Morningstar Manor

She'd read that it was Travis' birthday through an update on his facebook before she'd headed out that morning to do some shopping. On her quest, she'd stumbled across a t-shirt that she thought Travis might like or at least find funny, so she'd wrapped it in the comics from the newspaper and headed down to the Raines apartment. He'd probably have big plans with his friends and girlfriend and brother, but she could drop this off pretty quick and get out of his hair.

Knocking on the door, she waited.

The cafe next to the gallery did a very fine breakfast but Allan was going to be moving equipment today and knew that he'd need more food and at regular intervals. So he popped out of the workshop, an icy cold and echoing space tucked away alongside the loading bays for the farmers, and went into the market to see what it had to offer.

Pretty much anything one could wish for. impressive.

Kate sat in the Mocha again by herself at a corner table, people watching with a confused look on her face. People were fascinating creatures sometimes, she pondered as she watched a gentleman walk by with what looked like fist-sized holes in his ears. "Why would he do that?"  she said out loud to no one in particular, not disgusted or anything like that. Just... Confused.

Declan was definately not in the Mocha or even anywhere close to the Mocha. He could kill his sister, he decided for about the millionth time since last Saturday as he puffed on a cigarette up by the pool. He hadn't had coffee in days aside from the swill he'd tried to brew up on his own and it was just - not working.

Olivia was down in the laundry room tediously folding a stack of her intimates and singing along with a surprisingly good voice to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs song that was playing through the one iPod earbud she had in.

Smith was down in the gym currently pounding the crap out of the punching bag with a knife wound he'd stitched up himself on his right bicep. He felt restless and uneasy and was snapping quicker and easier now, which had lead to the fight that had caused the wound. He hadn't seen Laura in forever, however he was keeping tabs on her to make sure she was staying safe. Had he seen her, the stitches might have been a little prettier.

Drew was a little drunk, he decided as he made his way into the lobby. He'd had a few Ketel One martinis and while they might look  like pussy drinks - whoa, was he trashed. Smiling at Frank, he tipped an imaginary hat and ripped down a bright yellow flyer that he'd seen other places in the City. "Motherfucker," he murmured to himself.

Travis was sitting in the Mocha, laptop open and surfing through facebook pages. He wanted to do something but he didn't know just what yet. This month off of school was starting to turn into a fat lot of boring. He didn't have anything interesting to do and all the time in the world to do it in. For this month, anyway.

It wasn't until after dinner, a meal filled with laughter and teasing as well as excellent food and for them an unusual amount of alcohol - even if that was only two bottles of wine and a couple of beers - that Jane realised something. She was happy, and not just happy, but comfortable with being happy. It felt, for one moment, horribly strange, but then, as she settled back against Memphis, it snapped back into feeling just right.

Travis was setting up the games machine and they were ribbing each other about who was gonna get slaughtered and who was gonna be the champion, and it was all Jane could do to keep up with the muttered and interrupted description of how to play, but then, she wasn't planning on playing much, just relaxing and maybe having a little nap.... She was quite prepared to let the Raines Brothers massacre each other at whatever the game was, and she could laugh and relax and just enjoy the fact that it was Christmas, and it felt good. Which was how Christmas should feel.

Travis's secret Santa wasn't much of a mystery to him. It wasn't entirely obvious but he had a safe guess anyway. So he picked up a present for her then found her apartment on the directory and knocked.

Every so often it was good to carry out a tour of inspection. It kept the staff on their toes, made them feel appreciated that the boss cared enough about them to visit them in their places of work.

Plus there was the possibility of running into a few tenants.

After a fleeting visit to the 13th floor, where he accepted the fawning devotion of his minions gracefully, he stepped into the maintenance department to listen to Ruprecht's grievances, then went to the back room of the Mocha and brought a smile to Joy's sour face.

"I'll have a tall skinny latte," he told her, "at my usual table."

Which was free, as luck would have it.

He sat and sipped and looked around with great interest and satisfaction.

