Vans

[Avis]

So. The bike was just not cutting it. Not for her, anyways. Star might like it, sure, but he was that loveable type of crazy, the kind that needed a bit of thrill to free them from the weight of banality that ground at everyone. Her, though? She could do without the stress. She was exposed to great deal bodily harm on a regular basis, and had seen it acted out in excruciating detail to its most final of conclusions, and even though she weathered those experiences without complaint, she did not bear them easily. Casually risking horrific injuries every time she swung a leg over the motorcycle, basically for no reason, just wasn't something she could keep doing. She'd proven she could do it, and thus it wasn't something she had to do any longer. There were other options. Safer options. An option like the one printed on the piece of paper that she held in her hand. Maybe, just maybe, Star would be willing to explore it with her and set his bike aside for awhile.

She knocked on his door.

[Star]

The door opened, after a wait and the thump thump thump of someone bounding down the theater within's stairs.

His mop was captured in a bandana, do-rag style. Some people looked tough. Edgy. He looked ridiculous. And knew it, too, swiping it off of his head. The resultant bird's nest only looked marginally less ridiculous. Eyebrows lifted and a smile crept out in something between surprise and happy. The neck bobbed his head side to side as he swept his eyes around.

No one else.

"Ummm. Hey. What's up?"

The grin widened.

"Sorry. I mean, what can this humble servant of the Consilium do for you, Councilor Avis, pillar of the Iron Gauntlet and first daughter of Pandemonium?"

OOC

Imma leave pie out, for a) continuity and b) not being able to say how it went, which would be the obvious question

[Avis]

"Jesus, you too, huh?" she asked with a sigh. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but the Councilor is not in at the moment. And I will not take a goddamn message, sooooo looks like you're stuck with just regular Avis. And regular Avis would like you take a look at this picture and tell me what you think."

She thrust a piece of paper at him and then leaned against the door frame, hands in her pockets while she waited for him to look the thing over. It was a print out for a craigslist add*. Local, of course.

She had no idea what to expect. Laughter, probably. Or a confused look. Maybe both?

The Item of Mystery!

[Star]

His head cocked to the side and brows furrowed slightly as the smile slipped a little. Not. Expected. Had he missed something? It sounded like they weren't going to throw a celebration party.

"I'm not disappointed. Rumor has it? Just regular Avis has fans."

Nobody needed sign language to get the thumb jab at himself before he took the paper. The brow furrows deepened.

"Uh."

He moved it closer to his face.

"Think? Like, how? You're not, like, looking to get a tattoo, are you?"

Seriously, yo. Because runes.

[Avis]

"Ew, fuck no," Avis said, recoiling a little just from the idea. "I mean, not a tattoo. And I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude to my fans," she added, leaning off the doorway so she could companionably shoulder bump Star.

"I've just had kind of a tough week. What about you? We haven't really had a chance to talk one on one since, ya know, the bridge," she explained, ducking her head while a flush rose into her face. "That's kinda what I was thinking about when I found that add. Well, that and how much I hate your bike. I was wondering if, maybe, you wanted to, um, it's gonna sound kinda shitty, but what do you think about going in for half on that van?"

Yeah, she sure was displaying the fuck out of her Councilor level diplomacy skills there. Truly, a master of propositions was she. Goddamn, sometimes talking to someone you actually liked made things more difficult. She could get behind seeing a conversation as a fight, but seeing it as, well, basically the opposite was kinda confusing. For one thing, there didn't seem to be as much structure without the kind of goals that came when there was opposition, and for another things, it had been a lot of years since she'd actually had people she wanted to talk to.

[Star]

He half leaned into the door jamb, letting the mop be useful for once -- cushioning his head. His head ducked a little, too, when hers did, but it was to look. Hey. A smile of his own crept out. Skip the teasing. Tough week? Guilty, yo. Then again? She'd never made any secret or bones about doing custodial engineering.

Take out the trash and flush the poo, girl.

"No, we haven't..." He nodded. Agreement. Regret. They saw each other enough that it wasn't some Western song about missing someone and drinking beer with your three legged dog, but she'd nailed it: they hadn't been alone. He'd wondered if he'd have a Coyote moment: wake up and wonder who he'd dropped his Name on. But he hadn't.

"Living together, buying our first car together," he shook his head as he teased her, then lifted the paper again. "It's over at the first sight of a Pottery Barn catalog."

Furrowy brows. They're like furry brows, but with wrinkles and almost unibrows. The van? Ratty, and funny, and utilitarian as all get out. Like We. People were going to laugh and point at this van... but then either get run over or be jelly watching it roll by.

Speaking of? Yeah, okay. She could Totally Not tell him about her tough week on the motorcycle ride because loud.

"I love it." Serious. Nod. Then a little laugh slipped out. "No. Seriously, I do. But you know this is hilarious, right? Like, so bad it's awwwwwwesome?!"

A lurch brought him back upright before he opened his door and walked backwards back into the theater. "Shoes! Pack!"

Explanations, yo. Because door.

[Avis]

"Hey, since when is irony bad? And it's totally the kind of thing a band would have, right? A van to get their gear around town, something funky painted on the side?"

See? It wasn't entirely a random choice. There were definitely reasons why she'd chosen that particular vehicle. "And it's really fucking cheap. Guy's probably selling it because he ran out of pot money," she called through the doorway. His explanation hadn't exactly been an invitation, so she waited outside. It was fine. She'd already seen his room before, and had no desire to invade it. That was kinda the whole point of the van. A space that would be theirs. Not one, not the other, and sure as hell not belonging to Asp or Zoey. Something shared, connected to them both. Maybe that was the other problem with the bike. It might be able to accommodate two, but it was totally built with the intention of one in mind.

