on the opposite end of the two, and chose his next words very carefully. So carefully in fact that he instead opted to let Emily handle the story again. His attention on the sounds from all over as more and more people seemed to flock to the bar. People he recognized.

His expression was one of slight exasperation, followed by a look of resignation a sigh later. It was never this busy as far as Awakened went, it was a bit worrisome.

[Chuck Carmichael] Every place is this busy as far as Awakened go when they start to congregate, as Chuck's found - even his own home. Two might be able to slide under the radar even when one is Uncanny, but more than that and things happen. Lines of code fall into place, like calls to like, however you want to look at it.

He eyes the drinks and doesn't bother to ask again if it's sugar free - he'll trust (for this) Nathan to have what he needs on hand. Chuck is hardly the only one who asks for such things, after all.

"Hey! I spent some time as a barback in college. I could wash my own glass," he says before taking said glass and drinking half of it in a go. "So, whichever of you is giving the information brought a thumbdrive, right? That's the quickest, easiest way to go about it, and they're easily wiped when you're done."

[Emily Littleton] She didn't recognize the extras filing into the space, cluttering it up with their resonances and voices. Everyone Emily knew was clustered at the nexus of that space: Riley, Chuck, Nathan. She may have seen the others, once, maybe twice, peripherally, but she did not know them. That they all converged on the empty place within minutes made her stand a little taller, made her just a little bit more Aware of what filtered in on an unseen level.

She's disentangled herself from Chuck, now, but it's done in the most natural of ways as she steps away to get her Newcastle and doesn't quite come back close enough to be kept, held.

The smile fades, wanes as the room continues to fill. The new-found calm that has come in with her faulters.

"Nathan..." Seekingly, guarded and cautious. "Perhaps this isn't the best night for this conversation, after all." Private party or not, his bar was beginning to fill up for the evening. "Do you want to ring me tomorrow, and we can catch up then?"

She's not putting him off, but Emily is not comfortable discussing what had happened with such and audience. Unsurprisingly, of course, given how stilted her recounting had been at Owen's place just after the event.

[Riley Poole] The sound of flip-flops on stairs catches Riley's attention, and she notices the woman in pink as she heads for the bar, recognizes her vaguely as the woman from the forest, the one trying to follow the white rabbit. Mostly she remembers that she healed Nathan.

She smiles at the woman, brief but charming, and turns back to the table. The bar is filling up, then just as quickly empties again. It's an odd sort of push and pull, mages entering and leaving like the tide. The tall brunette drinks from her bottle, quirks a brow, and looks at the bottle itself. Then she shrugs, Alright, and drinks again.

Everyone's being mum about this park event, which makes Riley assume it must have been bad. Which of course only solidifies her belief that nature is of the devil and should be avoided at all costs. Unless it's rock climbing, that shit's awesome.

She reaches out and covers Emily's wrist, wordless, as the young woman's face straightens along with her back. She grips briefly, and releases.

[Nathan Spriggs] Nathan glanced around for a moment, a sort of tension at how full it had gotten surrounded him. Then he gave her a nod of agreement. "I think that's best."