Thyme Warp
Phoenix Supplies - Persephone =>Persephone<=
===================================================
The store is, essentially, a warehouse. The concrete floor is cold and the walls are gray. Huge metal shelves hold racks of everything from farming materials to replacement tires. Towards the back, lines of cargo haulers are set for display, new and used. At least two sales people patrol the floor at all times.
===================================================
Gabriella stands by the counter, resting on a pair of metallic crutches, her left foot tucked up behind her. Morgaine and Passe stand in the same general vicinity, apparently chatting. "Mmm. A day maybe, if you're taking it easy." Gabriella says with a small shrug towards Passe.
Morgaine nods, "it is a good stop for certain destinations." She decides against the board and turns to head out.
Alistare walks in and gives the room a casual once over. Nodding to Morgaine as he heads toward the counter.
Morgaine nods to Alistare and wanders toward the door out.
Leaning against the end of one of the shelves, Passe is smiling broadly, talking to the ladies next to him. He gives a non committal nod to Morgaine as she turns to head out, and glances briefly at the new arrivals into the store. He moves over towards the counter near Gabriella and asks, "Is it a sort of place that gave you these crutches?" A slight accent dots his speech, and he tucks a hand inside one of his pockets.
Gabriella can't help but snort at the man's inquiry, giving a brief flap towards Morgaine as she slips out, a half glance given to Alistaire for brief moment before turning back to Passe. "Nah... got these at a ball." She says dryly, before flagging down the storekeep. "I need a carton of blue sun regulars, and a bottle of lighter fluid." She orders.
Alistare waits his turn at the counter then asks in his heavy Irish accent, "How much fur a box'o 9mm shells?"
Passe laughs, "Ha! A ball? Now that must have been quite the night." He glance down her back, eyeing her tattoos and adds a little softer, "And must have been quite the ball."
Stepping inside the store, Wren pauses to get her bearings. Squinting, she scans the aisles, searching for something. Or someone.
Gabriella's lips turned into a half smirk, half weak smile. "I was all dolled up and everything." Gabriella says, a bit weakly, her glance turning back towards the shop keeper. "Thanks." She says as the items are slid across the counter, and she pulls off a small fold of bills and hands it over. She props the crutches carefully against the counter to tuck the items into the satchel at her side.
Alabaster Smith follows Wren into the store, apparently operating under the logical assumption that it's safer if she has a chaperone. Or a translator. Or a bodyguard. Or a priest. One never knows, some days. He eyes the listed prices, and mutters to himself, something about highway robbery.
Alistare hears the shopkeeper's reply, checks his pockets and groans, "Ugh, 9 creds-a-box? I've only got 5 on me. I'll have to come back." He turns from the counter, mumbling something about Alliance credit inflation rates.
Eyeing Gabriella's dark hair, Passe says with a grin, "Now that must have been a sight to see." With a run of his fingers through his hair, he muses, "Sounds like you know your way around this part of the 'verse. How long have you been kicking around out here?"
Eyeing Gabriella's dark hair, Passe says with a grin, "Now that must have been a sight to see." With a run of his fingers through his hair, he muses, "Sounds like you know your way around this part of the 'verse. How long have you been kicking around out here?"
"It was." Gabriella says with a sigh, and a shoulder rises and falls in a shrug, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of the satchel before it swings closed, setting about packing it. She glances up as the two walk in, watching them for a moment, before glancing back to Passe. "Three, four years out this way." She says in response to Passe's inquiry. "Take it you're new to the rough and tumble."
Voices. Wren tilts her head, listening, and then strikes out in the direction of a familiar one. Weaving between aisles, she eventually fetches up beside Gabriella.
Alabaster Smith follows Wren as well, towards the source of the voices, offering a smile as he draws closer to Gabriella and Passe.
Alistare heads out of the store, heavy bootfalls echoing off the shelves.
Passe nods to Gabriella. "Persephone, at least. I haven't been here for very long, c'est vrai." His eye wanders over to the approaching blond and lingers almost too long. He offers a nod before continuing with Gabriella, "And it's, interesting. There are time when I feel like a fish out of water."
Gabriella nods, pulling the plastic off the cigarettes and ripping off the foil, tapping out one and tucking it between her lips. "Interesting. Yeah, I could see that." She says, another half glance given to the two as they near, pulling out a zippo and flicking it open.
