alexis! (celebutante) wrote in valloic, @ 2020-10-15 14:19:00 |
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The cafe had been decorated in brightly-colored leaves on twisting vines and more gourds than Thurvishar had seen in his entire life. It was a little over the top, but he didn’t mind; it was a comforting sight and it gave him a little bit more privacy as he wrote in his book, cup of pumpkin spice latte steaming gently beside him. He was swiftly becoming a fixture here. Thurvishar enjoyed routines, particularly ones he’d come up with, and easing into the morning with a cup of sweetly-spiced coffee and writing in his journal made him more clear-eyed and ready to throw himself into the magical research of the day. He blew on the ink gently, mind wandering along with his eyes as he waited for the page to be dry enough to turn. He recognized the woman getting a beverage up at the register after a moment; although he had only briefly met Alexis, he had been able to clean up her boots after the Overlook had made a mess of them. After a moment’s hesitation, he gave her a wave. Thurvishar wasn’t shy, not at all, but he wasn’t quite used to this place’s extraverted welcome. Being infamous back home cut both ways, after all. “Miss Rose,” he greeted her politely. “Would you like to have a seat?” Alexis loved this cafe - it was one of her favorites, and had been since she first found herself stranded in Vallo many months ago. She tended to evaluate places based on how Instagrammable they were (since she too kept up with her own Instagram, smartly titled Alexis Rose in Vallo!) and this place fit the bill; like, sometimes you just wanted to visit a business to get ish done but also have yourself a quick midday lunch, or have your coffee order taken by a mustachioed barista. The bright tablecloths and chairs served as excellent backdrop for photos. And they really knew how to decorate for Halloween. She was surprised when Hot Magic Guy waved at her - he said he liked a good dose of pumpkin spice too, but she hadn’t expected to be here at the same time, but it was totally cool (serendipity?) because her boots were sparkling clean and she was actually wearing them again today. “Mister Thurvishar!” she grinned, all starshine smiles and coiffed beachy blonde waves, a flower headband the accent to her autumn ensemble. “I’d love to. Let me just grab my drink here - “ Pumpkin spice latte of course, and haters could get right to the left of her in the Fuck Off zone, “...and we’ll have a chat.” Beverage set down gently, she settled at the table across from him. After she’d whipped out her phone to take a picture of the hot drink, with whipped cream and a sprinkle of spice atop it, #PSL, #autumnisherebitches, she cheerily asked, “How’s it going?” “Very well,” he answered, eyeing her picture-taking with unhidden, confused amusement, but leaving Alexis to it. Thurvishar was still getting used to technology, but thankfully that meant he didn’t come with any particular biases one way or another as to how one used it. His own latte wasn’t nearly so picturesque any more now that he’d drunk half of it. Sliding his journal closed he placed his pen to the side and regarded her with his full attention, something his friend Kihrin had once complained was like being on the wrong side of a jury box. Thurvishar couldn’t help it; he was observant and attentive, and his eyes (black, through and through, no whites) didn’t make matters any better. Still, it was that attention to detail that made him remark happily: “Oh, good. Your boots seem no worse off for the wear. They were in a state, weren’t they? How did the rest of your garments fare?” “I had to burn the dress, sadly,” she confirmed, Alexis’ nose crinkling at the idea of it - she’d liked that particular frock, but the retail therapy that soon followed made up for the tragic loss. RIP you velvet beauty, you. But the good thing about the boots was that they went with anything - especially the new paisley-printed tunic dress, which she was sporting today. “And my underwear for good measure.” Not like Thurvishar cared about the state of her bra, most likely, but still. He’d inquired. Besides, there was admittedly something therapeutic about burning a bra. She sipped her drink, careful not to get any whipped cream on her upper lip because très uncouth. “I’m glad that’s all over though. I just want to focus on Into the Woods rehearsals and overused vocal cords being my only worry.” And because she was a tad nosy, she leaned over a bit to study the journal of her companion. “Are you doing research? What kind?” Magic was like, so out there for her - she recalled Twyla reading her tarot cards once or twice, but that was different and Twyla had always been a little on the weird side too. In a good way. Not a ‘Shia LeBouf’ way. Thurvishar gave a sympathetic nod at her admission regarding her outfit; some fabrics just weren’t meant to be deluged in rivers of blood, he supposed. Her experience had been so different from his own that the strange power of the Overlook was all-the-more pronounced. He still wasn’t sleeping quite as well as