February Catch-All

[tenofswords]

WHO: Mr. Gray and You!
WHERE: Around Maurita Falls and De Chima
WHEN: Throughout February
WHAT: Catch-All for Mr. Gray. Mostly wandering about either city. Anyone who wants a specific starter is welcome to contact me on my plurk (arwingyoshi)
WARNINGS: None


Maurita Falls
Mr. Gray can be found around the book store, stocking up on more novels and poetry books, so one is free to bond with him over books. He can also be found around the cafes, getting a coffee and sitting down with one of his new purchases.


De Chima
Chances are Mr. Gray has just left the meadows after the latest training sessions with Ronan, and is wandering about the streets afterwards, possibly at the deli getting a sandwich and cold drink.

Or he's likely to be doing some shopping, buying more gray clothing, and possibly browsing around looking at hunting knives.

Comments

bookstore;

[pillz]

Hey.

[the boy a few feet away is both like and jarringly unlike the one he spied on back in henrietta. no more tanktops and designer jeans; instead, he wears shirts with buttons and flat-front chinos, suede shoes. he looks like somebody skinned off the most superficial parts of gansey and glued them onto the monstrous little drug-dealing kidnapping mafia brat that used to rule his tiny rook.

his hair is neater. his pupils aren't cocaine-huge. but there's something 'off' about the feeling of him, anyway; something even deeper and more ill than he used to be.]

What you got there? [he juts his chin at the book in grey's hand.] Any chance it's love poetry or something?

[love poetry. yes. those words just came out of kavinsky's mouth.]

[tenofswords]

[Even if he's cleaned himself up, and wearing different clothes, the Gray Man recognizes the boy. It's the boy Ronan was practicing his powers with. He's the last person the Gray Man expects to see.]

Old English, actually.

[pillz]

[a beat. kavinsky's expression is pleasantly blank. sure, dr. chilton's home for lost boys reworked a lot about him, but it failed to program him with a college-level arts education, so.]

... ...

[...]

Any chance that's like. Old English love poetry? [he cocks his head and looks at the grey man expectantly. you will have to forgive him. 1) he has no idea! 2) grey man looks hot enough to have 12 girlfriends for valentine's day, okay. boyfriends. whatever.]

[tenofswords]

[What's this kid up to? Does he even know who the Gray Man is? Did Ronan tell him about his father's killer? The Gray Man is realizing how little he knows about this boy other than the power he and Ronan share. Though he does remember they were popping pills that night, and this boy certainly looks like someone who pops lots of pills.]

The Anglo-Saxons did not write much love poetry. But there are plenty of love poems out there written by poets in more modern languages, including Shakespeare and Lord Byron.

['Modern' is a relative term as far as language is concerned.]

[pillz]

[though clean and more or less sober, kavinsky would indeed need a lot more than a little bit of lucidity to guess at all the secrets of gray man's identity.

ronan had told him some things. but they hadn't gotten around to hiring a telepath or scrapbooking.]

Oh. [he turns his head to look at the tall shelves.] Shakespeare's kinda hard to read, right? Does Byron use like, more... modern English when he makes his rhymes?

[i'm sorry grey.]

[tenofswords]

[The Gray Man just gives a deadpan look at this young man. Clearly this boy didn't pay attention in his English classes.]

Shakespeare is only hard to read if you don't read between the lines. As for Lord Byron, he used the King's English, for he lived in the 18th century you see.

[pillz]

I can probably work with that, [says kavinsky, who at least knows what the king's english is, after a moment spent searching his memory banks. to be fair, bildungsroman had taken him a moment too, back in the day. he shifts his attention back to the shelves, then drops into a squat, searching for byron's name in the book spines.]

Which one's your favorite? For Byron. Like if you're being kind of serious. You know.

[tenofswords]

If you're looking for a love poem, I suggest She Walks in Beauty. You might be able to find it in any collection of his works.

