2017-04-24: What Goes Around Comes Around
- Log: What Goes Around Comes Around
- Cast: Josephine Lovelace, Lily Keil
- Where: Adlehyde - Starfall Saloon
- Date: April 24th 2017
- Summary: Lily has a few things she wants to talk to Josie about. Especially the whole dang 'elopement' thing.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It isn't as if Josie is particularly hard to find -- even though she's never given Lily the name of the place she's staying, anyone asking around for a 'Miss Lovelace, tall, dark-skinned, pale-haired, archaeologist, pigeon' would eventually -- even using the method of 6 degrees of separation -- find the only current match for that description in town.
Long story short: they'd agreed to meet up, and the Starfall Saloon -- a better part of town than Josie's usual haunts -- was location of choice.
Lily isn't here yet. Josie must have arrived early, though it's hard to tell how deliberate or not that was given that she's already finished at least one beer since she got here and is apparently awaiting another. Penelope is on the table, which is probably unsanitary (but what can you do) and is investigating her hazy reflecting in the empty mug.
To the outside world, Josie likely looks bored, staring into space and tapping the fingers of her left hand on the tabletop in a rhythm that only makes sense to her.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily isn't bad at getting answers to her questions; she doesn't exactly /like/ asking around and dealing with people, but it's a skill that she does well enough with. ...In part because she's intimidating, of course. And she didn't need to use very /many/ words.
Lily was about as talkative as ever in arranging that meeting, and the meeting place is one she knows well by this point. ...She ends up in better parts of town than Josie's haunts rather a lot.
When she does arrive, her skirts swirl with the fast motion across the hall towards the bar--where she murmurs a few words to the bartender and steps away with a mug, which she brings with her to the table.
She sets it down with a thunk, beer shifting around in the glass with the motion as she looks to Josie, and then takes a seat not far but not too close from and o the older woman. It's a small table, so that can be across.
She doesn't seem to care that Penelope is here for the moment, aside from a glance up and down. Her gold eyes are about as soft as ever... which isn't very.
"Josie. I'm glad you were willing to talk with me."
A pause.
"...You told Jude Moshe that Leon and I were eloping." It is not a question.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It's still roughly in that gray area between late afternoon and early evening -- not quite twilight, but definitely not daytime -- so while it's getting crowded, it's nowhere nearly as bad as it will get in about an hour or two.
Josie doesn't see the exact moment Lily comes in, but she does see people getting out of the way of /someone/ moving quickly, and after that point -- wherein Josephine sits up straight (straighter) in her seat -- it's quite easy to see who that person is.
And that she's coming this way.
Lily seems a little more tense than usual. Josie arches an eyebrow as the younger girl approaches and plunks the mug down solidly on the table. Even Penelope cocks her head Lily's way.
"So. What did you want to--"
Josie blinks. She looks Lily over, then tilts her head to the left, resting her chin on her hand.
"Well, aren't you?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
That also means it's not as loud as it could be... And that certain things go faster. And there's a certain matter of...
People having room to get out of Lily's way. Lily appreciates that.
Now, however, she is at the table, her beer slowly coming back down to normal, even Penelope looking at her. Lilyis looking more at Josie, with her straight posture and arched eyebrow, though. She starts to ask, and Lily supplies an answer, and Josie...
Lily frowns, at that replied question. "...No," she says. "We're not. We're not at all. We don't have /time/ for that, or focus. We..." She shakes he head but not before there's a flicker of something else in her eyes.
"...Not what I really came to discuss. I was annoyed that you'd said that. It's a complicated issue."
"And obviously, Jude caught me by surprise when he mentioned it."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie doesn't move an inch, still holding that casual pose as she gazes over at Lily. "Really. You know, if you two want to, I know a priest who can do the honors in a hurry..." The grin, here, is at least fleeting.