he had been - hence the developing coffee habit, but there was little point in dwelling in shadows. The world moved on, blood-drenched outfits were replaced, and Alexis had asked a question. He nudged the leather journal toward her, having nothing to hide. Anything private was written in code, after all - old habit, from when Gadrith had ordered servants to read his writings - but the rest of the journal held quick notes that segued rapidly into other thoughts, sometimes mid-sentence. A few sketches lined the edges of the book, including a pitch-perfect rendition of the island of Hong Kong and some scrawled references to a walled city. “Like many of the other wizards here, I’m trying to learn more about the magics that bind this place together,” he said, his voice even. “How it can exist at all, of course, but also absorb other dimensions, objects and people. I have a theory that such dimensions - like Vallo - have existed all the time, throughout all universes no matter how different they initially appear to be. I believe the Overlook was one such pocket dimension - not as large, obviously, as Vallo, but nonetheless powerful. And it, too, drew people to it, didn’t it? Albeit not for as enjoyable an experience as Vallo has turned out to be.” He smiled, briefly, a sardonic edge to the expression. Alexis hummed, gently touching the journal and opening it tentatively. She wasn’t sure what she expected to find but at the very least, you could usually tell a few things about a person by their handwriting? So she was kiiiiiind of curious. “We get like, gifts from home and stuff?” she said. “Even buildings sometimes. That’s how Rose Apothecary got here, when my brother was still around.” David hadn’t been here long, however, and maybe she was glad for it. He hadn’t exactly taken to the place the way she had, sort of viewing it as a fresh start and a chance to make her own path and walk along it - to cultivate a plant and watch it flourish, if you will. But now he was home with Patrick so that was all well and good. “I mean, the Apothecary obviously isn’t a pocket dimension but I think your theory is pretty sound. The waypoints are super strong and pull basically anything through.” She closed the journal then, fingers drumming on the leather. “Are you okay though?” It was a sincere question, since she wasn’t sure if anyone else had asked. People usually came together after bad stuff happened, flooding the network with concerned messages and offers to plow others hit with disappearances with food (food was always the answer?), but Thurvishar was still pretty new. “That hotel was mean. And it got to people’s squishy spots. It’s okay to like, hate that.” None of it was real but it still hurt. It felt real, and so did the fear she felt when she heard her family was gone, it seared like a branding iron. “Your brother?” It likely wasn’t immediately obvious, but Thurvishar’s voice had tilted from polite curiosity to something in the realm of sympathy. He was an only child, but he could imagine what it might be like to be separated from family - real family - in this place. And to have them come here and then leave once again… He was suddenly glad to be left wondering about his friends. There were worse things than wondering, after all. “Was the Apothecary his business, back home?” Her question, however, took him by surprise. Most of his friends back home had Enough of Their Own Problems to Deal with, and the ones that didn’t weren’t exactly fond of talking about it. “Oh, I definitely hated that,” he confirmed, smiling a little sardonically. “Every part of that. Bad enough it reads minds and uses the knowledge in such a manner.” (Thurvishar was still a little petty about his own mind-reading power going amiss.) “But that it traps you, tortures you, endangers you and others. And none of us did anything to irritate it! I didn’t read an ancient engraving out loud after robbing a tomb! You didn’t go hunting for cursed treasure at the bottom of a mysterious cavern! We did nothing wrong. And yet.” He took a drink of his coffee in the manner of someone wishing it were spiked. “And yet it got us. Mind control, hallucinations, tricks and worse. Bully for it.” Thurvishar sighed, looked back to her. “I’m sure it was no better for you,” he said, returning her question with his own implied one. “It totally wasn’t,” Alexis wrapped her hands around her cup, sighing. “But yeah, it got us and that’s right, we didn’t do anything wrong - sometimes life is super unfair like that. And it sucks because everyone likes to be in control of things? All the time?” However, the appearance and weird voodoo of the hotel showed that occasionally there were things that just couldn’t be changed, or moved, or knocked down - not until they were meant to be. “I think we’re all a bunch of Type A’s who like being in control. Or most of us do.” Especially in their own lives - the idea of super evil taking the wheel was disconcerting, and Alexis didn’t blame anyone if they needed some extra pampering or ‘me’ time after this debacle. Just to recharge. “But yeah, the Apothecary was my brother’s store,” she