[The Gray Man's eyes scan around the shelves, then finds what he's looking for and pulls out a book of Lord Byron's poems. He holds the book down towards the boy.]

[pillz]

[peering upward, kavinsky accepts the book. he sets it down on the tops of his folded knees and opens it, looking in.] I guess they didn't write poems for homos back in the day, huh? [he asks, but it's not a question for the grey man in particular. a comment to the universe. it makes sense. he was pretty darn closeted once upon a time, too.]

Hey, man. What's your name anyway? I'm Joseph Kavinsky. People should call me Joseph, but they got some old habits and mostly they say 'Kavinsky.' [he grins upward, his hollow eyes lazily half-mast. a different kind of terror than the one he used to be. preppier, more patient.]

[tenofswords]

I'm afraid not. He did write some gender neutral poetry, though. You could also simply change the pronouns if you intend to woo any young men with these poems.

[He can hazard a guess as to who this young man might fancy.]

I go by Mr. Gray.

lmk if this is too infomod

[pillz]

[kavinsky has no way of knowing that fantastic mr. grey is already extrapolating. but there is something odd about him, the way he talks, or the energy around him, which makes kavinsky think he isn't just another harmless import.

not that he can guess that grey is harmful, but...]

Nice to meet you.

[he stands up, and offers a hand to shake. and likely unbeknownst to grey, in this world, kavinsky's hand isn't merely an instrument for creepy touches, kidnappings, and too many drugs— it's also capable of psychometry, stealing visions and sounds from— the sleeve of grey's coat, when kavinsky's finger brushes it by.]

No worries!

[tenofswords]

[Mr. Gray accepts the offered hand, giving it a firm shake.]

A pleasure, Joseph.

[Mr. Gray has had a few interesting experiences while he's been here, including some literally colorful characters, and changing into a plant that was still conscious and able to see, but unable to move or speak.]

[pillz]

[kavinsky sizes the other man up for a moment. little to no doubt, a year ago, he would have been climbing this guy like a tree, all shark teeth and deeply inappropriate age gap comments. but these days, he has an ounce of restraint and debatably— greater intelligence.]

Yeah, you too. Hey, we ain't ever met before, have we?

[they haven't. there's just something about the guy. but for now, he just hitches up the book under his arm.]

[tenofswords]

We have not.

[He's not lying. They never did formally meet before The Gray Man fled Henrietta.]

[pillz]

[the boy's eyes go hooded. then sharpen again. his veneer of politeness smudges a little. nothing overtly suspicious about the older man.

so he says it like it's a joke:]

There something wrong with you then?

[tenofswords]

Perhaps.

[He's getting a strange feeling about this young man. He had that same feeling when he was spying on him and Ronan.]

Considering that I seem to spend quite a bit of time with people half my age, that's saying something.

[pillz]

That's a little weird, [kavinsky acknowledges.] But it ain't if you're a teacher, or something like that. I ain't one to judge on first pass.

[mostly because he demonstrates terrible judgment.]

You trying to save the children? Making good of the ImPort name.

[tenofswords]

It has more to do with how the few people from my world are around eighteen years old.

[Possibly a little older, seeing as how they've been here longer than him. That includes Kavinsky, of course.]

I was actually put in charge of a teen counseling center upon my arrival.

sorry i am slow, rl has kicked my ass in a weird way

[pillz]

[kavinsky is indeed older.

wiser? open for debate. but when he hears counseling, his pupils widen fractionally.]

Ever worked with Dr. Chilton?

welcome back

[tenofswords]

I have not.

[The Gray Man reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card, holding it up for Kavinsky to read.

The card displays his alias, Mr. Gray, lists his job as administrator, and the name of the center: Gray-te Teen Counseling Center.]

thanks man :)

[pillz]

[kavinsky reaches and takes the card. he turns it in his tattooed fingers and studies it for a long moment.]

What kind of problems you deal with?

[tenofswords]

All manner of problems. Problems with family, friends, drugs, romantic partners, and life in general.