Josie drops her hand back to the tabletop, and straightens. "I'll suppose you'll have to forgive me, then! I had completely the wrong impression when I first met the both of you, it seems..." She smiles, sheepishly. "And, I guess I'm a bit of a gossip, too..." Said as if it's just some minor foible and not a source of major embarrassment for someone else.
She leans back in her seat, her eyes still on Lily. "But all's well that ends well, right? I see you're still alive." Her gaze grows more intent, searching Lily. "...He'd mentioned he'd met the two of you again, but I didn't... exactly have a way to ask how that'd gone." She gestures vaguely with her left hand before curling ring through pinky in towards her palm -- the vague shape of a gun. In brief pantomine, she 'fires' at the mug of beer, and tilts her head to the right, questioningly.
In other words: 'did you guys have a shootout'.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily doesn't move either in that moment, listening to Josie and then lifting an eyebrow when Josie suggests how easily she can make it happen. She doesn't grin back, though she does let out a short breath in response that isn't quite a sigh.
Her expression normalizes a bit when Josie straightens, and while that's still not exactly friendly, Lily at leas doesn't look like she's going to reach across the table. She doesn't smile back, but she does soften justenouh that she seems less actively displeased by a few degrees. This time she makes it to a full sigh over Josie's gossipy nature.
But the searching gaze gets mostly tension, a way that Lily holds herself apart even more than usual. She is still alive, of course, glancing down quickly to the gun in her gestures. Lily sets her hands on the table, gloves and all, before finally she picks up her mug and takes a long draw that takes about half of it at once.
"Yes, I'm alive," Lily answers, clunking it back down. "And so is Leon. And so is Jude, obviously. He wanted to /talk/." She sounds... legitimately uncomfortable, as she glances away, like she's in a strange situation... bcause she is.
"I don't want to get married in a hurry, and honestly I don't have time or energy to be really angry at you for gossiping about us. I don't like it, but I'll forgive you... Since you warned me about him, too." Pause. "This time. Don't.. Give me more reasons to have a headache."
"No, he wanted to talk, and I'm going to meet him to talk again. He... He said something that shows me he has something I want to hear. I can't tell you what it is. But I was hoping that you could tell me more about him."
She picks up her drink again, though pauses before putting it to her lips. "This whole thing makes me talk too much," she mutters darkly, and starts drinking again.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It's not /technically/ an apology. Josie certainly doesn't seem more than sheepish -- and probably only because she got caught. Still, perhaps it's the sentiment (...sort of) that counts.
Both eyebrows lift this time. Now that's interesting. So they all met up and...
As if in mock-defeat as Lily insists that no, she's not getting married, Josie raises both hands up, palms forward. "Alright, alright. I'll drop it. Cross my heart and hope to die." She's straight-faced... but it doesn't last. She breaks into a grin. "But let me know if you two ever /do/ change your mind, okay? I'll try and talk 'em into half-price, just for you~"
Still, they just /talked/?
And Lily's meeting him again? "Huh, that's a surprise." Josie leans forwards, propping both elbows on the table. "And here, I was certain the both of you were gonna have a dust-up... hm. Talking to him again, huh?" She's not judging. She's done it too. She just honestly sounds surprised. "Whatever he had to say sure must have been interesting if you're giving him second chances..."
Josie looks thoughtful. About whatever the mystery topic might be, perhaps. Or the subject of Jude. Or all of it. "Well, you can try me. I'm not sure if I'll be much help, but..." She pauses, thinking. "So, what do you want to know?"
Once the mug's set back down again it will swiftly attract one (1) Penelope, who inspects this one as well. "Nothing wrong with talking too much, you know." Josie pauses, thoughtfully. "It's what you say that matters."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily can sure see Josie's face, since she's not so much as looking away. The sentiment, huh?
While Josie insists, Lily actually rolls her eyes this time, a little closer to how someone might expect her to usually act for her age for just a moment. "You're impossible," the younger woman points out. "I'll expect to hear about it again next week, probably." A pause, "You don't get a finder's fee from this friend of yours, do you?"
It's almost enough to cut the tension for her... And it does help a little, despite herself.