He was supposed to be taking time out of this holiday for his self, so Travis abandoned the paper he was writing to go get he mail. Stupid idea to take time for himself, he thought, wondering just what his teacher thought was going to get accomplished by that. Muttering to himself he looked through the magazines that had shown up in the mailbox.

Travis was in the lobby, notebook open and scribbling notes as he sipped on his tea. This was the last bit of major homework before the Thanksgiving break and he had to get a good grade on it. Writing papers on cultural observation hadn't seemed this difficult last week...

Erin had gone down to check her mail. With the exception of a couple cuts and a slower paced stride, she didn't look much different than she had before her attack. She still had he ribs taped up though her limitations were starting to fade out into dull ache and not sharp pains.

Memphis and Demon were outside in the gardens. It was chilly enough to make Memphis want to be back home again. Pretty soon the snow was going to start swirling around and then he'd be outside even less. Demon brought him back the tennis ball and Memphis squatted down to retrieve it.

Chad was sitting downstairs, in the laundry room, his notebook of cases in his lap. Icene had forwarded evidence results to him and he was trying to figure out where these two serial muggers were staying. If he could catch them in another act then he'd have a solid case. Right now the case was only pieced together. It would be hit or miss to present it to a judge right now.

Roxy had her laptop open at a corner table in the Mocha. She knew that it wasn't Thanksgiving yet ad she shouldn't be looking at Christmas decorations yet, but she had offered to help Spencer out with the Michaels' Bro's Christmas party. She was looking forward to helping out with fun because he worked too hard and a helping hand could be a good relief.

Logan was avoiding the laundry by playing arcade games in the games room. He had to go back in an hour or so to help out with folding, but in the meantime he'd let his Dad grumble at a notebook and put in some pinball time in the process.

Eli was wandering around, dressed in jeans, a button down shirt and a sweater over top of that. For once he felt comfortable not in his uniform and he contemplated how things could go with taking Bea home. Nearly to the elevator in the lobby, he saw a door that wasn't marked. He didn't remember seeing it there before. Should he poke his head through to see what was on the other side?

Travis was on his laptop, banging away at the keys intermittently as he sipped at his tea. This Karma Chai stuff wasn't bad, not what he was used to but it kept him awake so that was good. He needed the boost to stay on task and get this paper finished...

Travis needed help. He didn't know anybody better suited than Jane to help him either, he just hoped that he wasn't disrupting her by calling her. He didn't know her work schedule which was not very helpful. When he got her machine, he left a somewhat odd message.

"Jane, it's Travis. I was wondering if you maybe had a recipe for worms in dirt so I could make it for Memphis's birthday... I'll be home for the rest of tonight if you wanna call or stop by. Either way is okay with me. Thanks." After he hung up, he wondered if she knew Memphis's birthday was on Saturday...

Erin was bored and procrastinating. It didn't go well together, but she wanted to do something fun, not something she should be doing. Like laundry or tidying up around her apartment. She was wandering around instead.

~*~
Logan was out in the garden, pulling up all the plants that had died off because of the cold.

Chad sat on a bench in the sunlight, glasses over his eyes as he watched people pass by.

*~*
Travis was in the library, hunched over a table and doing some online shopping. Memphis's birthday was coming up and he needed to find something good after what he'd done.

~*~
In the garage, Memphis was cleaning out Lucy's interior. He hadn't noticed the scratch across the back bumper, but since it was getting cooler out he wasn't washing her as much.

*~*
Tristan was, as per usual on Thursday, dressed in his suit and winding his way through the lobby to head out to work. He hadn't buttoned his shirt fully, nor had he shaven since last Friday. It felt good to look a little less kept. Smiling to himself he decided a treat wouldn't be a bad idea and detoured into the Mocha.

*~*
Roxy had turned the treadmill on and set a distance for ten miles. Maybe by the time she was done with that some of her thoughts would be clearer.

~*~
Eli was sitting in the Mocha, pile of mail on the table in front of him. He sipped at his coffee as he read a rather long letter that contained a couple different style of handwriting on it. Family letters were always unpredictable and his brother had atrocious hand writing. He smiled still at the news of hometown football games and the fights that broke out as a result, then flipped the page over.

