Up the Garden Path (Open)

Oct 5th, 2014 12:30 PM

Catherine had spent the morning walking the streets of Sacramento, sketching pedestrians and seeking inspiration. She was feeling a little peckish and attempting to retrace her steps to find the little bakery she’d passed earlier when she noticed a message scrawled across a wall in twisting, floral letters. Her curiosity piqued, she followed the signs directions heading east. Giving the waters of a pond a wide berth and a wary eye, she approached an elegant stone building beyond the borders of McKinley Park.

Catherine paused at the doors noting a tasteful little sign which proclaimed the building to be "The Rose Garden”. Beneath the gilt lettering a menu encased in a clear glass frame gave some hint as to the structure’s purpose. Scanning the text with mounting hunger Catherine decided that the Rose Garden warranted further investigation. She felt that the lemon cheesecake sounded particularly suspicious.

Comfortably clad in her grey racerback, dark denim jeans and a pair of navy trainers, she strode into a chamber replete with roses. It seemed the owner’s were going for a literal title. The flowers’ heady aroma suffused the air as she followed a stone pathway leading through their rampant blooms. She approached a podium at the end of the path, wondering who had left those directions and to what purpose.

Oct 7th, 2014 05:11 PM

Dressed in dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt, Sam strode down the street. Autumn was well on its way. Curiously, the Lurker surveyed the area. This was a spot he hadn't been to yet. Not dallying a moment further, he decided to explore.

Walking through the flowered lane, he spotted the Fairest from the Fallen Fair. "Hello Catherine," he called to her as he approached.

**Gregory** · Oct 7th, 2014 10:24 PM

http://s28.postimg.org/cnk6se0b1/mg_3649.jpg

A homeless man sits quietly on a bench in McKinley's Rose Garden. There are many things to do in the expansive park. Tennis courts, baseball fields, pools, playgrounds, and walkways. But Gregory has no interest in such things currently. The passage of time affects his mind differently. The world blurs past, an excitement of activity around him. Yet he is content to stay perfectly still watching its passing. The distant laughter of children. The sight of a chipmunks scurrying about, noting the fall season as a warning to begin their hibernation harvest. Such things Gregory notices. He also notices an elf and a pumpkin greeting each other on the rose paths.

Still as a statue, Gregory says nothing and simply watches for the moment. Perhaps they would not notice him. What might they say or do, thinking they were alone? Having watched from a distance for decades he feels no shame in staring, curious as he is. What they may see is a gray statuesque Gargoyle, clothed in shabby fabrics and hunched over as if having been made to stare down from higher places. Luckily for them, he has recently bathed at the riverside before coming here to sun in the garden.

**CyledyrWyllt** · Oct 8th, 2014 09:35 AM

The smiling blonde at the podium welcomes the new arrivals as they walk up to her.

"Welcome to the Rose Garden. Would you prefer balcony or patio seating?"

Gregory finds it hard to keep an eye on either Catherine or Sam after they enter the rose-themed restaurant across the street from his park bench. In fact, once the hostess leads the other two changelings from the podium and into one of the dining areas, the gargoyle will lose sight of them all together.

Oct 8th, 2014 11:19 AM

At the sound of her name Catherine turned to regard her addresser. Running her eyes over the casually dressed man with the pointed teeth and smouldering countenance she recalled their meeting upon her arrival in the city. She grinned, pleasantly surprised, calling out to her recent acquaintance.

“Hi Sam, I was planning on a bite to eat, would you care to join me for lunch?”

Oct 8th, 2014 02:14 PM

"I would be glad to join you." He smiled with his wide toothy mouth. "Thank you."

He turned to the blonde, "Personally, I prefer the balcony. It's more fun to see what's going on down below." It was his suggestion which he then asked for the Fairest's input. "Catherine, what do you think?"

Oct 8th, 2014 03:01 PM

Catherine offered her dining companion a smile and a nod.

“The balcony sounds delightful”

She turned to the blonde expectantly.

**Gregory** · Oct 8th, 2014 03:17 PM

Hopping off the seat, Gregory works his mouth thoughtfully, chewing on his tongue as the pair of Changelings enter the restaurant garden across the street. He hasn't met many of those in Sacramento who have escaped the Gentry. They might be able to share information. Yet he feels as though he will be turned away should he try to enter the Rose Garden restaurant in his current attire. Nonetheless, Gregory walks across the street, working his way down the stone path that is the entryway towards the podium.

He tries hail them as they speak with the hostess. "Say, sirs and missus. Think you have a moment for a poor old gent such as me?" he says, hoping to get their attention. His voice is coarse, his appearance does not disguise what he is, but perhaps knowing his Mein they might take pity on him for brief attention.

Oct 9th, 2014 02:34 PM

Sam slowly turned his head to behold...a Gargoyle. A gargoyle asking for help. He would not shrug off a fellow Lost. Every Lost deserved Hospitality until actions proved otherwise. "I do not mind." He turned to Catherine, "Would you mind if we tack on an additional guest?"

Oct 9th, 2014 04:16 PM

Catherine turned from the flaxen-haired greeter to detect the source of the gravelly voice which had addressed the pair. She gave a little start as her eyes alighted upon the hunched figure standing on the path before her. Their marbled skin and sloping horns marked them either as one of the Lost or a particularly lifelike statue. However the gentle stirring of their curling wings put paid to any outlandish notion she might have entertained regarding a team of proactive interior decorators, lurking amidst the blooms and taking the opportunity to practice their ventriloquism.

His unkempt appearance and rumpled attire gave her cause to suspect that he may have been dragged backwards through a hedge within recent memory; before reflecting that, as a changeling, this may have literally have been the case. She felt a twinge of sympathy for the dishevelled little man, it appeared to have been some time since his last meal.

When her companion turned to her and enquired whether it would trouble her if the newcomer joined them, she replied with a smile and a toss of her inky hair. Catherine turned back to the blonde receptionist - whom the fairest expected would regard the new arrival from behind with an expression of veiled contempt - and offered the woman a poisonously saccharine grin.

”A table for three on the balcony please”

Up the Garden Path (Open)

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