solstice rpg

For Sofia and Thomas...

Who: Shoel and Sofia
Where: The college nearest Darkwater
When: Mid-afternoon

Shoel was excited. Finally, they were getting out of Darkwater and Eldritch, and getting to the college to find someone to look at her map and the letter that went with it. They were even ditching work and her volunteering position at the hospital, to do it, for the second half of the day. After all, trying to snare a professor in his or her office-- his and her offices, in this case; Shoel had looked up the language professors and the anthropology professors, too, and decided which ones would be the best to talk to if they could-- at night would probably be a pain. They'd have class. Or would be at home.

They were almost there, now. Shoel had a map of the campus on her lap, that she'd printed out at home, and now peered ahead for a familiar cross-street they could turn on. "Thank you again for driving me out," she told her aunt who was, of course, being her chauffeur for the day. She really needed to get her own car, sometime. And license, for that matter.

( In the name of science! )

Who: Sofia and Corwin
When: mid-morning
Where: the computer shop

Sofia had not forgotten the tall and awkward sweet man who was burning Star Trek to DVD for her. With the Solstice and everything that had been going on, it was mid-week before she'd made it to Darkwater proper to pick them up, but she'd wanted to make time for it. The spa was running fine with the girls behind the counter, and she'd told them she would be in sometime in the afternoon if she came in at all. There had just been so much going on, she needed a bit of a break. A break that wasn't her thinking very inappropriate thoughts about her new client.

So, she'd taken the ferry over to Darkwater, and strolled into Corwin's computer repair shop, a smile already on her face. Something fluffy and maybe a nice chat would be just the ticket.

( Next time there would have to be cookies. )

Who: Sofia and Shoel
When: early evening
Where: their house

Sofia felt as though she were walking on clouds. Or sunshine. Hadn't that been a song at some point? She was sure it had. No matter. The point was, she was in a fantastic mood, and it was almost solely attributable to her session with Mr. Shore earlier in the day. A fine specimen of a man with a delicious accent and a broad back, who wanted to take her out. For dinner and who knew what else. It had been ages since Sofia'd had a real date, and just the prospect was delightful. Even if he turned out to be insufferable -- which, given their long conversation the first time they'd met, she doubted -- it would be very nice to get dressed up and go somewhere.

She'd hummed all through cooking dinner and setting the table. It was a lasagna and salad, something easy but delicious, perfect for a work night. And garlic bread, of course. She stuck her curly head out of the kitchen entryway. "Shoel!" she called in a sing-song sort of way. "Dinner!"

( And different views of the world. )

Who: Sofia Palatnik & Thomas Shore.
Where: The Teahouse Spa.
When: Monday Afternoon, 2:00 pm.

It was Monday afternoon and Thomas Shore had taken the ferry to Eldritch Island for a very special appointment. He was to be reunited with the lovely Sofia, whom he'd met on the dock not long after he'd arrived in back in America. He hadn't been here since the 1950s and really, that had been the East Coast, with Manhattan and Miami figuring prominently in his life. He was on the West Coast now and rumor had it that the West was more relaxed than the East on this continent.

He certainly hoped he'd be relaxed after his massage.

( Under talented hands. )

Who: Jesse and Sofia
When: evening
Where: near the water, then the lighthouse

Her skin looked like water, shimmering in the half-light from the decorative lamp post not far away. That was all Jesse could seem to think about as he watched tears slide down her face. He had never known that ghosts could cry before. He'd never talked to a ghost before, but he'd discovered that he could now, and that they could talk to him. She had been beautiful in life, if the faded negative he was seeing now was any indication, and that shone through even her pain.

"It isn't that they don't miss you," he told her, standing still and allowing her to continue to clutch his arm-- a touch he could not feel. "It's that they don't understand what death really is. I didn't, either." Of course, he had the distinct feeling that his death was something quite different from that of any of the ghosts who were currently roaming Eldritch Island, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that he felt the undeniable urge to try to comfort her, because she'd stopped him, spoken to him, told him how sad and how miserable she felt.

