(Under Control) To the Point

[West]

He almost shivered.

There it was. That button. He had other buttons, like when someone touched his ears, but that had always been so. Well, at least since he'd hit puberty. The button Coco pushed was one that had something to do with being Fairest, or Treasured. He'd like to think so. Truth was, he'd always been a competitive son of a bitch, but it had gotten... more intense.

There was this old movie, one of the earliest memories he had of seeing people fight with blades. Blew. His. Mind. There was this guy, in black, and another guy, this prince, who had married his True Love. I would not say such things if I were you!

"Oh, you never know," he said, giving her another speculative look. "Maybe there's someone out there who could... excite... you."

The grin said he was pretty sure who that someone was, and that he was also aware of the double entendre. His mood was definitely improving. Even if she was a Summer. Probably. Summers said things like that. W... Another Court just showed you, without warning. He almost shivered again. This wasn't the time for that, or that. A time for every Purpose under the Heavens -- and this was the time for neither.

"Thanks, though... really," he added, turning serious. "I'd appreciate. It means a lot."

A grin came and went, heaven forfend he be too serious.

"I'll take care of the guy. It just might get tricky if there are any witnesses. If there are, hmmmm... I'll try to draw them away. Because I want to get the guy's camera and see if he has a phone. So I, we, can see who he's working for. So if I don't get a chance to grab the stuff... I'm thinking maybe you can jump in -- like a bystander, or witness, and make the grab?"

[Coco]

"Well, there's always someone better," Coco admitted glibly. "That's the way the wheel whirls. But! Sometimes it takes a while for things to reverse, so I still stand by what I said."

She waved his thanks away when he offered it next. "It's my pleasure. I didn't come to Sacramento to laze around after all." When Neil moved on to discuss his plan, she listened quietly, nodding along when he laid out her task. "That's definitely a feat I can perform ably. Just tell me where I'll need to be."

[West]

Thunder rumbles overhead, and fat drops of water start to fall on them. It's been raining over half of the city all day, and slowly moving across it. Neil shrugs out of his toggle coat and offers it to Coco. Underneath, he's wearing a striped shirt, and suspenders. Someone takes this mime thing awfully seriously.

"Here, it's that way," he explains, pointing into the darker portion of the city under the heavier rain.

Neil starts to skip.

End Scene

Coco Tascioni and Nightfall continue in [Under Control] Appearing Act