"You sure you're cool with this?" she yelled again. It was good to be safe, good to double check. "It's not like, ya know, a demand or anything."

[Star]

He always took his pack. Get chased out of a home or two, and it gets to be A Thing. He'd totally lost his favorite wand learning that the hard way. Piano black, and so shiny he could shave in his reflection. When he shaved. A snicker slipped out. Irony? He loved it. Side note? Some of their cabal mates were going to Lose. Their. Minds. when they saw it parked outside. Keep that buttoned up.

Him, saying he was thinking about what Zo would think? He wasn't stupid.

"You could have come in."

There was slight hitch to his breath from the rush, and he flipped the pack onto his shoulder. Maybe she didn't want to. Connotations. Perceived expectations. Didn't matter. Just information.

"A band? You know I'm still down for that, like, for real, right? But, yeah, I see it. I totally get it," he grinned. He was careful to shut the door. Because Rodent Of Unusual Size. "The best part is the, you know," he air drew a triangle with a finger, "The window. As the staff crystal. Ep-pic."

Was he rambling? Slow down. All night long, baby, slow down the song.

The smile settled into something softer, hesitant, but certain, and he nodded. "Yeah. I am. I. Am. Cool. With This." He punctuated it with a tentative, quick kiss after navigating the awkward Which Way tilt, noses, and everything else that Never Happened In Movies.

He offered her the spare helmet. "Oh, and, last ride? I'm trying reeeaaaaally hard not to think about that song 'Ironic', since you put that word out there, and, you know. "

Whoah. Was his sense of humor getting morbid?

"Uh. Anyway? Tell me about your week?"

[Avis]

The kiss wasn't expected, but it sure could have lasted longer. Not that she didn't mind them doing other things. Like talking, so she ignored the heat that rose back into her cheeks and took the helmet from him.

"I'd rather you tell me about your week," she said, walking languidly away from his room in the direction of the parking lot. "Mine was just full of doubts, mostly. Nothing that I need to repeat, ya know? And I'm not looking for reassurances. I'm not doubting anymore. I'd just rather hear about other stuff. Like, what's happening in you life. Or what your thoughts are about what our 'band' would actually play," she asked with a half smile, making air quotes. "And I haven't hear that song you mentioned, so you can't use that as an example. And don't say Springsteen."

Because, just no. Just no. Alright, actually, it was fuck no. Hell no. She'd been alright lying about it before, sure, but she hadn't wanted to ruin the night. To offend him, or to stop how amazing everything else had been, but now it was better to get things out into the open. Make it clear that that was headphone music, not hi fi theater speaker music. Brainwashing herself over something that stupid just wasn't an option.

[Star]

That sound? Blood rushing. It stilled roared softly in his ears. Because door. He followed, listening. Time for nerves to settle, and the hamster wheel to spin down.

Honestly? He was a little disappointed. He wanted to hear, if wanting to hear means Totally Dying To Hear, how Mastigopalooza had gone down. Principal Ari. All of it.

But that was one thing, and he was many things, and one of them was an really odd feeling of relief and comfort. An unconscious smile crept out as he turned to look and listen. Firehouse, yo. There was all this Stuff that had kind of come out of nowhere like a piano out of the sky -- figuring out if We was A Thing, and then suddenly the whole Zoey Thing.

And it had started with Firehouse. Just. Talking. And he hadn't really realized he'd missed that, because of Stuff. Until now. Tell her about his week? Make Words? Yeah. He could totally Make Words. He felt That Need, to do what she said she Did Not Need -- but if she had it, she had it. Adversity was her Thing.

No Springsteen? Sure, okay, he didn't have that gruff, manly tone, but, ouch.

"You know, it may sound weird, but... I'm really a fan of, hmmmm, like my song at karaoke? Gender switching the vocal leads. That song, 'Ironic', is by this Canadian woman, Alanis. She's got some other cool stuff that would be fun. I'm all over the place, with music, though. Usually, hmmm. I dunno. Songs that say something? Or I think are funny...," he trailed off, and a grin slipped out. "We did a U2 sing-a-long at Angelpalooza -- 'Angel of Harlem'."

My head is full of magic, baby, and I can share this with you...

His words took on a slower, languid drawl as a hint of his native Flordian crept in; thoughts shuffled like cards in a deck, flipping away the ones that didn't qualify as Relaxing News. Almost getting beaten up by Omar? Nope.

"So, there's also some dope out there called GLO that's Awakened in some way, too. I met with some people to look into it. It was pretty funny, they have no clues, right? Except this phone number. Which they were totally hand-wringing over whether or not to call because it might burn the lead. Except, if you don't use it, what's the point, right?" He shrugged, laughing softly.

"I also met one of your crew, Mace. Oh, and her sister, Pepper. Side note? It's not a Spice or Spray thing." His mouth paused for a moment, as he edited out the They Know Zoey bit. Not Relaxing. "Mace has a thing for Ermac -- the Obrimos Councilor. Pepper has a thing for Jo... Jono... uh. Jono."

Sure, gossip. He wasn't all Dr. Ruth, but she knew these people. Besides. Camouflage.

"I..."

Well, that kind of snuck up.

"I just said we were cabalmates," he added, with a curious look. Did she mind? Did he? It was definitely a Guardian issue, but, he wasn't sure any of the Guardians actually Paid Attention To Things. Because How Many Truths. "Not that, you know, you're in my top twenty-three favorite people in the city." A wink accompanied a smile. End it on a joke. Not a question.

Two hands pushed the door open. Dude. Wasn't there someone to oil it? Right. Eyes squinted in the sun as he held it open.

"Oh. Oh! Yeah. And I like, had an epiphany." Fingers waggled. Magic, yo. "Got my boarding pass from Charon."

She read, she'd get it.