Cast: Will, John, Dia
Location: Salon, Expo Park, South Central
Time: Early evening on April 28, 2016
Synopsis: Dia runs into an old acquaintance (Will) and a visiting ghoul (John).
Salon - Expo Park
This high-ceilinged room is a broad ellipse, about thirty by thirty five feet. There are two large white single doors on the south side of the room. Between the the doors is an information area featuring a pair of bookshelves, a map and a bulletin board. Near the door on the right is a guestbook on a wooden stand.
The curved wall of the room is dominated by a great mural. Its most striking feature is above the information area between the doors; there you see a depiction of a planet, pockmarked with glowing craters and shrouded by dust. Above the mural is gilded scrollwork, and above that, the high ecru ceiling of the room is gently arched. The ceiling seems to glow softly; it is subtly lit by lights hidden in recessed niches; the scattered light is entirely adequate for reading but gentle on even the most sensitive eyes.
The floor is done in green and black marble that counterpoints the dominant colors in the great mural, and the furniture in the room varies according to the occasion, but there are benches built into the walls as a permanent feature, and there is generally a black wooden desk directly opposite the bulletin board.
This room has +views and places.
Obvious exits:
Keeper's Chambers (E) Staff Only Areas (N)
Will arrives from the white double-doors.
Will quietly pushes open the double doors and steps into the elliptical room, a curious look evident on his features as he peers about.
At the bulletin board towards the back of the room stands a rather petite woman, her back towards the doors and her attention seemingly elsewhere. Her left foot taps softly against the marble floor, making a soft, repeating "THWAP… THWAP… THWAP…" noise that seems to be in rhythm with an inaudible beat. In her left hand, she pinches between her thumb and pointer finger a piece of paper as her right hand searches the board for an appropriate, open place to post the note.
Will's walking stick thunks against the floor between alternating footfalls a couple times as he approaches the board. At a respectable distance he greets, "Good evening." Pleasant enough.
John arrives from the white double-doors.
Will has just approached the bulletin board and greeted Dia.
John arrives not long after Will, face gnarled and wrinkles, posture rigid, eyes casting a cool expression on the Salon. He follows Will over to the bulletin board and says to Will. "Evening sir."
Must hear somethign behind her, but can't be sure what is said. Whipping her body around as soon as she hears the noise, her hair swinging over her left shoulder as she does so, Dia lets her eyes fall upon Will and John. Reaching up to the right side of her face, she tugs on a somewhat-hidden white cord. As she does so, two things happen: (1) an earbud pops out of her ear and (2) the pin she was holding her right hand scratches the side of her face. "OW! God damn it…" she says in a hushed shout, the girl realizing her clumsiness. She throws the pin down to the ground in frustration and places her fingers over the scratch, trying to nurse the minor wound. She looks between Will and John and asks, "Sorry… Did one of you say something?"
Will smiles faintly. "Oh, er, was just saying hello." He notices the next entrant behind him, and turns to look at him for a long moment. "And uh.. hello, John." A little bit a frown.
John nods his head to Will as he stares at a notice on the bulletin board. "Master will be pleased when he hears of this." The man mutters in a dull monotine as gnarled fingers tug on a recent notice saying something about Hendrik. He glances at Dia and replies. "No."
Dia gives Will a painful smile, the expression a little forced considering her recent pain, but it appears more genuine than anything else. Dia rubs her cheek for a few seconds before bringing her hand back down to her waist and holds the piece of paper with both hands in front of her, it's contents hidden from view. Looking between the two men near her as she hears John's comment, Dia quirks her right eyebrow and seems a little puzzled. She asks softly, "Pleased about what?"
Will muses, "'Master'? Sounds serious."
John replies to Dia first and replies in that same dead monotone. "Mr. O'Neil's termination." He nods once then looks to Will lips pursed. "Yes, I suppose my relationship with Mr. Northrup is a serious one." He cracks a slightly crooked grin.
The mention of "Mr. O'Neil" causes Dia's eyes to open a little wider and draw her head back slightly before giving a single, purposeful nod. Rolling her lower lip up under her upper teeth, the woman shifts her eyes between the two men for a second or two before averting her eyes to the ground in search of the pin she threw down a bit ago. As she searches the cracks and crevices of the marble for the pin, she murmurs aloud - evidently to John - "Serious? That's good to hear in today's world… So how long have you two been an item?"
Will raises both eyebrows at John. "You're on your own on this one."
John nods to Will. "Of course sir." He glances at the woman again. "A few months I suppose." A pause. "Its been an honor to work for him." he glances at his watch for a moment looking down
Dia looks up from the floor as she hears John's answer, the words not what she was expecting. She doesn't look at either man, instead she just shifts her eyes from side to side as some invisible point off in the distance as her brain processes the words. The idea finally dawns on her that she misheard the man and the girl says simply, "Oh… Not that 'serious'…." Smirking, she goes back to looking for the pin and finally finds it about three feet away from her. She proceeds to the spot on the marble floor, squats down and picks up the pin.
Will watches John a moment, then looks at Dia again. "Any news from this side of town, Miss..?"
John steps back and stands a little to the right and behind Will folding his arms for a moment.
Standing back up, Dia walks to the board with the pin and paper in hand. She carefully pokes the point of the pin through the paper in preparation of posting it on the bulleting board, but before doing so, turns to Will and responds to his inquiry. "Not really… But then again, I don't get told much… Heard the Sheriff got in a heap of shit with Big C a few nights ago… And there was some rock concert the other night, but that's all I know…" the girl says before turning back and posting her writing on the board.
