Third Wheel

[hazlogs]

Friday, Oct 30, 2015

The Hub: Main Floor

The main floor of 'the Hub' is a spacious, almost sprawling room, with a two-story high ceiling and a large loft that looks out over the room itself, accessed via a winding metal staircase set at the opposite end from the heavy security door. One side of the floor is completely open, with a bank of windows facing north and offering a brilliant view of the city, especially at night. The other side contains a series of doors and doorways that lead into other rooms, large and small. One is clearly a kitchen (a very nice large kitchen with its own island and eating area), one is a bathroom, and one a repurposed conference room with a smaller central table than likely existed before, and comfortable rolling chairs that have clearly been reclaimed from various goodwill sources. Other rooms serve as storage, with one standing out as a well maintained server room, from which the local Walker server, various databases, and hardware responsible for the block's free wifi can be accessed.

The open floor itself sports several areas clearly designated for various purposes, though none have been walled off from the rest in any real fashion. One contains a comfortable, beat-up couch and armchairs arranged in a semi-circle around a large flatscreen TV and coffee table, another is a bank of multiple computers, each with their own desk and office chair, while a third is a modest exercise area mostly consisting of an open space of floor covered in a cushioned mat and several free weights. A number of monitors have been mounted on the wall next to the security door; the largest displays the area immediately on the other side of the door, with another showing the interior of the private elevator. The third and largest is split into sections, with one section dedicated to the sub-basement, another to the roof, and the others switching routinely between various parts of the interior and exterior of Maxwell Tower.

It's the night before Halloween, but plenty of people are out partying. One person is absent from the evening's festivities, though... one who might be expected at more than one gathering of the wild, weird underside of the city.

Rina perches on the couch, one leg curled up, sketchbook propped on one arm. Her attention is thoroughly absorbed by her work, the only sound that faint scratching of the charcoal. A flat kit lies open next to her, with pencils and stumps.

Salem enters from the door leading up to the roof, bundled in hoodie and, over that, the old 'Nam-era Army jacket which is, of course, now rather too big; he's had to roll up the sleeves. Catching sight of Rina makes him pause, and rather than vanish into 'his' room, he heads down the stairs to the main floor to join her.

She only really picks up on him when he reaches the bottom and becomes movement in her periphery; only then does the Kin look up. A brief, diluted smile comes to her face--weak, but genuine. "Jack," she says quietly. Her brow furrows a moment later. "Or, what... do you want people to call you, now?"

Salem pushes back his hood and long hair out of his face. "I wasn't /planning/ on changing it," he says, looking a little pained at the question. He shrugs out of the much-too-big jacket and only slightly too-big hoodie (courtesy of Mouse, who had to guess at sizes) and drops himself into a nearby armchair. "You, ah... are you doing all right?"

Rina snorts. Actually snorts, and bends her head to her work again. "Yeah," she says dryly. "Everything's hunky-dory." She smudges something with the edge of her hand, the side of her smallest finger already dark with charcoal. "I told him about Jenny and Angela last night."

Salem's gaze shifts from her face to her hands and the sketchbook, though from where he sits he can't see what she's drawing. "How did he react?"

There are sounds of movement from the loft where the galliard had been asleep, though the door to room he uses remains closed.

She hitches a shoulder, wincing. "About how you'd expect. I mean, all of this is... so much. To take in."

Salem sighs and slouches in the armchair in absolute defiance of all the rules of good posture, arms folded across his chest. "Tell me about it." He adds, after a beat, "He's the same person in there. Just..."

It's just as Salem trails off that the door opens upstairs, and a somewhat groggy-looking Kavi appears at the top of the stairs.

Rina glances toward the stairs, hearing something--or perhaps just aware, in that way lovers can be. "Yeah," she says, pain writ clear in her expression.

Salem tilts his head to follow her glance; he gives the amnesiac Galliard a tight little smile and a wave.

Kavi hesitates for a second and then heads down toward the others. "Hello," he offers as he reaches the main floor, and he brushes fingers through the short mohawk.

Rina musters a smile, warm and only tinged with a trace of sadness. "Hey," she says softly. One hand flips the sketchbook closed, absently, and she sets it atop the open artist's kit.

Salem flicks a brief, obviously curious, look at the sketchbook, then looks back over at Kavi. "So." Awkward. "Sleep well?"

Kavi rubs at his face as he nears, but nods in answer to Salem's question. "I-- I didn't sleep much, last night. It's better, now." His first glance toward Rina is furtive, fleeting, but then he looks her way again and offers a tentative smile. "I didn't know you were here. I-- I would have come down."