answered the question. “He owned it with his fiancé - they weren’t engaged when they went into business together, it happened over time. I guess I feel like I need to look after it for him, even if he’s not here anymore.” Given that Thurvishar had been under the literal control of an evil wizard for the first twenty-three years of his life, Alexis was unknowingly commenting on the very heart of his issue with the Overlook. Thurvishar smiled tightly, and held the too-hot mug of coffee against his palm. A private person, he only nodded in assent at her assessment of most of them being Type A, not wanting to get into his whole… thing. Her talk of her store was infinitely easier to engage in without dragging Everything Possible down, and he grasped it gratefully. “Do you enjoy it?” he asked, taking a sip of his latte. “Or is it more of a family duty? You’d indicated to me previously that you typically worked in communications.” Thurvishar had only a vague idea of what ‘communications’ entailed - did she write letters to a lot of people, perhaps? Thurvishar (she needed to think of a nickname for him, by the way, like Thurv or Vi, because that was a mouthful and sounded very royal, not that it was a bad thing) was like, from old-timey land, wasn’t he? It explained why he didn’t know who Britney Spears was - so, Alexis would take it upon herself to be educating. She liked doing that sort of thing. It was her way of giving back to the people, and also it was probably overwhelming to be poofed into a new time and place and not know what anything was. “I did work in Communications,” she grinned. “Or, well, I had my own business - it was just hard to find work back home in Schitt’s Creek because my mom was my only client but - I love anything related to that and Public Relations. It’s why I got the job at the DOA here.” Or Pubic Relations, as it said on her diploma. Biggest sigh ever. She swallowed another comforting sip of autumn-in-a-cup. “But yeah, helping with the Apothecary is fine too. I try to keep a staff on hand and just do behind-the-scenes stuff. It’s mostly family duty but I guess there’s something satisfying about helping people pick out the perfect product for their skin? You should come in sometime,” she added brightly. “Men deserve pampering too.” Admittedly, most of the men she knew understood the importance of self-care and not smelling like an actual foot - but there were still some idiots who equated hygiene with gayness or whatever, and there was no fixing that kind of stupid. Thurvishar, to his credit, let most of the surprise he felt upon someone living in ‘Shit’s Creek’ roll right off of his face, and focused on the phrase ‘public relations’. “Public relations… PR. You’d mentioned that previously,” he said, putting it together. “You’ll have to describe for me what that means, as I’ve no context for it back home. That I’m aware of, anyway.” At her invitation, he smiled, and nodded. Pampering had been one of his few escapes during the majority of his life, and he was no stranger to public baths or various beauty rituals, although he had always drawn the line at a vane glamoring his face. Not because he had a problem with glamors. Thurvishar just didn’t know how some people could wildly change their nose or hair and still see themselves as themselves in the mirror the next day - although he assumed that was the point. “Oh!” Alexis sat up even straighter, hair tossed over one shoulder. Here was her chance to put her degree to good use, to teach something new to a person who came from a world with - zero automatic flushing toilets, probably? What a delight. “So like, public relations is all about image - like how people view a company, or how people view a famous person, the image they present to the masses. A public relations person works to make sure that image is favorable. In my case, it’s making sure the image of the DOA is favorable - since Outlanders are kind of like guests here? And there’s a difference between someone who lives here and who was pulled here.” She hoped that made sense. But PR was truly where her Prada-loving heart lay, so she hoped that either David would come back and claim his child, or she could hire even more employees so she didn’t have to go back and forth as often; she wanted to leave the store in good hands. And the more preferable option was David returning, but Alexis wouldn’t hold her breath on that. Motioning to the leather journal, she asked, “Did you also research back home?” “Oh!” Thurvishar brightened up, his default smile going more genuine. “That’s not entirely different from what I do for the Empress back home - she’s not terribly popular, mostly because -- well, misogynistic idiots,” Thurvishar summarized bluntly with a wave of his hand. “She accessed power just like every man had before her, but due to the fact she’s a witch, many are resistant to respecting her claim to the title. So she hired me ages ago to deal with her correspondence, and to educate her on the history of the noble politics that she was largely unfamiliar with prior to her coronation - so yes, that does require research. Her image