"Lungfish can survive for months in desiccation," Wren observes pleasantly, smiling at Gabby as she stops beside her. The man is given a curious glance, though she doesn't ask about him.
Alabaster Smith smiles amiably at Passe, and gives Gabriella a fond look. "Making another friend?" he inquires curiously. "Ah'm glad to see you've avoided trouble for a little while," he adds, teasing. Wren gets an amused nod. "Ah didn't know that."
"Aye." Gabriella sys simply to Alabaster, Wren gets the briefest of smiles. "Name's Gabby." Gabriella says, extending the pack in offering to Passe after she's lit her own. "This here's Alabaster, and Wren." She gestures respectively to each in turn.
The smile on Passe's face softens to a grin. He nods in acknowledgement to Gabriella and Alabaster, and with a slight bow and a flourish at Wren, he says, "Passe, Laurent Passe. It's a pleasure."
"Pleased to meet you," Wren raps out automatically in response to Passe's greeting. She looks from him to Gabby and then to Alabaster, eyes full of curiosity.
"Passe." Gabriella repeats, with something close to an amused smirk for a moment, but it fades as she tucks the cigarettes away. Again, ignoring the look from the shopkeeper as she ashes on his floor. Not like she'd be the first or the last judging by the number of butts tucked away in corners on the floor. "So, Passe, what brings you out to the middle of nowhere?" She asks, hopping into a more slightly open faced position.
Alabaster Smith smiles at Passe. "Alabaster Smith, at your service," he says. "First Mate of the Invictus, and a humble servant of the Lord. Gabriella and Wren here work with me, as Bosun and Hydroponics Engineer, respectively. A pleasure to meet you."
Standing near the counter is a small circle of people chatting away. Three of them appear to already know each other, and the fourth, dressed in dark attire, is being introduced. "Engineers?" he says, a wide smile plastering his face. "Magnifique. I'm here merely working for work. Plenty of people pointed me towards Persephone, said it would be easy for a pilot to join a crew."
Alistare returns to the shop, pulling the door open emphatically. He storms his way to the counter, avoiding the knot of people, and makes his purchase, "Here's your bloody credits!" Slamming them down on the counter and stuffing the box of ammo into the pocket of his duster.
Wren smiles pleasantly, letting Alabaster and Gabriella do the talking, her eyes wandering the contents of the store. Her eyes snag on an item of interest, and she begins to drift in that direction, wandering away from the main group.
Gabriella's eyes twitch towards Alistare as he comes storming back in, twitching slightly at the smack of the box against the counter, jaw clenching briefly, before she turns her attention back to the group around her. "Had any luck yet?" Gabriella asks, a sigh escaping from her, glancing back towards Passe after a moment to ensure he knew the question had been directed his way.
Passe jumps slightly at the forceful purchase. "Du calme," he mutters with a grin, but doesn't push it. Looking back at Gabriella, he replies, "Well, a few nibbles here and there, but nothing that really pulls my eye." His eye drifts towards the blond examining the shelves with his last comment.
Whatever it is that's caught Wren's attention, it must be up high, because after several moments of peering, she begins searching for footholds, scaling the shelving like a mountaineer.
Gabriella's gaze drifts along with Passe's as he watches Wren, something close to an actual smile flickering over her face for a moment, before it fades. "What class you licensed for?" She inquires, taking a long drag from her cigarette, before exhaling a long, lazy breath.
Alabaster Smith blinks at Alistare. "The prices used to be lower, until the new management took over, Ah believe," he offers in the man's direction mildly. Then he looks back to his companions, managing to miss out on Wren's antics. Gabby's questioning of Passe seems to have his attention.
Alistare pauses for a moment then notices the other people in the shop. He gives them a chagrined look, saying in his Irish accent, "Sorry. Sometimes me temper gets the best of meh" before turning and quietly making his way to the door.
"................................" Gabriella calls towards Alistare with a weary smile. "..................................." Another drag, another exhale.
The man in black's gaze lingers a moment on the mountaineer in baggy pants before Passe pulls away to look at Gabby. "Transport mainly," he explains, "Though I have some experience with capital ships. Why? Do you know anyone looking for a pilot?" Passe quickly glances at the departing Irishman, and cocks a smile at the strange sounding language.