( I know where I was... and I know where I am now. )

Who: Lola and Sofia
Where: The Teahouse Spa
When: After the rain dries up.

Lola had been perfectly respectable and refrained from calling Sofia in the middle of the night. It hadn't been very easy, but she'd managed to wait out the end of the storm before she'd called. Still, she'd felt intensely relieved to hear that Sofia had just been getting ready to go and inspect the spa and the grounds. Lola had rarely heard such fierce storms on the island but there was usually one or two a year.

Two years prior, the spa had suffered a severe flooding because someone had left a window cracked open upstairs. So much water had gotten in that it had trickled down into the basement. It was memories like those that forced Lola to pull on some comfortable, loose fitting clothes, and head out along the bike path toward the spa.

She took it slow, careful of storm debris on the path. It was nice to get out of the cottage, even if the world looked a bit of a mess. Even in a loose fitting crew necked maxi dress and a cardigan, buttoned all the way up, Lola still looked put together. Her dark hair was shiney and pulled back from her face. She even wore a touch of make up, to hide any hint of the strain her healing process had put on her. As she came through the trees and through the gate at the far end of the spa's property, she felt happy just to see the building again.

( Someone Shouldn't Be Out Of Bed )

Who: Shoel and Sofia
When: morning
Where: their house

Sofia had slept fitfully through the storm, and only for a couple of hours. She'd left her door wide open, and continually woke up to listen as best she could, trying to detect any sneaking around her niece might be doing. She didn't think Shoel actually would leave the house again, but she worried. It was her job to worry. She'd 'gotten up' early, and cooked some breakfast, looking out the kitchen window often. It was the Solstice, and she had a bad feeling. But there was something to hopefully patch up first. Bearing a plate with eggs and some toast and fruit on it, she walked upstairs to Shoel's closed door and lightly tapped on it with her knuckles. Nothing like a good dose of teenage hatred in the morning. She was glad she'd had some coffee.

( Just a talk. )

Who: Shoel and Solana, later Sofia
Where: The streets, then Shoel's house
When: Night, after the power goes out

The storm had started pretty much right as Shoel got to the graveyard, but she hadn't left immediately. There were trees all around, and the weathervane and steeple on the church, to catch lightning should it come to earth anywhere nearby, and it wasn't really pouring or anything, so she just settled herself down under some tombstones to watch the lightning.

She still had a curfew, however, so she couldn't stay there long. After about an hour of laying in the grass, listening to rolling thunder and shrieking wind, seeing streetlights wink out all over the neighborhood, she finally picked herself up, grabbed her little party-purse that she'd brought along, and started back towards her house. With everything else that'd happened that evening, the last thing she wanted was Sofia being mad at her.

( With a disappointing end. )

Who: Corwin and Sofia
When: Mid-morning
Where: Darkwater streets

Sen would probably be furious with him for being out and about when there were supposedly dangerous, insane criminals about... but it was a nice day, at least right now, and Corwin wanted to enjoy it before the weather got crazy. Not to mention Geordi needed a walk, and he was tired of being cooped up inside.

So out he was, with his big dog on a leash and wandering through the main drag of town. Geordi was content to wander along, himself, not pulling or rushing him, just happily walking and pausing to sniff things-- and people who happened to come too close-- while Corwin basked in the sunshine.

It was beautiful for the moment, but Sofia was continually getting murmurs from the spirits that the weather was going to change, and change drastically. She'd done a reading earlier in the day that had turned up rather dark. Though that wasn't terribly surprising, considering that the next day was the Solstice. Which meant that she had errands to run. Sofia had taken the ferry over to the mainland, a couple of large hemp bags tucked into her roomy purse. There was shopping to be done, both of the mundane and the more ... eclectic variety.