"I was expecting to do my level best to kill him," Lily points out about the dust-up. The surprise registers for her, and the black-haired woman glances to the side, breaking eye contact for a moment. "...Yes," she agrees. "You could call it very interesting. He..." She shakes her head, not quite willing to say it aloud now, either.
A look back to Josie. "Well..." She's not sure it will be much help. Lily isn't sure what she wants to know.
Lily glances to Penelope again, and frowns. "...I don't like talking that much," she says instead, frustrated.
"Anyway... I'm not sure what I need to know. Whatever you know would be helpful. Do you know anything about where he comes from? ...That would help, if you do. Or any mannerisms that suggest lying. Or... anything other than that. I don't know how well you know him, but I need everything I can get. I don't really trust him, but I can't stay away."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie waves a hand through the air in front of her. "Hey now, let's not hand down judgement until I actually /do/ something to deserve it, alright?" Any offense is naturally purely and transparently mock. "Maybe I'll even surprise you and be good for a change?" She pauses, regarding Lily steadily for half a second. Then, "Why, would you like to get in on it too?" She grins. She's kidding. ...Probably.
Now /that/ sounds more like Lily.
Josie listens in silence, only nodding to encourage Lily to go on... which naturally, she doesn't, in regards to whatever secret topic Jude had spoken to her about.
Well, everyone has their secrets.
Penelope barely seems to notice Lily. She's apparently more taken with her fuzzy and half-beery reflection in the glass.
Josie purses her lips, her gaze skimming away from Lily for a moment. "You know... in my experience?" She looks back at the younger girl. "If you don't talk, other people will talk for you. It's your decision, of course! But keep that in mind."
She shifts forward in her seat again. "Anyway..." She drums her fingers on the tabletop again, absently. "According to him, he's from Aquavy. Guild Galad, to be precise -- have you heard of it? He says he's here to cover the war as a reporter." She shrugs, slightly enough as if to suggest the quotation marks around key words.
"To be honest..." There's the grand return of that sheepish smile. "I don't really know. I've been just assuming 'almost all the time'." Josie grins broadly. "Well, you know, they do say that writers are good at bending the truth!"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily doesn't laugh, but she does tilt her head forwarad and give Josie a more level look. The look in her eyes that suggests she isn't actually mad is where her equivalent of amusement for right now comes in. "On that issue?" she asks, skeptical. A beat after Josie's question, and she shrugs her shoulders. "Maybe..."
Lily is very herself when talking violence.
Maybe sometime Lily will go on, but not this time; she leaves the matter of those secrets behind for the moment, not inclined to bother Penelope but instead just to take another drink.
It does give her a chance to see Josie looking at her when she sets her mug down. Josie offers her advice. "...Usually that doesn't bother me. Either Leon can, or I don't care what they're saying in the first place. I haven't had time for caring about that kind of thing since the academy."
Information, though. Aquvy. "...Hrm. From a long distance off. I've heard of it; I've studied geography some. A reporter... Well, he talks anough to be a reporter." Though Josie doesn't seem to believe it, either.
Lily pauses, golden eyes set on Josie. She glances down to the table. "That's what I want to assume, but he said some things I couldn't deny. I need to be able to judge somehow, because to a point I /do/ believe him."
She frowns, and then finally relents, looking up at Josie to explain, "...I was an orphan. I was adopted when I was young, and Jude might know something about where I come from."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Whatever Lily's secret reason is, Josie apparently isn't about to pry... yet.
Give it time.
"Hmm. But when he's not around?" She smiles slightly, though there's no mirth in it. "Think of it as putting your own story out there, first, before someone else decides it for you. That's all it is. You don't even have to tell someone the truth."
Her own eyes come to rest on that mug of beer. Come to think of it, just what the heck has happened to Josie's second mug...? Lifting a finger to suggest that Lily hang on a sec, Josie attempts to get the attention of one of the barmaids. Again. 'Remember me?' that little wave suggests.