Travis was restless and that meant late night wandering. He settled in on the couch in the lobby, stretched his legs out and laid back taking up the whole thing. His shoes, however, remained on the floor. It might not be proper for him to lay stretched out on the couch here, but he had manners enough to kick off his shoes. Just in case somebody came by to glare at him for being improper.

Roxy was sitting in the Mocha, playing with her new phone and loving the fact that it was a worldwide capable phone. That meant that the next time she and Spencer went on an extended trip... Well she wouldn't really be wanting to take her phone then either.

~_~
Travis was sporting a Save second base tee shirt he'd picked up from the mail room, and had another with him as he walked down the hall to apartment L-E. He hadn't seen Amarie in a few days, so he was taking a guess that she'd be home.

_~_
Eli was downstairs, in the gym. He had on a pair of Army sweat pants and a black tank top. Lifting weights helped him think about things that were going on and he was thinking about Bea a lot.

~*~
Memphis was in the lobby, juggling around the couple bags of groceries with Demon's leash. "Hold on dog, we'll get there and then I'll feed you." He grumbled lightly.

*~*
Chad was trying to take his Sunday easily, having been swamped at work with the recent activities at Rutherford. His phone buzzed and he opened it up, opening up the video message that'd been sent. Listening to it he wondered just what was going on with cops now.

^-^
Logan was outside in the garden, tossing a ball around with Lily and waiting for her to bring it back.

-^-
Erin was in the laundry room with a load of coloreds in one machine and a load of whites in another. Now the only thing to do was find something to occupy her time until they needed to be swapped to the dryer.

--
Tristan had moseyed his way upstairs, to the pool, and currently sat in the hot tub. It was a nice warm welcome to the contrasting temperatures soon to come, and he didn't really want to get out any time soon.

Erin was curled up on a couch in the Mocha, sipping on hot chocolate and contemplating the past couple days with Niles. She hadn't seen ghosts around here at all, even when others next to her swore there as one standing in front of her. Maybe she was the crazy one but then again she wondered if they existed to only those people believing in their existence.

*~*
Logan was siting in the Mocha as well, looking out into the garden. He didn't have anything productive to do today and that just made it seem longer of a day overall. He needed to find something to do before boredom took away his brain.

~*~
Chad was downstairs, working in the gym. He had the treadmill set at steady six miles per hour and was jogging along steadily.

*~*
Memphis was in the library, checking on some books about cooking. He wanted to find a recipe that was new and not one Jane had given him to try out next weekend.

~*~
Roxy was downstairs in the laundry room, tossing clothes into two of the machines. There had been a laundry facility at one of the hotels on their adventure, but it had been the one in the middle. Just meant they'd brought home a large amount of laundry, which she was doing now.

*~*
Travis was sitting in the lobby, notebook in hand jotting down random fact about the people who walked by. He was grinning, because this was actually homework he didn't mind doing.

~*~
Tristan had gone down to the Gallery 290, where Emma worked, to see if he could find something new he liked. Having gone with Anastasia last night, he picked up a piece but it was staying in his office. It didn't fit with the black and white prints already on his walls that seemed to be missing something. Maybe he could find it here.

*~*
Eli was up at the pool. His jello stain marks had come off now so he was willing to be out where people could see him. Wandering over to the edge he looked out on the City. This place sure had a good view, that was certain.

It was almost Friday and Logan couldn't be happier. He was tucked into a back corner of the Mocha, chemistry book propped up on the table and scribbling in a notebook as his cup of cocoa got cold.

~~~
Chad was walking through the lobby in his uniform, trying to figure out why Logan hadn't answered his phone call.

***
Memphis was outside playing fetch with Demon, since Travis had holed himself up in his room claiming he had "homework" to do. The boy, however, was in the garage trying to find Lucy's hidden spare key.

~~~
Tristan was climbing out of the pool, not looking forward to tonight at work and wondering if there would be any more fist fights like the one last night.