must be of noble intelligence, progressive beliefs, and, of course, a short temper inclined to murder when it is necessary so as not to encourage coups.” Who knew he was someone in PR? It was nice to have a title. “Of course I also act as her spymaster for when things go sideways,” he added, “I’m not sure if that’s within the PR bracket or not?” Spymaster. That made Alexis give a bit of a spun-sugar laugh, because she wasn’t much of a spy at all - but it always sounded cool, to maybe be one? Like Jamesetta Bond. 007. “It sounds super cool, so we can definitely say it’s within the PR bracket,” she decided. She had also been curious about what Thurvishar had done at home, and as luck would have it, they basically did the same thing? What a time to be alive. And to make a new PR friend, one who was hot and magic. She wished she could stay and chat forever, but unfortunately, she had to get going - fires to put out, Apothecaries to check on, autumn scents to sample, that sort of thing. All in a day’s work for one Alexis Rose. Her drink was about done anyway, and she contemplated picking up something else for the road. “Well - I’ve gotta jet but we should hang out again sometime,” she insisted. “I owe you for helping me with my boots anyway. I can make you dinner?” Or bring back some takeout and put it on plates. Whatever. “You don’t owe me at all,” Thurvishar protested, because really, fixing her suede boots was a lot better than mulling on the horrors that the Overlook had reminded him of, but he stood anyway out of politeness as she gathered her belongings. Truthfully, a dinner was quite tempting; Thurvishar missed his friends back home terribly, and as appealing as it was to lock himself within a library for a month he knew it wouldn’t make the loneliness go away. “But if you do dinner, I’ll do dessert,” he finally agreed with a nod as if it were already decided. Alexis was the extroverted opposite of himself, but her forthright nature was welcome. “Just let me know when your schedule is amenable.” He gathered her mug and his to take to the dish collector, tidy to the end. It was a nice contrast to how jumbled his thoughts usually were. He was so sweet, aw - she’d been all set to clear her own place since she wasn’t rude like that (anymore), but Thurvishar and his old-timey chivalry struck again, and you just didn’t really see that kind of thing these days. “Well, don’t literally do dessert,” Alexis quipped, slipping the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “Have you seen American Pie? Anyway - “ Maybe that was best not explained because ew. “Cool! Next Saturday? I’m free on the weekend. If you are too, it’s a go. I’m in Morningside, apartment nine-oh-two.” She’d plan what to whip up (or bring home) for dinner later - though who knew, maybe she’d actually attempt to make something without burning the building to the ground, despite the fact that no one in her family could cook. Stranger things had happened. Thurvishar briefly went through everything he knew about America - young country, excessive, colony gone rogue, diverse - but nothing really applied to pie, but before he could ask what she’d meant she’d already gone ahead to the next subject. “Saturday’s fine,” he agreed, “provided that we work around Fight Club.” He’d made some good money last month betting on it, after all. With a final nod, he gestured to the door. “After you, Miss Rose.” She did a little curtsy on her way out the door, just so charmed and awww. “We can go together?” Alexis suggested. “To Fight Club, I mean. I’ve never actually been, but it seems fun - as long as we don’t get splattered with blood. Then come back and I’ll do a dinner for us.” Or not literally do a dinner - as stated, that was definitely a bad idea (she would show him American Pie someday, really). And this would be her first time betting on the Fight Club participants too, but if she made a nice chunk of change, well - she could buy herself something fabulous as a treat. Though she was totes serious about the blood. She’d had enough of being doused in the stuff for a lifetime and then some. Thurvishar was surprised by the offer, but felt himself smiling after it registered. He was so used to doing things on his own that Vallo’s large social networks still managed to catch him off guard. “Of course. Don’t worry on the blood splatter,” he assured her, “I’ll put a shield over us. A magic one,” he added in case it wasn’t clear; he certainly had no knightly one in his apartment. “I think we’ve both had enough blood splatter to last us quite a while.” “Cool!” Magic shield, one of those bashing kinds, a polka-dotted umbrella, it didn’t matter - as long as Alexis’ outfit remained gore-free, she’d be a happy camper. “Then I guess I’ll see you then. Ciao for now,” she wiggled slender fingers in a goodbye, heading for the waypoint that would be the fastest route to the DOA, since she had some Totally a fun morning though! And now she had plans for the weekend, which was always great. Sitting alone and stewing was so not her thing, and if she could help cheer someone else up as well? Then that was even better. |