"--Go on," she says, turning back towards Lily. "Yes, that region's full of islands, or so I've heard. And Guild Galad has some advanced technology, too. He mentioned something called a 'combustion engine'. Instead of horses, they use those to get around."
It could be true. It could be a lie. More than likely, Jude Moshe's professed occupation is half true and half false.
Maybe that's why she gets along with him.
"Hmm, yes. Still, I'm not sure what to tell you. You can't teach experience -- all I can say is that if it sounds too good, it probably is. And if it sounds too ridiculous, well... it probably is!" Josie smiles, lopsidedly, and shrugs. "That's why he's an interesting person. It's been a long time since I've been kept on my toes by someone else."
It's a more serious Josie by the time Lily broaches the real reason she might want to speak with Jude. "Oh, I see..." Leaning forward, Josie rests her chin in her hand as she looks at Lily. "And you grew up in... Kislev? What makes you think he's been up around there?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Ironic that Josie mentions lying while this subject is out there...
But it's not what Lily mentions at that point, either; Josie is suggesting something, and Lily looks guarded, at best, about the whole idea. "...What they decide is immaterial to me. They're welcome to think what they want." Lily glances down at her mug, and shakes her head, as if dismissing the entire idea. "It doesn't really matter, anyway."
She can see reasons to want to talk to them... But not right now. There's really only one reason she does in the first place.
Lily does hang on, and glance over too, preparing when the barmaid comes back to get another drink herself.
"It sounds interesting; I admit, I'd visit, given the chance. I'd like to travel more. See for myself." This Lily speaks a little more gently than the other things. It's a wish, after all.
"No," Lily answers, shaking her head. "It's fine. I appreciate what you have told me. You told me where he's from, if that's the truth from him. And all of this..." A pause. "If you can't spot him lying, then I'm not going to be able to. It means I find other ways to keep on /my/ toes." A sigh. "He just throws me off. He always... Mm."
Lily waits for a reply to what she says about the edited reason she might want to speak with him, and watches her. "Right. Nortune, the capital. But I wasn't born there; Father found me out on a mission, and never told me where. Mother wouldn't say anything, either. So I don't know /where/ I'm from... And Jude said things that made me sure he knows something."
"That's why I need to know anything I can about him. This might be a trap, but I'm going regardless."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie waves a hand through the air, as if to dismiss the subject. "Well, it's up to you in the end. Think about it, though."
At last, here's her second -- "Thanks!" she calls out to the barmaid as the woman departs -- though for now Josie doesn't take a drink.
Penelope in the meantime takes the opportunity to investigate yet /another/ murky reflection.
"It'd be nice. Who knows, maybe work will take me out there, sometime?"
Slightly, Josie winces. "Hey, now. I know what I said, but don't sell me too short, now. You /can/ tell when he's pulling your leg. That's different from knowing if he's lying without batting an eyelash, though." She shakes her head and sighs. "Anyway... my advice? Don't be so stiff around him. Just go with the flow. Do you know what happens to heavy trees in a storm? They get knocked down." She gestures, mimicking a mighty oak crashing to the ground. "The grass, though, doesn't get touched at all." She rests her cheek in her hand. "...It's probably not your strong point, but... give it a shot, anyway."
Josie lifts an eyebrow. "Out on a mission, huh..." She tilts her head to the left, as if considering this statement. "You know, most parents tell their kids the stork brought them. Or something." Josie shrugs, the motion small. "So it could be anywhere? Hmm. Well, with your complexion, you're probably not from Aveh, so you can rule out being tragically from the wrong side of the battlefield, I think..." Josie says, having eyed Lily critically. "But does he /really/ know?" Or does Lily just want him to know?
"Well, he did attempt to take you in before, so I'd wager... it's definitely a trap." Josie appears to hesitate a moment, then, glancing over at the next table, halfway rises from her seat to partially lean across the table. She lowers her voice, her expression grim. "I'm fond of him so I'd appreciate it if you didn't, but just in case: it's through the ribs and up."