Scrabble, scrabble, climb. Wren scales the shelf, balancing precariously off the side as she pauses to glance upwards at her goal. Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, she squints at it, and then begins her journey upward again. Good thing these are sturdy shelves!
Gabriella's gaze drifts towards Wren as she starts to scrabble upwards, one hand dropping to her waist, snapping with near silence to catch Alabaster's attention, nodding gently in the girl's direction. Just in case. "Aye. We might be." Gabriella says towards Passe, though her attention remained mostly focused on Wren. "How much experience do you have and of what variety?" She inquires, head canting to peer around Alabaster, bracing herself with a hand behind her on the counter so as not to fall completely sideways.
"A.. few.. years," Passe replies, his attention distracted by the spider on the shelf, "Almost 6 years, and I've flown many different birds. What type of ship is the... Evict-us was it?"
Alabaster Smith chuckles. "The Invictus," he provides, "is a Dragonfly. Nice little ship, primarily engaged in cargo hauling and various other activities."
"/In/victus." Gabriella stresses, nodding briefly. "Dragonfly-01." She adds, dropping the cigarette onto the ground and going to step on it... Pausing, glancing down at the dilemma that presented itself. Crush cigarette with socked foot. Hop on cigarette with booted foot and fall over. Or none of the above. Apparently, she went with choice c, because she glances up again as if nothing had happened. "Aye..." She says with a sigh as she realizes she just parroted the preacher man. "What he said." She replies, a hand digging into her bdu pocket, pulling a plastic orange bottle, dropping a couple of pills into her palm and from there into her mouth. The bottle disappears.
Alistare gives the dark-haired woman a slight grin and with a nod to the group, steps out into the busy streets.
It's on the top shelf. Isn't it always? Particularly when you're short, or vertically challenged, as some might say. Wren is up quite a ways at this point, the tall warehouse allowing for some significant height in shelving. And crammed up there, between a blackboard and a pda case is an anomaly: a caricature of a thyme plant in a pot. It's robotic, in the sense that when Wren depresses the button on the front of the pot it begins to dance. The music is very, very old, and very, very odd: someone had a bizarre sense of humor when creating this. Gyrating wildly, the plant moves to the music as "Let's do the thyme warp again!" blares from its little speakers. Wren is, needless to say, entranced.
Passe's full attention is now on the wrangling Wren. "Ah, I'm sure it is," he says absently to Alabaster. "Um, is she going to be okay? Seems like you could use a hand." He glances around to see that the patron is busy elsewhere and takes a step towards Wren's shelf of lost treasures.
Alabaster Smith blinks, looking over. "Wren," he calls, "Please be careful, and don't fall. We can't afford to pay for everything if you knock over the shelf."
Gabriella lets out a soft sigh as she sees Wren so very close to tumbling down and taking the whole store with her if she's not careful. Which, as we all know, is something Wren is all the time! ;) "So, Passe. We've had our hands full the last couple weeks, that's for sure, but we did happen to put up a notice about wanting another pilot not that long ago, if I recall correctly." She says, half talking to him while eyeing Wren. "We're parked in the docks at the moment, waiting to pick up some cargo. You want to stop by tomorrow evening and give the bird a once over?" She asks.
Wren tucks the little plantbot under one arm, and then looks down at Alabaster and Passe as they call up to her. A long way down, really, which she suddenly seems to realize. "Oh..." she comments intelligently, looking down and then back up to the shelf where she perches and then back down again. Frozen.
Passe stops in his tracks, his mind absorbing Gabby's offer. He seems to be struggling over a thought, trying to decide how and in which way he is tempted. With a glance up at Wren, Passe cocks his head at Gabriella and quickly asks, "And she's one of your engineers?"
"Hydroponics. Engineer." Gabriella says, very specifically making the words into separate sentences with a sigh as she waits to watch the two of them try and catch her at once and collide. Like... in one of those movies. "Wren, darlin'. What cha doin'?" She asks, head tilting to the side to watch the girl.
Alabaster Smith comments cheerfully, "Oh, she works with plants, mainly, keeping us supplied with fresh herbs and vegetables. Ah serve as cook, spiritual counselor, den mother, cat herder, occasional conscience, and Gabriella here, well, she's just full of surprises."
"I'll take that as a compliment, preacher man." Gabriella says dryly as an addendum.