***
Eli was collecting yet more forwarded mail. Where it all came from he had not a single clue, but somehow every advertisement distributor knew his mail had been piling up and sent everything under the sun to clog the mail box.

~~~
Erin was down in the laundry room, sorting dark from lights and leaving her "delicates" in the basket at her feet.

Robert hurried to the Slaughtered Lamb from the sudden rain shower outside. He was a regular in the pub already and had gotten to like the place, so once again he appeared for his usual pint of Guinness in the evening. He brushed his black now damp hair back as he came in and shrugged off his leather jacket holding it so that it wouldn't sprinkle water on anyone else. Robert made his way through to the counter and sat down on a vacant stool to wait for the bartender.

*

"I see Charlie didn't manage to break your nose," Joy said looking up at Thomas who gave a frustrated sigh - his face looked normal again without a trace of last Saturday's events. "Maybe you need another one right on it, would serve you right."

"You know what?" Thomas snarled back. "Forget about the bloody espresso and go shove your head to the bin instead. I bet that's where you sleep at nights anyway."

He turned away from the Mocha counter before Joy could say anything back. He walked to the door leading to the Gardens and took a few steps out. He remained under the canopy watching the rain fall into the gardens, and searched his pockets for the cigarettes and the lighter.

*

Lucas was in the games room playing a lonely game of pool against himself while he waited for his laundry washing next door. He was on a good mood - his new job at the Flamingo felt great even though he had to wear a suit, and he had gotten Emma's phone number last weekend and even made her agree to go out with him. As a big plus his uncle had been quieter than usual since the wedding which made his life a lot easier. So the happy punk was whistling and humming to himself feeling very pleased with how things were at the moment.

Savannah needed coffee. She had been up most of the night, finally inspired to work on her pet project documentary. She had shot for a year in France on how modern day bohemians fared in contrast to the past. It was a lot of editing, putting both her shots in and older shots from the 60s she had gotten from an old French filmmaker who never made it.

After her editing spree she spent most of the morning unpacking, which was still moving slow as molasses. now she was wiped and needed a caffeine fix to keep going for the rest of the day. She got the largest coffee they offered, taken black, then went and sat, opening her laptop. She had to order her textbooks and have the overnighted so she received them in time for classes on Monday. She was going to have even less time to work on her art since she had to get herself a business degree as per the conditions of her father's will. Bastard couldn't get her to go to school while he was living, but managed it in death. Such was her damn luck.

Bea sat in the gardens with Pippa, wearing a black Transformers tank top and a pair of dark skinny jeans. A pair of red leopard print heels were kicked off of her feet and laying beside her, and a sketch book was open in front of her. She was studiously working away on a sketch of a new character to be incorporated into her comic books that bore a striking resemblance to another Manor tenant. 

Travis was lounging around poolside. The last time he'd been here, it had turned into something eventful. Good scenery and a good website that he'd poked about a couple times over the week. Maybe he'd see her again, maybe not.

~*~
Memphis was downstairs in the Mocha, flipping through an auto tuner magazine. Keeping up on the latest trends going was something of the mind boggling type. He just didn't understand why some kid would pay for an import car, then sink the money in to the performance aspect just to wind up with a car keeping up with the domestics. He chuckled reasoning that the kid could've saved money by buying a Mustang instead.

*~*
Chad was out in the gardens, tending to Logan's patch of peppers and tomatoes.

~*~
Logan wasn't far away though, having decided that he'd play with Lily today.

*~*
Also in the garden, Erin had taken up her sunbathing spot from last summer. With her blanket spread out on the grass and earbuds tucked into her ears, she laid on her back to even out the tan over her boobs with the lack of tan on her stomach.

~*~
In the mail room, Tristan was retrieving his mail out of his mailbox. He'd already set the magazines on he table, then stacked envelopes on top, putting the light purple one on the bottom. He already knew what that meant. His mother was requesting a visit or at the least, information.

*~*
Somewhere between the Spa in the basement and the eighth floor, Roxy and Lexi were going over the brochure and discussing the different options offered.

[[OOC: Probably slow-timed due to unexpected injury, Mum's recovery, and complaints of nothing accomplished due to online time... If only housework did itself!]]