Her lips twitch, and she can't help but break into a grin seconds later. "Kidding, kidding!" Josie says, settling back into her seat as if she hadn't just joked about murder.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"I'll see if I change my mind. I doubt it." Lily's voice is low and dark, but the fact that she even appears to consider it is a little nod to Josie in its own way. ...Well, not that it sounds much like she's really considering it, but would she bother to say so otherwise? That it won't get far right now doesn't really matter.
"Mm," Lily agrees with Josie's thanks as her own second drink arrives, as she takes the time to finish off the first the rest of the way. She might as well finish it with another here.
Lily sets one gloved hand over the other and lifts an eyebrow at Josie's wince. Her mood hasn't really improved since she sat down. Her arms rest on the table briefly. She seems to relent very slightly, looking over Josie's face again. "Mm." It doesn't seem like a useful distinction to her, and it does take some thought, but she'll pull it over. The advice, though...
"All that's true, but you're right, it's not my strong suit. I think you've noticed that I'm not very good with people. If it's necessary, though..."
She can give it a shot.
"I suppose thy do," Lily answers. She actually snorts lightly at the notion of her being from Aveh. "Right." A pause. She asks, but... "I can't know for sure," Lily admits. "But... I know he knows something. I'm certain."
Lily inclines her head about it being a trap, and then sees Josie lean her way. She blinks once, and Josie says /that/. Sh stares for a moment, and then actually laughs, a rare sound that may not be loud or bright but is a real laugh.
"I'll keep that in mind. Though usually, I prefer to go for the throat rather than the ribs. Easier to do from behind." Beat, "I've still got my combat knife on me."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
She's not /really/ thinking about it. That's fine, though.
People have to live their own lives, even if it means trouble.
"Some people aren't. Still, it's something you /can/ work at. My..." Josie trails off, frowning. "Well, you know how it is, right? Whenever you start doing something, it's difficult. ...And trust me, handling people is going to be necessary. Especially when..." She pantomimes, with her left hand, the gun. Again.
Breaking off, Josie finally reaches for her beer. It's about half-drained once she sets it down again, dragging her right wrist across her mouth.
"Anyway... It's up to you what you want to do about this, kiddo. I guess the traditional saying is 'it's your funeral', but that's a little grim, right?" She smiles, lopsidedly, and tilts her head to the right as her grin broadens. "Let's try thinking a little more positively, even if it might be true that he's up to no good~"
That actually got a real laugh. Josie lifts both eyebrows slightly, then -- always susceptible to infection when the disease is laughter -- breaks out into a brief bit of too-loud laughter of her own. "Good point, good point," she murmurs, shaking her head. What a world.
Josie leans on the table again, this time without leaning across it. "That's the sort of thing you should watch for, though -- when he talks to you, that is. That's one tell of his I do know -- if he looks serious, he's probably just pulling your leg. Just play along like you did now, and you'll be fine." She pauses. "And if he isn't, well... you know what to do."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
And it's often going to mean trouble.
Josie's what, meanwhile? Josie trails off, and Lily looks to her hand and then to her face again, with a sigh. "...I know," the younger woman admits. "I know how, in theory. I grew up with a certain place in society." A shake of her head, and an irritated expression. "Mm."
It's frustrating; Lily picks up her beer and drains a third at once, clunking it back down. "Forget I said anything about that. I can only do it because of Leon, anyway."
Josie says it's up to her, and lifts an eyebrow at it's her funeral. She doesn't smile back. "Think positive, mm?"
Lily seems not to be conscious of her laughter being surprising for the moment; instead she inclines her head mock-seriously, a very subtle mock that's nevertheless there.
Lily looks intently as Josie speaks about Jude this time. "Play along..." Lily considers. "That's very useful. I don't play the game very well, but..." A pause. "If I didn't need to hear from him, that would almost be preferable. Backup plans I /know/."