( I could've geeked at you way before now. )

Who: Thomas and Sofia
When: evening
Where: near the shore

It was a beautiful day, and after a long stint running the spa, Sofia needed to be out in it for a little while. She'd called Shoel to make sure the girl had a ride home, and then she'd set off to walk down toward the water. She always carried a pair of sneakers in her bag just for these types of occasions. Closing her eyes and sighing into the wind, she began to feel more unwound within minutes of walking away from the spa. It was nice, just to have some quiet alone time. Sofia wandered to the docks where the ferry was, and found a nice deserted spot at the railing. Instead of taking a bench like some folks had, she sat on the edge of the dock and let her legs dangle down, tugging her skirt up a bit to feel the breeze on her legs. Ah, that was so much better.

The morning had included an unexpected encounter with a pretty Metal elemental and it had set a positive mood for his day. So had their conversation a few hours before, with promises for Sunday, and he'd felt inspired to create.

He took the ferry - which was novel and amusing for the Son of Water - to the island, where he had yet to set foot. He looked forward to exploring it and could, of course, check and see if there were any potential properties for sale there, too. He wasn't sure about being on an island this small, as he wouldn't necessarily be able to hide as well as he could on the mainland and there could be issues in the future regarding supplies and so on.

Still, it was worth a look.

( A lady never gives too much away in the first hour. )

Who: Shoel and Sofia
When: dinnertime!
Where: the car, a restaurant

Running the spa was work, but Sofia had expected that. It was good to be busy all day, it made time go quickly, but she definitely appreciated how hard Lola worked. Catering to the rich was sometimes taxing. Especially with how the week had been so far. But Sofia did her best and kept everyone calm and orderly, and that was the most important thing, wasn't it? After she had closed the register, she'd put in a call to her niece, who was working at the hospital that night. She wanted to take the girl out to dinner, to treat them both after their ordeal with the corpse. Sofia had locked up the shop and rode the ferry over to Darkwater, then drove to pick Shoel up with the windows down. It was rather foggy out, but still a nice temperature. She parked in the usual area she waited for the girl and sat back with a weary sigh. A good hot meal with her niece sounded like just what she needed.

Somehow, Shoel didn't know how, their disaster with the corpse had been overlooked or not noticed or forgiven. She hadn't even gotten a funny look from anyone. She was, safe to say, extremely relieved. And after a long day of pushing patients' wheelchairs, watering flowers, organizing linens, and cleaning a couple bedpans, she was also extremely tired and hungry. The ordeal with the corpse had left her rather easier to tire out than normal, it felt like.

So when her aunt called and said she was coming to pick her up, and they'd go out to eat, she was ecstatic. She didn't have to walk home! She could drive home! Or, well, be driven home. So when five came around and she could sign out of the volunteer roster, she went outside gratefully and waved vigorously at the car on her way over. When she climbed in, she all but fell into her seat with a tired sigh. "Thaaaaank you for coming to pick me up... the idea of walking makes me tired." She was, today, dressed in Felix the Cat scrubs, which were pink with the black cat heads on them. She thought they were cute.

( Long day? )

Who: Gwen and Sofia
When: late afternoon
Where: a cafe on Eldritch

Sofia had woken up in blessed, blissful silence. Whatever had gone haywire the day before was apparently over. She'd gone to sleep eventually, near midnight, with earplugs in and a blanket over her head. Besides the disturbing idea of a living corpse in the house, the chattering of the spirits that she simply could not hear over, much less banish, had been keeping her awake. But they were gone in the morning. Sofia had checked in on Shoel, made sure she was sleeping peacefully, and gone by the spa to put in a few hours of work. It had been very bad timing, with Lola leaving them for a while, and she wanted to keep the girls unfrazzled as much as she could.

After their last client had departed and they'd shut down, she'd locked up and left. A phone call to Shoel later, and Sofia gone wearily to her favorite cafe and settled down with a flavored coffee. And her tarot cards. They were spread out in a compact pattern on the small round table in front of her. She worried her bottom lip and took a sip from her large mug as she consulted them. The weather outside seemed ominous, and the cards were not much better.