"Stuuuuck," Wren calls down in answer to Gabby, clinging to the frame of the shelf she's scaled up. It might be easier for her to get down, if she'd let go of the blasted plant, which continues to wiggle and wriggle in time to the music, even while squished against her side. The idea doesn't seem to have occurred to her, however.
A grin reappears on Passe's face and he advances closer to the Wren shelf. "Wren, cheri, why don't you pass down the dancing diva you hold? Might be easier to scale with two hands instead of one."
"Freakin' monkey paw in the cookie jar." Gabriella mutters under her breath with a shake of the head. "He's got a good point, darlin'." She says as Passe nears the clinging Wren. "Hand it down, and preacher man'll make sure you don't fall, right?" Gabriella says pointedly towards Alabaster.
Wren blinks a little, mouthing cheri after Passe for a distracted moment. "Promise you'll catch?" she demands, looking down at him. It will have to be dropped some distance, she really did climb up quite high.
Alabaster Smith laughs at Gabby, nodding. "That was mah thought exactly," he tells her. "Monkey paw in the cookie jar exactly."
Passe nods, extending his hands, "I promise. I'm very good with my hands, (or so I have been told)."
"Go ahead, darlin'." Gabriella says with a sigh towards Wren, gathering up her crutches and tucking them back under her arms. "So, tomorrow night?" Gabriella questions towards Passe.
Biting her lip, Wren vacillates for a moment before giving in and carefully dropping the plantbot down to Passe. It lands squarely in his waiting hands and she breathes a sigh of relief. Of course, that was the easy part... Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath, and then begins to climb down. Eyes closed tight, all the better to avoid seeing the ground.
Passe moves to directly beneath Wren to catch the dancing plant, which he does with apparent ease, though he spends a fatal moment eyeing the creature. What on Earth-That-Was is this? The green sides swagger and mesmerize Passe and he shakes his head.
One foot down, two feet down, Wren makes her careful way down from the dizzying height. She's doing quite well, really, until the last 4 feet or so. And then she suddenly slips, a little screech escaping her as she begins to take the express route down the final stretch.
"Tomorrow night would be good," Passe starts to reply to Gabby, but the scream forces him to look up, just in time to see a pair of baggy pants come crashing down on him. The impact forces him to the ground with a grunt. The floor planks shake and a puff of dust explodes when they hit the ground. Passe is prone with the little lass on top of him and he moans, "Aie." Miraculously, he was able to hold onto the plant without crushing it.
Gabriella cringes at the crash of person on top of person, nose wrinkling upwards, a sigh escaping. "You two okay?" Gabriella questions, swinging a little closer towards the door. "Tomorrow night it is, you can reach us by comm or wave (gives you info)."
No one is more startled at her sudden landing then Wren herself, and she lies there for a stunned moment, arms and legs akimbo, more or less face to face with Passe. "Gravity is standard," she mutters finally, scrambling off the poor man. The plant is snatched up and tucked back under her arm again.
Passe smiles as the lady climbs off of him. Odd how fate lands him on his back more often then he can remember, but rarely with such company, and even rarer with as much clothing on. He stands and promptly dusts himself off, his cheerful smile never leaving his face. "Glad to be of service, mon cheri," he says with a mock bow to Wren.
Wren blinks a little at Passe, eyes wide. Attracted by the crashing sounds the shop employees are heading their way, and expressing general disapproval of such disruptions of their store. The would-be shelf climber gives a little squeak of distress, and then darts out of the store, dashing after Gabby without even so much as a thank you or a by-your-leave to the man who caught both her and the plant-- which Alabaster is apparently going to have to pay for, since she certainly didn't stop at the register.
Passe watches with a warm smile as the little one runs out, until that is the patrons catch up to him. He slows them down with a gesture, "Whoa, whoa, mes amis. No harm done here, merely a friend examining some goods." After a moment's explanation, and a slight discussion about missing goods, Passe's cheerful demeanor wins over the clerks, particularly when he offers to pay for the dancing delectable, at a greatly reduced price of course.
With the employees pacified, he turns to the quiet preacher and says softly, "An interesting crew you are joined with. I can't wait to see the rest tomorrow. Ciao" With a quick nod, and a tuck of black hair behind an ear, Passe heads out into the street.
Take me back to Wren's RP Logs