"Regardless... This should be helpful. He keeps me off-balance, but maybe with this, I can keep my feet long enough."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
'Certain place in society', huh? Josie cocks and eyebrow and meets Lily's eye at that, but for now doesn't press.
She sort of gets the idea, anyway.
It's not really a smile, not really a frown. Whatever that look is, it's bit perturbed, but perhaps muted by the shrug that Josie opts to couple it with. Only because of Leon, huh. This time, she'll let that go.
Think positive. "Precisely!"
Lifting her mug as if in a sort of salute, Josie downs a little bit more.
"Mmhmm, that's my number one suggestion for anyone, really. If you can't figure them out, or if you don't know what's happening... just play along. Usually it works! And when it doesn't, well..."
Josie shrugs. 'Oh well'?
Josie leans back, gazing briefly up at the rafters. "Anyway... You heard about the trouble over in Port Timney? I was looking for a few people to go on an excavation trip to the Berry Cave, but I might put those plans on hold and see what I can make of the problems over there. So, how about it?" She sits more upright, and extends a hand in Lily's direction. "How about you and Leon come along with me? I was thinking about heading out there in a few days. It's a good, easy way to make a few Gella."
Or it should be.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily meets Josie's eyes in return and doesn't even pretend that she's going to explain. She's mentioned enough about her background in this conversation already.
Lily sets her golden eyes down into her beer for a moment, before back up to Josie again, seeing that... odd expression, the shrug. But what is she going to do with it? She doesn't see anything to do... So she lets it go.
Lily lifts her mug in return when Josie confirms thinking positive, lifting an eyebrow and taking another drink. Thinking positive isn't somehing, overall, that she tends to do.
"Just play along. ...That's... Really the opposite of my preferred style," Lily admits, as if it weren't obvious. ...It's pretty obvious. What else is here to say about that? Besides, 'Oh well.'
Lily sighs again, shaking her head. "Mm," she agrees at first, indicating that she's heard of those troubles. "...I have some interest in those trouble myself." She reaches out a hand to shake with Josie's, "I'm interested. Consider this a yes if Leon doesn't give me a reason for us not to go. I could use the money, too, and..."
Pause.
"I'll take excuses to get out of town."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Think of it as a learning experience, maybe?" Josie says, helpfully.
Assuming Jude doesn't cut to the chase right off and go for the bounty, but... if that were (still?) his aim, she honestly thinks he would have already done it.
She and him, they're not too different. Just a matter of degrees, perhaps. And if it were her, she wouldn't bother dragging it out longer than necessary.
It's also not really her problem. One way or another, Lily will work this one out.
Hopefully the one that involves less bloodshed, though. It'd be a waste either way, otherwise.
Money still remains ever the great motivator. "See? Plenty of good reasons." Josie gives a thumbs-up to the Lily. "It's a good change of scenery, too. Tell you what, if he wants to be grumpy and stay here, we'll just make it a girl's night out." She winks. "Sound good?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"That does help," Lily admits. She likes learning experiences. She isn't really expecting Jude to cut to the chase either, though; she's prepared for the eventuality--she has to be--but only haphazardly prepared. She's not at er best about this.
But if it does come down to that, then Lily isn't going to stop before she finds him.
"Heh. Grumpy, hm?" Lily still doesn't smile, but she sounds slightly less dour than she did a moment ago. In fact she acually lifts both eyebrows at Josie at the possibility, as if seeing whether or not she's serious.
"How long has it been..." She starts to say it, but she knows the answer. She wasn't the only woman in the Wolves, and they had leave sometimes.
"...Sure. That sounds fine." It's clear enough that Lily remembered something she decided not to say. "You're impossible, you know." But that's downright affectionate.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
And it's that last comment that provokes a slow but no-less-heartfelt grin. "Heh, now we're talking. That's just what my mentor used to say. So, here's to being impossible!"
With that, Josie downs the remainder of her beer, setting the glass on the table for Penelope's further inspection.
"Next round's on me, okay?"