Her face almost lights up, the faint smile growing visibly stronger. "I was just hanging' out," she says.

Salem looks from one to the other of them, then hops out of the armchair. "Coffee, anyone?" He limps over toward the kitchen without waiting for a reply, leaving them alone for a moment or three.

Kavi looks across to Salem as he leaves, but doesn't offer an answer. Instead, he moves to take a seat across from Rina, perching somewhat awkwardly on the edge of the chair. "I saw-- On TV? I saw that it's Halloween. Is-- Is that important?"

"T'morra," Rina agrees. "And... could be. Sometimes shit hits the fan, sometimes it doesn't."

"Should we--" Kavi looks over his shoulder after Salem and then returns his focus to Rina. "Is there something I need to do? To help?"

The Philodox can be heard moving around in the kitchen with coffee-brewing stuff, with the occasional Slavic swearword.

She gives a little shake of her head, in answer. "You play any, today?" she asks.

"Some," Kavi answers, looking down at his hands. "I-- I tried to remember a song. Something... anything... But I couldn't. But when I just... play? My fingers, my hands know what to do."

Rina's smile widens again, beatific, and she gives a swift little nod. "That's good," she says.

Salem continues to linger in the kitchen, though the sound of coffee starting to brew can be heard from that direction.

Kavi pushes up from his seat and moves around to stand behind the chair. The smile he offers Rina is uncertain, but there. "I hope so? I... I feel like-- I wish I could find the rest. Not-- Not just music, but other things that just are."

She wets her lips, leaning toward him a little. "Yeah. I don't... fighting, maybe. I don't know. I don't think anything else is quite as important as the music."

Once again, the galliard glances in the direction Salem went and then down at his hands. "Maybe--" He breaks off, rolling his shoulders, and then returns to his seat before he tries to speak again. "I think. I should wait until-- Wait for things to be easier, before I try that."

Rina nods. "Yeah. New moon, too, maybe." She watches him, longing in her eyes.

Kavi nods in agreement and runs a hand back over his scalp in a gesture of mild frustration. He pulls in a slow, deep breath, and lets it out carefully, forcing some of the tension to leave with it. "It feels like... Like all I can do is wait."

Rina leans forward, her head bowing. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry," Kavi says quickly. "It's-- I know it's not easy for you. Waiting for-- Waiting to see if..."

Salem leans out of the kitchen, hesitates, then emerges and starts heading very casually toward the stairs like he's trying very hard not to interrupt the pair.

Rina shakes her head, and for a moment an exhausted slump is visible in her shoulders. "Not waiting for anything, caro," she answers. "Just... surviving. You know? I hafta go on... doing what I need to do. Art helps me, same way music helps you. So I been painting, more. F'r a while I was caught up in... city stuff. Work stuff."

Kavi glances to Salem as the youth starts to pass, acknowledging him without addressing him. He rises again as Rina speaks, takes a step toward her, and then stops again. "Is it something I can-- The work? Is it-- Can I help, somehow?"

"Maybe when the time comes to unload," Rina says. "I always feel safer with one of you guys around."

Salem pauses at the bottom of the stairs and looks over at them. "You /could/ go on a date, once the moon's thin," he suggests dryly. "Dinner and a movie."

The galliard starts to nod at Rina's suggestion, though his expression reads of disappointment. He breaks off as Salem speaks though, and his eyes go a little wide as he looks between the two.

Rina just winces, glances over to Salem with a look of mild reproof. She closes her eyes and takes a slow, deep breath.

Salem grimaces, suddenly irritated. "It was just a suggestion," he says, sounding a mite peevish. He heads up the stairs, adding, brusquely, "Coffee's on the pot. Good night."

"Thank you," Kavi offers to the departing philodox, his own voice soft.

"Sorry, Jack," Rina says quietly, the winces deepening. "I just-- I don't wanna be-- he shouldn't hafta do anything he doesn't want. Be with--" She shakes her head quickly. "I'm not gonna force anything, 's'all."

Salem stops at the top of the stairs and looks back, exasperated. "Christ on a pole, I'm not suggesting you two immediately jump back-- pretend that nothing's /happened/. Just--" He sucks in a breath, lets it out, reaching for a patience that's a lot harder to grasp these days. "You are two very compatible people. Even if one of you doesn't remember it." A beat. "Good night." He heads for 'his' room.