( Seems it's going to storm later. )

Who: Sam and Shoel and later, Sofia
Where: Hospital
When: Noon'ish

Sam almost always took a nap after his paper route since he generally liked being awake late at night rather than early morning. Early morning was just boring as hell since anyone who was actually awake was working. Sometimes he stayed up all night and only went to bed after delivering the papers but this was not one of those mornings. He woke up all refreshed and cheerful before noon and after whining and pleading with his mom, got to borrow the family car.

He headed for the hospital, texting (while driving, yes, it was a bad habit). After typing up a somewhat legible text he sent it to Shoel.

bord. u workn. It was at least as legible as drive-texting could get and he couldn't be bothered looking up the question mark on the damn thing.

( Creepy slimy things and the women who treated them like puppies. )

Who: Lola and Sofie
Where: Staff room at the Teahouse Spa
When: Monday morning

Lola felt slow that morning, even more slow than she had felt for the past week. She'd taken Corwin's advice and tried to remain as still as possible. She had traded off all of her appointments and was getting everything in order for her extended leave from the spa. Even so, she knew now more than ever that she wasn't well. She'd nearly shuffled into work that morning, the beautiful weather barely seeming to buoy her spirits as she unlocked the staff entrance. She was, as usual, the first to arrive. As she moved through the still rooms, turning on lights and opening curtains, she felt a pang. She didn't want to have to leave the place she had built for herself. Pride was a new feeling for the old golem, having learned it in her latter years. When it came to her business, she had it in spades.

Lola knew she had some very capable women on staff and quietly told herself not to worry about the place. Everyone would uphold her good name like it was their own. There was only one more stop to make on that list of to-do's before she could take herself off the island to meet up with Corwin.

The kettle popped and Lola poured hot water into one of the bone coloured china tea pots they served their delicious imported teas in, from the tea bar in the front room. She didn't carry it out, however, choosing instead to set up a private meeting here in the staff room. She was waiting for Sofie to arrive for the morning, and then they would have a little talk. Neatly, she set out two teacups in saucers and took her seat, facing the door.

( I think I can handle it. )

Who: Art and Sofia
When: late afternoon
Where: the shore at Darkwater

It was a beautiful day, and Sofia had spent most of it outside. She liked to take long walks, strolling along in her flowing skirts and her sneakers -- comfort over fashion -- and watch people. She'd taken the ferry off of the island earlier in the day, and had since been wandering the boardwalk in Darkwater, stopping only to eat and take a couple of breaks on the benches. Granted, she'd seen it all before, many times, but Sofia wasn't ever one to get bored with a place. The more time she spent in places, the more she felt from them, after all.

It was a warm day, but not unpleasantly so. She thought they were in for some bad weather soon. The cloud patterns and the way the birds were flying seemed to indicate as much to her. She'd taken up brief residence on a bench, legs crossed indian-style, with her head tilted back to the sky. It also seemed that someone she knew was going to take ill. Or so said the seagulls. Hrm.

Art made sure everything was shut down and properly secured int he shop then set the alarm and locked the door. It hadn't been a busy day, but it had certainly been interesting. He'd met a nice young woman named Mac. She'd taught him some sign language and they'd played a game of chess.

It had been relaxing.

( Do you remember your mother? Her mother? )

Who: Shoel and Sofia
Where: The Palatnik-Reyes residence
When: Late morning

Okay, so Shoel had been a little late home from Vapor the night before. She'd been a little later because she and Dax hung around outside on the porch giggling about the people who'd been there and playing with her cat. But she had been home, even if she hadn't been inside, so she didn't think that counted.

Of course, that also meant that by the time she got up, checked her email and websites, fed her cat, and took a shower, it was much later than it usually was. She came downstairs hoping maybe her aunt had gone out for the day, and she could sneak into the kitchen without getting any pointed questions or anything.

Dracula followed obediently after her, meowing for his morning milk. "Traitor," she muttered at him.

( So did you have fun last night? )