Will nods, then glances over his shoulder at John and mutters, "Mind not standing there looking like my enforcer? I'm kind of trying not to adopt a threatening posture here so nobody feels the need to start shooting." He shakes his head and looks back at Dia. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to provoke an introduction, I've heard most of the actual news already. I'm Will Johnston, of Santa Monica."
John frowns slightly at something Dia says then glances at Will and nods. "I'm gonna be heading back now sir. Though I can wait for you in the parking lot if you'd like an escort back."
Having posted her message on the Bulletin Board, the girl turns back around to face Will, her hands resting firmly on her hips as she locks eyes with the man. Grinning slightly, she shakes her head before looking down towards the ground and shuffling her feet a little. "Sorry…" she chuckles, "… little dense sometimes…" She looks back up towards Will and takes a few steps towards Will and extends her right hand out towards him, her left remaining on her hip. "Dia Chavez…" she says as an introduction. "… Florence. And who's this guy?" she says, looking over at John and tilting up her head a little in a non-verbal pointing out of the man. "You got a chauffer or somethin'?"
Will shakes the hand. "Ah.. Miss Chavez. I've heard of you. We even met once, Downtown, but I doubt you'd remember it." He looks over toward John. "This is John, an.. associate of my clanmate, Mister Northrup. He seems to think I need watching over for some reason."
John nods to Will and Dia then glances back to Will. "As you wish sir. Have a good evening." John bows his head slightly and starts heading out.
"Right…" Dia says in an unsure tone as she watches John bow out. She gives him a brief smile and says, "Drive safe…" before turning her attention back to Will. She studies the man's face closely, looking for some hint as to his identity, but ends up shaking her head. "You're right… Can't say I remember it… So sorry… Just been on vacation for a while - mentally and physically… Had a hard time remembering where I lived, much less old faces… You say we met in the Downtown area?"
Will smiles and nods. "Yes. I believe you gave Guiverra a pretty nasty gash," he draws his thumb across his throat, "outside the LACMA. This was awhile ago, though. A decade or so." Will nods to John.
John leaves the Salon by the white double doors; the guard outside of the door makes sure the door is closed afterwards.
Dia raises her right hand up to her face and covers her mouth with her fingers. She looks at Will with a bith of surprise as the memories flash back into her mind. "Oh god…" she says with the hint of laughter. "That was a long time ago. I'm surprised… and then again, not really considering all the shit that went down… you remember that."
Will shrugs. "I could never forget getting run off the Downtown streets by Alexa Guiverra." A smile. "That sort of thing sticks with you."
"Yeah… She had a…" Dia pauses as she searches for the proper word to fill in the description of Alexa. "… 'unique' personality." Grinning from ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat, the girl lowers her hand from her face and places it neatly in her right, front pant pocket. Her left hand soon joins in its respective pocket. "She and I had a few spats… Almost like a really bad sibling rivalry thing… But I'm sure you didn't come down her to reminise about Alexa. And since you're caught up on the news already, I guess it kind of begs the question if you don't mind me asking. Didn't think Santa Monica was really enthusiatic about taking trips down here these days."
Will nods slowly. "You're right, there's very little call for visits to South Central these days, but I figure if we close off completely it'll cause more problems. I'm not here to stir up trouble, though, so don't worry about that."
Dia shrugs her shoulders and says, "Didn't figure you were…" before offering a brief and warm smile. "I don't even understand what the hell happened… I just came down from San Francisco and heard a few people talkin' about the whole Santa Monica / South Central dispute. All I know is that I've been told not to travel outside of South Central without some good company."
Will nods. "I'll concur with that. Any activity in Santa Monica would be viewed as hostile, and the death of Hendrik probably has caused tension with the Downtown. I'd hate to have to drag anyone in front of the Seneschal unnecessarily, but I will if we get any trespassers, or until the bloodhunt is rescinded."
"Rescinded?" Dia asks, looking a little lost in the comment. "Wasn't it rescinded when they caught Hendrik and dealt with the problem? Seems like that would kind of make the bloodhunt kind of moot, huh?"
Will shakes his head. "There's a general bloodhunt called against any South Central resident considered an 'anarch.' In Santa Monica, at least."
"Oooooooooh…" Dia says, tilting her chin up slightly as the revelation washes over her instantly. "That makes a little more sense…" she adds before removing her right hand from her pocket and raising it up to the top of her scalp. She scratches her head for a second before letting her hand fall back down to her side and slap against her thigh. "I can see why Ali was worried about making sure everyone knew I wasn't some rabble rouser now…" Dia grins softly at Will, assuming he'll understand the reference.
Will nods. "With news of Melciah's.. punishment, I'm not sure how long the hunt will continue. But yes, it'd do you well to stay in the establishment's good graces."
Dia smirks and nods her head in affirmation of Will's statement. "Yeah… Seems to be the case… Figure I'm lucky to live in South Central and have a little freedom to be myself from all the things I hear about Santa Monica and Downtown… But that's just from what I've heard."
Will smiles passively. "And get shot in Elysium, I suppose, but that's neither here nor there. South Central's just as full of landmines as anywhere else. They're just different, is all."
"Ha!" Dia says in a snort-laugh. "Yeah… We got landmines like everyone else, I guess… It's just that we have a big warning sign written out to read, "Danger! Your ass is in peril!" when you first step into South Central. From what Ali tells me, seems like the landmines in Santa Monica are hidden a little better…"
Will chuckles quietly at that. "Maybe they are. Nice meeting you again, Miss Chavez." He bows his head. Will heads on out.
